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The problem of deciding what criteria to use to identify giftedness remains an intractable one in the field. Giftedness has traditionally been taken to mean intellectual giftedness, and the gifted have often been identified through IQ achievement, or other formal tests of school-based skills. To avoid an IQ bias, the discussion in this chapter relies heavily on studies whose gifted subjects were selected by other means. Even though their findings are drawn primarily from testlike settings, these researchers' observations of the students' thinking processes are detailed and comprehensive, thus allowing for comparisons with information from other sources. The following discussion takes into consideration not only intellectual abilities but also artistic talents in cases where both share similar cognitive characteristics. Studies on artistic talent use subjects who had distinguished themselves through class performance, auditions, or products. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Alternative Assessments with Gifted and Talented Students provides a concise and thorough introduction to methods for identifying and assessing the learning of gifted students in the school setting. Including overviews of assessment tools and alternative methods of assessment, as well as pertinent discussions concerning the need to identify gifted and talented students, this book combines research and experience from leading scholars in the field of gifted education in a convenient guide for teachers, administrators, and gifted education program directors. Topics covered include the need for nonverbal testing with traditionally unidentified students; the identification of students from minority populations; the value of using traditional assessments with students; the role of creativity tools as a measure of giftedness; and the use of portfolios, products, and performance-based assessment to document learning and modify instruction accordingly; among others. This guide to assessing and identifying gifted students is for anyone serving and working with this population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: cover)

This chapter addresses the major issues facing educators, administrators, and parents in nurturing mathematical talent in students at the elementary level. The focus is on presenting relevant research and guidance on the application of this research so that the reader will be able to make informed decisions that will benefit young mathematically gifted students. Providing appropriate curriculum for mathematically gifted students is complex, in part because the definition of mathematical giftedness is not universal. How one defines mathematical giftedness in turn affects how students are identified for services and how the actual services, including the curriculum, are rendered. Thus, to get a true picture of the research associated with curriculum for elementary mathematics gifted education, several areas need to be addressed. To varying degrees, the research addresses the following questions related to providing appropriate curriculum for mathematically gifted elementary students: (1) How can we identify students who are mathematically gifted? (2) What kinds of programming options for these students have research support? (3) What instructional approaches and grouping models work best for these options? and (4) What research-based curriculum is appropriate for mathematically gifted elementary students? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

What does it mean to be gifted? Is there something different about the neurobiology of a gifted person compared to us average people? If so, what is it? These are questions that have been debated for years and ones that I have attempted to address here. The approach discussed in the current chapter takes into consideration a number of general neural operating principles that may be used to guide future studies of giftedness. In this chapter I present a theory of neural processing that is derived from the use of functional neuroimaging, particularly functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The major proposal of this chapter is that how well the neural system can adapt to changes in the environment will affect the quality and efficiency of its processing, thereby constituting a major source of individual differences in cognitive processing. Adaptability is assessed here by examining neural efficiency, the malleability of processing networks, and functional connectivity. These measures are used because how well someone can adapt to fluctuations in the computational demands is thought to be correlated with these measures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Many in the field of gifted education have suggested that new conceptions of giftedness and a new paradigm for identifying and selecting students will help low socioeconomic and minority students become more represented in gifted programs. This new paradigm of identification would recognize the different ways in which students display giftedness and would call for more varied and authentic assessments. Based on our current understanding of the problem of underrepresentation of low-income and minority students in gifted programs and preliminary studies, the use of performance-based assessment as a nontraditional tool for enhancing the possibility of greater representation of such students in these programs appears to be a promising development. Performance assessments focus on challenging open-ended problems that require high-level thinking and problem solving, and put an emphasis on the process the student uses to come to an answer rather than on whether or not the student can quickly find the right answer. This chapter examines the academic and social-emotional impact of performance task assessment, utilizing data from a follow-up study of gifted students' identification and achievement profiles over 6 years and vignette analyses of students of special prototypes in terms of SES, ethnic membership, and ability profiles. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Giftedness is, in large part, a function of creativity in generating ideas, analytical intelligence in evaluating the quality of these ideas, practical intelligence in implementing the ideas and convincing others to value and follow the ideas, and wisdom to ensure that the decisions and their implementation is for the common good of all stakeholders. The model is referred to as WICS—wisdom, intelligence, creativity, synthesized—although the order of elements in the acronym is intended only to make it pronounceable. This chapter considers the elements of creativity, intelligence and wisdom, in that order, because it represents the order in which the elements often are initially used. As gifted performance evolves, however, the elements become interactive and so order becomes less relevant. The chapter then considers how the concepts can be employed in teaching and assessment, and finally, how they can be employed in identifying the gifted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

