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At the outset of the chapter, it is pointed out that the concepts of gifts and talents have their origins in mythology, theology, and metaphysics. The main reason for their adoption into science was the compulsion to find explanatory concepts for the phenomenon that some persons attain a level of efficiency in a specific domain that normally cannot be achieved, even with extreme learning efforts and the best of support. To explain this phenomenon, the Actiotope Model of Giftedness places the focus on the actions of an individual and their evolution. The development of excellence is understood as an adaptation of a dynamic system, which intensifies in complexity through interactions with the objective structure of a domain, whereby with increasing excellence, the individual will also increasingly effect changes in the objective structure of the domain itself. This chapter also considers the coadaptation and coevolution of the components of the Actiotope, such as the action repertoire and its determinants, goals, subjective action space, and environment, as well as the interaction of these components within a network. Gifts and talents, which are traditionally understood as attributes of an individual, therefore, have several mothers and fathers. It is now time to recognize them by their true names. It is also time to give their talented children the chance to attain excellence by providing them with an individually tailored promotion of their entire Actiotope. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)

In this chapter, advanced development and giftedness within the context of the school are discussed. The authors contention is that advanced development is the fundamental concept for understanding giftedness, and they attempt to explain our position by offering a definition, describing the roots of the definition--explaining the changes in our thinking--that have led to a deeper understanding of giftedness and schooling, and proposing a modified definition. The authors also discuss some implications of the ideas they have proposed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)

The Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) was established at Johns Hopkins University in 1971 by Professor Julian Stanley to help youths who reason extremely well mathematically find the educational resources they need to achieve their full potential. After administering above-grade-level tests to identify students with advanced mathematical reasoning abilities, SMPY provided counseling and created programs to meet their academic needs. Eventually, university-based talent centers were established around the country to continue the practices SMPY pioneered. Because SMPY's methods for developing talent evolved over time in a very pragmatic way, that is, in response to the needs of individual students, the psychological and conceptual bases for this approach have not been especially emphasized in the literature. The first book-length report of SMPY's initial work was titled Mathematical Talent: Discovery, Description, and Development (Stanley et al., 1974). The three "D" words indicate the steps utilized by SMPY to find and serve talented youths. As a way to emphasize these steps, as well as the mathematical reasoning ability that the early talent searches involved, the book's title and this model of talent development was sometimes abbreviated to MT:D³. Later, a fourth D was added in acknowledgment of an increasingly important dimension: Dissemination of its principles, practices, and procedures. In this chapter, the conceptual and operational components of this model are summarized. It is meant to help youths who reason extremely well mathematically and/or verbally develop their talents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)

The conception of giftedness proposed is one based on student learning and performance needs, hence the label child-responsive model. The model accepts, while adapting, some basic premises of two existing paradigms of giftedness that have competed for attention in the schools. It is predicated on the belief that the school environment should recognize the behaviors and characteristics of the exceptional learner from these two realms and respond to the concomitant learner needs in each group by creating learning environments that will maximize the opportunities for exceptional learners to extend their achieved and potential expertise in areas of high performance. Within this model, there are two clusters of gifted students. The two clusters of gifted students are designated the academic activists and the problem-solving innovators. The two paths that gifted students may follow in this model are the academic-accelerative path and the creative-productive path. Each path is of equal importance and deserves equal attention in the planning for addressing the needs of gifted students in our schools. Within this model, the authors attend specifically to the groups of students within each of those categories who can be reasonably served by the current school structure. In this chapter, the authors discuss the the two clusters of gifted students, and two paths that gifted students may follow in this model in great detail. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)

