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.     

Integrating moral and social development within middle school social studies: a social cognitive domain approach

Eleven teachers and 254 urban middle-school students comprised the sample of this study examining the social and moral development outcomes of the integration of social cognitive domain theory within regular classroom instruction. Participating teachers were trained to construct and implement history lessons that stimulated students’ moral reasoning and conceptions of societal convention. In comparison with baselines and controls, teachers reduced didactic instruction and increased the proportion of class time devoted to small group discussions. Student engagement in transactive discourse significantly increased in participating classes with significantly greater post-test levels of moral reasoning, concepts of social convention, and cross-domain coordination. Student production of operational versus representational transacts through transactive discussion was associated with growth in moral and societal concepts. Teachers continued teaching lessons constructed in the project a year after the research ended.     

Differentiating instruction for gifted students in regular education social studies classes

Educational reform movements are transforming the shape of schools. Classroom populations are becoming more diverse as the number of students with disparate learning needs increases. Revised standards and performance expectations in the area of social studies are requiring teachers to make major shifts in teaching practices and strategies. Differentiation of instruction is necessary to meet the varied learning needs of diverse learners in social studies classes, especially gifted students. Curriculum compacting provides time for enrichment and/or acceleration for gifted learners. Conceptual thematic units, questioning strategies, interest development centers, independent study programs, and mentor‐ships are enrichment opportunities which can be implemented in regular education social studies classes to meet the learning needs of gifted students.     

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.     

College collaboration with gifted programs: deaf studies unit (part 2)

The present article is the second in a 2-part series. Part 1 explained the needs of students in gifted education programs (GEPs), the concept of interest-area mentorship, and how mentors help meet gifted elementary-school students' needs in light of National Association for Gifted Children standards. Part 2 explains that the goals and standards GEPs must address not only cover academics but also intellectual and affective categories. Once college instructors understand these goals and standards, they can initiate collaboration with GEP teachers and provide mentors to GEP classrooms. Deaf studies' diverse topics lend themselves to teaching, research, and discussion-perfect qualifications for GEP curricula. Examples show the "fit" between gifted education and a unit on Deaf studies. By delineating the roles of the GEP teacher, the mentor, and the college instructor, the authors provide an understanding that can enable implementation of broadly beneficial mentorship programs.     

品德与社会课的教学单元设计

品德与社会课初创不久 ,教师们在教学理念和教学行为方面面临着诸多困惑。经过前一阶段的培训 ,在教学理念方面的认识教师收获良多 ,但怎样把教学理念与教学行为有机结合起来 ,教师们还显得无所适从。本文借助国外社会科实践的成熟成果 ,联系半年来在培训工作中发现的核心问题 ,从教学单元设计这个视角 ,给教师们提供一些值得借鉴和进一步探索的经验与思路     

Achievement motivation and gifted students: A social cognitive perspective

The purpose of this article is to provide an illustrative review of recent research on achievement motivation and gifted students from a social cognitive perspective. The review discusses several constructs that have been a focus of motivation research: perceived competence and self-efficacy, attributions, goal orientations, and intrinsic motivation. For each construct, motivational research from the general motivation literature and from the field of gifted and talented studies are critiqued and compared. The review suggests that a general social cognitive perspective is a useful theoretical framework for research on motivational processes involved in the intellectual and personal development of gifted and talented students and that a process-oriented model is superior to a static model for research on both giftedness and achievement motivation. Implications of the review for future research on motivation and talent development are discussed.     

Cognitive development of intellectually gifted: A Piagetian perspective

This article explores some of the materials prepared for parents of gifted children and examines the explanatory language and concepts used in terms of their potential for shaping parental attitudes and affecting the adjustment of gifted children. The author argues that the conceptual frameworks used to explain giftedness, nongiftedness and the nature of differences have powerful effects on societal and educational attitudes, including the willingness to provide differentiated services for gifted children. A strong plea is made for professional sensitivity and responsibility in describing giftedness in ways that do not isolate gifted children or their parents and which potentiate shared advocacy with other educational advocacy groups.     

Sexuality and relationships education: toward a social studies approach

Globally, gender norms and power differentials profoundly affect both girls' and boys' sexual attitudes, practices and health. One avenue for enabling young people to reflect on traditional gender arrangements that endanger their health—and to lay the groundwork for satisfying sexual lives—is sexuality and relationships education (SRE). Unfortunately, many SRE programmes address gender norms and critical thinking skills either superficially or not at all. Moreover, in some developing countries, SRE programmes do not reach the majority of girls aged 15–19, a high proportion of whom are simply not in school. This paper argues for grounding SRE within a social studies framework, emphasizing gender and social context. Such an approach can foster critical thinking skills, can provide a foundation for subsequent lessons on explicitly sexual topics, can illuminate the links between gender inequality and other social issues, can allow for a human‐rights emphasis that may prove politically less controversial than technical sexuality topics, and may ultimately prove vital to achieving better sexual health outcomes. The experience of community‐based programmes provides lessons for designing and evaluating such approaches in schools.     

人际语用学研究的社会认知路径

从传统范式到现阶段范式,不同礼貌研究路径在两大争论焦点上持有不同立场:其一,礼貌研究的视角;其二,礼貌现象的解释层面。作为前沿研究成果之一,Long(2016)面向关系工作提出的社会认知路径尝试解决上述争论。该路径侧重交际中人际关系的探讨,对于礼貌研究两大争议的解决具有借鉴意义,但受自身研究背景的局限,未能对人际交往与社会认知过程提出完整的解释。因此,更为完善的人际交往社会认知路径还有待进一步探讨。     

社会道德建设的实现路径探析

社会道德建设的实现路径应从四大建设入手:社会公德建设,培养出助人为乐的好公民;职业道德建设,培养出诚实守信的好员工;家庭美德建设,培养孝老爱亲的好子女、好父母;个人品德建设,培养品德高尚的道德人。这四大建设是一个复杂的系统工程,相互之间相辅相成、缺一不可、彼此联动。只要我们党和政府高度重视,全体人民齐心协力,社会道德建设的目标就一定能够实现。     

The culturally gifted classroom: a sociocultural approach to the inclusive education of English language learners

The need for including English language learners in the regular classroom at all phases of their linguistic and cultural development is presented within a Vygotkian sociocultural theory of human development. Based on the social primacy of development within this theoretical tenet, all aspects of development are viewed to proceed from social interactions. Effective social interactions that lead to development are distinguished by a heterogeneous collective experience of all participants in the interaction. In accordance with the sociocultural perspective, the educational goal of this heterogeneous group is to acquire and use cultural tools deemed appropriate to their time and place. As others’ cultures and languages become rich resources for becoming competent in one’s own culture, the cultural and linguistic diversity gained by including all students in the classroom becomes a powerful source of development for all.     

An epidemiologic approach to screening gifted students utilizing WISC-R subtests

Full WISC-R evaluations of students who are referred to a gifted program, but who do not meet placement criteria, have become a drain on the resources of many school districts. A screening formula for gifted students, utilizing three WISC-R subtests (VO-BD-SI), was evaluated using traditional epidemiologic techniques. The screen was applied to the records of 200 students who had been referred for a gifted program and received complete WISC-R batteries. Screen results were compared to actual placement of the 200 subjects based on a WISC-R Full Scale, Verbal, or Performance IQ of 130 or more. Measures of sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of the screen were determined. The screen correctly detected the majority of gifted students and could have major implications in terms of cost effectiveness and professional time management.