This qualitative, exploratory study describes and interprets the perspectives of giftedness of twelve teachers who work with Deaf and hard of hearing students in a variety of educational settings across Canada. Using in-depth interviews, the resulting twenty-five hours of audio tapes were transcribed and analyzed line by line using procedures suggested by Giorgi and Marton. The supporting literature came from four major areas: (a) the construct of giftedness; (b) giftedness among the disabled population; (c) giftedness among the Deaf and hard of hearing population; and (d) theory related to teachers' knowledge and perspectives. Analysis of the data resulted in presentation of the findings from two perspectives: teachers' understandings of the meanings of giftedness and the process through which these teachers appeared to have gained their knowledge. Teachers' practical knowledge was portrayed in detailed stories of forty-three hard of hearing or Deaf students whom they believed to be gifted and in the way they described the students' achieving, learning and behaving in classroom interactions. The teachers' conceptually oriented knowledge was described as they reflected upon the meanings they associated with giftedness. The teachers' knowledge of giftedness was compared to that found in the gifted literature at both the practical and theoretical levels. Through interpretations derived from daily interactions with students and drawing on knowledge gained from personal experience, these teachers constructed perspectives of giftedness. The process that emerged illustrated the teachers' use of comparison groups as ways of gaining insight about the students and teachers' ideas about the use of labeling. The teachers' perspectives suggest that Deaf and hard of hearing students are gifted in ways similar but not identical to hearing students. The abilities of these students appear to be different from others in the "handicapped-gifted" literature and their needs are unique. The teachers' more conceptually oriented ideas also appeared to be similar but not identical to theoretical definitions of giftedness. The findings support collaboration between teachers and researchers to explore ways in which teachers come to recognize and understand gifted students. Future research must also explore the special educational needs of students who are dealing with the effects of having a hearing loss and being gifted.

No description available.

<p> The United States currently lags behind globally in the areas of math and science. In order to compete and meet the skills necessary for the future workforce, it has become necessary to seek out instructional strategies that will increase student achievement in those academic areas. With the wide variety of diversity occurring in public schools today, there is a need to identify how to best meet and challenge our students academically in order to close the achievement gap between different genders, ethnicities, socioeconomic status (SES), and ability levels. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of accelerated mathematics instruction on the student achievement of heterogeneous groups of sixth graders as measured on standardized assessments. In addition, this study looked at individual effects on subpopulations including special education, gifted, ethnicities, genders, and low Socio- Economic Status (SES). </p><p> The research design methodology used was quasi experimental non-equivalent groups. The study took place in a suburban school district located in the Southwestern United States comprised of over 32,000 students. Control and experimental groups were compared utilizing quantitative data collected from the mathematics subsection on the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). The study compared heterogeneously grouped sixth grade students at six schools using quantitative data collected for three years, from 2010-2012. The control group presented on-grade level mathematics curriculum to their sixth grade students. The experimental group accelerated the mathematics instruction of their students by one year or equivalent of seventh grade level. </p><p> The findings indicated there was a statistically significant difference between the control and experimental groups for the areas of SES, special education, gifted, gender and ethnicity. These data suggest that students taught a year ahead of their grade level, benefitted from this treatment rather than receiving the standard sixth grade mathematics instruction. </p><p> As a result of this study, teachers may be able to determine whether to include more students of varying ability in higher level mathematics courses rather than isolating advanced instruction to high ability students only. The study findings will also assist in identifying whether the acceleration method of instruction has any effect in order to be considered an option to the traditional method of remediation for low achieving students.</p>

