Gifted Education International

This article argues that children need to be taught a range of television thinking skills if they are to use the medium of television as an educating force over which they have control and discernment. The paper argues that television can be a powerful tool in the development of thinking skills if educators and the children understand the medium itself in the same way that they are taught a wide range of skills in their use of literature.

Willings has already proposed (Gifted Education International 5(3) p146, 1988) that cynicism is an inhibitor of creativity. He also points out that children are getting the message ‘it is smart to be cynical.’ Cynicism is circular. We end up back with the problem and the feeling that we are helpless. Norman (Fodder for the Theorists The Listener 18 Nov 1976) points out that children are taught to agonise and that this is counter productive. Terry (age 12) Judy (age 9) and Jack (age 8) had been given the message ‘it's smart to be cynical’ by certain teachers. All of our exercises at the Willings Clinic are designed to respond to a specific problem.

This review looks at the role of motivation and self-perception (self-esteem and self-concept) for children identified as gifted and talented. The aim is to first discuss some of the research findings and their implication for gifted and talented students. The second aim is to include some suggestions parents and teachers can consider to assist the development of positive motivation and self-perception within gifted and talented students. The paper argues that self-perception and motivation are improved when students work on tasks that have personal meaning, purpose and choice, in a learning environment that is orientated towards higher level thinking, problem solving and decision making.

The non-cognitive variables of motivation and self-perception are significant issues in understanding the development of gifted and talented children as these affective variables help to explain why only some of the children with high ability are successful in achieving their potential. The historic trend in education and psychology has been to isolate the affective and cognitive variables that influence children's development, placing affect with personality and cognition with learning and memory (Beane, 1986; Wylie, 1987). Increasingly researchers and practitioners are now recognizing that the affective, non-cognitive variables associated with education are significant in influencing the outcome of learning and in understanding how children approach and master learning tasks (Ames, 1984, 1986; Bandura, 1986; Bloom, 1976; Delisle & Renzulli, 1982; Dweck, 1986; Hattie, 1992; Heckhausen, 1987; Markus & Wurf, 1987; McCombs, 1988; Sternberg, 1982; Vygotsky, 1978; Wittrock, 1988).

The purpose of this paper is to use concepts from Sternberg's (1986) triangular theory of love to provide a framework for understanding creative achievement. The combination of intimacy, passion, and commitment are viewed as the major determinants of eminent achievement. These dimensions are discussed in terms of their explanatory value for understanding the creative process. Special attention is paid to Wallas' (1926) description of stages in the creative process. The implications of intimacy, passion, and commitment for developing creativity will also be addressed. The basic assumption of this paper is that the personological approach to creative achievement as exemplified by the research of Roe (1952), MacKinnon (1962,1965), Barron (1963,1969), Helson (1966), Welsh (1975), and Albert (1980a, 1980b, 1983) needs to be reemphasized. This position is clearly not a mainstream position, given the current research focus on creative thinking abilities (Treffinger, 1986). It is clearly recognized that other conceptualizations might have equivalent explanatory power. The ultimate success of the model will be determined by the extent to which it provides to be both conceptually compelling and empirically validated.

Substantial differences were found between the 5% top achievers in science and the remaining 95% 9th and 12th grade students. While girls constitute 55% of the 9th grade population only 18% of the high achievers are girls, a ratio of approximately 1:3. The corresponding ratio in the 12th grade was 1:8, 1:5, 1:2 and 3:4 for physics, non-science, chemistry and biology majors respectively. A typical profile of a higher achiever is: A small family. Parents with more formal education holding more science related careers, and more books at home. School science grades are relatively high. Science and mathematics are liked more than other school subjects. Intends to study science in the university and aspires for a science related career. The gaps between the top % and the rest in biology and physics are larger than in chemistry and earth science. The high achievers excel more in tasks which require higher cognitive abilities and which are outside their area of specialization. Their attitudes toward science learning are considerably more positive. Finally, they exhibit substantially higher preference for questioning and lower preference for rote memorization.

