All programs for the gifted and talented should incorporate visual and performing arts, so that students' natural interests and creative abilities are not stifled. Many gifted and talented high school students not classified as artistically talented can achieve in discipline-based curriculum areas stressing nondiscursive art-making activities.…

Recounts the events and people that led to the formation of three early public residential schools for gifted students: the North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics; the Louisiana School for Mathematics, Science and Technology; and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. Common features included visionary individuals, availability…

This interview with Howard Spicker discusses his early leadership in the Head Start programs of the mid-1960s, his establishment of the Indiana University College for Gifted and Talented Youth, and his development of alternative procedures, instrumentation, and programs for gifted students from special populations. His work on Project SPRING is…

This article describes a university program in China for teenage students highly gifted in science. It reports on the program's initiation, improvement, and expansion to 12 additional universities. Also covered are methods employed in student selection, the curriculum, program administration, and student development. (Author/DB)

Township High School District 214 in Illinois has developed a gifted program that provides curricular options that meet students' needs in their talent areas and supports life and career planning. This article describes the program's philosophy, student identification, curricular and co-curricular programs, life and career planning efforts, and…

Staff development practices that successfully implemented long-term applications of cluster grouping in two districts are analyzed, compared, and reviewed. Parallel practices and differences are discussed concerning program beginning, implementation, and maintenance. Conclusions are drawn and six steps for use and consideration by others engaged…

This theme issue contains 17 articles which provide a diversity of views on the nature of creativity and how best to nurture it. Five initial articles are: "Creatively Gifted, disadvantaged Children: Their Desperate Need for Mentors" (E. Paul Torrance); "Creative Productivity: Understanding Its Sources and Nurture" (Donald J. Treffinger);…

This paper reviews Lev Vygotsky's theories concerning optimizing of potential through assistance, support, or instruction. The paper notes that there is a "zone of proximal development" or a band around intelligence quotient (IQ) scores reflecting one's true potential. IQ tests are generally well-standardized and "static,"…

Guidelines are offered to ensure a stimulating and challenging learning environment for gifted learners. Curriculum modifications are suggested in the areas of: (1) content (complexity, abstractness, and variety; organization; purpose and choice; interaction with peers; focus on issues, themes, or questions; and role of methodologist,…

The historical evolution of concern for education of gifted students is traced, along with the philosophical tides accompanying that evolution from the 1950s through the 1980s. It is argued that the public is alternatively supportive and antagonistic toward the gifted/talented. Periods of intense concern about their educational welfare are often…

This digest explores the concept of mentoring with gifted students and offers guidelines on its implementation. The literature on mentoring is reviewed, noting the maturing effect of mentor relationships and the particular value of mentors for disadvantaged students and for females. Among six guidelines offered are: decide what (not whom) the…

This digest offers guidelines for group advocacy efforts on behalf of gifted education. Four potential pitfalls are identified: using an adversarial rather than a persuasive approach; assuming that people in administrative and political positions are not too bright or not very knowledgeable--or both; being impatient; and ineffectively coping with…

A survey was conducted to determine the nature of career education programs provided for gifted/talented (G/T) students in the West Kentucky service region. Thirteen gifted coordinators completed questionnaires on programing. All respondents indicated that some type of pull out program was employed for their G/T students. Fifteen percent also…

The monograph describes the application of flexible pacing as a means of meeting the educational needs of gifted students in schools throughout the country. Flexible pacing is defined as placing students at an appropriate instructional level and allowing them to move forward in the curriculum as they master content and skills. Flexible pacing is…

A proposed three-dimensional model for identifying the gifted conceives of giftedness as a combination of characteristics. It emphasizes the different qualities of the characteristics as well as the fact that such characteristics exist in degrees or levels, thus helping to avoid thinking of giftedness or its components as being either wholly…