This article presents an interview with Dr. Kirsi Tirri, Professor of Education and Research Director in the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland. She also is a visiting Professor at St. John's University, New York, USA. Tirri served as President of the ECHA (European Council for High Ability) from…

This qualitative research study addressed this question: What influence did early environmental surroundings and family have on the talent development of a cohort of American speed skaters who each competed in four Olympic Games during the 1980s and 1990s? The skaters were Bonnie Blair, Dave Cruikshank, and Dan Jansen. Independent interviews with…

Ted Dintersmith's efforts to give young adults the skills and characteristics they need to be successful span film, written publications, and talks--all directed at advocating for a school system that prepares kids for life, not standardized tests. Among his film work, Dintersmith executive produced "Most Likely to Succeed" (Dintersmith…

Yong Zhao is Foundations Distinguished Professor in the School of Education with an appointment in the School of Business at the University of Kansas. Prior to joining KU, he served as the Presidential Chair, Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education, and Associate Dean in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he…

Blogs have become a go-to information resource for members of online communities. In this qualitative study we applied uses and gratifications theory (U&GT) to analyze the experiences and perceptions of four mothers of gifted children who maintain blogs about their homeschooling experiences. Data suggest that this novel context and population…

Dr. Michael S. Matthews is professor and director of the Academically & Intellectually Gifted graduate programs at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is incoming Coeditor of the "Gifted Child Quarterly" and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Gifted Children. Dr. Matthews also currently…

Learning motivation has a significant effect on student learning, which is a key determinant of academic performance and creativity. It is increasingly popular and important to cultivate learning motivation in schools. To consider this trend, a long-term intervention program named "Learn to Think" (LTT) was designed not only to improve…

Clair J. Sullivan is an assistant professor in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Her research interests include radiation detection and measurements; gamma-ray spectroscopy; automated isotope identification algorithms; nuclear forensics; nuclear security;…

Susan G. Assouline is the director of the Belin-Blank Center, holds the Myron and Jacqueline N. Blank Endowed Chair in Gifted Education, and is a professor of school psychology. She received her BS in general science with a teaching endorsement, her EdS in school psychology, and her PhD in psychological and quantitative foundations, all from the…