Giftedness

THIS IS YOUR CUE: TIME TO TAKE ACTION
Call upon the community or general public, parents and youths, mental health professionals, physicians and nurses, educators, Facebook and other internet social media, religious groups, athletes, celebrities, secular and SBNR, school administrators, news media, Hollywood, academia, scientists, employers and employees, business owners and managers, private individuals and public officials, to join their talents, opportunities, and influence to support student mental health and end school shootings. Sharing this article is one way you can help https://www.academia.edu/35809557

This qualitative study investigated the lived experiences of highly sensitive persons (HSPs) to better understand the way they experience careers.  Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is the underlying personality trait and is present in approximately 20 percent of the population, equally distributed across gender and racial lines.  SPS is considered a non-normative personality trait in some Western societies and subcultures.  Thus, many HSPs experience difficulty finding an appropriate match between innate temperament and career.   
This qualitative research perspective employed semi-structured interviews with 35 participants recruited through social media web sites and snowball sampling.  Participants in the study were primarily from the U.S., but also from five foreign countries.  Participants were chosen based on answers to a recruitment questionnaire and Elaine Aron’s HSP Self-Test.  Major findings reveal a complex, interwoven dynamic interplay between nine major themes: (1) empathy, (2) childhood’s influence, (3) self-care, (4) a rich inner life, (5) creativity, (6) high sensation-seeking, (7) the sociological perspective, (8) the experience of work, and (9) the integral being.  The significance of this study is that it is the first of its kind to investigate this topic in a systematic, scientific manner.

According to the objectives of the paper, the evaluation was checked together with the participants in semi-structured interviews. Two assessments were given to the students: the strategic talent management and the innovation potential assessment. A control group was used, wherein the students received an innovation potential assessment but not the strategic talent management assessment. There was a vital difference between students who took the strategic talent management assessment and those who did not in assessing their innovation potential. A difference was also seen in the area of flexibility, self-confidence and achievement drive. The research exhibited that the assessment had helped the majority of the participants to get more involved in the needs of the market to make a greater impact in on today’s society since they became more aware of their own skills, talents,
capabilities, and goals.

The popular notion of creativity in schools is that of the creative art student or the creative writer, yet creativity can be utilised as a particular way of thinking with regards to producing information and learning at school which can be applicable across curriculum areas. Many traits and characteristics of gifted students overlap those of creative students as identified in the literature. This paper includes examples of techniques teachers can employ in developing creativity within their classroom, with a particular focus on visual arts using The Dynamic Creativity Process Model. This model is designed to be used across the curriculum as a holistic approach to enhancing creative and the artistic potential of gifted students. The model supports student learning using divergent and convergent thinking and encourages higher-order thinking, integration, intuition and evaluation.
http://www.talented.org.au/enhancing-creativity-for-gifted-and-talented-students-a-visual-arts-classroom/

Creative is an important trait in improving all aspects of our lives; yet, because it cannot be easily quantified, it is given too little attention in our schools.  Creativity is a form of problem solving that relies on being able to first identify problems then redefine them.  Some personal traits or characteristics are more amenable to creativity than others; however, all can improve their ability to think creativity through the use of creative thinking skills and by understanding the process of creativity.

The chapter offers a comparison of an Orthodox and a Roman Catholic approach to the foundations of sacramental theology. With each theologian the author analyses an underlying epistemology, a type of relational and symbolic understanding of God, and then asks how these influence preference either for the church or for the world as a starting point for sacramental theology. In her conclusion she suggests how both approaches could complement each other.

‘Gifted and talented’ has become the official way of referring to high-achieving, able school pupils. The author questions the validity and appropriateness of this label and calls for a more sophisticated and inclusive framework.

Author profile: http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=13209

The Behavioral Characteristics of Kindergarten
Gifted Children in Saudi Arabia: Construction
and Validation of a Scale 315
Usama M. A. Ibrahim and Abdullah M. Aljughaiman

This study aims to: (a) develop a scale of behavioral characteristics
for gifted children at the kindergarten stage; (b) ensure reliability
and validity of the scale; (c) defi ne differences between the means
of teachers’ ratings for both males and females on the different dimensions of the scale; (d) defi ne differences between the means of teachers’ ratings for the three age groups on the different dimensions of the scale; and (e) defi ne differences between the means of teachers’ ratings for gifted and nongifted on the different dimensions of the scale.

