The Social Cognition of Gifted Adolescents

This paper reviews major research findings on social cognition in gifted adolescents. We discuss interpersonal and intrapersonal perceptions of giftedness (i.e., how gifted students view themselves, and how they perceive others’ views of them), the social coping strategies of this population (e.g., denying and hiding one's giftedness, conforming to mask giftedness, and helping others), and the gender, age, and self-concept differences shown in strategy choice when interacting with others. Results suggest that both American and Chinese gifted students employ social coping strategies to manage the visibility of their abilities in social situations, and there is a consistent link between coping strategy and self-concepts; but the findings with regard to social cognitive strategies, themselves, are conflicting. Implications of these findings and recommendations are presented.     

Dimensions of Mathematical Thinking and Learning in ACCEL

Sternberg (2017) summarizes the history of identification of giftedness in the 20th century and presents a case for the shortcomings of measures such as IQ for problem-solving skills required in the 21st century. The Active Concerned Citizenship and Ethical Leadership (ACCEL) model is proposed to replace the outdated construct of IQ, particularly for the field of gifted education. In this commentary, the mathematical dimensions of ACCEL are teased out in contrast to its presence in psychometric testing. Further, what is considered relevant in mathematics for learners today is addressed in relation to the skills outlined in the ACCEL model.     

Creative Giftedness Is Not Just What Creativity Tests Test: Implications of a Triangular Theory of Creativity for Understanding Creative Giftedness

Creativity tests, at best, measure only a small sliver of the whole of creative giftedness. These tests assess aspects of creative intelligence. But creativity is at least as much a conscious decision and even an attitude toward life as it is a traditionally defined ability. This article discusses how well-intentioned gifted educators may be following the wrong path by overly relying on tests of creativity to measure creative giftedness. This article presents a triangular theory of giftedness that conceptualizes creativity largely as an attitude toward life rather than as ability based.     

天才的表现、实质与发展

本文以心理学领域的相关研究结论,首先解释了天才表现的参照系、行为内容和绩效水平;然后分析了天才的内在特殊能力与独特的认知加工过程,以及天才的情感特征与人格特质;最后讨论了天才发展中自然成长与有意训练、常规发展与认知跳跃这两类关系。对天才的深入探索,有助于纠正传统关于“天才”的错误认识,形成科学的天才观和人才观,有效指导人才培养及相应的教育实践工作。     

Gifted ‘n the ‘hood: Gender and giftedness as predictors of social risk among low-income students

Research abounds on adolescent poverty and on gifted education, but these fields are seldom considered together. This study explores trajectories of aggressive behavior (i.e., weapon carrying) of impoverished, gifted youth. Results indicate that gifted students engage in lower levels of weapon carrying than non-gifted students. Gifted and non-gifted girls’ trajectories are parallel across age.However, weapon carrying among gifted and non-gifted boys does not differ during early and late adolescence, but it does during middle adolescence. These differences can perhaps be explained by examining impulsivity and temperament trajectories by gifted status. Impulsivity for boys and quick-temperedness for girls is lower during early and middle adolescence for gifted students than for non-gifted students, but not during later adolescence. Quick-temperedness for boys and impulsivity for girls does not differ by gifted status during early and late adolescence, but it does during middle adolescence. These findings suggest that some characteristics of giftedness are manifest during early adolescence (perhaps even before enrollment in a gifted program). However, other giftedness characteristics appear only during middle adolescence, after students have enrolled in the gifted program. Implications of these findings for how gifted education programs can impact aggression, and ways to optimally structure these programs, are explored.     

Communicating Love or Fear: The Role of Attachment Styles in Pathways to Giftedness

Although both giftedness and secure attachment are associated with advanced language and good socioemotional adjustment, not all gifted children are well adjusted. This article explores the consequences of attachment style on gifted development and examines whether early trauma can be rectified. The dearth of research on giftedness and attachment has necessitated the review of less direct evidence, including brain research and maternal depression. A partly empirical, partly conceptual picture is drawn to demonstrate that attachment styles can support, reduce, and even prevent giftedness. This is further illustrated by an experiment involving IQ scores that mimics the expected effects of early trauma and insecure attachment on test performance. The article concludes by suggesting that attachment style may contribute to a gifted spectrum.     

