Gifted Children: Annotated Bibliography - Essay Example

Gifted Children: Annotated Bibliography (Add (Add (Add Gifted Children: Annotated Bibliography Introduction Gifted children are gifted with a better brain than other children are. However, the scholarly world has been in dispute regarding the features of such gifted children, how to identify gifted children, how to handle them effectively, the neuropsychological factors behind being gifted, the way the gifted people observe the world, and the common socio-cultural issues faced by gifted children. Moreover, it is observed terms like ‘giftedness’ and ‘talent’ are often used interchangeably. Anyway, it is found that in the sphere of education, it is highly necessary to identify and nurture gifted children separately because it is common for educators to consider such exceptionally gifted children as nuisance for the difference in their thinking pattern. Also, some educators get confused between giftedness and Attention Deficit Disorder. It is at this juncture that Gagne (1985) came up with the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent that clearly distinguishes between giftedness and talent. Also, for the first time, his work managed to portray how various factors; both interpersonal and environmental, affect the way giftedness is converted into talent. Thus, analyzing these factors is useful for educators to identify gifted children and engage them effectively in the classroom using various strategies. Thus the material used in this bibliography aim at three important things: the cognitive characteristics of gifted children according to the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent, the ways in which gifted children look at the world around them, the social and emotional issues faced by gifted children, and the various useful ways to identify and handle gifted children in the classroom. Thus, the work will enable teachers to be effective in identifying and dealing with gifted children. 1. Chessman, A. (2007). Distinguish level of giftedness: What does it mean for our practice?. NEALS, 1-11. Retrieved from http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/policies/gats/assets/pdf/plk12gtlvls.pdf The work by Chessman (2007) is very vital because of the way the work tries to analyze the concept of giftedness based on the work of Gagne. Also, the work tries to detail why educators’ concept of giftedness often goes wrong. The scholar points out the fact that most educators love to believe that giftedness is a homogenous domain, though, in fact, giftedness has five already identified domains in the words of Gagne. These aptitude domains are intellectual, creative, socio-affective, and sensorimotor. Also, it is acknowledged that there are other domains to be identified. Another important area of the work that makes it potentially useful is the extensive analysis of the various characteristics of gifted children. By analyzing the work of people like Baska (1989), Silverman (1993a), Clark (1992), Gross (2000), Tucker (1986), and (Diessner (1983), the scholar identifies a large number of cognitive, affective, intellectual and personality characteristics of gifted children. The cognitive abilities detailed are quick processing of information, well developed memory, early language development, curiosity, development of original ideas, and ability to work independently. Yet another point is that the advanced cognitive skills are associated with higher levels of emotion. Because of these higher emotional responses to situations, the gifted children tend to think and feel differently. Also, such children may possess an unusual degree of ‘transfer components’ which may enable them to apply skills learnt in one context to another easily. Also, they may be able to process many issues in their brain at the same time. Another section of the work deals with developing interventions which will stimulate learning in gifted children and which will help to diagnose ability. The strategies include IQ tests, off-level testing, opportunities to show what children can do, accelerated advancement, and curriculum compacting. Thus, the work proves highly useful in the study. 2. Gange, F. (1985). Giftedness talent: Reexamining a reexamination of the definitions. Gifted Child Quarterly, 29(3), 103-112. The work by Gagne explores the ambiguity in the existing literature about the concepts of giftedness and talent. By looking into the works of eminent people like Renzulli (1979) and Cohn (1981), the scholar shows that it is possible to clearly distinguish between giftedness and talent. The underlying theme that emerges as one reads the scholarly work is that one can be gifted but not talented as is the case of underachievers. However, it is not possible to be talented but not gifted. In simple terms, all talented people are gifted but all gifted people do not become talented. The work also details the various interpersonal catalysts and environmental catalysts which help giftedness develop into talent. The work helps understands the various points of Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DGMT). 3. Gross, G. U. M. (2004). Exceptionally Gifted Children. London: Routledge Falmer. According to Gross (2004), the work examines what is meant by being exceptionally gifted, and discusses the issue of identifying gifted children. Also, the work provides a large number of examples of gifted children. Thus, the examples along with the explanation work as a useful tool for educators to identify gifted children in classrooms from their characteristics and behaviour. 4. Gagne, F. (1995). From giftedness to talent: A developmental model and its impact on the language of the field. Power Review, 18(2), 103-111. The work also deals with the ambiguity in the field of handling giftedness and talent as there is an evident laxity in the use of terminology. In this work, there is clearly defined distinction between natural abilities and systematically developed skills. Also, the work is helpful in understanding the impact of various related constructs like motivation, temperament, surroundings, important events in the life of a person, and so on. Thus, the work is useful in understanding Gagne’s concept of giftedness and talent. 5. Gagne, F. (1999). My convictions about the nature of abilities, gifts, and talents. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 22(2), 109-136. The work is important because it shows how the concept of Gagne is different from that of other conventional thinkers. The works presents a set of twenty two structured statements which exhibit how abilities and talents originate. The work provides valuable insight into understanding the nature of human abilities, why there are differences among individuals, and how giftedness differs from talent. Thus the work is useful in providing more insight into the concept developed by Gagne. 