Understanding Gifted Education: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Challenges

1. Chapter 1 Gifted Education: Matching Instruction with Needs

2. Rationale for Gifted Education • Society Reactions • Will they make it on their own? • “Sounds of Silence” • Changes in Attitudes • Equity versus Excellence • Response to Criticisms • Drop-out rates • A Nation At Risk • Benefits to teachers and other students

3. History of Giftedness and Gifted Education • Over the Centuries • Sparta’s athleticism • Athen’s disregard of social class • Rome’s education of both genders • China’s child prodigies and education for all • Japan’s social segregation of opportunities • Renaissance’s appreciation for creativity

4. History of Giftedness and Gifted Education • In America • Sparse in early America • Changes in 1920’s and 1930’s • In Europe • Streaming (aka Ability Grouping) • Reaction against class structures

5. Contemporary History of Gifted Education • Sir Francis Galton • Heredity • Alfred Binet • Standardized Tests • Lewis Terman • Longitudinal Study of Gifted Children • Leta Hollingworth • Nurturing Talent

6. Contemporary History of Gifted Education • Sputnik • Shock to America • Call for better programming • Debate over IQ • The Bell Curve • Mental Chronometry • Robert Sternberg • Successful Intelligence

7. Gifted Education in the 21st Century • National Excellence: A Case for Developing America’s Talent • Variability of gifted programming by state • Status of gifted education across the world

8. National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented • Joseph Renzulli, founder • www.nrcgt.org • Distribute “consumer-oriented” research concerning gifted education • Funded through Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act

9. Ability Grouping Debate Types of Ability Grouping • Homogeneous • Heterogeneous • Between-Class Grouping (i.e., Tracking) • Cross-Grade Grouping (i.e., Joplin Plan) • Within-Class Grouping

10. Ability Grouping Debate • Jeanie Oaks- Against Ability Grouping • Tracking is: • Ineffective • Discriminatory • Unfair in Principle • Research Concerning Ability Grouping • Raises achievement of high ability students • Does not lower achievement of low/average ability students • Raises self-esteem of lower ability students

11. No Child Left Behind • Focus on lowest performing groups • Resulted in gains in math and reading scores • Lessened gap for racial minority groups • No gains (and less funding) for high-ability students

12. World Competition for STEM Fields • “America Competes Act” • Thinking Skills • Critical Thinking • Problem Solving • Also includes emphasis on foreign languages

13. Definitions of Giftedness • Concerns about Definitions of Giftedness • Federal Definitions • Marland Report (1979) • Revised Definitions • Variability Across States

14. Explanations and Interpretations of Giftedness and Intelligence Five Categories of Definitions(Stankowski, 1978) • After-the-fact Definitions • IQ • Percentages • Talent • Creativity

15. Explanations and Interpretations of Giftedness and Intelligence Renzulli’s Three Ring Model • Above-average Ability • Task Commitment • Creativity • Gifted behaviors versus Giftedness • Not necessarily strong in all three areas

16. Explanations and Interpretations of Giftedness and Intelligence Gange’s DMTG Model • Gifts (natural abilities) • Talents (specific skills) • Influencing Factors • Personal • Environment • Chance

17. Explanations and Interpretations of Giftedness and Intelligence Tannenbaum’s Who, What, and How of Giftedness • Taxonomy of Giftedness • A producer of thoughts creatively or proficiently • A producer of tangibles creatively or proficiently • A performer of staged artistry creatively or proficiently • A performer of human services creatively or proficiently • Five Interweaving Factors • A superior general intellect • Strong special aptitudes • Supportive nonintellective traits • A challenging and supportive environment • Chance

18. Explanations and Interpretations of Giftedness and Intelligence Taylor’s Talent Totem Poles • Academic • Productive Thinking • Communicating • Forecasting • Decision Making • Planning • Implementing • Human Relations • Discerning Opportunities

19. Explanations and Interpretations of Giftedness and Intelligence Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences Bodily-Kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Naturalist • Linguistic • Logical-Mathematical • Spatial • Musical

20. Explanations and Interpretations of Giftedness and Intelligence Emotional Intelligence/Giftedness • Too high empathy • A strong sense of moral justice (ideals, beliefs) • A lively imagination • Overexcitability, • High sensuality • Intensely positive and negative emotional feelings

21. Explanations and Interpretations of Giftedness and Intelligence Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory • Analytic • Synthetic • Practical • Balance of the three to achieve giftedness • Implicit theory of giftedness

22. Explanations and Interpretations of Giftedness and Intelligence Hierarchy of Intelligence • Top Level: general intelligence • g • Middle Level: broad factors • verbal, spatial, etc. • Bottom Level: specific abilities • reading decoding, expressional fluency, etc.

23. Explanations and Interpretations of Giftedness and Intelligence Thinking Dispositions (Ritchart, 2001) • Creative Thinking • Critical Thinking • Reflective Thinking • Thinking dispositions comprise intellectual character

24. Summarizing the Research • The needs of the gifted are generally not met in America’s classrooms • Homogeneous grouping is good for gifted students • Acceleration increases achievement for gifted students • Enrichment increases achievement • Classroom teachers can learn to differentiate for gifted learners • Gifted education pedagogy can reverse underachievement (especially among under-represented populations) • Some gifted education pedagogy can benefit all students • Gifted students with learning disabilities who are not identified suffer emotional stress • Gifted programs benefit students long-term (i.e., college aspirations, career goals, and motivation)

25. Looking Towards the Future • Talent Development vs. Gifted Education • Agenda for Adminstrators and Teachers • VanTassel-Baska, 2007