Predictability of Giftedness Identification Indices For Two Recognized Approaches To Elementary School Gifted Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine which of 13 giftedness identification measures discriminated between gifted and non-gifted students, and to explore whether these measures discriminated against gifted students in groups such as the economically disadvantaged and/or ethnic minorities. The investigated variables took the form of a design where the dependent measures were the 13 identification measures and the independent variable was 3 levels or groups of second- and third-grade students. Discriminate and classification analyses were the statistical techniques used to respond to the questions of the study. Measures of scholastic aptitude, giftedness potential assessment (learning and creativity), student peer identification, and locus of control were found to be sensitive discriminators of giftedness. Giftedness potential assessment-creativity and learning, basic skills-math, and locus of control were found to discriminate least among economically disadvantaged and/or minority students. Measures of teacher judgmental, student self, and parent perceptual identification appeared to be insensitive discriminators of giftedness and seemed to be somewhat biased toward economically disadvantaged and/or minority students.     

Is being gifted always an advantage? Peer relations and self-concept of gifted students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between identified gifted adolescents and adolescents not identified as gifted in terms of social acceptance and self-concept (peer relations, academic, and general). In addition, we aimed to investigate the differences between two groups of students identified according to different identification criteria (i.e. intelligence test and teacher assessment), and whether the relationship between students’ giftedness and the indicators of their social adjustment was moderated by gender. A total of 404 Slovenian elementary school students (191 males; 47%, 213 females; 53%) participated in the study; among them 85 (21%) were identified as gifted. No significant differences were found between gifted and non-gifted students in positive sociometric nominations and social preference; gifted students received less negative nominations and had lower social impact, but were assessed as more socially accepted by their teachers. Gifted students reported higher academic and general but not peer relations self-concept. No differences in social acceptance and self-concept were found between the groups of gifted students identified with regard to different identification criteria. In addition, we found significant interaction effects between gender and giftedness for peer relations self-concept. The results indicate the importance of investigating individual differences among gifted students in future studies.     

IDENTIFICATION AND LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF GIFTEDNESS IN OLDER ADOLESCENTS

This study involved an adaptation and evaluation of the Munich differential diagnostic instrument for the identification of gifted and highly gifted schoolchildren (KFT). An analysis was carried out of the relationship between various forms of giftedness and actual performance. A two step procedure was applied to select gifted students using a Teachers' Checklist, the KFT and tests of creativity. About 70 gifted youngsters were selected from 600 students. The label “gifted” was used for the top 6%‐10%, “highly gifted” for the top 3%–5% and “extremely gifted” for the highest scoring members of the group. The control group (70 unselected students) was investigated with the same methods. There were clear differences between the gifted, highly gifted and extremely gifted students in every domain of giftedness. Different forms of giftedness developed in the students during the three year period.     

Does ACCEL Excel as a Model of Giftedness? A Reply to Commentators

In this essay, I respond to commentators on my article on the Active Concerned Citizenship and Ethical Leadership (ACCEL) model for understanding giftedness. I cover a number of topics that arose in or out of the commentaries, in particular, systems inertia; toxic leadership; teaching for creativity; flight from reality; the role of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in teaching for wisdom; the developmental nature of giftedness; making a positive, meaningful, and enduring difference; IQ as a diagnostic tool rather than as a gatekeeper; meeting the needs of marginalized young people; teacher education; and retrospective studies. I conclude that the differences among all of us in this symposium are small and that we all agree that a model like ACCEL—whatever its exact terms—is needed to move the field of giftedness beyond a preoccupation with abilities, narrowly defined.     

注意力缺陷多动障碍超常儿童:特质、鉴别与干预

从特质、鉴别以及干预等方面综述了国内外注意力缺陷多动障碍超常儿童的研究进展.描述ADHD儿童与超常儿童共存的特质,对ADHD超常儿童与一般超常儿童和ADHD儿童进行比较;介绍智力测验、行为观察和创造力测验等多种鉴别方法,通过不同方法对多种能力进行评估可提高鉴别准确性;对ADHD超常儿童进行教育干预,既要通过药物和行为治疗,弥补其缺陷,更要设计合理的超常教育方案,促进其潜能的实现.     

