Current research and national studies reflect concerns about the quality of differentiated education that is offered to gifted and talented students. Fairfax County Public Schools, in Virginia, has made a commitment to providing differentiated education to gifted and talented students, as mandated by the Virginia Legislature in the Virginia Standards of Quality. This study investigated differences in selected curriculum and student characteristics in Area I English classes in Fairfax County Public Schools, with a focus on four research questions, as follows: 1. Is there a difference in the instructional objectives of regular and gifted classes? 2. Is there a difference in teacher expectations in regular and gifted classes? 3. Is there a difference in parent expectations in regular and gifted classes? 4. Is there a difference in selected student characteristics and expectations in regular and gifted classes? Classroom observations, using four measures, and surveys of students, teachers, and parents were conducted. In addition, the six subtests of the Biographical Inventory for Creativity, seven subtests of the Scientific Research Associates (SRA) test, two subtests of the Differential Aptitude (DAT) test, and grade point averages (GPA) were used to assess differences. An analysis of twenty-three variables using chi-square, t-tests (one sample and pooled), multivariate tests of significance, and analyses of variance revealed that some differences do exist between regular and gifted English curriculum characteristics and students. Results of classroom observations indicated that there is a difference in two measures of curriculum (content and quality of time spent on content) in gifted and regular English classes. There was no statistical significance in the other two measures, teacher expectation and response to content. Surveys of students, teachers, and parents reflected significant differences in perceptions of the curriculum in regular and gifted classes. Results of the Biographical Inventory indicated that there were differences in five of the six measures: academic performance, creativity, leadership, educational orientation, and vocational maturity. There was no significant difference in the sixth measure, artistic potential. There were statistically significant differences in all seven subtests of the SRA (reading, math, language, reference materials, social studies, science, and ability) and both subtests of the DAT (spatial relations and mechanical reasoning). There were also differences found in GPA. / Ed. D.

M.S.

Summaries in Afrikaans and Engish / Hierdie studie handel oor 'n hulpverleningsprogram vir die begaafde seun wat onderpresteer in die sekondere skool. Navorsing toon dat aansienlik meer seuns as meisies met hierdie probleem worstel en gevolglik word hulle voile potensiaal nie verwesenlik nie. Dit het 'n doeltreffende hulpverleningsprogram in die brandpunt van die studie gestel. Literatuurstudie toon dat baie bestaande hulpverleningsprogramme gerig is op primereskoolleerders en dat Suid-Afiikaanse hulpverleningsprogramme beperk is. Die doelstelling van die studie fokus op hulpverlening deur 'n interdissiplinere spanbenadering aan die adolessente begaafde seun wat onderpresteer. Die twee vraelyste vergemaklik identifisering van die eiesoortige probleme en behoeftes van die kind en fokus op die funksioneringsbeeld van die kind-in-totaliteit. Hulpverleningsvoorstelle word in die Akkumulatiewe BINGO-Plantabel vervat. Hulpverlening geskied intensief op 'n een-tot-een-basis en moet ortodidakties en ortopedagogies verantwoordbaar wees. Volgehoue bemoeienis met die opvoedeling lei tot noukeurige evaluering van die leerder, asook van die hulpverleningsprogram / This study deals with a support programme for the gifted boy who underachieves in the secondary school Research shows that more boys than girls experience these problems and consequently their full potential is not realised. Hence the focus on an effective assistance and support programme. Literary studies show that many existing support programmes target the primary school pupils and that South Afiican support programmes are limited. The aim of the study focuses on assistance to the gifted adolescent boy who underachieves, through an interdisciplinary team approach. The two questionnaires facilitate identification of the unique problems and needs of the child and focus on his totality. The Accumulative BINGO Plan chart contains suggestions for assistance. Support is intensive on a one-to-one basis and must be according to orthodidactic and orthopedagogical principles. Continuous involvement with the educand leads to an accurate evaluation of the learner and the support programme. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Orthopedagogiek)