Tyrimo objektas – mokyklinio amžiaus gabių vaikų problemos ir jų sprendimo būdai. Tyrimo tikslas — atskleisti gabiųjų ugdymo ypatumus šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje. Hipotezė: Gabieji vaikai turi specialių poreikių, kuriuos reikia patenkinti norint tinkamai išugdyti jų gabumus. Tyrimo uždaviniai: apžvelgti sociologinėje, psichologinėje bei pedagoginėje literatūroje nagrinėtus gabiųjų ugdymo klausimus, nustatyti gabiųjų ugdymo problemas kylančias visuomenėje, šeimoje, mokykloje, valstybėje, pasiūlyti galimus šių problemų sprendimo būdus. Tyrimo metodai: teorinis (sociologinės, psichologinės ir pedagoginės literatūros, nagrinėjančios gabiuosius, bei gabumus, sisteminė analizė), empirinis (anketinė visuomenės apklausa), statistinis (apklausos duomenų analizė). Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad aukštąjį išsilavinimą turintys respondentai labiau linkę vertinti gabiuosius nepalankiai ir yra mažiau suinteresuoti skirti didesnį dėmesį jų ugdymui, nors turėtų būti priešingai. Tačiau apklausa taip pat atskleidė, kad iš esmės gabiesiems reikalingas didesnis dėmesys ir respondentai neprimetė už tai atsakomybės tik tėvams ar tik valstybei. Devyni iš dešimties apklaustųjų mano, kad pirmiausiai gabiųjų vaikų ugdymu turėtų pasirūpinti šeima. Jie turi padėti pasirinkti tinkamus laisvalaikio užsiėmimus skatinančius gebėjimų vystymą. Mokykloje aukšto intelekto ir kūrybiški vaikai turėtų būti mokomi pagal specialiąsias programas, kurios gilintų žinias tose srityse, kuriose jie gali pasiekti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Study object – the problems related to the school aged gifted children and the solutions to them. Purpose of the study – to disclose the educational specifics of the gifted children in modern society. Hypothesis: The gifted children have special needs that require to be satisfied in order to properly educate their abilities. Tasks of the study: to examine the issues of the gifted children education analysed in sociological, psychological and educational literature, to establish the problems regarding the gifted children education arising on the society, family, school, country scale, to suggest the possible solutions to these issues. Methods of the study: theoretical: systematic analysis of the sociological, psychological and educational literature researching the gifted and their abilities, empirical: public opinion survey by a questionnaire, statistical: survey data analysis. Results. The respondents having the university degree tend to consider the gifted children unfavourably and are less interested in paying more attention to their education. However, the survey results also disclosed that basically the gifted children are in the need of more attention and the respondents did not thrust the responsibility for that only on the parents or the government. Nine out of ten respondents believe that the primary source of education to the gifted children should be their family. They should help them to choose their leisure activities that stimulate the development of their... [to full text]

This study addresses the question “what is it like to be a gifted early college entrant?” Participants were eight college graduates between the ages of 23 and 45 who matriculated to college as full-time, degree-seeking students at age 16. This was a qualitative study conducted by open-ended interview and utilized narrative inquiry as a framework for the analysis. Participant responses were coded and analyzed using constant comparative method. Coded responses were grouped into 40 subcategories which were further collapsed into 7 overarching categories that provide a framework for understanding the experience of early college entrance: life story; being exceptional; understanding exceptionality through others’ experience; transition to college, academic preparation, performance, and experience; getting involved and pursuing interests; and social-emotional awareness and agency. These categories provide a picture of the milieu in which participants made the decision to enter college early. Results of this study suggest that participants experienced a milieu of educational experiences, including academic acceleration, and embedded social-emotional contexts that increased their academic self-concept and precipitated early college entrance. Despite failing to recognize their own giftedness and experiencing academic struggle, participants successfully completed college and embarked on meaningful careers. Interpreting giftedness as asynchronous development provides a framework for these results. The results of the present study suggest that while the native cognitive ability of a gifted early entrant might be sufficient to complete college, additional social-emotional supports are needed to fully realize the academic potential of gifted students.

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This study examines whether pairs of same-sex siblings labeled differently (one "gifted", one "not gifted") deidentify more than pairs of same-sex siblings who are labeled the same (both "gifted"). It further investigates patterns of perceived similarity between the siblings and patterns of parent identification to establish how these influence parents' perceptions of their children as "gifted" or "not gifted". / Deidentification did not appear to vary depending on whether children were labeled the same or differently. However, females produced higher measures of deidentification than males--with girls labeled the same producing the highest scores of all. / All parents tended to see siblings as contrasting. They also showed a tendency to split parent identify with their children--each parent identified with a different child. In 39 out of 40 cases if parents perceived themselves as having been gifted students, then the children they identified with were labeled as "gifted". This parental labeling seemed to occur well before any formal identification and was maintained in the face of contrary evidence. / For this group different labeling was not associated with poor sibling interaction. Poor sibling relationships appear to co-occur with poor marital relationships.