This paper is the result of a literature study in 2015 and 2016 concerning suicide among gifted and the status quo of suicide research. The literature on suicide among the gifted is overviewed, in depth with regard to:
• the occurrence of suicide among the gifted,
• an increase in suicidality among the gifted,
• the background of these gifted,
• their attempts and suicide methods,
• research methodologies mostly applied to study giftedness and suicidality,
• signals of suicidality among the gifted ,
• possible interventions for suicidal gifted.
What is apparent from our review is that the literature with regard to suicide among the gifted is filled with little empirically sound research. But research does indicate that suicide occurs among the gifted population.  It is also apparent that suicide is occurring among the gifted at a rate, which necessitates future research to have (1) the ability to recognize  risks and (2) to deploy the most efficient and effective suicide prevention methods.

The use of questionnaires to evaluate educational initiatives is widespread, but often problematic. This paper examines four aspects of an evaluation survey carried out with very able pupils attending out-of-school classes: ethics, design, bias and interpretation. There is a particular focus on the interpretation and analysis of pupils’ answers to open questions. Conclusions are drawn from this analysis which will help teachers and others to take a careful and critical approach to their use of questionnaires in educational evaluation.

Author profile: http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=13209

[A limited number of eprints of this article are available - send me a message if you require one].

This paper addresses the issue of identification of gifted and talented children, discusses the two commonly used procedures for identification, namely, screening and nomination, and illustrates the author’s personal experiences regarding identification issues in China and Hong Kong.

Introduction
Regarding teachers of the gifted:
1. Is it recommended, or is it better for gifted students, that their teachers should be gifted individuals?
2. Should teachers of gifted students be especially talented regarding all aspects of teaching but not taking their intellectual abilities
into consideration?
The second question, namely, the required characteristics of a gifted and talented teacher, has been widely discussed. The
characteristics that are considered most important for being good teachers – whether in the regular system or for gifted students,
have not changed since this question has been first discussed. This article will offer a summary of the characteristics of the good,
ideal, or recommended teacher according to studies published around the world.
The first question, whether teachers of the gifted should be gifted, will also be answered – to the best of my knowledge for the first
time in the literature dealing with this issue.

Abstract: Among non-gifted adolescents school-related problems might include school pressure, such as lack of learning motivation,
concentration problems, lack of interest, or just laziness. The nongifted
might prefer to do fun things, such as spend time with friends rather than activities that have been chosen for them by responsible adults. Very often this is not the situation for gifted adolescents.
Many of them actually like learning, love working hard in order to accomplish cognitive tasks, and wish to have more and more difficult subjects they can absorb themselves in. However, too often they cannot do it in their regular classes; many a time not even in their special gifted groups. Some of the most frequent school-related problems gifted adolescents are likely to cope with are acceleration of their studies, choosing a suitable learning track and make early decisions about academic studies, the difficulty of enduring boredom, negative attitude of peers, high expectations, or the pressure “not to neglect one’s giftedness”, school discipline and self-discipline problems, the difficulty to understand
others, problems related to introversion, perfectionism, as well as  mpatience and intolerance.

The aim of the study was to explore the effect of enrichment programs on the academic achievement of gifted and talented students. The sample of the study consisted of (30) gifted and talented students studying at Al-Kourah Pioneer Center for gifted and talented students (APCGTS), Jordan. An achievement test was developed and applied on the sample of the study as a pretest and posttest. The results showed the effects of enrichment programs at APCGTS on improving the academic achievement of gifted and talented students.
Keywords: gifted & talented students; enrichment; academic achievement; Pioneer Centers

We examine recent research across countries and cultures in regard to the issues related to the formation of gifted and talented education perspectives, policies, and practices. Many modern cultures and subcultures have developed formal and informal definitions of what it means to be gifted and talented, and when we compare the perceptions, policies, and practices across nations, we discover very different constructs of intelligence and ability. These understandings of giftedness and gifted and talented education can be grouped into four binary dimensions, scholarly versus co-curricular capabilities, aptitude versus achievement, nature versus nurture, and individualistic versus collective, that have significant implications for policy and practice. These constructs can serve as a foundation for countries that are looking to formalize or expand their gifted and talented education models or can be used to challenge the norms of established systems. We put forward recommendations to address some of the challenges in advancing gifted education cross-nationally, an area that is often assumed to introduce risks of enlarging social inequity. We also provide a cross-national matrix that captures known elements of gifted education policies and programs from over 20 subnational jurisdictions, countries, and world regions.

