<p> The under-representation of racial minority students in Gifted and Talented Education (GATE)programs has been an issue with little to no resolution (Ford, 2002). These under-represented racial minority groups are experiencing the obstacles of discrimination. Ogbu&rsquo;s (1987) observation offers a framework distinguishing minorities: voluntary and involuntary. </p><p> Researchers report on the under-representation of &ldquo;involuntary&rdquo; minority groups (McBee, 2006). Researchers have offered keys to opening the gates of GATE programs to bring about racial equity. Recruitment processes: alternative assessments and teacher referrals are available to identify minority GATE students (Elhoweris, Mutua, Alsheikh, &amp; Holloway, 2005). Retention practices: racial diversity of gate teachers, culturally responsive pedagogy, culturally responsive curriculum, and a classroom culture of caring are available to support racial minority gate students once in the program (Delpit, 2006). </p><p> This mixed-methods study is of one school&rsquo;s GATE program, Multicultural Middle School (MMS). The study used descriptive statistics to analyze percentages of racial representation of MMS&rsquo;s GATE students and GATE teachers. The study also used questionnaires, observations, and interviews to analyze MMS&rsquo;s GATE teachers&rsquo; knowledge and practices in regards to the research-based recruitment processes and retention practices of underrepresented racial minorities. </p><p> This study found that the <i>voluntary racial minority group</i> was over-represented and one of four <i>involuntary racial groups</i> was under-represented. This study also found that MMS&rsquo;s GATE program had achieved racial equity in three of the four involuntary racial minority groups. At the time of this study, MMS&rsquo;s GATE program was trending toward equity.</p>

This study aimed to examine the attitudes and lived experiences of individuals identified as 'gifted underachievers'. A mixed-methods approach was used to investigate the concept 'gifted underachievement' using a survey regarding student attitudes towards school and individual interviews. This study used a sequential explanatory design: the first phase compared gifted achievers and gifted underachievers to determine school-related attitude differences; the second phase used a transcendental phenomenological design to describe the lived experiences of those identified as gifted underachievers. A mixed methods approach allowed for the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative research methods to be utilized with evidence from survey and interview data. Keeping in mind that gifted underachievement occurs when students with identified superior ability do not perform at levels commensurate with those abilities (McCoach & Siegle, 2003a; White, Graham, & Blass, 2018), this study was conducted within a Central Florida school district and used the district's indicator of gifted underachievement: a student identified as gifted with a grade of C or lower in at least two classes. Grades were examined for the previous school year and the first half of the current school year. In addition to gifted eligibility, school district personnel also considered class grades, test history, teacher anecdotal records, and student diversity for potential subjects. Since research has shown that the middle school years appear to be critical years for gifted underachievers, this study focused on middle school students (Siegle, 2013; Peterson & Colangelo, 1996). This study can be used to inform best practices regarding gifted underachieving middle school students. Additionally, information from this study may be used in the prevention of underachievement for some students. "Understanding the factors contributing to the underachievement of young students is particularly important, as this would allow educators to intervene while children are still relatively young" (Obergriesser & Stoeger, p. 168). This study attempted to add to the body of knowledge regarding gifted underachievement so that this phenomenon can be better understood and mitigated.

No description available.

Currently, there is no standard protocol to identify students who are gifted in science. If students are identified as gifted early on in elementary school, teachers and parents can foster their interest, increasing the students’ knowledge, value, and affect as well as their willingness to re-engage science (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Gottfried & Gottfried, 1996; Häussler 1987; Neber & Schommer-Aikins, 2002; Osborne, 2003; Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2008). In this study, a brief student identification form was developed for elementary school teachers to complete. The form was based on Hidi and Renninger’s (2006) four-phase model of interest development. The form was one piece of a more comprehensive identification protocol. Students in grades second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth from six Warren County elementary schools were asked to participate in this study. However, due to insufficient data, grades two and six were not used after collection. Few sixth grade teachers completed the forms and second graders did not take the ITBS. This study primarily focused on identifying students from underrepresented populations. These six schools, Cumberland Trace, Bristow, Lost River, Oakland, Richardsville, and North Warren, were chosen based on their larger population of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.