There is considerable evidence that intelligence as a brain function occurs through the synchronized integration of information processing, involving a myriad of interconnected functional modules. Consistently, the brains of gifted children show relatively higher levels of cerebral interconnectivity when engaged in cognitive tasks. An important part of the evidence for integrated brain function as the seat of intelligence comes from studies into cross-modal processing, where sensory information in one modality, e.g. vision, is processed in multiple sensory areas, e.g. auditory, sensory. Thus, so-called learning styles such as VAK (Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic) based on processing information in a single modality, fail to acknowledge how the brain actually works. This could explain why no independent evidence has been found for the learning efficacy of VAK and similar learning style inventories. Moreover, as an anti-integration pedagogy, VAK is implicitly anti-intellectual and anti-giftedness. Savants are an intriguing example of high-functioning individuals. Despite their extremes of performance, this chapter argues that in terms of their neural interconnectivity, the brains of savants are qualitatively different from those of children we usually classify as gifted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Ian Warwick has been working with inner city students and educators for many years now to develop a broad-based approach to gifted education that can be available to every student and teacher. He has written this chapter with Dona Matthews on an initiative currently in place in London. They observe that there are enormous benefits not only for families and students, but also for schools and for society as a whole when educators see cultural diversity as a strength to be capitalized on, rather than a problem to be solved. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: book)

This chapter reports on the outcomes of a three-year project, commissioned by the British government, involving fourteen local education districts drawn from a range of socioeconomic settings. The project was carried out as a set of action research projects, with practitioners working collaboratively with university academics, exploring practical strategies for enhancing educational provision for gifted children aged 4 to 7. Each project was designed to address the local schools' and education districts' needs within the context of a rapidly developing national agenda for gifted and talented education in the UK. Analysis of the fourteen case studies generated a number of issues with implications for classroom practice and policy. The findings from the projects enrich and extend the knowledge base and understanding of gifted and talented education in foundation and key stage one settings (4 to 7 years) in England and Wales. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This chapter addresses the issue of whether the dominant conception of 'gifted and talented' is justified by psychological research, and what effects holding this conception have for learners. It argues that both the research base and practical and moral considerations should lead us to exclude ideas of innate and unchangeable degrees of 'giftedness' from our educational practice as incorrect, inhuman and counter-productive. It is easy to forget that 'brightness' or 'giftedness' are inferences and attributions, not statements of self-evident fact. In this chapter we want to go back to the behaviors and dispositions on which these inferences and attributions are based and explore the ways in which they might have been learned, and thus could be subject to further systematic modification. We ask: To what extent do young people learn to act in ways that will lead parents and teachers to attribute 'brightness' to them? To what extent are such behaviors capable of further modification? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The contemporary Russian educational system is struggling with the many economic and social issues that resulted from the global instability following the collapse of the Soviet Union, when much of the financial, political, and social support for education in general and gifted education in particular eroded. This chapter addresses the current state of affairs in mathematics and science education for the gifted in post-Soviet Russia and describes (a) the infrastructure of gifted education; (b) the identification of giftedness; (c) the nature and scope of gifted and specialized programs (and schools), with a separate discussion of programs in mathematics and science; and (d) the trajectory of talent development and realization (i.e. performance in mathematics and science olympiads for youth compared with adult employment). The chapter expands and supplements the discussion offered in Yurkevich and Davidovich (this volume; see record 2008-17742-013) on general trends in the education of gifted children in Russia and focuses specifically on such trends in the teaching of mathematics and science, the domains in which gifted education in Russia has previously been recognized as one of the world-leaders (Grigorenko 2000). Today, there are many interesting innovations in teaching the social sciences and humanities to gifted children, but this field is still in development and needs further crystallization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Over the past few decades, there has been a change in prevailing definitions and understandings of intelligence, in the ways that giftedness is identified and in the programming that is recommended for exceptionally capable learners. After a brief description of the historical and conceptual underpinnings of this paradigm shift, we discuss here its practical consequences, including connections to current psychological research on mindsets, and to teaching that promotes both intellectual and emotional learning. Throughout, our focus is on what this means for understanding and supporting high-level development in diverse kinds of learners. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

