Curriculum and instruction for the gifted: The role of school psychologists

This paper explores the school psychologist's role in the academic and psychosocial development of students identified as gifted and talented via curriculum. Given the school psychologists' assessment expertize, they can inform the identification to service placement process for students, including advocacy for curricular and instructional opportunities that best meet the student's needs. We discuss modern conceptualizations of giftedness and talent development, the function of curriculum and instruction in meeting the needs of students who are gifted and the school psychologist's role in identifying which curricular adaptations are appropriate for students based on learner data. We also discuss how a school psychologist can work with educators to support the needs of twice exceptional learners and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning students and recommend professional learning opportunities for school psychologists to remain abreast of current issues in gifted education.     

The role of emotions,motivation, and learning behavior in underachievement and results of an intervention

Research has shown that various individual factors play an important role in the underachievement of gifted students. Most often discussed as predictors of underachievement are motivation, learning behavior, and emotions. To examine which specific constructs from these fields simultaneously predict underachievement among gifted fourth graders, logistic regression was performed on data from eighty-five highly intelligent students out of thirty-four classrooms. Students reported on their self-efficacy, learning goal orientation, use of text-reduction strategies, anxiety, boredom, anger, and enjoyment. Emerging predictors of underachievement were self-efficacy, use of text-reduction strategies, and anxiety. As these constructs are all connected to self-regulated learning in different ways, an intervention was implemented which successfully encourages self-regulated learning among students of differing cognitive abilities. Assessing the intervention’s effectiveness for different ability levels was important as the intervention was not a pull-out program, but was integrated into regular classroom instruction in which all students in these classes participated. Results from multilevel longitudinal models showed positive intervention effects for learning behavior among gifted underachievers, but no intervention effects on self-efficacy and anxiety could be detected.     

Navigating the Gifted Bubble: Black Adults Reflecting on Their Transition Experiences in NYC Gifted Programs

Through the reflections of 17 Black adults who attended gifted schools in New York City, this qualitative study investigated how they transitioned into and through gifted programs as students. Findings suggest four themes: (a) Many students were referred to gifted programs during their elementary school experience either by their teachers or by their parents; (b) participants expressed having an easy transition into gifted programs in elementary because their schools and gifted programs were racially diverse and provided a welcoming school environment; (c) during middle and high school, participants noted difficulty transitioning through school as gifted students, due to being one of few Black students in their gifted programs, as well as having to attend schools outside of their neighborhood; and (d) despite this, through supportive relationships and community partnerships, they were able to find the space to survive (and thrive) in their programs. Recommendations are provided for educators to support gifted Black students.     

Current research on the social and emotional development of gifted and talented students: Good news and future possibilities

A recent summary of research produced by a task force of psychologists and educational researchers associated with the National Association for Gifted Children and the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented indicated that high‐ability students are generally at least as well adjusted as any other group of youngsters. This research also found, however, that gifted and talented students can face a number of situations that may constitute sources of risk to their social and emotional development. Some of these issues emerge because of a mismatch with educational environments that are not responsive to the pace and level of gifted students' learning and thinking. Others occur because of unsupportive social, school, or home environments. In this article, current research about the social and emotional development of gifted and talented students is summarized and suggestions are made about strategies to enhance these students' school experiences. Suggestions are provided for assessment and educational programming based on students' strengths and interests that may result in helping talented students realize their potential. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 119–130, 2004.     

Being Black, Male, and Gifted in Miami: Prevalence and Predictors of Placement in Elementary School Gifted Education Programs

Although it is well established that Black male students are underrepresented in gifted educational programs in the United States, due to a scarcity of longitudinal prospective research, little is known about the protective factors at the child, family, and school level that increase the probability of Black male students being identified as gifted during early elementary school. Using data from the Miami School Readiness Project, we followed 6,926 low-income Black males from preschool through 5th grade to describe trajectories for the 453 Black males (6.5 %) who were identified as gifted, and examined child, family, and preschool variables associated with gifted classification. Boys were most commonly identified as gifted in first and second grade, and 15 % of the identified boys did not appear to be receiving gifted courses. Hierarchical multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that being classified as gifted in early elementary school was more likely for Black males who (a) attended public school pre-K programs at age four, (b) had higher cognitive, language, fine motor, behavioral, and emergent literacy school readiness skills before entering kindergarten, (c) spoke a language other than English at home, (d) were older upon entering kindergarten, (e) received higher grades in school, and (f) scored higher on standardized tests of math and reading. Predictors of gifted identification in the kindergarten year were different and weaker compared to identification in later years. Implications for early identification and intervention for talented Black males are discussed.     

