Education Commons^™

Teacher Background And Underrepresented Students In Gifted Education, Kayla Berg

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic students in gifted education programs is a longstanding concern involving equity and access in educational systems. This qualitative research explores the complex factors influencing this disparity, focusing on the role of teacher perceptions in the identification process. Elementary and middle school teacher participants (N = 14) from a single school district provided interview data. Data collection focused on interviews with classroom and gifted teachers related to the three research questions. The research design was a multiple embedded case study.

First, the study investigated how teachers' perceptions of gifted characteristics vary based on personal experiences, …

A Longitudinal Study Of Gifted Status And Academic Growth, Sarah Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Charlene A. Reid, Bich Tran

Policy Briefs

In this brief, we assess the relationship between being identified as gifted and academic growth among students who scored at or above the 95th percentile on state assessments in third grade. We follow five independent cohorts of these high-achieving students through eighth grade. Using regression analysis controlling for student and district characteristics, we find that students who received gifted services demonstrated statistically significantly greater academic growth on mathematics and literacy achievement across the time period examined than similarly high achieving peers that were not identified as gifted.

Gifted Education In Arkansas: A Longitudinal Study Of Gifted Status And Academic Growth, Bich Tran, Jonathan Wai, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This study assesses the effectiveness of gifted programs in Arkansas by leveraging student-level achievement and demographic data of students who scored at or above the 95th percentile on state assessments in third grade. We follow five independent cohorts of these high-achieving students through eighth grade and examine the difference between the longer-term academic performance of the students that were exposed to gifted and talented services compared to similarly high achieving peers that were not identified as gifted. Using regression analyses controlling for student and district characteristics, we find that students who received gifted services demonstrated statistically significantly greater academic growth …

Promoting Privilege: Selecting Students For A Public Gifted School, Douglas G. Wren

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Point of view: I am a cisgender, White male in my sixties. I retired recently after working with children in a professional capacity since the mid-1970s. During my education career, I was an elementary school teacher, gifted teacher, research specialist, and director of research and evaluation in a historically White school district that became majority African American during my tenure.

Value of submission: Numerous educational policies and procedures in the United States benefit children from privileged families over their traditionally underserved counterparts, which include students of color and low-income students. This piece describes a public school district’s inequitable practices related …

What Can We Learn About Improving Gifted Identification By Studying How Accurate The Process Is In Arkansas?, Bich Tran, Jonathan Wai, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Jonathan N. Mills, Dustin Seaton

Arkansas Education Reports

How might we improve gifted and talented (G/T) identification by learning about the process in Arkansas (AR)? In this study, we examined the accuracy of the gifted identification process in AR by comparing the degree to which students who were academically talented in the top 5% on the 3 rd grade state assessment in reading and mathematics in AR were identified for G/T. Across five years of independent cohorts, we replicate the finding that roughly 30% of the students in the top 5% in both reading and mathematics on the 3 rd grade state assessment are not identified as G/T. …

College Choice Decisions: An Analysis Of University Honors Students, Thomas Tyler Clark

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to analyze the importance of various institutional attributes in the college-choice process of honors students. The study surveyed honors students (N = 279) currently enrolled in an honors college at one university. Students rated 51 items on the degree of importance in their college decision. An exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the underlying factors in the college-choice process.

The results indicated that cost was the most important issue students considered when determining an institution to attend. Cost of attendance and financial assistance offered were followed by quality of course instruction, safety on …

Online Teacher Professional Development For Gifted Education: Examining The Impact Of A New Pedagogical Model, Matthew J. Edinger

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

This paper theoretically develops and examines the outcomes of a pilot study that evaluates the PACKaGE Model of online Teacher Professional Development (the Model). The Model was created to facilitate positive pedagogical change within gifted education teachers’ practice, attitude, collaboration, content knowledge, and goal effectiveness. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2006) model of training evaluation suggests that trainees should evaluate the training for satisfaction at the time the training is completed, as well as six months after, to evaluate for behavior change. Applying Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2006) model, findings indicate that teachers were immediately satisfied with the Model’s effectiveness, adequacy and overall …

Dare To Care: Teaching Leadership To Gifted Students, Sarah E. Fox

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis details the creation and execution of the class “Dare to Care: Teaching Leadership to Gifted Students,” which was offered through a Saturday enrichment program to gifted middle school students. The class combined the study of leadership skills with the idea of being a change agent—a leader who uses his or her abilities to make a positive difference. This thesis documents the lesson plans of the class and students’ reactions to each lesson.

