A part-time pilot program to meet the needs of gifted underachievers successfully demonstrated increased self-esteem, satisfaction in school, and acceptable school behavior among identified students. Gains in reading and language were extraordinary; gains were less remarkable in mathematics. Results were not teacher-specific and were generalized.…

An elementary-school self-contained gifted class was compared to a control group on a general test of cognitive ability. Program participants exhibited significantly higher gains than did controls, and at the end of the program, participants also rated the quality of their school life more highly than did controls. (Author/JDD)

When 247 gifted/talented young women in grades 10-11 completed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire and the Self Directed Search, results indicated that, while gender identity appears to play a central role, adolescents' occupational interests, competencies, and preferences change and undergo refinement as a function of emerging instrumental and…

Describes an ethnographic study of an inservice graduate course designed to help teachers use computers to teach writing and other skills to the academically able. Claims the course significantly reduced teachers' computer anxiety and their writing apprehension. (RS)

This article discusses signs that America has adopted a negative view of gifted children, including the undermining of the Jacob Javits Act, grade inflation, and a shift in funding and legal mandates from the gifted toward students with disabilities or low achievement. Reasons for this trend and suggestions for responsive action are discussed. (PB)

Suggestions are made for a new paradigm for identifying talent potential in underserved populations. Suggestions focus on dynamic assessment of gifted behaviors within students' own sociocultural contexts, more varied and more authentic assessment, and integrating identification processes with learning opportunities. (Author/PB)

Challenges the Social Darwinism behind special programming for gifted and talented students, that is the notion that some are innately smarter and can learn better than others. The author argues that critical thinking can be developed in all children and discusses the importance of teachers, parents, and the learning environment in a child's…

Discusses several research-based premises underlying meaningful instruction for gifted and regular students. Lessons should be relevant and student centered, and students should be actively involved in their own learning and aware of attainable standards that guarantee high-quality work. This article describes an interdisciplinary Iowa summer…

This article presents four case studies of extreme mathematical precocity in two boys and two girls. Problems in providing appropriately challenging instruction for these children are noted. The article concludes with 11 recommendations for programming for exceptionally talented students. (DB)

This article summarizes 2 research studies with approximately 2,000 adolescents and their parents that investigated the influence of parents' gender stereotypes on their perceptions of their own children and on the children's self-perceptions of ability, especially in mathematics. Implications for three areas of gifted education are drawn: (1)…

This paper presents cognitive and social data on 134 gifted students at a Moscow (Russia) residential math/physics high school. Three case studies of students frequently selected by students in a sociometric task are detailed. Discussion focuses on effects of lack of emphasis in humanities and social sciences, and on social and gender issues. (DB)

This article describes a teaching model, Process-Based Instruction (PBI), that is applicable to mainstream classrooms containing students with diverse abilities. PBI enables teachers to individualize instruction by involving all students in the development of plans for curriculum and learning activities. With PBI, gifted students work at their own…

This article reviews research on the Schoolwide Enrichment Triad Model, which combines the previously developed Enrichment Triad and Revolving Door Identification Models of gifted education. Research reviewed addresses: model effectiveness, creative productivity, personal and social development, underserved populations, self-efficacy, curricular…

Project Step-Up, a federally funded program which serves primary-level potentially gifted and talented children who are economically disadvantaged, bilingual, or have special needs, developed methods to involve parents in their child's educational growth and development. Methods include parent education seminars, home-based activities, and a…

This article examines findings from a project to create and implement a model to assess exceptional potential in primary-level students. The article discusses the project's impact on the first cohort of 33 classroom teachers' attitudes and behaviors toward the identification of and programming for young minority and/or economically disadvantaged…