Too often, regular classroom teachers are unaware of the existence of a unique population: children who are gifted and have a learning disability. Giftedness can be defined as potential or demonstrated ability to achieve excellence in any area of human endeavor (Whitmore, 1981). A learning disability is generally defined as a severe discrepancy of at least one standard deviation between full-scale intelligence and performance in one or more areas. Thus, the "twice-exceptional" gifted/LD student fits both definitions due to high potential or ability concurrent with the experience of learning problems. While gifted/LD students have characteristics of both gifted and learning-disabled students, they also have their own unique characteristics. Therefore, they must be treated as a separate population. Although the research has acknowledged this population (Whitmore, 1981) and developed procedures for identification (Barton & Starnes, 1988), this information has not been transported into many classrooms. Children who are both gifted and learning disabled are often overlooked and underserved. The majority of school districts have no procedures in place for meeting the education needs of this group; but, at the same time, they have indicated an interest in improving in this area (Boodoo, Bradley, Frontera, Pitts & Wright, 1987). The key to meeting the educational needs of the gifted/LD population is thorough dissemination of information and strategies to regular classroom teachers through the use of staff development provided by the gifted coordinator. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Schools face difficult decisions about the appropriate placement of students in mathematics classes. Although one of the educational goals for the United States was to be "first in the world in mathematics and science achievement by the year 2000", the evidence from a variety of sources demonstrates that this goal has not been realized. Neither the practice of tracking nor that of heterogeneously grouping mathematics students has led to quantifiably higher standardized testing outcomes over the last decade. This chapter examines differentiating mathematics for gifted students in heterogeneously grouped mathematics classrooms. In particular, it poses and answers the question, "What is a teacher to do?" (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This reprinted article originally appeared in Gifted Child Today, 1999, vol. 22, no. 5. As gifted children grow into adolescence and adulthood, they often experience the need to create a make-believe self to inhabit in the everyday world in order to hide their individuality and uniqueness. They must create a façade, a mask that hides their giftedness, the true self. Gifted females, in particular, are at high risk of losing themselves behind a mask of conformity. If left alone, many gifted girls will find the façade they effected slowly taking over their personality until all they perceive is this false self. By the time adulthood is reached, they have successfully obliterated their true self. This can cause many problems, including depression, loss of perceived ability, self-doubt, lowered self-worth, and feelings of hopelessness and loss. The numerous frustrations, stresses, and special problems coping with life that gifted females encounter have only recently received much attention and study. It is important for counselors to realize that, although most females encounter some strife growing up, "[gifted girls] can, however, experience emotional problems capable of crippling the human spirit" (Schauer, 1976, cited in Strip, Swassing, & Kidder, 1991, p.124). In order for gifted girls to develop into healthy, fulfilled, intellectualized adults, there are a variety of needs that must be addressed. Of greatest importance, they should be assisted in peeling away the mask and discovering who they are so that they may eventually learn to accept and like that true self. It is not just important, but critical that specialized counseling services be available for gifted females of all ages, as well as for their families. It is important that counselors be aware of the special needs and strengths of this population. Without an adequate understanding of the gifted female "experience," the proper help cannot be offered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)

Asperger's Syndrome (AS) is a pervasive developmental disorder on the autism spectrum characterized by social deficits, relatively normal language and cognitive development, and the presence of idiosyncratic interests. Repetitive speech or actions and pedantic speech, often concerning the person's intense interests in a restricted subject matter, and clumsiness may co-occur (Klin, Volkmar, & Sparrow, 2000; Myles & Simpson, 1998). AS may occur in gifted individuals. This chapter examines the characteristics of gifted children with Asperger's Syndrome and appropriate strategies for serving them. The two conditions tend to mask one another, making identification of either more difficult, particularly because most professionals are trained in either giftedness or autism spectrum disorders, but rarely in both. In this chapter, I will review the history of Asperger's Syndrome, describe the characteristics of people with AS and discuss their identification, and then describe some common characteristics and suggested educational modifications recommended for members of this subgroup. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

As late as the 1990s, the term "gifted learning disabled" was a relatively new idea in special education (Fall & Nolan, 1993). Consequently, gifted students with learning disabilities have presented a challenge to both regular and special-education teachers because many educators are unaware that such a population exists. If educators are to meet the special needs of these students, we must be able to identify them and provide appropriate intervention. Silverman (1989) pointed out that the coincidence of dual exceptionalities occurs more frequently than we realize. One problem is the assumption that gifted students demonstrate overall high achievement levels. This is based to a great extent on the early longitudinal studies of giftedness initiated by Lewis Terman at Standford University. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily true. For example, Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 3 years old, and he was never a good student in school. He had problems with spelling and writing well into adulthood, although he had exceptional abilities in nonverbal areas (Fox, Brody, & Tobin, 1983) Identified gifted students who have unidentified learning disabilities may exhibit a discrepancy between their perceived potential and actual performance. These students are often told that they are not trying hard enough or that they are lazy (Williams, 1988). Others use their unidentified giftedness to compensate for their learning disabilities and succeed in functioning at or slightly below grade level (Baum, 1989; Landrum, 1989; Silverman, 1989; Suter & Wolf, 1987; Well, 1987), obscuring both their giftedness and their learning disabilities. In this case, gifted students with learning disabilities are left out of the identification process because teachers do not recognize the need to have them screened for either exceptionality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The era of No Child Left Behind legislation is an excellent time to examine the field of gifted education. Bines (1991) lamented that, after more that 70 years of research, there is not even consensus on an operational definition of giftedness or the most reliable method for identifying gifted students. Evidence does support the following statement: There are some youngsters who are born with the capability to learn faster than others those ideas or concepts that societies value in children and in adults (Baldwin, 1994). According to Dalzell (1998), giftedness may be defined simply as intellectual precocity. Incumbent upon educators remains the challenge to resolve these lingering obstacles in order to best serve the students who are identified as gifted and therefore entitled to gifted education services. Topics discussed in this chapter include the nature of giftedness, the evolution of giftedness in the U.S., identifying giftedness, and designing classrooms for exceptional students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)