Multidimensional perfectionism in middle school age gifted students: A comparison to peers from the general cohort

The researchers designed this study to investigate levels of multidimensional perfectionism in identified gifted middle school students and a group of their peers from the general cohort. Gifted students (N = 83) were compared with the general cohort (N = 112) from a Southeastern rural middle school (grades 6 through 8). One‐way analyses of variance were used to determine whether gifted and general cohort students differed on measures of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism. Results revealed that gifted students had significantly higher standards scores, a measure of adaptive perfectionism, and significantly lower discrepancy scores, a measure of maladaptive perfectionism. These results suggest that gifted students are more perfectionistic (i.e., hold higher personal standards) than general cohort students. However, the results do not support the contention that gifted students experience distress or maladjustment from their higher levels of perfectionism (e.g., Maxwell, 1995).     

Exploring the pedagogical features of integrating essential competencies of scientific inquiry in classroom teaching

ABSTRACT

Background: As inquiry-based instruction is not universally implemented in science classrooms, it is crucial to introduce instructional strategies through the use of contextualized learning activities to allow students with different background knowledge and abilities to learn the essential competencies of scientific inquiry and promote their emotional perception and engagement.

Purpose: This study explores how essential scientific competencies of inquiry can be integrated into classroom teaching practices and investigates both typical and gifted secondary students’ emotional perception and engagement in learning activities.

Sample: A case teacher along with 226 typical and 18 gifted students from a suburban secondary school at Taiwan participated in this study.

Design and methods: After attending twelve 3-hour professional development workshops that focused on scientific inquiry teaching, the case teacher voluntarily developed and elaborated her own teaching activities through the discussions and feedback that she received from workshop participants and science educators. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through activity worksheet, questionnaire, video camera, and tape recorders. Frequency distribution, Mann-Whitney U test, and discourse analysis were used for data analyses.

Results: Case teacher’s teaching activities provide contextual investigations that allow students to practice making hypotheses, planning investigations, and presenting and evaluating findings. Students’ learning outcomes reveal that typical students can engage in inquiry-based learning with positive emotional perception as well as gifted students regardless of their ability level. Both gifted and typical students’ positive emotional perception of and active engagement in learning provide fresh insight into feasible instructions for teachers who are interested in inquiry-based teaching but have little available time to implement such instructions into their classrooms.

Conclusions: The results of our work begin to address the critical issues of inquiry-based teaching by providing an exemplary teaching unit encompassing essential scientific competencies     

The exchangeability of brief intelligence tests for children with intellectual giftedness: Illuminating error variance components’ influence on IQs

This study examined the exchangeability of total scores (i.e., intelligent quotients [IQs]) from three brief intelligence tests. Tests were administered to 36 children with intellectual giftedness, scored live by one set of primary examiners and later scored by a secondary examiner. For each student, six IQs were calculated, and all 216 values were submitted to a generalizability theory analysis. Despite strong convergent validity and reliability evidence supporting brief IQs, the resulting dependability coefficient was only .80, which indicates relatively low exchangeability across tests and examiners. Although error variance components representing the effects of the examiner, examiner‐by‐examinee interaction, the examiner‐by‐test interaction, and the test contributed little to IQ variability, the component representing the test‐by‐examinee interaction contributed about one‐third of the variance in IQs. These findings hold implications for selecting and interpreting brief intelligence tests and general testing for intellectual giftedness.     

Parent's views on education for the gifted

A survey was sent to parents of children enrolled in two public and three private school programs for the gifted to ascertain their educational philosophical positions and conceptions of giftedness. In general, the results showed that the parents preferred an eclectic, child‐centered instructional approach. Their conception of gifted intelligence was broad and complex, integrating many aspects of creativity, motivation, and mental power (IQ).     

The role of social competence in predicting gifted enrollment

The purpose of this study is to examine how children's starting level and development of social competence (i.e., task orientation and peer sociability) during kindergarten and first grade predict gifted program enrollment by third grade, even after considering children's cognitive ability. A second purpose is to examine the extent to which the relationship between children's social competence and gifted program enrollment differs depending on children's socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, and gender. Latent growth curve analyses conducted on 347 children revealed that students enrolled in gifted programming were not only those high in cognitive ability, but also those showing early task orientation. Neither peer sociability's initial status nor growth was a significant predictor of gifted enrollment. Multigroup comparisons demonstrated different predictive paths for higher versus lower SES groups. Implications are discussed including important questions raised by this study and the need for teacher training in the identification of giftedness. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Motivational Characteristics in Mathematical Achievement: a study of gifted high‐achieving,gifted underachieving and non‐gifted pupils

