Discusses using interdisciplinary classroom projects planned jointly by students and teacher in a language arts based gifted program for students in grades K-6. Describes projects based on the study of teddy bears and real bears, publicizing National Children's Book Week, and conducting a study of the students' school and community.(DHP)

An introductory editorial essay on responding differently to student differences, the theme of this issue of "Educational Leadership." Addresses problems arising from discrimination and tracking, and cites articles that show how dissimilar students can work together. (TE)

Describes an advocacy group of teachers and parents concerned with gifted children in rural northern Florida. Discusses an unusual collaboration between university and school district, in which three teacher education courses led to advocacy group formation, and each teacher-student became an expert in one problem area of gifted children. 15…

Views about the purposes of school, motivational orientations, and beliefs about the causes of academic success were examined in a sample of 119 seventh- and eighth-grade students of very high academic ability and attainment. Results indicate that competitive and acquisitive attitudes may be incompatible with interest in learning. (TJH)

Certain highly able and motivated young adolescents can successfully pursue full-time college-level studies without unreasonable compromises to psychological and social adjustment. Ways in which an adequate program facilitating early college entrance might be structured are suggested. (Author/MLW)

Described is an integrated investigation to study interdependence among ants. The instructional sequences and results of this activity are provided. A matrix is given which details the content covered in this investigation. (CW)

Gifted and talented children are exceptional and are deserving of mandated educational services. A rationale for providing services to gifted/talented children is based on examination of preference satisfaction, equity, stigma, and the effects of the availability of such services. A decision matrix compares policies across the specified criteria.…

The Perception of Ability Scale for Students was administered to 29 intellectually gifted students and 71 average achievers in grade six in New Zealand. Gifted students held significantly higher ability perceptions in general ability, arithmetic, reading/spelling, and confidence. No differences were found in perceptions of school satisfaction and…

This article reports on a project responding to the need for culturally relevant alternatives to existing assessment practices in the identification of giftedness among rural Mexican Americans in the southwestern United States. Students identified using multidimensional and holistic procedures showed similar cognitive and performance profiles to…

This paper discusses a multicomponent approach to assessment of productive thinking with gifted students. It presents a model of productive thinking encompassing creative and critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. Emphasis is on planning/profiling, instruction, evaluation, and documentation. Profiling, performance assessment,…

This study examined the verbalizations of 90 middle school students as they thought aloud while solving mathematical word problems. Results indicated that students with learning disabilities (LD) and average achievers were less strategic in approaching mathematical problem solving than gifted students, and LD students approached problem solving in…

The study reported here assessed the analogical reasoning ability of gifted young children and examined the influence of gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity on that ability. Only the effect of ethnicity was found to be significant. The mean difference in analogical reasoning reflected performance differences between the white and Hispanic…

The Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) and the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) were evaluated as possible instruments for identifying academically talented students in minority populations. A significantly higher proportion of minority children scored well on the RPM than on a traditional measure. Issues and concerns about using the…

This retrospective study evaluated an elementary pull-out program based on the Purdue Three-Stage Model. Perceptions of students and families when the students were seniors in high school indicated the program was seen as having a long-term positive impact on the cognitive, affective, and social development of most participating students.…

This study investigated the levels of moral reasoning, ego identity formation, and gender role socialization among 167 gifted and talented high school seniors. No significant gender differences were found, but different ethnic groups were more variable on the Defining Issues test than on other measures. Students in general endorsed either…