<p> This qualitative explanatory case study documented instructional methods used and environmental conditions experienced by standard classroom teachers attempting to integrate instructional technology to support a differentiated curriculum for gifted learners. This research method was chosen as it allows for a teacher&rsquo;s understanding of educating gifted learners in the classroom as well as the effectiveness of curriculum differentiation for the gifted learner through the use of instructional technology. With minimal guidance how to successfully challenge a gifted learner in the regular classroom along with preconceived assumptions about the concept of giftedness, teachers can be overwhelmed when faced with typical gifted learners. Through the perspectives of standard classroom teachers who are attempting to use instructional technology to support the differentiated learning needs of their gifted learners, the study has the potential to support teachers who strive to ensure their gifted learners study something new every day. The study focused on two fourth- through sixth-grade schools using a qualitative explanatory case study through patterns in teacher interviews, teacher observations, and analysis of student technology work. Data sources included in-depth interviews with sixteen tenured teachers at two public fourth- through sixth-grade schools, an analysis of 183 student work samples, and nine classroom observations. Data were analyzed and coded to identify instructional technology practices standard classroom teachers use for curriculum differentiation with gifted learners. Recommendations based on the findings included school system&rsquo;s technology departments support teacher&rsquo;s efforts to appropriately challenge gifted learners through enlisting the help of the developers of sites such as MobyMax or Kahoot, classroom teachers making use of gifted education specialists expertise as well as the specialist monitoring the gifted learners in order to better support the classroom teachers, and effective professional development using teachers who successfully use instructional technology as a differentiation technique for gifted learners as well as ones who establish a cohesive classroom community. Recommendations for future research included similar studies conducted in other districts not only on the same grades but also middle and high school level gifted learners. Additional studies could focus on systems that have limited amount of technology as compared to those who have a one-to-one technology program.</p>

<p> Young Americans must be equipped, both individually and collectively, with the 21^st century skills, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, in order to thrive in the global landscape which lies before them. Little political or economic capital is devoted to maximizing academic opportunities for gifted secondary learners. Limiting opportunities for children and youth with the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment, deprives them of their right to an appropriate education and wastes a national resource. Recognizing that limited capital often circumscribes schools in their ability to provide special programs, the researcher proffers debate, a course within the standard curriculum, as an avenue to providing gifted secondary learners with depth, breadth and complexity while accelerating the development of critical thinking, communication and collaboration.</p><p> The threefold purpose of the study was to a) establish debate as a viable platform for providing the depth, breadth, and complexity needed by gifted secondary learners while developing critical thinking; b) examine the self-reported attitudes, principles and practices of AP-trained teachers, those most likely to have gifted students, related to 21^st century skills, particularly critical thinking, the needs of gifted learners, and debate&rsquo;s ability to meet those needs, and; c) examine the effects of 6 independent variables, area of AP training, school size, community size and the presence or absence of three salient factors, teacher training in gifted education, debate in the school and special programs in the school for gifted learners upon teacher attitudes.</p><p> Results. A long history of empirical study confirms debate&rsquo;s efficacy at developing the 21^st century skills, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. Survey results for a sample of 202 AP teachers indicated greatest importance is allocated to challenge and critical thinking and least importance to standardized testing. Area of AP training had no significant effect on AP teachers&rsquo; strong agreement that disruptions and too much test emphasis act as impediments to the development of critical thinking. There are significant differences between AP training groups in critical thinking development and assessment methods, communication, collaboration, and belief in the efficacy of debate. School and community size did not act as factors. Teacher self-reporting on the presence or absence of debate in their schools, the presence or absence of special programs for gifted learners in their schools, and their own special training in gifted education was substantially different from data available from the State Department of Education and from the chairman of the state chapter of the National Speech and Debate Association, therefore, no conclusions regarding the effects of those three independent variables could be drawn.</p>

No description available.

<p> This dissertation focuses on the literacy practices of three focal students who composed multimodal comic memoirs about the emotional struggles and obstacles they faced related to being labeled academically gifted and talented. As a qualitative action research study (Hewitt &amp; Little, 2005; Munn-Giddings, 2012), in which the teacher of the focal classroom was the primary researcher, a sociocultural framework (Dunsmore &amp; Fischer, 2010; Wertsch, 1991) was employed to investigate the three focal students&rsquo; uses of multimodal composition to address the research questions: RQ1, In what ways do gifted secondary students use the comics medium to produce multimodal memoirs? RQ2, What experiences do gifted secondary students represent when they design comic memoirs? and RQ3, What do gifted secondary students reveal about competing representations of race, gender, class, and giftedness as they depict themselves in comic memoirs? To address the research questions, the researcher used a qualitative case study design (Merriam, 1998; Yin, 2009), collecting data over five years (2013&ndash;2017) while teaching a literature-based comics class at a summer enrichment program for gifted secondary students. Based on a conceptual framework comprising the intersections of literacy practices related to multiliteracies (Sanders and Albers, 2010) and multimodalities (New London Group, 1996) in connection with visual literacy skills (Frey &amp; Fisher, 2008), data analysis included a variant of grounded theory (Glaser &amp; Strauss, 1967), Situational Analysis (Clarke, 2005), which takes a cartographic approach to the collection and analysis of data within the study&rsquo;s situation, including its environment, social spheres, and setting. Findings point to the focal students&rsquo; deep-seated emotional turmoil related to gender, racial, and gifted identities; reports of emotionally debilitating social and academic expectations connected to giftedness; and personal narratives of being silenced and socially alienated. Implications are discussed concerning how the unique visual literacy strategies available while making comic memoirs helped the focal students gain perspective on and insight into their struggles with identity and related social and cultural practices.</p><p>

