Gifted learners are usually identified as students who show higher levels of aptitude or competence compared to their peers of the same age. Their advanced abilities often require specially designed educational strategies to meet their intellectual needs. By designing educational strategies that are appropriately challenging and intellectually…

Building on the definition of steamers (a tasty hot milk-infused drink), we defined STEAMMERS as "a blend of diverse talents, going beyond domain-specific to domain-integrated abilities. Like steamers, they have a rich and colorful 'flavor'!" They are passionate about solving problems they and others face by honoring and blending diverse…

Providing challenging and engaging learning opportunities is one way to motivate students to learn. In this article, we discuss the contributions of the gifted education field to the development of enrichment pedagogy and identify several different types of these engaging instructional strategies, including interest-based learning pedagogy,…

Creativity, giftedness, and leadership are complex, important phenomena, especially in the threatening turbulence of 21st-century conditions; consequently, there is an increasing need to understand how to strengthen them. We can learn much about these phenomena from within the borders of specialized disciplines; however, they are too complex and…

Severe socioeconomic inequality strongly suppresses and distorts the discovery of aspirations and the concomitant development of talents among the gifted. More comprehensive understanding of this suppression and distortion is available through a wide-ranging interdisciplinary search for research findings and theories that illuminate economic,…

There is increasing concern about the plight of under-privileged gifted and talented children. Insights from disciplines outside our field can inform educators of the gifted and talented about what hinders talent development among the deprived. A model synthesizing constructs from ethical philosophy, sociology, and education reveals socioeconomic…

This article provides a response from the perspectives of a teacher of the gifted and a trainer of teachers of the gifted. Following a brief summary of the authors' collective experience, the article highlights major issues represented by the four articles and identifies common themes across the various disciplines with respect to consultation and…

Discusses the role of creative arts in developing talent among gifted students. Talent development strategies using the arts are identified. Also describes ways that teachers can support collaboration among the arts and that parents can advocate and foster arts programs. (CR)

In this analysis, socioeconomic barriers to talent development are explored from the vantage points of major thinkers and recent research findings in context-sensitive disciplines such as economics, sociology, and ethical philosophy. Insights drawn from these perspectives provide the basis for recommendations for educators of the gifted. (Contains…

This issue of the Center's "Systems Newsletter" will be the last one published under the aegis of Dr. JoyceVanTassel-Baska, the Center's founder and current Executive Director. As of this August Dr. VanTassel-Baska will officially retire from the College of William and Mary and the Center. She will still be an integral part of the Center…

This book provides ideas and strategies for developing verbal talents in elementary and middle school students. Chapters include: (1) "The Process of Talent Development" (Joyce VanTassel-Baska); (2) "Talent Identification and Development in the Language Arts" (A. Harry Passow); (3) "Reading, Writing, and the Construction of Meaning" (Nancy Nelson…

Describes a three-week interdisciplinary summer workshop in visual arts, drama, and creative writing for talented middle school students. Regular faculty and community artists taught poetry, theater arts, batiking methods, watercolor painting, and ceramics. An evening showcase presentation for parents and friends concluded the program. (LS)

This article summarizes research findings related to the characteristics, identification, and programming for gifted students with learning disabilities. It also presents data from 2 projects that examined the identification and characteristics of this population. Research-generated recommendations are provided and the need for a continuum of…

This report reviews a program designed to help talented high school students explore the arts. In the first of five sections, major program activities are defined as those intended to increase the students' self knowledge, knowledge of work in the arts, and ability to relate the two in career decision making. Emphasis is on the engagement of…

This manual is intended to assist teachers in Nebraska's schools in meeting the needs of high-ability learners in their classrooms. Chapter 1 focuses on curriculum differentiation regarding the content, process, and product. Bloom's taxonomy of thinking is discussed; a list of acceptable student projects for elementary and secondary students is…