Cheryll M. Adams

Fourth-Grade Teachers' Perceptions of Giftedness: Implications for Identifying and Serving Diverse Gifted Students.

The present study sought to examine the perceptions of giftedness and identification procedures held by experienced teachers of gifted minority students. Twenty-seven 4th-grade teachers of gifted students in an urban school system with a high representation of minority and economically disadvantaged students were surveyed. Results indicated that experienced teachers still held a narrow conception of giftedness and were not aware of how culture and environmental factors may influence the expression of giftedness in minority and economically disadvantaged students. Findings also indicated that these teachers expressed concerns for approximately one third of their students qualifying for the gifted program. These concerns were based primarily on students having a skill deficit in one area, poor work habits, or behavioral or family problems. Teachers were less likely to notice gifted characteristics in these students compared to other identified students, even though both groups were identified in the same way. Implications for teaching gifted minority and economically disadvantaged students are discussed.

Development of an identification procedure for a large urban school corporation: Identifying culturally diverse and academically gifted elementary students

This paper describes the identification process of a Priority One Jacob K. Javits grant, Clustering Learners Unlocks Equity (Project CLUE), a university‐school partnership. Project CLUE uses a “sift‐down model” to cast the net widely as the talent pool of gifted second‐grade students is formed. The model is based on standardized test scores, a nonverbal ability test score, and/or a checklist completed by parents and/or teachers. Analysis of the year one data revealed an increase in Hispanic and English as a Second Language (ESL) student representation in the gifted program. Teachers’ reactions to the identification process after working with the gifted students identified through Project CLUEs screening process are also described.

Psychological Characteristics of Academically Gifted Adolescents Attending a Residential Academy: A Longitudinal Study

Students attending a state-supported residential academy for academically gifted adolescents (N = 139) completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory for Adolescents (MMPI-A; Butcher et al., 1992) upon entrance to document their psychological characteristics. The same students completed a postadministration of the MMPI-A at the end of their 2nd year at the school. Results indicated that the gifted students were quite similar to the normative group of adolescents on the MMPI-A. While several statistically significant changes were observed over time, the effect-size calculations accounted for only a modest percentage of the variance in all cases. Scores on the 2nd administration of the MMPI-A declined among the majority of students who manifested elevated scores on the initial administration.

The Reliability and Validity of a Performance Task for Evaluating Science Process Skills

The Diet Cola Test was designed as a process assessment of science aptitude. Investigations of the instruments reliability and validity for that purpose led to the conclusion that the data did not support the use of the instrument for making decisions about aptitude for individual students. Although the instrument was not suited for decision making for the purpose of identification, examination of the reliability and the item content, and further investigation of the validity suggested that it might be a suitable instrument for assessing science process skills as part of program or curricular evaluation.

The differentiated classroom observation scale

This article presents a new classroom observation scale that was developed to examine the differential learning activities and experiences of gifted children educated in regular classroom settings. The Differentiated Classroom Observation Scale (DCOS) is presented in total, with clarification of the coding practices and strategies. Although the DCOS was developed to examine the impact of differentiated classroom practices for gifted children, it is expected that the scale could be used for observing the educational experiences of any identifiable group of children. Reflections on the benefits offered by the DCOS that are not available with existing measures are provided, and include (a) the ability to contrast the educational experiences of two groups of learners; (b) documentation of a variety of educational factors including pedagogy, student engagement, and level of cognitive activity; and (c) preservation of contextual factors for deeper investigation through a database‐driven record keeping system that maintains disaggregated data from a series of short observational segments.

Gifted Girls and Science: Revisiting the Issues

Possible reasons for the underparticipation of gifted girls in science fields are discussed in terms of (a) disparity in cognitive abilities, (b) personality characteristics, (c) attitudes toward science, (d) differences between in-school and out-of-school learning experiences, (e) gender differences in mathematics preparation, and (f) socialization factors. Suggestions for encouraging gifted girls to keep their options open by continuing to pursue advanced coursework in the sciences are given for teachers and counselors who work with them.

Critical Differentiation and the Twice Oppressed: Social Class and Giftedness

Within disciplines, certain theoretical, ontological, and heuristic frameworks evolve toward axiomatic status over time. This evolution can limit disciplinary growth. Interdisciplinary theorizing can introduce trouble into such frameworks and add the tension necessary for the creation of new knowledge. This theoretical essay provides educators with new ways of thinking about teaching disadvantaged gifted youth. Differentiation, an educational philosophy, is reconceptualized as a form of critical pedagogy termed critical differentiation. The concept of the twice oppressed is presented. This concept suggests that it is possible for children to be oppressed based on social category as well as gifted classification. As in the case of the twice exceptional child who may struggle in classrooms with both dyslexia and giftedness, the twice oppressed child may struggle with both poverty and giftedness. Critical differentiation, or a merger of critical pedagogy and differentiation, may become a step toward resolving this conundrum. The concept of critical differentiation is explicated in this essay, along with sample lesson ideas and suggestions for framing research endeavors.

Adolescent Suicide: One School's Response.

During a span of about three months in 1994, three students associated with a state-supported residential high school for gifted students committed suicide. This article documents the responses of that school to these events.