In this article, we begin with a short discussion of teaching and learning models, then describe what we believe is an exciting new model that can be used effectively in the teaching of gifted students. The main focus of this article is on the evidence showing that it is comprehensive (i.e., it is a way to implement all the curriculum principles important in teaching gifted students), flexible (i.e., can be used with a variety of ages of students, in a variety of settings, in many cultural contexts, and in many types of programmes) and valid (i.e., it has a research base showing that it has been developed using appropriate methods and is effective with all students, especially those who are gifted).

This paper presents findings from two separate research projects conducted between 2012 and 2015, which together examined the experiences of 19 twice exceptional children. The first study used a mixed methods approach with eleven students to investigate their educational experiences through quantitative instruments and in-depth interviews. The second study used narrative case study inquiry methods to elicit eight children's in-school and out-of-school experiences of being twice exceptional, using the unique method of interviewing the children in their own home settings. Relatively little is known about the educational experiences of twice exceptional children, particularly in Australia, and how their experiences may contribute to our understanding of individual needs. Findings across both studies point to twice exceptional children's insights about their giftedness and their disability. These insights reflect feelings of being different to their peers, issues with interpersonal relationships; such as bullying and limited understanding from others. Many of these experiences increased stress and anxiety levels, which were further exacerbated by some educators' frequent focus on disability rather than ability. These negative experiences were often ameliorated by out-of-school support, personal interests, and both parental and self-advocacy. Together, the findings across these two studies provide new understandings about these children's experiences.

The gifted students are nurtured in Turkey through the gifted centers called Bilim ve Sanat Merkezi. However, some
expectations and exam-centered education system cause gifted students to be overlooked in terms of social emotional needs
by school, family and social environment. There aren’t any classes of ‘Emotional Literacy’ for gifted students in Turkey. Moreover,
formal educational system in the country for children who have the same age and intellectual quotient unfortunately
isn’t sufficient to be able to constitute privileged environment for those who are gifted and our gifted children label as ‘17 children’
not having the opportunity to meet their special needs. It is suggested by most of experts that intelligence quotient isn’t
enough itself in special education. Success in professional sphere after education depends on emotional quotient rather than
intellectual quotient. The inexperience in gifted education of the country and inadequate practice of ‘Emotional Literacy’ class
indicate that our country should benefit from experienced countries in the fields. It is aimed at improving gifted students’
emotional quotient conducting the technique of focus group in the gifted center called Izmit Bilim ve Sanat Merkezi in Turkey;
providing them to be successful through affective domain; teaching them ‘Emotional Literacy’ as a model class for Turkey;
thus gaining sustainability in gifted education.

Se distinguen los tipos de crecimiento en el hombre principalmente el orgánico, el de la esencia humana y el del acto de ser personal. Se propone la esperanza y el don como lógica del cre- cimiento del ser personal y a Dios como crecimien- to originario absoluto en continuidad con la pro- puesta de Leonardo Polo

Toplumların ihtiyacı olan nitelikli ve yetenekli bireyler, potansiyellerini kullanmada gösterdikleri performansla hem toplumun yetişmiş insan ihtiyacını karşılamakta hem de yeteneklerine üstünlük niteliği kazandırmaktadırlar. Yeteneğe üstünlük vasfı kazandıran unsurların bilinmesi, yetenekli bireyi doğru belirleme ve bu bireye ihtiyacı olan eğitimi vermenin ilk adımıdır. Üstün yetenekliliğin unsurlarını kavramın tarihsel gelişim süreci içerisinden literatür taramasıyla çıkarmak, Kavramı tanımlamayı kolaylaştıracaktır. Üstün yeteneklilik kavramı tarih içerisinde başlan­gıçta askeri amaçlara hizmet etti. Sonraları zihinsel becerilerle ilişkisi kuruldu. Günümüze yakın çalışmalarla, kavram, modellerle ifade edildi. Bütün bunlar üstün yeteneklilik kavramını oluşturan unsurları ortaya çıkardı. Üstün yeteneklilik kavramı açık-uçlu kavramdır. Toplumun ihtiyaçlarıyla şekillenen aranan insan tipi kavrama yeni unsurlar kazandırabilmektedir.

(Qualified and gifted people both meet the needs of qualified people of societies and also increase their own abilities by using their gift and potentials. Knowing what factors make the ability gifted is the first step in determining the gifted people properly and providing the right education. Pulling out the giftedness factors from the concept's historical development with literature review will make the determination process easier. In history, at first, giftedness served for military purposes. Later, the concept was linked to cognitive abilities. In recent studies the concept has been illustrated with models. This literature review revealed the factors affecting the giftedness. Giftedness is an open-ended concept. Thus, prototype of people needed by the society may add new factors to the concept.)