This study investigated the use of interdisciplinary computer-based simulations compared to traditional teaching methods. The academic intrinsic motivation of gifted and non-gifted students was analyzed using a quasi-experimental design, similar to a pretest/posttest design.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-09-28T12:24:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda Souza de Oliveira.pdf: 1081647 bytes, checksum: 332200063308e70b72772f26c78e765c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-28T12:24:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda Souza de Oliveira.pdf: 1081647 bytes, checksum: 332200063308e70b72772f26c78e765c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-29 / When dealing with topics such as the inclusion of students with special educational needs or special education, we usually attribute such concepts to students with physical, intellectual, or syndrome-related disabilities, most of whom are not people with High Abilities / Giftedness (HA/GN). This work is based on the observation at the HA/GN provided by Joseph Renzulli, theorist present in Brazilian documentation and guidelines. People with HA/GN are those who, in interaction with the environment, present superior abilities compared to the general population. HA/GN can be of the academic type, in which the skills are concentrated in the linguistic or logical-mathematical areas, and, therefore, are more observable in the school environment; or the productive-creative type in which artistic expressions and divergent thinking stand out. Theorists differentiated the categories only for didactic purposes, as it is often possible to find people with characteristics of the two types. The Brazilian legislation referenced in different national documents, as well as in the specific legislation of the State and Municipality of São Paulo on the subject, understands people with HA/GN as a target audience of special education and provides specialized educational assistance (SEA) to all students who need it. However, among teachers, the topic seems to be unknown and it can be observed that there are almost no proposals in which curriculum and/or service issues are discussed in multifunctional resource rooms. In theory, I realize that SEA occurs for students with disabilities, but there are few proposals for serving students with HA/GN. Considering the problem of the lack of teacher training that makes students with HA/GN invisible, the present research was developed to understand how teacher training has contributed to the identification and care of these students in the municipal teaching network. The relevance of this research problem is perceptible both from the theoretical and from the social point of view. As for the first, I understand that the studies about continuing education of teachers in special education and with a specific focus on students with HA/GN have appear more recently and more frequently after 2013, thus showing that it is a silenced topic. Regarding the second point, identifying and analyzing teachers' conceptions about continuing education in special education and directed to students with HA/GN can be of great help both for the improvement of such courses and for teachers who work in this area. The research will be carried out with teachers from the city of São Paulo involved with the presented theme. As a methodological choice for this qualitative research, we propose the reflexive interview mode. The guiding hypothesis of the work is: students with HA/GN do not reach SEA care because they are not easily identified in the regular school classrooms and, therefore, end up with a disadvantage in school / Quando tratamos de temas como inclusão de alunos com necessidades educativas especiais ou educação especial, normalmente atrelamos tais conceitos a alunos com deficiências físicas, intelectuais ou com alguma síndrome, não sendo consideradas, na maioria das vezes, as pessoas com Altas Habilidades/Superdotação (AH/SD). Este trabalho tem como base o olhar para as AH/SD fornecido por Joseph Renzulli, teórico presente nas documentações brasileiras. São denominadas pessoas com AH/SD aquelas que, em interação com o ambiente, apresentam habilidades superiores se comparadas com a população geral. As AH/SD podem ser do tipo acadêmico, no qual as habilidades se concentram nas áreas linguística ou lógico-matemática e, portanto, são mais observáveis no ambiente escolar; ou do tipo produtivo-criativo no qual as expressões artísticas e pensamento divergente se destacam. As categorias foram diferenciadas pelos teóricos apenas para fins didáticos, é possível, com frequência, encontrarmos pessoas com características dos dois tipos. A legislação brasileira referenciada em diferentes documentos nacionais, bem como na legislação específica do Estado e Município de São Paulo sobre o assunto, entende pessoas com AH/SD como público alvo da educação especial e prevê o atendimento educacional especializado (AEE) a todos os alunos que dele necessitarem. Porém, entre os professores, o tema parece ser desconhecido e se pode observar que quase não há propostas nas quais se discute questões curriculares e/ou de atendimento nas salas de recursos multifuncionais. Por empiria, percebo que o AEE ocorre para os alunos com deficiência, mas são poucas as propostas para atendimento dos alunos com AH/SD. Considerando a problemática da falta de formação de professores que leva à invisibilidade os alunos com AH/SD, desenvolveu-se a presente pesquisa que tem como objetivo compreender como a formação de professores tem contribuído para a identificação e atendimento destes alunos na rede municipal de ensino. A relevância deste problema de pesquisa é perceptível tanto do ponto de vista teórico como do social. Quanto ao primeiro, entendo que os estudos sobre formação continuada de professores em educação especial e com foco específico nos alunos com AH/SD aparecem mais recentemente e com maior frequência a partir de 2013, mostrando assim, que se trata de um tema silenciado. Já no que tange ao segundo ponto, conhecer e analisar as concepções dos docentes a respeito da formação continuada em educação especial e dirigida a alunos com AH/SD pode ser de grande ajuda tanto para o aprimoramento de tais cursos como para professores que atuam nessa área. A pesquisa será realizada com professores da Prefeitura de São Paulo envolvidos com a temática apresentada. Como escolha metodológica, para esta pesquisa de cunho qualitativo, propomos a realização de entrevista na modalidade reflexiva. A hipótese norteadora do trabalho é: os estudantes com AH/SD não chegam ao atendimento nas SRM, pois não são facilmente identificados nas salas de aulas da escola regular e, por isso, acabam prejudicados em seu percurso escolar

