The World of the Gifted Child©

Programs for the gifted need to be continually documented for an evaluation process that enhances maintenance and growth.     

Understanding the Young Gifted Child: Guidelines for Parents, Families, and Educators

Young children who are gifted or talented share special characteristics that impact on the way they learn and develop. Teachers and parents need to consider the unique needs of each child as they plan ways to nurture and educate these youngsters. Concerns such as uneven development, the need for acceleration and/or enrichment, appropriate socialization and peer interactions, and modification of the curriculum are some of the topics discussed. Suggestions for teachers and parents are included along with a variety of resources.     

Who Are The Mathematically Gifted?

Both scholars and lay persons have long debated and continue to debate the question of what makes giftedness. The type of student to whom we apply the label mathematically gifted has not always been clear. Many educators who provide leadership and adminster special programs are generalists who may lack awareness of the nature of mathematical knowledge, the role of content learning in mathematics, the nature of mathematical thinking, and the future mathematical needs of gifted students. Thus many existing programs for the gifted seem to reflect the need to “do something” rather than careful planning based on clear objectives.

This article examines the definition of mathematically gifted, discusses current practices within the field of special education for this population, and calls for an identification procedure which includes qualitative information concerning students' higher‐order reasoning skills.     

The Chronicles of Homeschooling Gifted Learners

Homeschooling only has become a choice for many families of gifted children during the last two decades, as the number of gifted families has grown steadily along with the general homeschool population (Lubienski, Puckett, & Brewer, 2013). The current study examines a group of homeschooling mothers of gifted children who publish and maintain publically available blogs about their homeschooling experiences. In this qualitative study, four themes emerged (a) unintentional homeschoolers, (b) curriculum pivoting, (c) reflection as progress, and (d) reaching forward and back. In the current study we have identified some interesting but preliminary findings about families who homeschool their gifted child or children. We should continue working to understand the phenomenon of gifted homeschooling and its implications for schools and for society.     

Gifted underachievers

Research indicates that the cause for underachievement in gifted students is a combination of personal adjustment problems and limited programs in the school.     

The Social Cognition of Gifted Adolescents

This paper reviews major research findings on social cognition in gifted adolescents. We discuss interpersonal and intrapersonal perceptions of giftedness (i.e., how gifted students view themselves, and how they perceive others’ views of them), the social coping strategies of this population (e.g., denying and hiding one's giftedness, conforming to mask giftedness, and helping others), and the gender, age, and self-concept differences shown in strategy choice when interacting with others. Results suggest that both American and Chinese gifted students employ social coping strategies to manage the visibility of their abilities in social situations, and there is a consistent link between coping strategy and self-concepts; but the findings with regard to social cognitive strategies, themselves, are conflicting. Implications of these findings and recommendations are presented.