<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>

The objective of this dissertation is to offer a series of analyses that contribute to the validation of the Aurora Battery, a cognitive assessment based on Robert J. Sternberg's theory of Successful Intelligence that is currently under development. Convergent validity will be examined by exploring how objective and subjective measures of the battery converge, through the novel application of the Correlated Trait Correlated Method-1, a specialized confirmatory factor analysis model that allows subjective measures to be compared against an objective measure. The predictive validity of Aurora will be shown by highlighting Aurora's ability to help predict students' school grade point average through latent growth curve models that are extended into path models. Divergent validity will be demonstrated by establishing sensitivity and specificity between the Aurora Battery and the TerraNova tests. Finally, the current state of the field of giftedness and possible future directions will be discussed.

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.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship, among gifted students, between scores obtained on the Structure of Intellect-Learning Abilities (SOI-LA) test and two measures of achievement: teacher assigned grades and scores obtained on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS). This study was based on the assertion that academic abilities should be linked to specific cognitive abilities measured by the SOI-LA subtests. Significant, positive relationships between academic abilities and SOI-LA subtest scores would imply that curricula based on the Structure of Intellect theory, in areas identified as deficient by the SOI-LA tests, may increase achievement among the gifted population. One hundred fifty-seven academically gifted students enrolled in grades 5 through 7 during the 1984-1985 school year were selected for this study. All of the participants qualified for admittance into the Gifted and Talented (GAT) program in a south central Kentucky school district. The SOI-LA and CTBS were administered between November 1984 and April 1985 by one of two GAT teachers; classroom teachers additionally provided grades in reading, language arts, and mathematics. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that: Convergent Production of Semantic Systems (NSS) alone was the best predictor model for teacher assigned math grades. Cognition of Semantic Relations (CMR) and Divergent Production of Semantic Units (DMU) together provided the best predictor model for teacher assigned reading grades. None of the SOI-LA test variables proved significant predictors of teacher assigned language arts grades. The combination of Evaluation of Symbolic Classes (ESC), Cognition of Semantic Relations (CMR), Convergent Production of Figural Units (NFU), Memory of Symbolic Implications (MSI), Convergent Production of Symbolic Systems (NSS), and Cognition of Symbolic Relations (CSR) provided the best predictor model for CTBS math scores. The combination of CMR and CMU was shown to be the best predictor model for CTBS reading scores. The best predictor model for CTBS language scores was Convergent Production of Symbolic Transformations (NST), ESC, Memory of Symbolic Units-Visual (MSU-V), DMU, MSI, CMR, and NFU. Pearson product-moment coefficients were additionally calculated to facilitate the interpretation of the multiple regression analyses. An explanation for the SOI-LA test's relatively poor predictive power for teacher assigned grades, compared to standardized test scores, may be the subjective nature of the assigned grades rather than the validity of the SOI-LA test.

This research is a Case Study of the experiences of two groups of gifted children, including two preschoolers (3-5 years old) and three primary age children (6 - 9 years old), and their families in Victoria. The children were selected utilising a multi-faceted approach to identification appropriate to their ages and stages of development. That is, both objective and subjective procedures were used which included teacher nomination, parent nomination and checklists for the identification of the children for the case study. The focus of the study was on the personal and educational experiences of these children, with a particular emphasis on recording the

This study sought to explore the question of what personal and professional characteristics may be particularly relevant to effective teachers of the gifted, by investigating the characteristics of effective teachers identified in both the general teacher effectiveness literature and the gifted education literature, through the perceptions of gifted primary students about teachers they regarded as effective. A questionnaire was created for this study, comprised of items which represented characteristics identified from the literature review and determined to be relevant to students' experiences. This questionnaire was distributed to the sample of intellectually gifted primary students (n = 168), and their responses were examined for differences between moderately gifted (n = 74) and highly gifted primary students (n = 94), as well as female (n = 84) and male (n = 81) gifted primary students. This study also recorded gifted primary students' opinions regarding what they believe were the characteristics that made their nominated teachers so effective, through the use of an open-ended question in the questionnaire. This study found that the characteristics of effective teachers identified in both the general teacher effectiveness and the gifted education literatures were supported by gifted primary students' perceptions of their nominated teachers. This study also found differences between moderately gifted and highly gifted primary students, as well as gender differences on a number of characteristics. These differences support the need to examine, more carefully, teacher behaviour and strategies in the classroom for differences in how they may influence the learning of students of different levels of ability and gender. A qualitative analysis of gifted primary students' answers to the open-ended question also revealed in-depth information about how teachers' characteristics are related to each other, and how students perceive them to be effective, as well as suggesting characteristics that were not identified in the previous review of the literature.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

The purpose of the study was to determine if a prepared serial or sequential line of teacher questioning, immediately following the reading of a narrative selection, is a more effective method of teaching to increase inferential comprehension skills of gifted learners that a random questioning method of teaching. The setting for the study was a magnet elementary school for gifted children in a midwest metropolitan area. Forty-nine gifted, fifth grade students were randomly selected for inclusion in the study to target differences in inferential comprehension mastery resultant to intervening questioning treatment.A norm referenced pre-test and post-test was utilized to determine the degree of effectiveness in assessing inferential comprehension skills in long term mastery learning. The null hypothesis was tested by using Analysis of Covariance. Weekly tests were used to assess short term mastery of inferential comprehension. The null hypothesis was tested by using Multiple Analysis of Variance. The .05 level of significance was established as the critical probability level for the non-acceptance of hypotheses.Findings1. After a six week intervening treatment comparing the effects of a serial and random questioning line with gifted learners measured by pre and post-test instruments of a norm referenced test, non-significant gains were made by the experimental group attributable to the type or line of questioning utilized.2. There existed a difference between the groups over the individual tests measured. Gifted learners were affected in short term mastery of inferential comprehension skills as indicated in scores on three weekly five item tests.Conclusions1. There is no difference in inferential comprehension skill mastery between the control and experimental group after a six week serial questioning treatment as measured on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, Form U, Level G, grade 5.2. There is a difference in inferential comprehension skill mastery between the control and experimental group as assessed during the six week treatment for a serial line of questioning of three day per week measurements.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the assumptions held by Saskatchewan educators in the identification of students who are gifted and talented. Elementary school educators from Kindergarten to grade 8 were approached to participate in this study, and were asked to complete a 20-item survey that examined educators assumptions relating to the identification of students who are gifted and talented (Brown, Renzulli, Gubbins, Siegle, Zhang, & Chen, 2005). Findings suggest that there are differences in assumptions relating to the identification of students who are gifted and talented not only between educators of various grades, but also between those educators in different classroom environments (i.e., dedicated, multiple, or no classroom). Educators roles in the classroom include engaging students in authentic assessment procedures, which take into account students day-to-day learning and progress.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the assumptions held by Saskatchewan educators in the identification of students who are gifted and talented. Elementary school educators from Kindergarten to grade 8 were approached to participate in this study, and were asked to complete a 20-item survey that examined educators assumptions relating to the identification of students who are gifted and talented (Brown, Renzulli, Gubbins, Siegle, Zhang, & Chen, 2005). Findings suggest that there are differences in assumptions relating to the identification of students who are gifted and talented not only between educators of various grades, but also between those educators in different classroom environments (i.e., dedicated, multiple, or no classroom). Educators roles in the classroom include engaging students in authentic assessment procedures, which take into account students day-to-day learning and progress.