The idea of integrating programs for the gifted into the total fabric of the school program is so central to the work of the field in the last 20 years or so that it is hard to believe that the myth of separatism is still alive and well. There is little question but that gifted programs must show a connection to the work that all of public…

This study examines Title 1 heterogeneous classroom teachers' instructional behavior change through implementing well-designed research-based curriculum units and attending regular professional development activities across 3 years. Employing an experimental design, this study compares experimental and comparison teachers' behavioral changes as…

In this presidential address to the National Association of Gifted Children, the author presents a 10-step program that may be used by administrators at the program level and teachers at the classroom level to lead gifted education forward in its attempts to optimize learning for gifted learners as well as to address the needs of all learners.…

Teacher standards for gifted education are a necessary feature of ensuring that the top learners in the society are adequately identified and nurtured in the context of school settings. A standards-based approach to personnel preparation offers many advantages for fields and disciplines. The content of standards at P-12 levels help to ensure that…

This quasi-experimental study examines the effects on student performance of a Javits-funded curriculum designed to respond to the needs of high-ability students in elementary and middle school social studies. The curriculum, implemented with all students in heterogeneous classrooms, addresses state standards while integrating advanced content,…

This study tracks the profile data of identification for gifted students in South Carolina, where a new performance-based dimension of identification has been employed, during a 3-year period. Targeted to identify more low-income and minority students, the identification protocol demonstrates efficacy in doing so. The study also tracks comparative…

This article provides an overview of existing research on 11 curriculum models in the field of gifted education, including the schoolwide enrichment model and the talent search model, and several others that have been used to shape high-level learning experiences for gifted students. The models are critiqued according to the key features they…

A study investigated effects of particular units of study on gifted elementary and middle school learners (n=2,189). The use of an integrated literature and writing unit produced significant gains for gifted learners in key aspects of language arts as assessed by demonstration of high-level thinking on performance-based measures. (Contains…

This article discusses the use of performance task assessments by Project STAR for identifying students for academically gifted programs in grades 3-6. A field test of the performance assessment tasks resulted in finding an additional group of students who were 12 percent African American and 14 percent low-income children. (Contains references.)…

A study involving 60 fifth-grade classrooms assessed student growth on integrated science process skills after being taught a 20-36 hour science unit based on the Integrated Curriculum Model developed for gifted learners. Results indicate small, but significant, gains for students in skills when compared to students not using the unit. (CR)

The author describes the advantages of the Talent Search Identification Model for gifted student identification. The model, widely used, uses standardized achievement tests to identify junior high students. Recommendations are offered for students scoring within specified ranges on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. (CL)

A study of the 42,586 students participating in the Midwest Talent Search program in 1985-1987 showed that low-income students were underrepresented in the gifted population. Low income negatively affected students' Scholastic Aptitude Test scores even in the upper ranges of ability. (Author/JDD)

The article explains the background of the Midwest Talent Search and reports personal, familial, behavioral, and educational findings for 191 students in the 1982 program, such as that 61 percent preferred mathematics to other school subjects, and that 80 percent were from public school gifted programs. (MC)

A review of three curriculum and instructional models used with gifted students suggests that models of: content (emphasis on learning skills and concepts within a discipline); process-product (emphasis on investigatory skills to develop "products"); and epistemological (focus on understanding and appreciation of knowledge systems) should be…

An elementary-school self-contained gifted class was compared to a control group on a general test of cognitive ability. Program participants exhibited significantly higher gains than did controls, and at the end of the program, participants also rated the quality of their school life more highly than did controls. (Author/JDD)