Gifted children are receiving more and more attention and special educational services in the school system of America today. While there is much on labeling people as “mentally retarded” little has been done on the effects of labeling children as “gifted”. This paper explores the effects of labeling children as gifted. It addresses the effects that the label places on males and females and their self-concept and self-esteem. The family too, is affected in very subtle ways. The literature regarding the labeling process and its effects are discussed. Lately, peer relationships are somewhat affected both for boys and girls. Expectations are often set, and friendships are affected. Needed research in this area will be specified. We need to know more about the process and both the immediate and long-term effects, ramifications, and repercussions of the labeling process and its after effects.

In the ensuing article a veteran of many years of teaching homogeneously grouped gifted students discusses the need for creative ways of drawing students into the subjects being presented. The author offers some practical experiences that he has found both useful and helpful in the ongoing struggle to stimulate sharp young minds. At the present time the author is Department Head of the Talented and Gifted Programme at Centennial Regional High School, a large comprehensive secondary school in a suburb of Montreal, Quebec.

The purpose of this study was to compare the learning style preferences among gifted African-American, Mexican-American, and American-born Chinese middle grade students, considering gender and grade levels. The subjects were randomly selected from seven Chicago public schools, and group-administered the Learning Style Inventory. A three-way analysis of variance revealed significant ethnic, gender and grade differences among gifted African-American, Mexican-American and American-born Chinese students on several learning styles preferences. All three gifted groups were characterized by motivation, responsibility, and preferences for studying in the afternoon and bright light. A majority of the three groups also did not prefer noise, temperature (warm environment), auditory modality, structure, and authority figures. Findings of the study support and extend past research regarding the learning styles of gifted students. They render support for the provision of differentiated curricula for gifted minority students.

Thinking actively in a Social Context (TASC) is a multi-phase model of problem-solving incorporating Cognitive Resources and Cognitive Strategies. It provides a flexible framework for designing problem-solving courses according to the needs and experiences of the participants. The general aim for the pupil is to maximise the ability to make sense of, and to learn from, experience. The general aim for teachers is to improve the effectiveness of teachers as facilitators of children's ‘learning how to learn’. There is considerable emphasis on the transfer of skills and strategies to new contexts; cooperative learning in small groups; and the development of meta-cognitive knowledge (Wallace and Adams, 1987; Adams and Wallace, 1990; Hildebrand, Lehman, Maltby, Matters and Shadbolt, 1991 ).

Using the framework of TASC*

NOTE: for a detailed exposition on the TASC model for curriculum development see GEI Vol. 5, 1–3.

This presents a theoretical approach to talent development in emerging nations, with focus on curricular intervention derived from qualitative research. Elements of culturally appropriate curricular design are discussed in connection with practical educational application and viable options in the light of the special problems of developing countries.

The implementation of qualitatively derived curricular intervention in Ebeye, Marshall Islands, an economically and educationally disadvantaged population in the throes of conflict and change, is utilized to illustrate the technique. An account of evalution processes incorporating qualitative and quantitative assessment is discussed, along with initial preliminary results of a follow-up investigation.

The article concludes with suggested adaptations of the approach to a wide spectrum of cultures with similar economic constraints and political conflicts. Guidelines to qualitatively derived intervention are outlined along with implications of broader concomitant educational problems, issues and related research.

This study compares two groups of children from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, in an attempt to determine the effects of training in the development of higher level cognitive thinking and creative thinking skills.

Essentially, the study aims to answer the following questions:

Given the same intellectual ability and socioeconomic background, are there any differences in the performance of children exposed to training in Bloom's cognitive levels of thinking and those without?

This article aims to indicate that an individualised approach is imperative for the successful teaching of multicultural pupil populations. The cultural plurality displayed by the South African population is first dealt with, whereafter the educational needs which evolve from the cultural plurality are identified. The process of educational change is described in terms of Kuhn's idea of the structure of scientific revolutions as it pertains to the South African situation. Appropriate instructional measures for meeting evolving educational needs are suggested. These measures are largely based on Lynch's model of instructional strategies which illustrates the process of matching curriculum and pupil information with a view to achieving equity in educational provision.