Nine-year-old Stephen reads orchestral scores as he hums the music aloud in perfect tune. Reading musical scores is one of Stephens favorite activities, vying only with reading college-level computer programming manuals. At an age when most children are concentrating on fourth-grade arithmetic, Stephen has already earned a prize in music theory that is coveted by adults (Winner, 1998). Brian was prescribed Ritalin when he was young to assist in controlling his hyperactive behavior. He also received resource room support in grades 3 and 4. Currently, his sixth-grade teacher reports that distractibility and basic reading skills still pose problems for him, yet his WISC-R scores include a Verbal IQ of 118 and a Performance of 128 (Crawford & Snart, 1994). Brad does not have the motor control to paint, draw, or do geometric constructions, yet he did well in both art and geometry. He cannot speak, yet he attained As in both speech and French (Willard-Holt, 1998). Question: Which of these children are girted? Answer: All of them. These children are examples of individuals who are asynchronous or uneven in some aspect of their development. They defy the notion of what Winner (1998) termed "global giftedness," a phrase that denotes ability or talent in all academic areas. In today's educational system, the myth of global giftedness is quite prevalent. While some students are talented in all academic areas, many more are not. Unevenness tends to be the rule rather than the exception. Thus, many children, due to a deficit in some aspect of development, are excluded from gifted programming--something many of them desperately need. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

In this fully revised and expanded second edition, Being Gifted in School: An Introduction to Development, Guidance, and Teaching reviews the past developments within the field of gifted education and identifies the current trends, issues, and beliefs that are faced in the 21st century. By recognizing both typical and atypical gifted students, Laurence J. Coleman, Ph.D., and Tracy L. Cross, Ph.D., encourage readers to defy traditional assumptions about gifted children and their education. The book is organized to provide a framework for those who are responsible for nurturing the development of gifts and talents in the home, school, and community. It provides insight for educators with questions regarding curriculum and instruction implementation, administrators facing program planning, parents with interest in their child's educational opportunities, and advanced undergraduate and graduate students curious about trends within gifted education. Included are chapters on definitions and models of giftedness; identifying the gifted; creativity; administrative arrangements and program prototypes; and teaching methods and best practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: cover)

It is easy to assume that gifted students will be successful at school, because--by definition--they learn and understand things more quickly and more easily than their age-mates do. But, school accomplishment is no guarantee; motivation plays a critical role in success. Because motivation is so complex, there are various routes to enhance or stifle it, and teachers, parents, and peers travel many of those routes. In this chapter we focus on understanding gifted students' motivation, and address what others can do to promote these students' adaptive motivation, with an emphasis on the middle- and high-school grades. We take the approach that gifted adolescents are characterized by high ability in one or more areas of human endeavor, but vary dramatically in their motivational profiles, showing patterns of motivation that range from optimal to maladaptive. This perspective allows us to consider underachieving gifted students who exhibit maladaptive motivational patterns. It is also consistent with dynamic and incremental approaches to viewing giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

As with all decisions about programming or selecting curriculum for gifted students, the choices made at the secondary level should be internally consistent and consonant with beliefs about giftedness and the most appropriate goals for gifted students. While all of the program models offered at the secondary level are unique, they are all based on a belief that gifted students are unique in their learning characteristics and that the traditional or standard school curriculum as delivered in a lock-step fashion in the heterogeneous classroom is insufficient to meet the needs that arise from the distinguishing characteristics that these learners present. The ways in which the differences are defined and the suggested responses differ across models, although the models share some common attributes or assumptions that allow general categorization as either enrichment or acceleration models. This chapter discusses a variety of program models that have been developed and implemented at the secondary level. The most critical concern of all schools should be to evaluate the outcomes of the options that are offered. Current research does not clearly support any one of the available options as the best or most appropriate for the achievement of the goals we have outlined for successful education for gifted students. Clearly, differences in definitions of giftedness and beliefs about giftedness, as well as the expectations and meaning of success in any community will drive the goal-setting and evaluation processes. A clear evaluation plan that has been approved by the stakeholders in the education of gifted students will be the best test of whether or not a given set of options is successful in addressing the needs of these students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This ground-breaking textbook is designed to help education professionals interested in building effective and comprehensive educational opportunities for gifted secondary students. This book offers an in-depth, research-based look at ways schools and classrooms can support the development of gifted adolescents. The Handbook of Secondary Gifted Education is the most comprehensive critical resource on this topic available. Topics include understanding the gifted adolescent, social/emotional issues, adolescent issues, best practices for curriculum and instruction and programming options (both school-wide and in specific subject areas), teacher education, and professional development. The purpose of the book is to provide a research-based handbook that views gifted adolescents and their needs as the starting point for building an effective, integrated educational program. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: cover)

