Although writers have advocated a shift from the gifted child to a talent development paradigm, changes in methods for identifying and cultivating talent in STEM are needed. We present evidence that using a talent development paradigm supported by differentiation with an organicist rather than a mechanistic perspective was effective in identifying…

Real Engagement in Active Problem Solving (REAPS) cultivates exceptional talent across disciplines through students solving problems that are real in their lives. In this study, the focus was on scientific talent: to determine students' growth in creative problem solving in science in classrooms in which REAPS was implemented. Using a repeated…

In the 21st-century context, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication are the most valued skills in the workplace. Thus, those in positions often labeled as "leadership" need to make a valuable shift: to "guiding," "inspiring," and "facilitating" rather than directing.…

Teaching is more effective when students are taught through research-based teaching approaches that have been found to be successful in producing the outcomes they advocate. However, use of an effective instructional strategy does not ensure learning, because the success of a sound approach is determined by how well it is implemented. The purpose…

A research team consisting of educators of gifted students, a scientist, and experts in measurement developed a performance-based assessment of life science skills and abilities. Four high schools in the Southwestern United States were the settings for field testing and implementation. Five levels of ratings were given: "unknown,"…

A persistent problem in education is underrepresentation of certain cultural and linguistic groups such as American Indian, African American, and Hispanic, in special programs for exceptionally talented students, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). An assessment with demonstrated reliability and validity as an…

In this study, we explored whether creativity was domain specific or domain general. The relationships between students' scores on three creative problem-solving activities (math, spatial artistic, and oral linguistic) in the DISCOVER assessment (Discovering Intellectual Strengths and Capabilities While Observing Varied Ethnic Responses) and the…

Development of creativity is influenced by multiple factors, including the environment, developmental changes, and measurement tools. In this study, we investigated the relationship between creativity development and implementation of the Discovering Intellectual Strengths and Capabilities while Observing Varied Ethnic Responses (DISCOVER)…

In this study we investigated relationships between convergent and divergent thinking with an emphasis on fluency, originality, flexibility and elaboration in the mathematical domain. A related purpose was to examine relationships between problem types in mathematical tasks. The math section of a performance-based assessment was used to assess 857…