(An earlier version of this chapter appears in K. Tirri and M. Ubani [eds.] [2007], Holistic Education and Giftedness.) In developed countries, education, like medical provision, is a key focus of social welfare. Recent years have seen a tendency to compare education to medicine in the call for evidence-based policy and practice (Hargreaves 1996; Slavin 2002). The problematical aspects of this are significant and have been explored elsewhere (Parlett and Hamilton 1987; Thomas 2004). In this chapter, I suggest an area for more fruitful comparison between the two domains: a consideration of how the ethical principles informing the medical profession might shed light on the ethics of gifted education. Since the time of Hippocrates, medical practitioners have been concerned to ground their activities in a set of ethical principles that govern the doctor-patient relationship and reflect wider conceptions of a good society. These principles may be grouped into four key areas: respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance (doing no harm) and justice. I consider here the extent to which these principles overlap with and might inform the ethics of gifted education. In particular, I seek to identify and explore key ethical issues and tensions in gifted education related to them, including respect for autonomy—consent and the right to underachieve; beneficence—what good is done by gifted education, and to whom; non-malfeasance—the character and competing claims of potential harms to gifted students and others; and justice—equal rights for giftedness as a special educational need, distributive justice, and parity of esteem. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The authors grapple with the fundamental questions surrounding creative giftedness and talent, addressing issues of definition, development, identification and education. They recommend infusing creativity into teacher development, as well as taking it into consideration in gifted identification and curriculum design and delivery, and also affirming the importance of supporting the development of creative giftedness in all students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: book)

After reviewing literature on Asperger syndrome, the author describes in some detail a case study of a child who has been diagnosed with Asperger's and shows evidence of giftedness. In a consideration of educational implications of this kind of dual exceptionality, she emphasizes the importance of attending to strengths and interests, as vehicles for learning to cope with challenges. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: book)

Global Success (GS) is a complex reflection of personal excellence, achieved as a result of tackling challenges. The GS concept has been built from a holistic perspective, and considers the multitude of forms that an individual's personal successes might take. GS addresses the complex linkage of each form to all other forms of personal success at a certain moment of an individual's life. The global interaction among all these forms of success affects each of the various aspects of every human being. GS, as a developing theory, suggests that the identification and multi-dimensional analysis of one's personal values, or axiological system, from a lifespan perspective, is important for understanding the interrelationship between success and giftedness. Usually, the concept of success is perceived as a sociological construct and is understood more as an outcome than as a dynamic developmental process. I think that global success involves many more dimensions than is captured in the usual social, external connotations of success. I propose that it be understood as incorporating a person's entire life construction. Also, we consider the impact of GS on what giftedness means from a gifted individual's point of view. In order to achieve a better understanding of the significance of personal global success to real-life contexts, such as the learning experience for gifted students in schools, we refer to current psychological theories of learning, and to curriculum models. We also recommend the development of life-long educational strategies to improve global success. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The author illustrates the importance of honoring cultural differences as they lead to different conceptions and experiences of what giftedness is, how it develops and how it is best fostered. His chapter on lay conceptions of gifted education in China provides a window on the kinds of fresh conceptions that can be useful to educators and psychologists everywhere. He concludes his chapter and this thematic section by discussing the Chinese practice of ren (benevolence), suggesting the integration of a socio-emotional component into gifted education by fostering the self-cultivation that transforms and changes one's beliefs, attitudes, and values, and leads to a deep concern for the well-being of others. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: book)

The author writes about findings from his survey and interviews with over 800 gifted and talented education coordinators throughout England, and about the problems that are caused in practice by their confusion over foundational principles, including definitions of terms. He argues for the importance of a developmental, practical definition that embodies an understanding of the dynamic nature of giftedness, and leads directly to effective implications for educators. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: book)

The author has been a strong advocate of evidence-based approaches to gifted education and counseling for many years now, and describes in this chapter the state of affairs in Germany. He makes a compelling case for systematic program evaluation, as well as serious attention to teacher and counselor training in gifted development that every jurisdiction would do well to heed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: book)

Grounded in her experience as a student and as an experienced educator, the author advocates that educators attend to motivational and other psychosocial factors in all students, observing that giftedness develops when students experience their educational challenges as interesting, relevant, and achievable. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: book)