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine: the nature and extent of programs for the academically talented in Massachusetts, the attitudes of Massachusetts superintendents towards such programs, and the factors which affect the existence of such programs. PROCEDURE A study was made of the literature on programs for the gifted in the U.S. and of past state and national surveys of such programs. A survey form was developed and sent, under the auspices of the Massachusetts Department of Education, to all 244 superintendents in the Commonwealth. A 93% response was eventually elicited. The data were then coded and tabulated and scores derived which represented (1) each school district's degree of effort in behalf of gifted pupils; (2) each superintendent's level of acceptance of special programming for the gifted and of the various provisions subsumed under this concept; and (3) each community's level of acceptance, as perceived by the superintendent, of the concept of special programs for the gifted. Those items which lent themselves to statistical analysis were coded and punched onto IBM cards and entered into the disc memory of an IBM 7094 computer. A program for sorting and analyzing the data was written which included the derivation of partial correlation coefficient for those factors for which relationships were hypothesized. It was hypothesized that statistically significant relationships exist between the nature and extent of programs for the gifted and (1) superintendent attitude, (2) size of district, and (3) wealth of district. It was also hypothesized that programs for the gifted had not expanded in recent years principally because of a still crucial lack of helping funds for such programs. FINDINGS It was found that 14 states now give financial support to district programs for the gifted whereas Massachusetts, a relatively wealthy state, does not. It was found that 32% of the superintendents in Massachusetts are "strongly in favor" of programs for the gifted, 61% are "moderately in favor," 6% are "moderately opposed" and 1% are "strongly opposed." For elementary gifted pupils: 75% of the superintendents favor special classes; 90% favor "redeployment" into ability-grouped classes for reading and arithmetic; 87% support summer enrichment programs; and 81% want to improve their programs of enrichment in the regular class. The only provisions for elementary gifted pupils not favored by a majority of Massachusetts superintendents have to do with acceleration. At the secondary level: At least 95% favor: enrichment in connection with ability grouping, the development of differential curricula and special career seminars; 91% favor Advanced Placement Programs. For both elementary and secondary programs: 88% wish to improve identification procedures, 97% favor the use of special criteria for the selection of teachers of the gifted, and 95% favor special inservice programs for A.T. teachers. In contrast to superintendents' expressed wishes and attitudes, actual programs show that: Fewer than 25% of the districts claim to have systematic identification procedures; only 11% use any special criteria for selecting teachers for the A.T. and only 4% have inservice programs for these teachers; 25% of the districts indicate that they have special classes for the gifted and/or summer enrichment programs; 68% group by ability for reading and 56% for arithmetic. No pupils are accelerated, under any circumstances, in 83% of the districts. In approximately three-fourths of the districts, "enrichment in the regular class" is the principal provision for gifted elementary pupils, although research shows that this approach, without other program concomitants, usually results in "paper" rather than actual programs. At the high school level 87% of the schools practice ability grouping but only half indicate having differential curricula. Fewer than one-fourth of the districts have Advanced Placement Programs. In summary, Massachusetts superintendents report that 62% of the districts make no special provision for the gifted at the elementary level and 42% have no programs at the secondary level. The partial correlation studies revealed that statistically significant relationships exist between A.T. programs and district size and wealth. It was found that community attitude, as perceived by superintendents, also correlated positively with the extent of special programs for the gifted. On the other hand, no significant correlation was found between superintendent attitude and either the nature or extent of elementary or secondary programs for the gifted, whereas quite the opposite was hypothesized. Seventy per cent of the superintendents indicate lack of funds as the principal deterrent to the development of programs for the gifted in their districts. Ninety-eight per cent indicate that they would apply for funds to expand provisions for the gifted if such funds became available. However, inasmuch as superintendents generally regard other educational programs as having higher priority for the limited funds available, it appears that only categorical aid, from State or Federal sources, could lead to significant improvements in educational programming for gifted pupils in the public schools of Massachusetts. / 2031-01-01

Research has established that motivation is an important factor of student achievement. Many researchers in the field of gifted education consider motivation to be a crucial component of giftedness, yet the literature base for motivation and math talent development within gifted populations is scarce. This descriptive study used a within-group design to measure the math motivation, math achievement, and goal orientation of high-ability 5 th grade math students to elucidate the relationships among motivation, achievement, goal orientation, and gender. Findings indicated that math achievement, math motivation, and goal orientation were similar for both genders; students had high math achievement yet low math motivation; and a high number of students had a performance goal orientation. Ideas for future math motivation research for the gifted are shared.;Keywords: gifted math students, math achievement, math motivation, goal orientation.