One hundred twenty-four undergraduate education majors completed the phrase "a gifted student is ______ " using a metaphor and then explained their choice of metaphor. Qualitative metaphor analysis influenced by Dai's (2009) essential tensions determined that preservice teachers conceive of giftedness as rapid memorization of content…

When used informally, talent development refers to the deliberate cultivation of ability or giftedness in a specific domain. However, recent discussions have used talent development to refer to a particular framework for viewing giftedness and the education of gifted children. In this article, the authors will present their views on the meaning of…

Gifted education is leading an interdisciplinary paradigm shift moving education out of its historic role of entrenching systemic inequities. It is a crucible for pioneering investigations of optimal human development and provides a vehicle for increasing social equity. We review changing conceptions of intelligence, motivation and creativity, and…

This handbook incorporates the most recent thinking and cutting-edge research from a wide range of fields related to gifted education, including developmental and social psychology, the neurosciences, cognitive science, and education. It consists of six sections: (1) History and global perspectives on the gifted field and talent development; (2)…

Robert Sternberg's WICS model for identifying gifted individuals broadens the standard conception of giftedness and makes many helpful suggestions on how to conceptualize and assess the relevant dimensions of giftedness. There is one area, however, where the authors would propose an alternate viewpoint. "In a sense, this essay is about how to…

Who are the people who become positive educational leaders? This essay presents WICS as a model of positive educational leadership. WICS stands for "w"isdom, "i"ntelligence, "c"reativity, "s"ynthesized. Each of these elements is asserted to constitute one of the elements of educational leadership. Regrettably, our society is organized around a…

The cultivation of talented behavior necessitates identification of (1) the personality attributes inherent in the individual that can serve as predictors of subsequent talented behavior; and (2) the processes by which personality attributes can be reinforced or modified to produce subsequent socially valued behavior. A longitudinal study of Texas…

This article describes critical events that have shaped gifted education, including: intelligence testing, the concept of intelligence, the construct of creativity, greater understanding of brain functions, the work of John Dewey, Jerome Bruner, and Leta Hollingworth, school reform, world change, and the shift from identification to meeting…

This article describes 10 past events that might shape the future in gifted education, including: the birth of egalitarianism, the creative expression in the 1960s, the role of the media, civil rights, concepts of intelligence, political correctness, the information highway, inclusion, funding for education, the industrial revolution, and…

This article describes critical events that have shaped gifted education, including: intelligence testing, world wars, deployment of the Sputnik and resulting legislation, civil rights, the work of advocacy organizations, the study of creativity, the changing roles of women, school reform, technology and computers, and teacher effectiveness. (CR)

This textbook focuses on the development and education of talented children and adults. Part 1 considers who the gifted and talented are, in terms of personality aspects, intellectual competence, and specific talent in a domain. It presents a pyramidal framework of talent based on looking at adult talent and its precursors in childhood behavior.…