The lack of a unified definition of giftedness leads researchers to use very different operationalizations when selecting a sample of gifted individuals for use in research.  We found 74 empirical articles from 21 journals that differentiated between gifted and nongifted students which were analyzed to determine the most common methods of identifying individuals in research.  Results of the analysis show a lack of consensus as to what qualifies a person to be defined as gifted for the purposes of research.  This lack of consensus leads to lower generalizability of research about giftedness and to an inability for researchers in the field to compare results of studies.  An agreed-upon unified definition of giftedness for the purposes of research will lead to a more homogeneous group of participants, which in turn would lead to multiple benefits, including higher external validity in research designs.

Among non-gifted adolescents school-related problems might include school pressure, such as lack of learning motivation, concentration problems, lack of interest, or just laziness. The non-gifted might prefer to do fun things, such as spend time with friends rather than activities that have been chosen for them by responsible adults. Very often this is not the situation for gifted adolescents. Many of them actually like learning, love working hard in order to accomplish cognitive tasks, and wish to have more and more difficult subjects they can absorb themselves in. However, too often they cannot do it in their regular classes; many a time not even in their special gifted groups. Some of the most frequent school-related problems gifted adolescents are likely to cope with are acceleration of their studies, choosing a suitable learning track and make early decisions about academic studies, the difficulty of enduring boredom, negative attitude of peers, high expectations, or the pressure " not to neglect one's giftedness " , school discipline and self-discipline problems, the difficulty to understand others, problems related to introversion, perfectionism, as well as impatience and intolerance.

The purpose of this analytical review was to investigate the uses of the TASC model to teach gifted students and develop their creativity. The researcher decided to select studies of the TASC model, which were not used by Maker, Alhusaini, Zimmerman, Pease, Schiever, and Whitford (2014) in the Saudi project. The studies included 30 out of 367 studies that were chosen for the Saudi project. Out of the 30 studies, the researcher selected 15, which he identified as school-based projects in which the TASC model was specifically used or described in teaching. The researcher also added six books that were written by Belle Wallace and colleagues. All of the reviewed publications suggested that the TASC model has been an effective, useful, and practical method with all students from different grade levels and of different abilities (especially with those who were gifted), as well as in all different content areas, to teach students and develop their creativity. The researcher identified limitations across the reviewed studies and publications, such as omissions of data collection procedures, data analysis processes, and lack of information about the participants as well as the interventions. Also, most of the studies provided qualitative results with no further discussion or explanation. More high quality research is needed to improve the scholarly conversation around this model.

There are no universal definitions of giftedness. As well, there are many misconceptions about what is meant by the terms, " gifted " or " gifted and talented ". This article seeks provide a broader understanding of what giftedness is or might be and then focus specifically on how to meet the instructional needs of students who are high ability readers.

Many gifted children are “double labeled”, namely in addition of being gifted they are also learning disabled and/or suffer from emotional, social or behavioral problems. This article will present the difficulties gifted children with a double label have to deal with, especially the
difficulties in the educational system. Because of the double label the educational team faces a double challenge, in most cases without being equipped with the required knowledge or the support they need. This article will describe three case studies; techniques for intervention with such children and their families will be suggested.

Claude Bruaire a intitulé «Ontodologie» un chapitre de son livre L’être et l’esprit: «Nous proposons ce vocable, seul adéquat pour conjuguer les mots grecs signifiant l’être et le don» (EE 51). Nous pouvons nous demander si  la création d’un tel mot est nécessaire. Ne convient-il pas en effet qu’un philosophe introduise sa réflexion dans une tradition catégoriale qui a déjà montré sa valeur, sans prétendre devoir en créer une autre? La métaphysique entend porter sa réflexion sur le principe « premier » du réel. Appeler ce principe « don » permet-il de mieux entendre ce qu’est une «substance» ou l’«acte d’être»?