Students who meet criteria for both being intellectually gifted and having a disability are known by the term ‘twice exceptional’. To date there is little known about the classroom interactions of these students, and how these interactions impact their developing self-esteem. The interactions of four gifted primary school students with identified learning difficulties (twice exceptional) were observed along with four matched typically developing students and their teacher during normal classroom teaching activities. The number and type of positive, negative, neutral or no response interactions were recorded over four, one hour observation sessions. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory was then administered to the four twice exceptional and four comparison students. Results indicated that there was little difference between the twice exceptional and comparison students in terms of number of interactions recorded, with the twice exceptional students showing slightly more positive interactions with their teacher and peers. All four twice exceptional students reported lower self-esteem levels than their matched peers, with two students being in the low range. The results suggested that these four twice exceptional students were interacting in a manner similar to their typically developing peers, although they displayed lower self-esteem levels. The implications of these findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.

This thesis explores the experiences of school for gifted and talented adolescents in New Zealand. The foci of inquiry are a) what it is like to be gifted and talented in a New Zealand schooling context, and b) the understandings of a group of students, their parents and teachers, about the achievement and underachievement of gifted learners. The research relates specifically to a group of 11 gifted and talented students, their experiences and ideas about what it means to be gifted and talented and to achieve as gifted and talented learners. Adopting a qualitative, phenomenological methodology, the voices of the students were prioritised in the research process and thesis writing. Semi-structured interviews are the main source of data. Multiple interviews were conducted with the adolescent participants over a period of 18 months, within their first two years of secondary schooling, and with their parents and teachers. Written reflections by the students provide supplementary data. The thesis explores and problematises understandings of achievement and underachievement that are presented in literature and were held by the research participants. The implications of these understandings on the decisions that gifted adolescents make, about what constitutes achievement and whether and how they seek to achieve in school, are highlighted. The essences of the lived schooling experiences for the gifted and talented adolescents in this study are drawn together and summarised in three main themes. The first theme relates to culture and context and how this influenced the students’ understandings about what it meant to be gifted and talented within the particular socio-cultural milieu of a New Zealand school. The participants showed an understanding of the preferred New Zealand values of modesty and the downplaying of any perceived advantages. The second theme relates to the concept of ‘potential’ as an enigma and a nebulous term that is assumed to mean different and particular things for gifted and talented learners. It is argued that it is not theoretically sound to structure definitions of underachievement for gifted learners around the idea of ‘not reaching your potential.’ The third theme relates to the negotiation of adolescent identities. Being gifted and talented added to the complexities around identity development for the students who participated in the study, as they worked to find their fit within the socio-cultural context of a New Zealand school. Four different identity profiles are developed to provide an illustration of the variation and complexity of gifted and talented students’ identity negotiations. There is little research literature that centres on the lived experiences of gifted students within New Zealand society. This study seeks to address this gap. The research and theorising from this thesis will add to the growing research base in New Zealand on educating gifted and talented learners. Readers of the thesis, who may include a range of education professionals, are invited to draw implications from the study about the experiences and achievement of gifted adolescents and relate the findings to their knowledge and understanding of gifted and talented learners, within their own work situations and cultural contexts.

The pupose of this study was to examine the validity of the Differential Abilities Scale with a gifted sample. Subjects consisted of 111 students identified as gifted by Indiana S-4. They were in grades 1 thru 6 and ranged in age from 6-8 to 12-11 with a mean age of 9-8. There were 60 females and 51 males who participated. Approximately, 1% of the population was minority which closely resembled the school population. Data from previously administered WISC-III and WIAT (The Psychological Corporation, 1992) were available for 21 of the 111 students.The first aspect of this study was to assess the construct validity of the DAS through investigation of the internal structure. Several different models were proposed. These analyses revealed that the proposed models were not good explanations of the relationships among obtained scores because convergence could not be obtained. A respecified two factor model was obtained where loadings on a Verbal Factor were constrained as recommended by Maxwell (1977). For this sample of gifted students a two-factor model with the first factor being primarily composed of Word Definitions was found to be a tenable one for the DAS.The second aspect of this study was to examine the convergent and predictive validity of the DAS by comparing these scores with the WISC-III and WIAT scores. Verbal factors for the two intelligence tests were the most highly correlated. Although there is overlap between the two intelligence measures, each test measures something unique. While one might expect these two instruments would not correlate perfectly, this correlation is lower than predicted.The DAS cognitive portion was more highly related to the other ability measure, the WISC-III, than it was to achievement as measured by the WIAT. In addition, achievement portions of both instruments were more highly related than they were to the ability measures. / Department of Educational Psychology