Identification and fostering of mathematically gifted students

In a three year research project, annual mathematics talent searches for highly able and motivated twelve year old students were conducted. Of these, 150 took part in a long term Saturday enrichment program to train their mathematical abilities in problem finding and problem solving. The article first discusses the educational and organizational constraints of programs for gifted children. Mathematical giftedness is defined by high achievement in two tests: The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-M) and the HTMB, a set of seven problems specially devised for the talent search. The philosophy of the teaching program is explained and illustrated by examples. Preliminary results indicate the considerable success of the program. Possible consequences for normal classroom teaching are indicated.     

The views of Pasifika students in New Zealand about communicating mathematically

This paper focuses on the perspectives of Years 7 and 8 Pasifika students on mathematics learning, in particular their views about the communication of solution strategies with others (their peers), and their teacher. Pasifika students' ideas about the importance of communicating their mathematical reasoning and strategies to peers and teachers were analysed and themes identified. While most students were in agreement about the importance of explaining their thinking to others, there was considerable variation in the reasons they gave for their views. The findings are interpreted in relation to socio-cultural theory and recent writing about requirements for citizenship in the twenty-first century.     

Gifted and talented students: Implications for school counselors

Educators will have a better understanding of the dysynchrony of young gifted children's cognitive, socio‐emotional, and motor development by carefully observing the various traits of these children.     

Enrichment programming for gifted and talented high school students

The author describes a special program for gifted and talented high school students that is based on Renzulli's Enrichment Triad Model. In the Seminar I class for freshmen, enrichment activities emphasize training in research and computer skills. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the Seminar II class spend more time on Type III projects.     

The least restrictive environment for gifted and talented students

An instructional model for teaching creative thinking techniques and strategies is described based on the theory that teaching for creative development requires a systematic organization.     

A structural analysis of visual spatial ability in academically talented students

The structure of spatial ability in a population of academically talented youth was explored. Methods of Facet Theory and Multidimensional Similarity Structure Analysis (SSA) were used to analyze the correlational structure of performance on 14 types of figural spatial tests in 2 samples of subjects. As in previous research, a cylindrical wedge model was found to describe the underlying structure well. The facet of dimensionality was represented in a polar way with the three-dimensional tasks in the core of a radex-like configuration and the two-dimensional tests in the periphery. The facet of mental rotation was identified to play a modular role as two different subregions in the SSA solutions, one representing two-dimensional rotation and one representing three-dimensional rotation. Memory load was represented in a similar fashion in one of the projections. Speededness emerged as a separate dimension in one of the plots. Indications for the existence of one more facet were found. The results agreed quite well with findings of previous research in this area.     

自然主题教学在体育特长生化学课中的探索

2003年9月，双阳二中和平凉中学合并成立了上海体育学院附属中学，原是普通中学的初中教师不得不接受了教学体育特长生们的挑战。开学之初，课堂现状让我震惊：看报的、睡觉的、发短信的、聊天的、听音乐的，甚至吃早饭的，无奇不有。我恍然不知所措，好好规劝却无视你的存在，严厉一喝，今天太平了明天再来，我哪有那么强壮的体力与他们天天大呼小叫呀!而且如此一来，上课的情绪全没了，教学效果谈何而来？在痛苦中挣扎了几个月，     

Predictors of classroom stress and burnout experienced by gifted and talented students

Classroom stress and burnout experienced by 121 gifted and talented students were assessed in combination with seven background variables (i.e., sex, age, IQ, etc.), five personal variables (i.e., creative personality typology, locus of control, family environment, other-rated behavioral, academic self-esteem, and self-rated self-esteem), three general anxiety and stress variables (i.e., state/trait anxiety, life change events), and two organizational variables (i.e., classroom tedium and quality of school life). The student's age, sex, birth order, IQ, and achievement level bore little relationship to either stress or burnout. Poor self-esteem, an externalized locus of control, high levels of state and trait anxiety, poor school life quality, and tedium proved to be significant predictors of classroom stress. These, plus problems in the family environment and high classroom stress levels, predicted significant levels of classroom burnout. Males reported a greater number and different types of stress and burnout sources than did females, indicating differentiated sex-related problems with stress and burnout.     

The measure of classroom stress and burnout among gifted and talented students

The development of the Student Stress Inventory (SSI) and the cross-validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) are presented. First, gifted student data (n = 311) were subjected to factor analyses for both the SSI and the MBI to assess factorial validity; five stress and three burnout factors were evident. Second, the construct validity of both the stress and burnout constructs was examined in relationship to classroom tedium and the quality of school life. Also, 14 child stress experts assisted in analyzing content validity; the majority of these rated SSI items as being relevant to very relevant to student stress. With respect to SSI reliability, alphas ranged from .63 to .85; similarly, MBI alphas ranged from .63 to .86. Additionally, most of SSI and MBI scales and subscales were moderately to strongly interrelated. Finally, an inspection of the concurrent validity of the stress and burnout constructs revealed significant relationships between stress, burnout, tedium and, to a degree, quality of school life variables.     

