The authors review findings from research on definition, identification, characteristics, courses, and intervention programs for underachieving gifted students. Among conclusions cited is the need for a more commonly accepted and functional definition and for understanding that underachievement is a pattern typically set in the elementary years.…

Britain's Yehudi Menuhin School is a residential program in which 47 highly committed and talented young string players and pianists (8-18 years old) are exposed to a belief in the importance of the all-around educated artist rather than the narrow technician. (CO)

The author sees the integration of humor in the classroom as one method to recognize creative talent and to develop that talent. (Author/SW)

Advanced Placement (AP) courses, although varying widely from school to school, are college-level work offered to secondary students to prepare them for AP examinations. AP courses provide appropriate content and pacing for students, including gifted and talented students, and can ease the transition from high school to college. (CL)

The authors examine why the attribution of "giftedness,""talent," or "creativeness" to the mentally retarded has been neglected, review definitions applicable to this group, examine the therapeutic effects of various types of art work (work which could be attributed as "gifted",) and suggest techniques to…

The authors suggest the need for conceptual shifts in the identification and definition of gifted children. They foresee a change toward broadened assessment of cognitive and affective development. Among recommended service options are advance placement classes, early admission, curricular comprehension, work study programs, and supervised…

A model which draws on alternative schools, community education, and community based social services is advocated to provide variety and to certify minimum skill achievement for all. Gifted students could select courses which would permit progress in areas of their choice. (CL)

The existence of delinquent gifted and talented students is considered, and reasons for their turn to crime are pondered. (CL)

Teachers of gifted children are addressed in a discussion of dealing with feelings of gifted students. Combining respect for their skills and talents with an ability to manage and confront their manipulation is considered. (CL)

The author considers limits to the learning of gifted students, suggests 15 guidelines for the identification process in the 1980s, describes the need for new instructional methodologies, and cites the need for a vigorous image of the future in gifted education. (CL)

The article describes the Mentor Academy Program (MAP), a model for involving mentors as an integral part in the education of the gifted/talented and for training the gifted/talented to be mentors. (SBH)

The second article in a three-part series focuses on the GIFTS Identification Instrument for selecting talented children in six areas: convergent thinking and behavior, divergent/creative thinking and behavior, goal-related thinking and behavior, social skills and behavior, physical skills and behavior, and affective thinking and behavior. (SBH)

The steps involved in creative problem solving (CPS) are described, and suggestions are made for incorporating CPS into instruction for gifted and talented students. (CL)

The paper reviews literature on the process of mentoring the creative child, adult, or prodigy, and discusses differences in mentoring the "creatives" as opposed to other proteges. Emphasized are the importance of early identification of the creative child and the role of parents as mentors. (Author/JDD)

This interview with Joshua Lederberg, who won the 1958 Nobel prize in physiology and medicine, covers his research interests, the role of mentors, his childhood and school years as a highly gifted child, the nature of good teaching, child prodigies, and the scientific endeavor. (DB)