Although writers have advocated a shift from the gifted child to a talent development paradigm, changes in methods for identifying and cultivating talent in STEM are needed. We present evidence that using a talent development paradigm supported by differentiation with an organicist rather than a mechanistic perspective was effective in identifying…

This article describes a three-step process by which behaviors are associated with the concept of "giftedness." In the first step, a three-way interaction of a person x task x situation leads to some kind of excellence in a societally significant performance. In the second step, that performance is identified as excellent and societally…

Academic disciplines and professional fields need to engage in ongoing evaluation of their purposes and conceptual frameworks. The complex field of gifted education can benefit from such evaluations, and the refinements that can emerge from them. This article is a discussion between two of the most prominent scholars in the field. The discussion…

The purpose of this study is to explore how a Florida administrative law judge (ALJ) adjudicated the giftedness of one student who was found ineligible to be enrolled in a gifted education program. Specifically, we explore the discourse in an ALJ's final order to uncover how an ALJ navigates through conflict and deconstructs the conflicting expert…

Criticizes Morelock's (1996) attempt at differentiating giftedness from talent, in part because it chooses precocious development instead of outstanding human abilities as the essence of giftedness and endorses the "talent for all" ideology. Gagne's Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent is presented as a more logical approach. (Author/CR)

This response to a critique by Francoys Gagne defends the Columbus Group definition of differentiating giftedness and talent. Concepts addressed include qualitative versus quantitative differences, generalizability of the gifted definition, intensity, precocious development, vulnerability of the moderately gifted, moral superiority, and gifted…

This rejoinder to Morelock's response to criticism of the Columbus Group definition of giftedness and talent addresses continuing concerns and defends the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent. Giftedness is described as encompassing natural abilities and is distinct from the "talent potential" definition that is offered by Morelock. (CR)

This rejoinder to criticism of a previous article defends the Columbus Group definition of giftedness and talent by comparing and contrasting this definition with Gagne's Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent. Thresholds of giftedness and talent, including generalizability and clinical experience that support the Columbus Group definition,…

Elementary teachers (n=9) saw giftedness as having the common characteristic of creativity. However, in nominating students to gifted programs, teachers focused on classroom performance more than creativity. Thus, their observations more closely matched official definitions rather than their personal concepts, and they had not worked to align the…

The author replies to criticism of his Revolving Door Identification Model by citing his critics' methodological problems and their misunderstanding of his definition of giftedness. (CL)

Considers the nature of giftedness, including definitions of giftedness as they affect the self, different worlds at the extremes of intelligence, the psychology of exceptionality, identification of exceptionality, and the frequent misidentification of gifted children as having attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The need to identify hidden…

The triarchic theory of intellectual giftedness asserts that intelligence must be understood in terms of three aspects: the internal world of the individual, the external world of the individual, and the interface between these two as it unfolds through experience. The theory is explained through the profiles of three graduate students. (Author/CL)

Aptitude test performance of 300 sixth graders compared with measures of intelligence, creativity, and task commitment (J. Renzulli's definition of giftedness) showed that strict application of Renzulli's definition resulted in identification of a small number of students. Totally different children were identified by verbal as opposed to figural…

In this article, the author asks why we assume that we must define something before we can begin to understand it? Is that assumption a holdover from the predominantly behaviorist orientation of the 1950s when everything had to be measurable? Haven't we gotten past the paradigm of defining, measuring, then studying phenomena? If physicists had to…

The 1982 National Report on Identification, Assessment and Recommendations for Comprehensive Identification of Gifted and Talented Youth focused on six topic areas: (1) appropriate definitions; (2) principles of identification; (3) effectiveness of current identification; (4) screening out of gifted students; (5) use of a multiplicity of methods;…