The current study set out to determine the relationship between student gradelevel, implicit views of science ability, science achievement and science interest.Differences by grade level were also explored. The study also considered the differences in male and female implicit theories of science ability, science interest, and science achievement. Participants in the current study consisted of a total of 1910 students from six elementary schools from one south-central Kentucky district that participate in Project GEMS (Gifted Education in Math and Science). Data were analyzed by means of analysis of variance and Pearson correlations. Younger students evidenced lower scores on the implicit theories measure. No gender differences were observed in implicit theories of science ability or science interest. Females did evidence lower achievement in science than males. Implicit theories of science ability were significantly and positively correlated with science achievement. Conversely, no such relationship existed between implicit theories of science ability and interest. Limitations of the current study are discussed and possible future directions are offered. Findings from the current study underscore the importance of considering domain-specific views of ability when addressing poor science performance and when considering gender gaps in science achievement.

This study focused on how teachers' planning and teaching methods changed after they acquired more confidence in applying differentiated strategies in their instructional units. Teachers were given a questionnaire about their skills, qualifications and teaching beliefs comparing teaching general education students and gifted education students within the typical classroom setting. Then teachers received several professional development opportunities within the school year exposing them to different forms of differentiation. Time was given between trainings so that teachers would have ample time to integrate what they learned into their planning and instructional design. At the end of the study, teachers were given another questionnaire, similar to the first one, where they had to rank themselves on skills, education, and teaching methods for general education students and gifted students after the professional development. Comparisons between the two questionnaires showed that teachers were more confident in how to meet individual students' needs through differentiation after the trainings than before the study. In fact, before the study, 50% of teachers reported that the needs of gifted students are not being met in the general classroom setting; but, after the study, that number dropped to only 6%. Because teachers felt more confident in their abilities to teach gifted students in the traditional classrooms, the students' needs were addressed.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study sought to determine the effectiveness of an instructional program for developing creative thinking, a positive self-concept, and leadership among intellectually and academically gifted elementary students in grades four, five, and six. The purposes of the study were to determine the effect of experimental treatment on test scores measuring creativity, self-concept, and leadership; to compare the performance of the moderately intellectually gifted with that of the highly intellectually gifted; to determine whether boys or girls benefited more from instruction; and to determine whether fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-grade students achieved greater test gains after experimental treatment.

Summaries in Afrikaans and Engish / Hierdie studie handel oor 'n hulpverleningsprogram vir die begaafde seun wat onderpresteer in die sekondere skool. Navorsing toon dat aansienlik meer seuns as meisies met hierdie probleem worstel en gevolglik word hulle voile potensiaal nie verwesenlik nie. Dit het 'n doeltreffende hulpverleningsprogram in die brandpunt van die studie gestel. Literatuurstudie toon dat baie bestaande hulpverleningsprogramme gerig is op primereskoolleerders en dat Suid-Afiikaanse hulpverleningsprogramme beperk is. Die doelstelling van die studie fokus op hulpverlening deur 'n interdissiplinere spanbenadering aan die adolessente begaafde seun wat onderpresteer. Die twee vraelyste vergemaklik identifisering van die eiesoortige probleme en behoeftes van die kind en fokus op die funksioneringsbeeld van die kind-in-totaliteit. Hulpverleningsvoorstelle word in die Akkumulatiewe BINGO-Plantabel vervat. Hulpverlening geskied intensief op 'n een-tot-een-basis en moet ortodidakties en ortopedagogies verantwoordbaar wees. Volgehoue bemoeienis met die opvoedeling lei tot noukeurige evaluering van die leerder, asook van die hulpverleningsprogram / This study deals with a support programme for the gifted boy who underachieves in the secondary school Research shows that more boys than girls experience these problems and consequently their full potential is not realised. Hence the focus on an effective assistance and support programme. Literary studies show that many existing support programmes target the primary school pupils and that South Afiican support programmes are limited. The aim of the study focuses on assistance to the gifted adolescent boy who underachieves, through an interdisciplinary team approach. The two questionnaires facilitate identification of the unique problems and needs of the child and focus on his totality. The Accumulative BINGO Plan chart contains suggestions for assistance. Support is intensive on a one-to-one basis and must be according to orthodidactic and orthopedagogical principles. Continuous involvement with the educand leads to an accurate evaluation of the learner and the support programme. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Orthopedagogiek)