Del Siegle

Factors That Differentiate Underachieving Gifted Students From High-Achieving Gifted Students

The purpose of this study was to examine whether gifted achievers and gifted underachievers differ in their general academic self-perceptions, attitudes toward school, attitudes toward teachers, motivation and self-regulation, and goal valuation. The sample consisted of 56 gifted underachievers and 122 gifted achievers from 28 high schools nationwide. Gifted achievers and gifted underachievers differed in their attitudes toward school, attitudes toward teachers, motivation/self-regulation, and goal valuation, but not their academic self-perceptions. In addition, the logistic regression analysis correctly classified over 81% of the sample as either gifted achievers or gifted underachievers using their motivation/self-regulation and goal valuation self-ratings. This study represents an important step toward quantifying factors related to the underachieviement of gifted adolescents.

Assumptions Underlying the Identification of Gifted and Talented Students

This study examined a national sample of classroom teachers, teachers of the gifted, administrators, and consultants from rural, suburban, and urban areas regarding their assumptions about the gifted identification process. Respondents indicated the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with 20 items that reflected guidelines for a comprehensive identification system. Five factors were derived from 20 items. Respondents favored the use of individual expression criteria, ongoing assessment, multiple criteria for identification, and consideration of contextual factors. Teachers of the gifted and respondents from urban areas were more likely to favor these strategies. The sample opposed restricting identification to the sole use of achievement or IQ scores.

Increasing Student Mathematics Self-Efficacy through Teacher Training.

Teachers can modify their instructional strategies with minimal training and effort, and this can result in increases in their students’ self-efficacy. Self-efficacy judgments are based on four sources of information: an individuals own past performance, vicarious experiences of observing the performances of others, verbal persuasion that one possesses certain capabilities, and physiological states. Individuals use these four sources of information to judge their capability to complete future tasks. Teachers who capitalize on the influence of the strongest of these sources—past performances, observations of others as models, and verbal persuasion—produce more confident students. The following instructional strategies increase student self-efficacy: • Reviewing lesson accomplishments from the previous day, posting the current lessons objectives prior to instruction, drawing attention to the lesson objectives as they are covered, and reviewing the lesson objectives at the end of the lesson. • Asking students to record each day on a calendar something new they learned that day or something at which they excelled. • Prompting students who perform poorly to attribute their failures to lack of effort and encouraging them to try harder. • Drawing students’ attention to their growth and complimenting them on their specific skills. • Using student models early to demonstrate some aspects of a lesson to remind them that other students like themselves are mastering the material and therefore they can master it also. Teachers who use these strategies on a daily basis produce students who are more confident in their academic skills.

Exploring Teacher Biases When Nominating Students for Gifted Programs

The purpose of this study was to identify student characteristics that might influence teachers in referring students for gifted programs. We developed a series of 12 student profiles to measure teacher bias and asked teachers to indicate how strongly they believed the students in the profiles should or should not be recommended for their district gifted program. We found the ability to do mental computations overshadowed completion of schoolwork, and the esoteric nature of student interest appeared to be equivalent to completion of schoolwork. We found that completing schoolwork was not a factor when students possessed a large storehouse of information. We also learned that classroom teachers may be more inclined than gifted specialists to focus on student weaknesses, rather than student strengths.

The structure and function of academic self‐concept in gifted and general education students

Using structural equation modeling techniques, this exploratory study investigated the differences in the factor structure of academic self‐perceptions in a sample of gifted students and within a general population of students. The factor structure exhibited partial measurement invariance, suggesting that two of the items on the factor work differently in the gifted sample than in the sample from the general population. The gifted sample demonstrated higher academic self‐perceptions than the general school sample and higher self‐reported GPAs than the general school sample. However, the relationship between academic self‐perceptions and self‐reported GPA was invariant across groups. For both gifted students and the general population of high school students, GPA and academic self‐perceptions were moderately and positively related. Therefore, although there are large mean differences between gifted students and the general population of students on the academic self‐perceptions scale, the structure of the relationship between academic self‐perceptions and GPA was similar.