Adolescence happens to gifted middle and high school students, just as it does to their nongifted peers. In fact, the adolescent period may be more prolonged among high ability youth, because their career goals may require a longer period of economic dependency during advanced schooling. How well do the conceptions of giftedness previously developed in the field of gifted education pertain to the adolescent years? Do we need conceptions of giftedness that focus specifically on adolescents? In this chapter, we provide a brief overview of the developmental tasks of adolescence. Then we review some of the conceptions of giftedness that have been developed by leaders in the field of gifted education and analyze their relevance to gifted adolescents. Finally, we offer a framework for gifted education at the secondary level that focuses on the developmental tasks facing high ability students during the adolescent period. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The term twice-exceptional refers to students who have or show potential for remarkable gifts and talents in specific areas, but whose deficits and difficulties in learning, paying attention, or meeting social and emotional expectations impede their development. For too many practitioners, however, the terms deficits and giftedness are incompatible, therefore being twice-exceptional is an impossible phenomenon. In fact, many youngsters who are bright, but who have been diagnosed with some sort of disability are more likely to receive special education services than talent development opportunities. Likewise some gifted students use their talents to mask their learning difficulties and struggle in school to compensate for undiagnosed problems, thus obscuring their need for special education support. Twice-exceptional students have a unique set of academic, social, and emotional needs. The very dichotomy of abilities and disabilities that comprise their dual diagnosis sets them apart from their peers who are identified as gifted and from those who receive special education services. In fact, twice-exceptional students require dual differentiation in order to meet their often-contradictory sets of needs. This chapter discusses these unique needs and describes how developmental needs of adolescence exacerbate the issues. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

In this chapter, research from the last two decades concerning gifted and talented male and female adolescents is summarized, with particular attention paid to how gender, giftedness, and adolescence interact. Current research is summarized about academically talented adolescents in areas such as test differences; abilities and beliefs about abilities; the effects of stereotyping; peer, parent, and teacher influences; and career choices. Some prior conclusions are reaffirmed, present contradictory research evidence is discussed; older findings are reviewed in light of new information; questions are raised about the importance, significance, and broader applicability of prior conclusions; and future research is suggested about the interaction of gender, adolescence, and giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This chapter attempts to survey the scientific literature of the past few decades on the process of talent development in sports. We structure that overview around Gagné's (2003) Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT). We examine separately the relevant literature associated with each of the DMGT's five causal components: (a) natural abilities or gifts, (b) the developmental process itself, (c) intrapersonal catalysts, (d) environmental catalysts, and (e) chance factors. This survey brought us to a crucial integrative question: What makes the difference between reaching and not reaching high levels of talent in sports? We had to acknowledge that there was not yet a very clear and final answer to that complex question, and that the best way to summarize the existing literature was to speak of complex interactions between the components, acting differently from one athlete to the next, and from one stage to the next in a sports career. Of what use can this chapter be to educators in schools? What suggestions can the field of sports offer to teachers of gifted and talented adolescents, and to the professionals and school administrators responsible for planning, funding, and implementing enrichment programs in the school system? Two major observations come to mind. First, it seems clear that the vast majority of trainers and coaches in sports readily recognize the large breadth of individual differences in natural physical abilities. The second observation concerns the way professionals in sports foster the talent development process. Two key concepts could summarize typical programming activities in sports: ability grouping and accelerative enrichment. Implications of these observations are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Although many gifted students are provided adequate school opportunities and most do not develop social or emotional problems as they move through childhood and adolescence, it is a myth that gifted students will make it without positive and supportive interventions from school and family. Although gifted students may achieve in school, schools are failing these students, as well as society and schools themselves, when they do not provide gifted students the opportunities to achieve their full potential. The evidence indicates that schools are not responding fully to the educational and learning needs suggested by the defining characteristics of giftedness. Failure to respond to those needs creates an environment that is likely to foster frustration, underachievement, and social and emotional problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)