Using books to nurture the social and emotional development of gifted students

One of the ways teachers can help gifted students to deal with the challenges of growing up is through bibliotherapy. Such facilitated dialogue about literature is discussed in this article. Following a brief discussion of the definition of bibliotherapy, a few basic guidelines for selecting appropriate materials to use with students are given. The practice of bibliotherapy involves several steps but the discussion step led by the teacher is crucial in helping students to interact with the literature. To illustrate the interactive process, a menu of discussion questions for each of six books is given; suggested activities are included for each book. Through this process of interacting with literature, teachers can help students to grow emotionally and socially.     

Fostering the social and emotional development of gifted children through guided viewing of film

Teachers of gifted elementary school students seek strategies appropriate for fostering healthy social and emotional development in children. The authors propose guided viewing of film as a strategy through which teachers and counselors may assist young gifted students in gaining helpful insights to deal with problems they face. This article presents a theoretical foundation for this approach, a variety of strategies for implementation, and a collection of films appropriate for use with gifted students.     

A Complex quest: The development and research of underachievement interventions for gifted students

The seeming lack of motivation of many academically gifted students is an area of frustration and concern for many parents, teachers, and psychologists. This article explores two studies in which researchers designed interventions to improve academic achievement. Both interventions were created using the Achievement‐Orientation Model. The first study matched the intervention to the student and found that the students' grades increased over the intervention period, t(45) = 2.56, p = .014, d = .38. Students using treatments linked to goal valuation and environmental perceptions showed the greatest academic grade growth; the self‐efficacy and self‐regulation groups showed little or no grade improvement. Building on the finding that goal valuation was important, the second study used a mixed‐methods design to pilot an intervention focused on goal valuation and student autonomy. The results of this study were mixed, as the intervention appeared to help two of the three students. Although these studies offer further insight into possibilities for promoting academic achievement among gifted students, further research examining how to best support and foster academic achievement in underachieving gifted students is needed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Serving the gifted: A national survey of school psychologists

Gifted students are among the most underserved population in American schools and are some of the most underperforming in the world, ranking last in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra, and Geometry among 13 other developed countries. To improve services for the gifted, possible gaps in training and service delivery must be identified. There is a lack of research addressing many of the practical aspects of the delivery of services to the gifted. There is also a lack of research examining how well school psychologists are prepared to provide services to gifted and talented students. We conducted a national survey of school psychologists to evaluate the amount of time school psychologists allocate for gifted assessment and consultation. We also collected information about graduate school and professional development on gifted topics, familiarity with prominent figures in the gifted field, and gifted assessment methods. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Rural gifted students who are deaf or hard of hearing: how electronic technology can help

Electronic technology can be used to overcome many of the barriers and other factors that restrict delivery of services to rural schools; it can also expand the world of rural gifted students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Online college and high school Web sites that offer courses are listed, as well as a Web site for tutoring and one offering help for teachers of rural gifted students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Recommendations are made for ways that legislatures and rural school districts can make Internet resources and assistive technology more widely available in rural educational settings.     

A case for the teaching of Latin to the verbally talented

There is little doubt that the verbally gifted have been identified through traditional identification measures. In addition to the heavy verbal emphasis on intelligence tests, lists of characteristics of gifted populations have always included several traits that relate to high verbal ability: early reading, large vocabulary, high level reading comprehension, and verbal interests such as voracious reading on a wide variety of topics (Gold, 1962; Gallagher, 1975; Clarke, 1979). What has not occurred is a systematic study of appropriate program intervention strategies for such students, particularly at the highest levels of ability. This article argues for the inclusion of Latin as a specific verbal intervention to enhance the capabilities of talented students in vocabulary and linguistic competence in English. Furthermore, the paper will argue that the study of Latin directly addresses many of the characteristics of gifted students and meets the criteria for appropriate curriculum for them.     

Mentorship: mutual benefits for ASL students and gifted students (part 1)

Postsecondary American Sign Language (ASL) students are capable of teaching short lessons related to sign language and deaf culture to gifted students in elementary school. College students who work as interest-area mentors benefit gifted students while building their own academic discipline and professional skills. In Part 1 of a 2-part series of articles, the authors explain the unique needs shared by students in gifted education programs (GEPs), the concept of interest-area mentorship, and how mentors help meet the needs of gifted students in light of National Association for Gifted Children standards. Benefits for ASL students, gifted students, and GEP teachers are discussed. College instructors also benefit, because mentoring experiences help make mentors better students and professionals. Additionally, mentoring in gifted classes facilitates recruiting of the next generation of professionals. In this case, recruiting occurs with the best and brightest: gifted students.     