Exploring the Relationship of College Freshmen Honors Students’ Effort and Ability Attribution, Interest, and Implicit Theory of Intelligence With Perceived Ability

Although there are several explanations for why one succeeds or fails, effort and ability are the major causes that students report. The purpose of the present study was to measure the perceptions of 149 college freshmen enrolled in a university honors program about their skills in 15 talent areas. In addition, this study explored the relationship of interests and ability and effort attributions with self-efficacy and investigated gender differences in these perceptions. There was a positive relationship between students’ interest in a talent area and their assessment of their skill in that area. The strongest relationships tended to be in nonacademic areas. For some talents, males placed stronger attributions on the role that natural ability played, whereas females indicated that personal effort contributed to high levels of performance. Participants’ implicit theory of intelligence did not appear to influence their perceptions of the importance of ability in academic performance. Putting the Research to Use Educators and parents must recognize the important role interest plays in student achievement. Interest is one of the single best predictors of high performance in a variety of talent areas. For gifted students to sustain the effort necessary to reach high levels of academic rigor, they must either be interested in the topic or find the task meaningful. Educators may need to modify their instruction and curriculum to capitalize on student interests. Gifted students appear to be aware of their high ability and view it as contributing to their success. Although some researchers have cautioned against recognizing student ability at the peril of diminishing the importance of effort, educators and parents should not be fearful of discussing the role ability plays in gifted students’ performances, while also emphasizing the importance of hard work and perseverance.

Laptop Computers and Multimedia and Presentation Software: Their Effects on Student Achievement in Anatomy and Physiology.

AbstractTwo groups of high school students alternately used laptop computers with multimedia and presentation software to study anatomy and physiology content over the course of one school year. Each group used computers for two quarters and traditional paper-based materials for two quarters. Both groups were taught the same curriculum by the same teacher. The course grades of the two groups were compared each quarter. Analysis indicated that the students benefited from creating PowerPoint (1986–2000) presentations and reviewing course material with the A.D.A.M. (Animated Dissection of Anatomy for Medicine)—The Inside Story (1997) software.Abstract Two groups of high school students alternately used laptop computers with multimedia and presentation software to study anatomy and physiology content over the course of one school year. Each group used computers for two quarters and traditional paper-based materials for two quarters. Both groups were taught the same curriculum by the same teacher. The course grades of the two groups were compared each quarter. Analysis indicated that the students benefited from creating PowerPoint (1986–2000) presentations and reviewing course material with the A.D.A.M. (Animated Dissection of Anatomy for Medicine)—The Inside Story (1997) software.

Making a Difference: Motivating Gifted Students Who Are Not Achieving

motivation being one crucial aspect. Motivated students appear to exhibit three main perceptions. First and foremost, motivated students find value in their school experience. They enjoy what they are doing or believe what they are doing will produce beneficial outcomes. Second, they believe they have the skills to be successful. Third, they trust their environment and expect they can succeed in it. When students value the task or outcome and have positive perceptions of themselves and their opportunities for success, they are more likely to exhibit the following resultant behaviors: (a) implementing self-regulation behaviors, (b) setting realistic expectations, and (c) applying appropriate strategies for academic success. This article offers classroom strategies and tips for motivating students who are struggling to find value in their schoolwork and feel good about their abilities, who need assistance moving from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation, and who need guidance in interpreting their environments. Gifted students are one group of exceptional learners who are not normally considered at risk for academic failure. We often expect the brightest students to also be the most motivated. Unfortunately, many gifted students seem to lack motivation in school. Watching bright students perform below their potential is a source of frus-

An Investigation of the Reliability and Factor Structure of Four New Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students

I Learning Characteristics II Creativity Characteristics III Motivation Characteristics IV Leadership Characteristics V Artistic Characteristics VI Musical Characteristics VII Dramatics Characteristics VIII Communication Characteristics (Precision) IX Communication Characteristics (Expressiveness) X Planning Characteristics XI Mathematics Characteristics XII Reading Characteristics XIII Technology Characteristics XIV Science Characteristics

Technology: Differentiating Instruction by Flipping the Classroom.

Flipping the classroom can be an effective instructional strategy for differentiating instruction for gifted and talented students. The author presents a rationale for using the strategy with gifted students, possible problems educators might encounter, and practical tips for beginning the process of flipping the classroom.Flipping the classroom can be an effective instructional strategy for differentiating instruction for gifted and talented students. The author presents a rationale for using the strategy with gifte...