F. Richard Olenchak

Affective Development of Gifted Students with Nontraditional Talents.

Children, whose talents and gifts exist in those domains distinct from the intellectual, academic, and athletic realms should still be considered gifted. They are especially talented in one or more areas of human pursuit although their talent is reflected in domains unique from those customarily served by schools; and their social and emotional development appears to be unique. Such young people are in particular danger for generalized school failure, for the manifestation of a variety of social and emotional problems, and are at risk for underdevelopment and occasionally even denial of their talent. Case study data are used to examine this conundrum and its potentially negative effects on individual students emotional self‐development. Included are explorations of several interventions for enhancing affective growth among a group of students that is triply different from their peers.

Lessons learned from gifted children about differentiation

Abstract Differentiation of curricula and instruction has long been an accepted principle in educating gifted and talented students. Despite its history, definitions and practices continue to vary widely. Current differentiation practices in schools, if present at all, tend to provide instructional and curricular modifications ensuring that teaching and/or curricula are distinct from those provided other learners, differentiation being determined primarily through needs of the gifted as a group. In this article, four gifted and talented students, aged 9 to 12, are studied over a 1‐ to 3‐year period to examine the nature of their educations and the differentiation offered to them. Based on problems in these students’ school programs that were unearthed through the case studies, systematic interventions were implemented to improve differentiation for each student on a personal level. Results support personalized differentiation as the optimal means for accommodating the needs of the diversity of gifted and talented youth in schools.

Cyberbullying among gifted children

Peer victimization, or bullying, is a phenomenon that has received increasing global attention, and the use of technology, or cyberbullying, to bring about acts of bullying has certainly increased as access to various technological tools has escalated. While it is unclear whether this attention is a function of actual increases in cyberbullying or is simply a function of the fact that the same boom in technological access also enables more rapid reporting of such incidents, the reality remains the same: a number of young people use cyberspace as a means for attacking peers. An examination of the literature pertaining to cyberbullying serves as a backdrop for considering cyberbullying and its particular effects on gifted and talented students, and a call for increasing research efforts in this arena is issued.

Individuals with a Gifted/Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnosis.

This paper reviews the current literature on twice-exceptional students who are dual diagnosed as having giftedness and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This area of research is warranted because giftedness and ADHD present similarly but have different ramifications for performance and outcomes. In addition, research inquiry and intervention can ease the frustration of those individuals who have both of these strengths and weaknesses. Giftedness and ADHD are examined in terms of identification of individual and dual diagnoses; performance of gifted students with ADHD, including underachievement and creativity; psychosocial outcomes; and interventions for students with giftedness/ADHD. Gaps in the literature and future directions are discussed.

Enriching Curriculum for All Students

Vol. 85 No. 627 October 2001 87 teers in the program. Part two concludes with a chapter on future directions for research, policy, and practice in partnership. In School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools, Epstein communicates the partnership and parent involvement research in a way that makes it usable by practitioners. The book is well organized and contains activities based on theory and research that all school leaders can readily put into practice. As a result, Partnerships may effect lasting change in principals’ understanding of school and community connections.