Elementary reading attitude survey (ERAS) scores in academically talented students

This study investigated the reliability and structural validity of Elementary Reading Attitude Survey ([ERAS]; McKenna and Kear, 1990) scores in 575 academically talented students attending an academic summer program. Results indicated that ERAS Academic and Recreational scores had satisfactory internal consistency coefficients, and that participants’ reading attitudes were near the top of the normative distribution of ERAS scores. Exploratory factor analysis of ERAS scores supported two factors measuring academic and recreational reading attitudes, and significantly higher scores on reading attitudes were found for girls at three grade levels, with medium to large effect sizes.     

Understanding resilience in diverse,talented students in an urban high school

This article summarizes findings from a 3‐year study of 35 economically disadvantaged, ethnically diverse, academically talented high school students who either achieved or underachieved in their urban high school. In particular, the resilience of these two groups of high ability students is explored. Comparative case study and ethnographic methods were used to examine the ways in which some academically talented students develop and/or employ strategies associated with resilience to achieve at high levels. Both risk factors and protective factors are examined to explore participants’ pathways toward either positive or negative outcomes. The results of this study suggest that some protective factors helped some academically talented students to achieve at high levels. The protective factors include supportive adults; friendships with other achieving students; opportunity to take honors and advanced classes; participation in multiple extracurricular activities both after school and during the summer; the development of a strong belief in self; and ways to cope with the negative aspects of their school and urban environment; and in some cases, their family lives. Other protective factors include students’ relationships with supportive adults and their previous participation in a gifted and talented program.

Students who underachieved had specific risk factors, such as having older siblings who dropped out of school or became involved in drugs and/or alcohol. They also appeared to have developed fewer protective factors. The combination of the presence of risk factors and the absence of protective factors may ha ve impeded the ability of some underachieving students to achieve at higher levels.     

论人才培养与创新教育

近年来,无论是发达国家,还是发展中国家,都在竭力强调人的创新意识和创造能力的培养,这是由于人类社会已经由资本经济发展到知识经济的社会特性所决定的.那么什么是知识经济呢?所谓知识经济,它与传统劳动密集型生产的特征的资本经济不同,是一种知识密集型和智慧型的经济,其核心是创新,即以人类全部知识所集合的精华为基础,以迅速的不间断的创新发明以及创造性理念使社会经济持续发展并产生巨大物质财富的经济形态.     

Pushing to the edge: Rutgers astrophysics institute motivates talented high school students

The Rutgers Astrophysics Institute is a program in which gifted high school students learn about contemporary science and its methods, and conduct independent authentic research using real‐time data. The students use the processes of science to acquire knowledge, and serve as cognitive apprentices to an expert astrophysicist. A variety of naturalistic and statistical methods were employed to gather data concerning various changes in the students as a result of their participation in the institute. Specifically, we concluded that students were able to (a) distinguish between observational data and models, devise testing experiments, and reflect on the analysis and the interpretation of X‐ray data; (b) achieve results comparable to those of regular Advanced Placement (AP) students on individual AP exam problems (the students had not taken AP Physics), (c) engage in elements of meaningful authentic research, and (d) change their approaches toward learning science. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 958–985, 2003     

地方师范院校有机化学创新人才培养的探索与实践

培养大学生创新能力是一项系统工程。从我校化学专业有机化学课程最近5年的创新实践出发,从课程教学体系的建立、教学团队的建设以及理论教学、实验教学和课外科研创新实践的有机结合3个方面分析总结了大学生创新能力的培养方法与模式。     

Maximizing achievement for potentially gifted and talented and regular minority students in a primary classroom

Meeting the cognitive, emotional, and social needs of young, culturally and linguistically different (CLD) children in an inclusive classroom can be a challenge. A teacher used selected parts of the Autonomous Learner Model (Betts, 1985) with children in a first grade ESL classroom, where half the students were English‐language learners, to promote the educational progress of all the children and find potentially gifted CLD children early in their schooling. The first graders quickly learned independence, responsibility, resourcefulness, and higher order thinking skills. Their mean scores on norm‐referenced achievement tests, while in the average range, were believed to be the highest of any first grade group in the recent history of the school. Several gifted children emerged from the group by the end of first grade.