Roger A. Stewart

The social cognition of gifted adolescents: An exploration of the stigma of giftedness paradigm

An investigation was conducted to explicate the school‐based social cognition of gifted adolescents using the Stigma of Giftedness Paradigm (Coleman, 1985) as a theoretical framework. One thousand four hundred and sixty‐five attendees of the Tennessee Governors School Program completed a questionnaire which asked them to depict their perceptions and experiences of being gifted in high school. The questionnaire data were analyzed using the Stigma of Giftedness Paradigm which states that: 1) gifted and talented students want to have normal social interactions, 2) they believe that people treat them differently when aware of their giftedness, and 3) they can influence how others interact with them by manipulating the information others have about them through various coping strategies. The paradigm was found to be an efficacious framework within which to contextualize the psycho‐social development of gifted students.

Psychosocial diversity among gifted adolescents:An exploratory study of two groups

This study explored the psychosocial diversity of two groups of gifted adolescents: those who feel different from their nongifted peers, and those who feel the same. Gifted and talented high school students attending the Tennessee Governors Schools (TGS) completed a Student Attitude Questionnaire questioning how others in their high school perceive them, their perceptions of nongifted students, and their behavior in school settings. To conduct the study, the researchers created a continuum of self‐perception. At ends of the continuum were students who felt different (academically and socially) from nongifted peers (i.e., DIFFERENT group) and students who indicated feeling the same as their nongifted peers (i.e., SAME group). Four hundred and eighty‐four subjects out of the 1465 surveyed represented the outermost ends of the continuum. Comparisons between the two groups on demographic variables, perceptions of self and other students, and school behavior suggested that the SAME group manifests greater des...

Effects of Practical Life Materials on Kindergartners' Fine Motor Skills

A pretest-posttest control group design was used to measure the effect of practical life materials on public school kindergarten childrens fine motor skill development over a 6-month period. The dependent measure was a penny posting test. More than 50 different sets of activities were provided to the experimental group (n = 101). Teachers coached students in following specific steps to use tweezers, tongs, and spoons to manipulate a variety of objects. Students then employed the materials during center time in their classrooms. Although experimental and control group teachers reported equal amounts of fine motor activity in their classrooms, significant interaction effects were found indicating the experimental group outperformed the control on the posttest measure. An overall effect size of 0.74 indicates that the type of fine motor activity is important in childrens development.

Models for Using Nonfiction in the Primary Grades.

Practitioners and scholars today are calling for the inclusion of nonfiction in primary-grade classrooms where in the past fiction has dominated. With the increasing availability of age-appropriate nonfiction texts, this request can now become a reality, and youngsters can read nonfiction books on their independent or instructional reading levels. To use nonfiction effectively, young readers must be taught the necessary skills. Three models show primary-grade teachers how to scaffold instruction. Using the gradual release of responsibility, the models represent a series of stages with the end product being independent student use of informational books. The three models are (1) teacher-directed instruction, (2) scaffolded student investigation, and (3) independent student investigation. Demands on both students and teachers increase as teachers scaffold students through each model. The article illustrates the models with the topics of frogs, life cycles, and animals, and suggests additional strategies, teaching ideas, and nonfiction books.

Phenomenology and Its Implications for Gifted Studies Research: Investigating the Lebenswelt of Academically Gifted Students Attending an Elementary Magnet School:

A phenomenological investigation of the lebenswelt (life world) of academically gifted students attending an elementary magnet school was conducted. The magnet school is housed in an elementary school that maintains 2 classes per grades 1–6, 1 gifted and 1 heterogeneous. Fifteen gifted students (2 per grades 1–3 and 3 per grades 4–6) participated in phenomenological interviews. The interviews, averaging 50 minutes in length, were recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed via a 6-step thematic analysis process. The social milieu of the school was described by the students as the backdrop for the meaning of the experience of attending the magnet school for gifted students. Four themes emerged across the magnet school experience: Others, Role, Personal Development, and Time. Nuances and characteristics of the themes are reported.

Factors Influencing Preservice Teachers' Resistance to Content Area Reading Instruction.

Abstract Factors Influencing preservice secondary teachers’ resistance to content reading are delineated via a qualitative research study. Excerpts from multiple data sources are highlighted and discussed to illustrate factors Influencing resistance, including constraints found In the teaching workplace and perconceived models of the role of teacher in the classroom. Limitations of the study are discussed. The significance of the findings to successful incorporation of content area reading into the secondary classroom are discussed.

A FIELD TEST OF FIVE FORMS OF MARGINAL GLOSS STUDY GUIDE: AN ECOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract This paper reports results of a study where marginal gloss was employed as an adjunct comprehension aid in multiple sections of a college introductory education course. An ecological research design was used whereby rigid control over subject behavior and research setting were relinquished in favor of application and testing of the strategy in an ecologically valid environment. Consequently, results are relevant to researchers and practitioners alike.

The Battle for Higher Standards

Change • November/December 2014 In the aftermath of the federal mandates imposed through No Child Left Behind, the state-led effort to establish common math and English standards across states— known as the Common Core State Standards—seemed a welcome change in the approach to improving student achievement and success. However, the effort to ensure that students were ready for college or the workforce became the political target of those who distrust federal mandates and fear a nationalized education agenda bent on social engineering. The standards became intertwined with NSA spying, data mining, and federal grants for education with strings attached. Despite being one of the reddest states in the Union and in the face of large-scale political and public opposition, Idaho has emerged as a leader in adopting higher content standards in K-12 math and English/language arts. It has done so by establishing partnerships among K-12 education, higher education, and the business community to promote a more ambitious education agenda for the state.