Library Media Specialists: Premier Information Specialists for the Information Age

The information age has given library media specialists an unprecedented opportunity to play a leading role in helping teachers, administrators, and especially students access and use information intelligently. As the school??s premier information specialist; the library media specialist has a unique role to play in helping everyone in the school develop a true twenty-first century habit of mind: a habit of thinking about information itself as a basic and powerful tool for learning deeply and living well in the information age. This article explores this role in the ??brave new?? digital age and offers a number of collaborative strategies that can help the library media specialist work with the entire school community.     

Training effects on Belgian preschool and primary school teachers’ attitudes towards the best practices for gifted children

Lack of knowledge of effective educational interventions for gifted children is a pressing problem in Belgian schools. Most preschool and primary school teachers enter the profession without any training in the best practices for gifted children. This results in many misconceptions about giftedness and gifted education and a diversity of well-intentioned but ineffective interventions in the classroom. In response to the request for help from many schools, the Belgian expertise center “Exentra” designed a professional training program for in-service teachers with the aim to increase teachers’ understanding of the characteristics and needs of gifted pupils, and help teachers develop the necessary confidence and skills to effectively teach the gifted in regular, mixed-ability classes. This study shows that the Exentra training is effective in changing teachers’ beliefs about gifted education and enhancing teachers’ knowledge, abilities, and self-esteem to effectively modify the curriculum for the more capable pupils in the classroom.     

Exploring Specialized Schools for the Gifted and Talented

Consultation is a collaborative problem‐solving process with the ultimate goal of providing better services to students. Collaboration between specialists in gifted education and general education school personnel is a way to assist teachers meet the special needs of gifted students in the classroom and improve the general education program. A model for consultation to better serve students in gifted education is presented that encourages shared responsibility among school personnel. Implementation of the model is discussed including implications for training of administrators, specialists in gifted education, and general educators.     

A five year follow‐up study of the Nebraska project: Still a long way to go...

Numerous projects funded by the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act in 1989 contributed to answering important questions in the field of gifted education. However, little evaluation has examined how their findings are used or linked to current educational practices. This pilot‐study followed up on 18 students, identified as potentially gifted during the 1992 Javits‐sponsored Nebraska Project which used a teacher observation protocol. This follow‐up study examined the students' current status in gifted education programs, academic performance, and social/behavioral attributes, and the stability of the attributes associated with able/creative students over the past five‐year period. Results indicate a continued use of traditional identification practices in the school districts studied, and a presence of underachieving behaviors in students believed to be gifted during the Nebraska Project but not recognized as such currently by their school districts. The attributes associated with able/creative students in 1992, however, were found to be stable over the five year period. Results are discussed in light of the paradigm shift in gifted education practices and possible suggestions for reducing perpetual research‐practice gaps.     

浅谈勤工助学在育人工作中的作用——以广东外语外贸大学云山咖啡屋为视角

勤工助学工作已经成为当前高校学生工作的重要组成部分,是十分重要的济困育人方式。广东外语外贸大学的创业型勤工助学中心不同于传统的勤工助学模式,它充分立足于学校和学生实际,在帮学业、促就业、扶创业、助成才等方面发挥着重要的育人作用。     

Gifted underachievement within a self-regulated learning framework: Proposing a task-dependent model to guide early identification and intervention

Current theoretical and operational definitions of underachievement require that students show sustained suppressed academic achievement. Yet, early detection may allow for effective intervention before underachievement becomes a chronic issue. While existing identification procedures were not designed to detect underachievement before low academic performance occurs, the integration of self-regulated learning (SRL) into these practices may promote earlier identification and intervention. This conceptual paper (a) anchors gifted underachievement within Zimmerman's SRL model, (b) examines existing gifted literature investigating SRL components to demonstrate the benefits of applying an SRL model, and (c) proposes a comprehensive measurement and intervention technique to capture important motivational variables at the task level. By measuring SRL processes and underachievement at a task-specific level, we can target interventions to specific needs, address underachievement before it becomes a persistent problem, and help learners reach their academic potential.     

Physica: A Computer Environment for Physics Problem-Solving

Physica is an integrated software package designed as part of a course for distance learning students from non-traditional educational backgrounds. It gives students access to an extensive hyperlinked physics glossary, computer algebra and graph-plotting tools. The package aims to give students a framework for solving physics problems and to help them acquire some higher level skills of quantitative problem-solving. This paper outlines rationales underlying various protocols for solving physics problems, and discusses the extent to which frameworks may be useful in helping students develop appropriate strategies for representing problems in formal terms, selecting targets, planning solutions and checking answers. Pedagogical issues underlying the design and implementation of the software are discussed.