This article examines the importance of encouraging children's interests and the pursuit of collections and hobbies as strategies for developing talent and abilities. Excerpts are cited from eminent people's lives as examples of early interests/collections and eventual success. Letters from children on their collections are included. (Contains…

In this study, a team of researchers conducted multiple observations in 12 third- and seventh-grade reading classrooms in both urban and suburban school districts over a 9-month period. These observations focused on whether talented readers received differentiated reading curriculum and or instructional strategies. Talented readers were defined as…

This investigation compared fantasy-proneness levels and IQ scores in gifted adolescents with primary talent areas in 1 of 4 domains: mathematics, computer science, creative writing, and chemistry. The Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings: Children's Form (ICMIC; Myers, 1983) was used to assess fantasy-proneness. IQ scores were generated…

This article describes competitions across a range of curricular areas that develop students' problem solving skills by setting authentic, real-world tasks. As individuals or members of a team, students in these competitions are challenged with finding solutions to problems faced not only in today's scientific and technological world, but also in…

This chapter describes community college honors programs and courses, emphasizing in particular the Honors College at Miami Dade College in Florida. The chapter discusses pros and cons of honors programs and courses in the context of their appropriateness to the community college mission of open access and egalitarianism. (Contains 1 table.)

While equality of eduation is an important value, the overriding quest for equity has jeopardized the pursuit of excellence in public schools. Without advanced or enriched programs, gifted students may fall short of their potential or lose interest in school. Since curricula have been "dumbed down" to help weaker students, gifted students perceive…

The antecedents for the four regional annual talent searches for boys and girls who reason exceptionally well mathematically and/or verbally began in 1971 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, with the creation of the "Study of mathematically precocious youth" under the direction of the author of this article, its…

Technological advances and widespread access to the Internet are facilitating new educational approaches that go beyond the traditional face-to-face classroom setting. Distance education has emerged as a valuable option for a number of special populations of learners whose needs are more difficult to meet in the classroom, of which gifted students…

Do prospective music teachers with piano proficiency have an advantage in the job market? Can playing the piano well help practicing teachers achieve greater success in the classroom? In this article, the author stresses that piano proficiency is a necessary survival tool for music teachers regardless of their primary instrument or vocal specialty…

Those who had the honor of meeting or studying with Leonard Bernstein (1918-90) will never forget his passion and his dedication to teaching. He communicated through physical expression, enthusiasm, and a gift for making the most complex musical topics easy to understand. Thirty years have passed since the end of his Young People's Concerts with…

Conceptual models of giftedness that cannot explain the full spectrum of depicted behaviors are incomplete. The same is true for frameworks that purport to analyze those behaviors. Within giftedness, extraordinary and rare talents afford us the opportunity to extend and modify models and frameworks. This article presents an analysis of the first 2…

This article presents an interview with Dr. Rena F. Subotnik, a director of the Center for Gifted Education Policy at the American Psychological Association (APA). The Center's mission is to generate public awareness, advocacy, clinical applications, and cutting-edge research ideas that will enhance the achievement and performance of children and…

This study examined the talent search program from the perspectives of local school officials who enroll their students in the program, a topic on which little research currently exists. Specifically, the authors were interested in the following issues and questions: (1) How do local schools learn about talent search and how do they encourage…

Finding high potentials has been identified as one of the major challenges for society and for higher education. But how does one find the talented individuals who will design the future of society? Can and should universities cooperate or compete with business and industry for these talents? Three CEOs reflect on this worldwide competition for…

The central and peripheral visual fields are structurally segregated in the brain and are differentiated by their anatomical and functional characteristics. While the central field appears well suited for tasks such as visual search, the periphery is optimized for rapid processing over broad regions. People vary in their abilities to make use of…