This paper addresses the controversy regarding the use of cooperative learning with gifted elementary students, by means of participant observation methodology. The study had three segments: (1) observation of fourth through sixth grade gifted students working in cooperative groups at a pullout site; (2) interviews with students to assess student…

This paper offers a critical examination of definitions, issues, and practices relative to identification of students who are gifted and talented in the visual arts. The lack of agreement on the definition of talent in the arts is discussed, along with the role of culture, student characteristics, creativity, skills, cognitive abilities, affective…

The case study of a visually gifted 8-year-old child illustrates the problems that may be encountered in determining giftedness that is manifested largely through visual processes and products. The child's intelligence quotient was just below that required for admission to the gifted program in his school. Retesting with the complete number of…

Designed for teachers and parents, this pamphlet addresses academic acceleration for gifted children and offers brief descriptions of some major types of acceleration along with issues of assessment and appropriateness for each. Early admission to kindergarten is described as attractive because it allows children to be accelerated without the…

This paper reports the results of a national survey that investigated the scope and nature of professional development practices in gifted education used in 1,231 school districts across the country. Professional development was defined on the survey as a planned program of learning opportunities to improve the performance of the administrative…

This paper asserts that for gifted students, college planning should be one step in a life development process that takes place between 7th and 12th grades. Characteristics of gifted students that affect their college planning include multipotentiality, sensitivity to competing expectations, uneven development, ownership of their abilities,…

University Primary School (UPS) is an early childhood gifted program affiliated with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This paper highlights three innovative uses of technology at UPS: Knowledge Web pages, photo portfolios, and Chickscope. The Knowledge Web pages are a collection of Web pages that serve as a virtual bulletin board…

Focusing on the cooperative role of parents and public libraries in stimulating reading interests in children of all ages, this booklet addresses the following issues: (1) getting children interested in reading (reading aloud to children; encouraging children to read to you; starting a home library; showing children that you enjoy reading;…

This ERIC/RCS Special Collection contains 10 or more digests (brief syntheses of the research on a specific topic in contemporary education) and FAST Bibs (Focused Access to Selected Topics--annotated bibliographies with selected entries from the ERIC database), providing up-to-date information in an accessible format. The collection focuses on…

This document's purpose is to establish the minimum standards for approval of programs for education of gifted students in Arkansas. Guidelines are included to: (1) enable school districts to establish equitable criteria for identification of gifted and talented students; (2) establish programs which will lead to appropriate educational…

A 3-month practicum utilized teacher workshops and biweekly consultation to provide all fourth grade teachers (N=11) in a public school district with higher level questioning strategies to meet gifted students' cognitive needs. A total of six fourth grade students were identified as gifted and talented. At the workshops, higher level questioning…

This monograph is organized in three main sections addressing problems, promising practices, and equitable procedures low cost in the identification of students with gifted potential. The first section considers problems in identification. These include: (1) elitist and distorted definitions of giftedness, (2) confusion about purposes of…

This study examined cooperative learning (CL) programs that were successfully meeting the needs of gifted students and identified factors critical to this success. Of 19 programs nominated as models of cooperative learning, 5 sites were selected and visited: Wilton Public Schools, Connecticut; Glenville Elementary School, Connecticut; Mary Taylor…

This theme issue on talent development in students who are gifted or have special talents contains several feature articles, editorials, and a calendar of events. Articles have the following titles and authors: "Talent Development in Education" (John F. Feldhusen) proposes four domains for fostering talent in all youth:…

This literature review describes and evaluates five accelerative methods for teaching intellectually gifted students at the secondary level. The review stresses the importance of matching student characteristics and instructional type, citing research demonstrating that intellectually gifted students achieve at higher levels when their educational…