Astronomy is critical for human development, driving technology and innovation, and creating knowledge that allows humanity to understand the universe more fully. Women, however, remain underrepresented in this field. Many women leave the field before becoming established, yet little is known about women who persist and succeed. The purpose of…

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…

Rural schools, especially smaller ones, offer enormous opportunities for teachers to get to know their students and to cultivate their academic talents. However, students with potential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) face specific obstacles to having their talents fully realized in rural schools. Joni Lakin, Tamra…

Talent development addresses important components and stages of domain trajectories from childhood through adulthood, with the goal of providing opportunities for achieving creative productivity for those with abilities and aspirations to pursue that goal. The talent development megamodel (TDMM) identifies the interaction of domain specific…

Technology is an increasingly omnipresent and rapidly changing component of today's world. As a result, there is an urgency to develop talent in the field of computer science (CS). The purpose of this article is to examine ways that educational systems can develop students' talents to fill the need for skilled CS professionals. We provide an…

Domestic and international competition for STEM talent is driving institutions across the research and innovation landscape to consider new policies and partnerships for building and managing STEM knowledge and skills. New levels of investment in human capital to increase U.S. innovation capacity and competitiveness will require coordination and…

Fostering diverse and inclusive teams that are highly skilled, innovative, and productive is critical for maintaining U.S. leadership in space exploration. In recent years, NASA has taken steps to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in their workforce by releasing its equity action plan, emphasizing how diverse and…

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…

This study uses a naturalistic inquiry approach to investigate how rural educators navigate the affordances and barriers of implementing an out-of-school program to identify and develop middle school STEM talent in rural communities. At the time of this study, the STEM program was in its fourth year of implementation. Participants included 34…

The Center for Gifted Education (Center) at William & Mary has provided diverse enrichment programs for high-ability students since 1988. With an aspiration to serve financially disadvantaged students, the Center developed and hosted a summer residential enrichment program in STEM areas. Camp Launch, for low-income, high-ability middle school…

Gifted students may be at risk of school disengagement due to lacking intellectual challenges. Four talent centers were established to offer makerspace enrichment programs, because makerspace activities promote engagement and science, mathematics, and technology learning. In the current study, we investigated gifted students' experiences with…

During the Cultivating Diverse Talent in STEM (CDTIS), studies were designed to identify and cultivate talent in potential innovators from low socioeconomic status (SES) and cultural groups underrepresented in the region: American Indian and Hispanic. Comparisons were made between those identified using conventional measures (CI) and those…

Talent developmental experiences of economically disadvantaged students of Specialized STEM Talent Residential High Schools (SSTRHS) were investigated. Nine students who were preferentially admitted to SSTRHS due to their families' economic disadvantage were interviewed twice on their experiences from early childhood to college. The data were…

The matriculation, retention, and graduation of students is a critical and ongoing effort in undergraduate engineering education. Implementing measures is vital in increasing student motivation to continue pursuing engineering and is especially important for individuals from low-income and academically talented students. At the University of…

Over the past 50 years, eight robust generalizations about intellectual precocity have emerged, been empirically documented, and replicated through longitudinal research. Within the top 1% of general and specific abilities (mathematical, spatial, and verbal) over one third of the range of individual differences are to be found, and they are…