6. Heller, K. A., Monks, F. J., Subotnik, R & Sternberg, R. J. (2000). International Handbook of Giftedness and Talent. Netherlands: Elsevier. Admittedly, the work is all inclusive in nature with a large number of articles written by various scholars. It starts from the definition of giftedness. Then the works proceeds to understand the history of giftedness. Also, in the following chapters, one gets clear insights about the controversies surrounding the concept of giftedness. Another striking feature of the collection is that there is an attempt to understand the neuropsychological features behind the phenomenon. As the work progresses, one comes across the various personality factors, which can have an impact on giftedness and talent. Moreover, there is an admirable attempt to understand the emotional features of the gifted people on the basis of the theory by Dabrowski. Another important area that has to be explored is the increased suicidal tendency seen in gifted students. There is an attempt in the work to understand the trend using theoretical and cultural explanations. Another interesting area is the analysis of giftedness in various spheres of life ranging from music, literature, sport, and cinema. However, the most useful part for educators in the book comes thereafter in the form of articles on new developments in gifted education. The part details the ways to promote creativity in curriculum, meeting the social and academic needs of gifted children, and even the use of multimedia to handle gifted children effectively. 7. Neihart, M., Reis, S. M., Robinson, N. M & Moon, S. M. (2002). The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children: What do we know?. Texas: Prufrock Press. The work is a useful tool in identifying the way the gifted children deal with their surroundings; handling peer pressure, dealing with issues like social acceptance, resilience, delinquency and underachievement. The work deals with various important aspects of the subject. It starts with the definition of the term ‘giftedness’. The part analyzes how the concept of giftedness was full of uncertainty as it was often mixed up with talent. By providing how various scholars defined the same, the part is useful in finding how Gagne stands apart in the crowd. Another important area useful in education is the part which details the usefulness of various strategies like acceleration, grouping, and curriculum differentiation. The use of this information will make it easy for teachers to identify and handle gifted students. As the work progresses, one reaches the area which provides valuable information about the social and emotional issues faced by the gifted children and the ways to handle the situation. There are various factors that affect the development of giftedness into talent either positively or negatively. Thus, the work is useful in the study because of the all-inclusive nature of the work. 8. Sternberg, R. J & Zhang, L. (2004). Wisdom as a form of giftedness. In S. M. Reis (Ed), Definitions and Conceptions of Giftedness. USA: Corwin Press. The work is a serious analysis of the various conceptions of giftedness. In fact, it is a collection of the work of various scholars. The first chapter is about the nature of giftedness and talent in the words of A. Harry Passow. In the second chapter Sternberg and Zhang (2004, p. 13) come up with Pentagonal Implicit Theory to understand what is meant by the term ‘giftedness’. As the work progresses, one can see the words of Nancy Ewald Jackson, Bruce M. Shore, Arlene C. Dover, Francoys Gagne, and George T. Betts. Thus, one can say that the work is one among the best sources that collects the view points of various scholars in the field. Thus, it becomes the best source to start analyzing how the concept of giftedness and talent varied among the intelligentsia. So, it is a useful tool in understanding how Gagne differed from the conventional thinking. 9. Winebrenner, S. (2001).Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom: Strategies and Techniques, Every Teacher Can Use to Meet the Academic Needs of the Gifted and Talented. USA: Free Spirit Publishing. The work by Winebrenner (2001) is useful because of the comprehensiveness the work exhibits. The first chapter of the work starts from the characteristics of gifted students. The scholar provides a shortlist of the characteristics of gifted people, which makes the work useful. It is pointed out that gifted children may learn new material faster, remember things they learnt forever, easily deal with complex concepts, show special interest in certain topics, process multiple tasks at the same time, and perfectionism, to mention but few. What makes the work all the more interesting is that it offers a teaching strategy that is useful in the regular classroom for each of the characteristics discussed. Some strategies suggested are the name card method and goal-setting log. Another vital role of the work seems in discussing how it is possible for educators to get confused between giftedness and Attention Deficit Disorder for the similarity in the way these two categories behave in the classroom. As the work progresses, one can see a large number f classroom practices which are useful in handling the characteristics of the gifted ones. Some such suggestions are compacting the curriculum, most difficult first strategy, pretests for volunteers and so on. Thus, the work is highly useful as a reference in studies. 10. Zola, E. (2007). Gagne’s differentiated model of giftedness and talent. Retrieved from http://www.gigers.com/matthias/gifted/gagne_dmgt.html The site provides a diagrammatic representation of the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent. The diagram easily shows how natural abilities or giftedness is converted into talent or systematically developed skills. Also, it shows why giftedness does not always lead to talent, and how chance plays its role in the development of natural abilities in a person by birth. Another important point is the role of interpersonal catalysts and environmental catalysts. The important interpersonal catalysts are physical characteristics like health, motivation and volition, self-management, and personality traits like temperament, self-esteem, and adaptability. Important environmental factors are the culture in which one is born, family, persons, provisions available, and important events. Thus, the work makes the understanding of Gagne’s work a lot easier. Read More