The study of psychosocial skills is conceptualized in the field of gifted education as part of the talent development paradigm, and most terminology associated with the study of psychosocial skills is done within the framework of the talent development megamodel. Although critically important in the development of talent, empirical research on…

This article introduces the construct of personal talent curation. "Personal talent curation" is one's assessment of one's talents--of one's strengths and weaknesses--but also the building of an adaptive match in life between those talents and both one's career pursuits and one's personal lifestyle. Sometimes, this match means pursuing a…

Our aspirations for gifted learners in talent development programs need to go beyond the development of expertise, creative productivity, and eminence. It is argued that wisdom development should be the ultimate goal of educating gifted learners. It is not merely what talents gifted learners develop, but how they use these talents, which will…

This article presents a new theory of talent development, evolving complexity theory (ECT), in the context of the changing theoretical directions as well as the landscape of gifted education. I argue that gifted education needs a new foundation that provides a broad psychosocial basis than what the notion of giftedness can afford. A focus on…

Optimal talent development can only occur when high ability students are willing to take opportunities for growth in a domain and are able to persist when presented with challenges that accompany performance or production at the highest levels. This paper proposes the use of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development to provide a framework…

The goal of this article is to convey a summary of research and conversation on talent development on the part of a small group of European and American researchers who participated in the Inaugural American European Research Summit in Washington. In the final hours of the summit, participants discussed the state of research on talent development…

Great performance is a wonder to observe. We may notice creativity, excellent technique, or content mastery. What we may not notice is a set of mental and social skills that allow a person to show his or her best work. This article recommends that these psychosocial skills be explicitly and deliberately cultivated via programming, coaching, and…

A study examined the educational histories of 120 talented individuals in various fields for recurrent patterns. The study found patterns for childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood phases. The importance of time, task, and communities of practice in everyday life is stressed. The Academic Talent Development Program, a summer program for…