Eight Australian student teachers developed and implemented enrichment workshops for local gifted students (preschool through secondary levels). Evaluation found that both students and student teachers learned from participation in the program, while regular teachers were given a stimulus to establish such workshops on an ongoing basis.…

This study administered a cognitive battery of 9 tasks to 400 regular kindergarten children and 31 children identified as gifted. The upper 2% of the regular sample outperformed 81% of the gifted sample, with minority group students achieving most of the top scores. Results support the use of such batteries in identifying previously unidentified…

Bibliographic information on 98 recent books on creativity and problem solving is presented, arranged alphabetically by author. Each listing notes the major topics addressed. Topics include creative ability in business, organizational change, gifted students, technological innovations, psychological aspects of creativity, and social aspects of…

A study explored factors contributing to the boredom of three gifted adolescents who had gradually disengaged from classroom learning. Five interdependent features emerged that distinguished boring experiences from learning experiences: control, choice, challenge, complexity, and caring teachers. Students felt the honorable action in response to…

A review of the literature on best practices, both instructional and curricular, that may lead to increased achievement among gifted students, found that flexible ability grouping, combined with appropriate curricular revision or differentiation, may result in substantial achievement gains both for average and high ability learners. (Contains…

A study involving three children with impaired hearing, three typical children, and three showing intellectual advancement, found children scoring above 130 IQ at age four demonstrated significantly advanced pretend play as toddlers. Mothers of the high IQ children engaged in scaffolding behaviors involving higher stages of pretend transformation,…

This article considers whether educators, in the quest to serve the identified gifted students, have diluted the concept of giftedness so much that the needs of truly gifted children remain unmet. It explores the watering down of the concept of giftedness and discusses scientific evidence on the heritability of intelligence. (Contains references.)…

Contends there is a continuing Australian wariness of intellectual precocity and it is self-evident that strong feelings of egalitarianism are still prevalent in policy debates concerning New South Wales (NSW) educational history. Explores some of these aspects historically from convict beginnings to the present. Speculates about their effect on…

This article discusses how the broadening of the federal definition of giftedness will possibly increase the number of students identified as gifted. Far from dumbing down the definition, this article argues the new definition will allow many minority children to be identified and served as gifted students. (Contains 8 references.) (CR)

Twelve teachers of the gifted who serve elementary English learners participated in focus groups designed to glean practitioner knowledge concerning effective approaches. Participating teachers characterized gifted English learners as enthusiastic, high-level thinkers. They recommended strategies consistent with identified needs and with the…

This article discusses reasons why academic achievements of gifted girls in British grade schools are surpassing those of gifted boys: greater self-confidence in the girls, changes in the style and content of British curriculum and assessment that favor female study patterns, and greater attention to equal gender opportunities in the classroom.…

In this interview with Dr. Mary Frasier, the creator of the Frasier Talent Assessment Profile, her passion for discovering and helping develop the talents of children from diverse cultural backgrounds and atypical gifted children is discussed. The need for continued research on the signs of potential abilities in children is stressed. (Contains 2…

This article describes the Science Starts Early program, which is designed to expose young, potentially gifted children, particularly girls, to basic scientific principles that will allow them to explore the world around them. A Science Starts Early program curriculum is described and examples are provided of experiments. (Contains references.)…

This article discusses social giftedness and its characteristics. Social giftedness is defined as the exceptional capacity to form mature, productive relationships and develop effective social interactions with peers and others. Special abilities include understanding, empathy, tolerance, and justice. A study using the Delphi technique to identify…

A study of 20 gifted children (ages 9-14) provides the basis of a model of social and emotional adjustment to stressors presented in this article. Intrapersonal, family, school, and peer influences, as well as functional and dysfunctional patterns of social and emotional adjustment, are explained within the framework of the model. (Author/CR)