In deze keynote voor professionals uit onderwijs en jeugdzorg wordt aandacht besteed aan de volgende punten:
1. Voorbeelden: cognitief hoogbegaafde leerlingen
2. Begrip hoogbegaafd; leerpsychologische kenmerken
3. Leerlingverschillen bij intrede PO
4. Oorzaken onderpresteren cognitief hb leerlingen
5. Regulier onderwijs en leerlingproblemen
6. Noodaanpak en systeemmaatregelen
7. ‘Optimaliserend Onderwijs’ voor elke leerling
8. Multiniveau beleids- en schoolontwikkeling
9. Vragen en discussie
10. Referenties & repositories

Formal gifted education started in 1973 when the Israeli Ministry of Education opened the first two classes for the gifted, functioning 6 days a week: a grade 3 class in Tel Aviv and a grade 4 class in Haifa, as well as the first enrichment program in Jerusalem. In the next four decades only 3 more elementary schools had gifted classes – altogether three schools had grade 3-6 classes, one – grade 4-6 and one grade 3-8. In the 2015/16 school years two more schools had gifted classes, one had grade 3 and 4 and the other just grade 3 classes for the gifted (Special classes in elementary schools, 2016). In addition, in the 2015/6 school year 56 enrichment program from the gifted operated in the Jewish and in the Arab sectors (38 and 18 respectively) (Enrichment programs for the gifted, 2016)
In Israel the government provides generously for the gifted (e.g. Freeman, 2002). Furthermore, a later report (Freeman et al, 2010) “found that of all surveyed countries only Israel provided gifted education for all children, Jewish and Arab and had a special department for gifted children in the ministry of education” (David, 2017). This means that despite the full coverage of identification results in identifying about 5000 students every year as “gifted” or “excelling” only about 125 – 0.25% – have had the opportunity to enroll in a gifted class operating 6 days a week. In 2015, 15 schools had gifted junior high school classes – all in the Jewish sector (Special classes in junior high schools, 2015). Fifteen Jewish high schools as well as three Arab schools also had gifted classes (Special classes in high schools, 2015).
I shall hereby describe the process of diagnosing of giftedness in Israel, give a short summary of all the main existing programs for schooling of the gifted, and conclude with a critique of this system which might be most useful for a growing up system, such as the future Swiss gifted education.

The term "special education" is used, in most cases, for the education of children with learning disabilities, emotional problems, behavioral difficulties, severe physical limitations, or difficulties related to low cognitive abilities. "Gifted education", on the other hand, is used for educating the more able, children with high learning ability or special talents, creative children or children who had achieved highly in school-related or any other area, such as chess, music, painting, etc. However, many gifted children belong to both categories. Some suffer from problems or irregularities unrelated to their giftedness, for example – learning disabilities (e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, ADHD), or physical limitations, such as hearing loss, blindness, or paralysis. Some have to deal with issues directly or indirectly connected to their giftedness. For example: social acceptance has to do with conforming to the classroom norms, speaking about subjects considered age-appropriate, or being careful not to use "high level" vocabulary. A gifted child might find it difficult to participate in activities he or she has no interest in, not expressing feelings or ideas because they might seem odd to
the peers, or thinking before using any rare or unconventional word or expression. A gifted child who is bored in the classroom might adopt behaviors such as abstention from activities, daydreaming or becoming the "classroom clown" and disturbing the teachers with voice-making, making jokes at others' expense or even at the teacher's. Such behaviors – not necessary a result of the child's giftedness but related to it – lead, in many cases, to labeling the child as "badly adjusted", "socially misfit", "isolated", or the like. In this article I intend to describe the social and the educational difficulties the gifted child has to deal with in the regular as well as in the gifted classroom and present techniques which might help overcoming them. I will present in detail four, all gifted with either learning disabilities or emotional problems, and the successful interventions they had gone through until reaching reasonable results.

Research literature dealing with the issue of " who seeks help for gifted children and adolescents who have emotional psychological, educational and familial problem " is very meager. The main reasons for this situation are: a. Seeking help is not considered a " pure " pedagogical or psychological subject, and thus it falls " in-between " many categories and does not seem to fit exactly to any of them; b. When a student is referred to a counselor by a school teacher or headmaster the school is not interested in questions such as who else is sent to therapy, or what are the problems of other gifted students who need psychological help; c. When a gifted student sees a therapist it is the interest of the student's family that this intervention remains private while the counselor is obliged to confidentiality. Thus it is very rare that any party will be interested in giving any details regarding the treatment to a third party who might use them as statistical material " for the sake of science ". d. There are only few psychologists of the gifted who are also theoreticians of giftedness and do both: treat gifted children and write quantitative studies about the cases they have approached.

This article will examine the potential connection between giftedness and suicidal attempts or death thoughts among children. At
the first stage I will present the findings from the research literature about concepts of death and suicide in gifted and non‐gifted
children. Afterwards, I will summarize the literature about suicide among gifted children. Finally, a list of characteristics of giftedness
that might be risk factors and require the attention of parents and therapists of young gifted children will be presented.