The aim of this study was to examine whether motivational‐emotional variables such as intrinsic orientation toward schoolwork, Mathematics anxiety, academic self‐esteem, attribution of success and failure in Mathematics and situational interest in Mathematics could differentiate different groups of mathematically gifted pupils. The research was based, theoretically, on an interactional model of giftedness. The sample consisted of 147 selected primary school pupils (9‐10 years of age) who were assigned to the following groups for comparison: mathematically gifted achievers (n = 31), mathematically gifted under‐achievers (n = 31) and mathematically non‐gifted pupils (n = 85). The results of a discriminant analysis show that the gifted pupils differ from the non‐gifted ones in attaining higher levels of intrinsic orientation toward Mathematics, lower Mathematics anxiety, lower attribution of success to external factors and effort, as well as in lower attribution of failure to external factors and abilities. Also, gifted achievers have lower attribution of success to effort than gifted under‐achievers and non‐gifted pupils.     

A systematic review characterizing and clarifying intrinsic teaching challenges linked to inquiry-based practical work

Since scientific literacy has become a key goal in science education, many people have argued in favor of the incorporation of inquiry in science education. However, scattered in the literature are extrinsic and intrinsic teaching challenges linked to the design and implementation of inquiry-based practical work (IBPW) in secondary school science classrooms. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to characterize and clarify the intrinsic challenges. From an instructional design perspective, the characterization of the challenges yielded four primary categories. The categories consist of initiation-phase challenges (such as unfavorable views regarding science and practical work), planning-phase challenges (including difficulties involved in designing IBPW), implementation-phase challenges (e.g., persuading learners to reflect on their experiences and findings), and summative evaluation-phase challenges which include concerns linked to the grading of practical inquiry. In the different categories, the challenges are linked to gaps in various aspects of teacher competencies especially in the context of the TPACK framework. The aspects include content knowledge (CK) (such as science content and scientific inquiry); in addition to technological knowledge (TK) linked to standard technologies. Also included is pedagogic CK (including orientation toward science teaching). Moreover, some of the intrinsic challenges are linked to gaps in skills (including pervasive classroom management and practical skills); in addition to values (such as commitment). These results have theory-, practice-, and research-based implications.     

ERRATUM

Children with mild developmental disorders sometimes show giftedness. In this study, an original checklist was developed to identify gifted characteristics specific to science learning among twice‐exceptional primary school children in Japan. The checklist consisted of 60 items on Attitudes, Thinking, Skills, and Knowledge/Understanding. A total of 86 children from eight primary schools in an urban area in Japan, 50% of whom had Learning Disabilities (LD), Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and/or High‐functioning Autism (HA), were observed using the checklist. Factor analysis revealed three factors. A cluster analysis with the subscale points of each factor identified three “gifted styles” in science. These were: (1) Spontaneous Style; (2) Expert Style; and (3) Solid Style. LD/ADHD/HA children characteristically displayed a Spontaneous Style while the non‐ LD/ADHD/HA children were characterized by the Solid Style. In both subject groups, the number of Expert Style children was the lowest with no significant difference in their numbers. Based on the results of this research, this paper discusses the implications of the findings for teaching science to twice‐exceptional children and argues the benefits of inclusive science education for children with and without mild developmental disorders.     

Labels of giftedness and gender-typicality: Effects on adults' judgments of children's traits

The study examines the impressions adults form of children as a function of labels of giftedness and gender-typicality. Participants read about a child described as male/female, “gifted”/“average,” and gender-typical/gender-atypical in academic interests; they then responded on 30 adjective scales. Compared with children labeled “average,” children labeled “gifted” are seen as closer to odd than to fits in well. Gender-atypical boys were considered more odd and gender-atypical girls were rated less odd than were gender-typical children, regardless of giftedness. There was no additive negative effect of being both gifted and gender-atypical. Basically, participants described gifted and gender-atypical children differently; some overlap exists between adjectives used to describe these children (e.g., odd). Giftedness and gender-atypicality are related but separate concepts, each with many facets. The interrelationships and diversity of the two concepts must be assessed when individuals consider the impression that gifted or gender-atypical children make on others.