Parting Thoughts - So Much More To Discover, Eric L. Mann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Gifted Learners And Mathematical Achievement: An Analysis Of Gifted Instructional Models, Lezley Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to examine whether differences exist in the mathematics achievement of fifth grade gifted students based on the instructional delivery model used for mathematics instruction, cluster or collaborative, as defined by the Georgia Department of Education. The content area of mathematics, an area susceptible to underachievement among gifted learners, was investigated using archival data from a sample of 67 participants from rural Southwest Georgia over three academic years. The STAR Math assessment and the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT): Math assessments were used to measure overall mathematics achievement. The subscales on the CRCT were …

Preparing Students For Careers That Do Not Yet Exist, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee

Publications & Research

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), as a self-described "teaching and learning laboratory for imagination and inquiry," has a history of pursuing innovations closely aligned with the vision and framework of the National Science Education Standards. Innovations include both methods and materials for inquiry-based student instruction as well as for delivering professional development for pre-service and practicing teachers. Instructional innovations described include yearlong student inquiry and research projects (SIR), self-paced physics instruction, student-driven energy and engineering projects, instruction in innovation and entrepreneurialism, and a host of student-led outreach activities to "ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific minds of students …

The Effects Of Problem-Based Learning In Math And Science On High Potential Elementary School Students, Tracy Ford Inman

Dissertations

This study explored the effects of problem-based learning (PBL) on growth in both math achievement and science process skills within a sample of high potential and high ability students in grades 3 through 6, particularly students from low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds. Six elementary schools were assigned to one of three treatment groups: (a) PBL instruction in math and science in ability-grouped target classes and one-day-a-week magnet program; (b) PBL instruction in math and science in ability-grouped target classes; and (c) non-PBL instruction in math and science as a control group. Stemming from data gathered in Project GEMS (Gifted Education in …

Identifying Gifted Students In Science, Andrea Cary Zirkelbach

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Currently, there is no standard protocol to identify students who are gifted in science. If students are identified as gifted early on in elementary school, teachers and parents can foster their interest, increasing the students’ knowledge, value, and affect as well as their willingness to re-engage science (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Gottfried & Gottfried, 1996; Häussler 1987; Neber & Schommer-Aikins, 2002; Osborne, 2003; Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2008). In this study, a brief student identification form was developed for elementary school teachers to complete. The form was based on Hidi and Renninger’s (2006) four-phase model of interest development. The form …

Assessing High School Gifted Student Progress In Science Through Misconceptions And Mosart, Christopher G. Kolar, Evelyn Ho-Wisniewski

Publications & Research

This paper reports how 188 high school students identified as gifted in science were assessed with the Misconceptions-Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resource for Teachers (MOSART). Students enrolled in a year-long science-centered curriculum where this instrument appeared to be a means of identifying standards-aligned progress, avoiding ceiling effects and reliance on content mastery. This paper discusses two questions: 1. Is the MOSART a valid measure of conceptual understanding in gifted students? and 2. Can the MOSART be used with this population to measure growth in understanding? We present results from the physics and chemistry tests, and consider results from the earth science …

“Foreward.” Programs And Services For Gifted Secondary Students: A Guide To Recommended Practices., Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

The case is made that differentiated education for gifted students is essential to their development. Our national policy toward gifted students cannot be "make it on your own." Talent must be ignited, nurtured and sustained by design through wise, knowledge-based policies and innovative best practices.

Specialized Science High Schools: Exploring Contributions Of The Model To Adolescent Talent Development Specialized Science, Christopher G. Kolar, Tracy L. Cross, Rena F. Subotnik, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius

Publications & Research

As the field of gifted education shifts much of its focus to domain-specific talent development, specialized science high schools are taking their place on the stage. Back in 1981,Bloom and Sosniak argued persuasively that talent development cannot take place exclusively in schools. They stressed that schools were not prepared to offer the required levels of expert teaching, time, and effort. Yet, specialized science high schools, by design, are staffed with teachers with advanced degrees, offer relatively flexible schedules, interested peers,reasonable access to appropriate technology, and connections with research institutions to provide apprenticeships for the most motivated and interested students.

Attitudes Of Gifted Children, Christy Folsom

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Creating Conditions For Developing And Nurturing Talent: The Work Of School Leaders, Stephanie Pace Marshall, Martin Ramirez, Kathy Plinske, Catherine C. Veal

Publications & Research

In 1993, two decades after the 1972 U.S. Office of Education Report on the status of gifted and talented programs (the Marland Report), U. S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley issued a report stating that gifted education is essential to our nation’s future and documenting the “quiet risk” faced by gifted children and gifted education programs in the United States.