Discusses definitions of giftedness, including the use of talent as a more effective term for giftedness. Argues that the concept of giftedness is closely linked to general intelligence and is of limited usefulness in understanding and educating youth with special abilities, while talents represent special aptitudes that can be individually…

This paper combines Gardner's multiple intelligences theory with Bloom's conception of talent to provide a foundation for the practice of fostering students' specific talents as a primary goal of gifted education. Individualized personal and skills-based growth plans are seen as a medium for career-oriented education based on students' identified…

This paper offers a model of the nature and development of talents, which views genetic factors as determining potential strengths and setting limits and views abilities, aptitudes, and intelligences emerging as a result of experiences, motivations, and styles. Specific talents are characterized by precocity, creative insight, a functional…

The authors review problems associated with currently practiced matrix methods of identifying gifted students, describe an aggregation method utilizing a statistical approach involving standard scores, and relate the method to specific program examples. (SB)

Several trends and directions are identified for preparation of gifted and talented youth for leadership roles in a rapidly changing society: experience in predicting, planning, and extrapolating; explicit leadership training; development of thinking skills; experience in problem finding and problem solving; and study of major concepts, themes,…