Research Papers in Journals and Books
Research Papers in Journals and Books
Research Papers in Journals and Books
AND GIFTEDNESS
ARTICLES IN BOOKS AND JOURNALS
Abstract: The aims of this research were to investigate the possibilities of developing
the cognitive and creative abilities of recognised gifted children, and also of
raising the development of “ordinary” children up to a level of giftedness.
This experimental work, based on Vygot‐sky's D ynam ic Theory of
Giftedness, involved special procedures and an experimental curriculum
designed to overcome children's psychological barriers to learning. Five school
classes were involved: three experimental classes, two of these gifted and one
of average‐ability child ren. Tw o further control classes w ere taught by
conventional methods. Comparative assessments were made for 6 years
between all the children, regarding cognitive development, creativity and
social giftedness, revealing considerable undeveloped potential of “ordinary”
children. Major factor influencing IQ changes included the differences in
psychological mechanisms to overcome barriers to learning. Due to the
experimental psychological curriculum, not only did all the children's
cognitive abilities increase, but also their creativity. Hence, these new
diagnostic and developmental procedures were found to be effective,
demonstrating the high practical value of the Dynamic Theory of Giftedness.
Davis, G. A. & Rimm, S. B. (2004). Education of the gifted and talented (5th ed.).
Boston, MA: Pearson Education Press.
Abstract: This comprehensive text by leaders in the field presents the best practices in
gifted education. After a brief overview of current issues in the field,
Education of the Gifted and Talented discusses the characteristics of gifted
students as well as challenges of parenting and the understanding and
counseling of gifted children. The authors address crucial topics in the field,
including strategies for identifying gifted students, considerations in planning
a sound gifted and talented program, contemporary program models,
problems of minority, disabled and female students, and the evaluation of
gifted programs.
Ervynck, G. (1991). Mathematical Creativity. In D. Tall (Ed.), Advanced Mathematical
Thinking (pp. 42-53). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer.
Abstract:
Feldhusen, J. F. (2002). Creativity: The knowledge base and children. High Ability
Studies, 13 (2), 179-183.
Abstract: Creative or divergent thinking is not done in a vacuum. It depends on and
uses a knowledge base. There is too much emphasis on trying to understand
the process purely from a procedural point of view and not from the point of
view of the necessary knowledge base. Close observation of the creative
thinking processes of children illustrates clearly the critical role of the
knowledge base.
Gavin, M. K.; Casa, T. M.; Adelson, J. L.; Carroll, S. R.; Sheffield, L. J. (2009). The
impact of advanced curriculum on the achievement of mathematically
promising elementary students, Gifted Child Quarterly, 53 (3), 188-20.
Abstract: The primary aim of Project M3: Mentoring Mathematical Minds was to
develop and field test advanced units for mathematically promising
elementary students based on exemplary practices in gifted and mathematics
education. This article describes the development of the units and reports on
mathematics achievement results for students in Grades 3 to 5 from 11 urban
and suburban schools after exposure to the curriculum. Data analyses indicate
statistically significant differences favoring each of the experimental groups
over the comparison group on the ITBS (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills) Concepts
and Estimation Test and on Open-Response Assessments at all three grade
levels. Furthermore, the effect sizes range from 0.29 to 0.59 on the ITBS
Concepts and Estimation Scale and 0.69 to 0.97 on the Open-Response
Assessments. These results indicate that these units, designed to address the
needs of mathematically promising students, positively affected their
achievement.
Gavin, M. K.; Casa, T. M.; Adelson, J. L.; Carroll, S. R.; Sheffield, L. J.; Spinelli, A.
M. (2007). Project M3: Mentoring Mathematical Minds: A research-based
curriculum for talented elementary students, Journal of Advanced
Academics, 18(4), 566-585.
Abstract: To date, there has been very little research-based mathematics curriculum
available for talented elementary students. Yet the gifted education and
mathematics literature suggest support for curriculum that is both enriched
and accelerated with a focus on developing conceptual understanding and
mathematical thinking. Project M3: Mentoring Mathematical Minds is a 5-year
Javits research grant project designed to create curriculum units with these
essential elements for talented elementary students. These units combine
exemplary teaching practices of gifted education with the content and process
standards promoted by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The
content at each level is at least one to two grade levels above the regular
curriculum and includes number and operations, algebra, geometry and
measurement, and data analysis and probability. The focus of the pedagogy is
encouraging students to act as practicing professionals by emphasizing verbal
and written communication. Research was conducted on the implementation
of 12 units in 11 different schools, 9 in Connecticut and 2 in Kentucky. The
sample consisted of approximately 200 mathematically talented students
entering third grade, most of whom remained in the project through fifth
grade. More than 40% of students were eligible for meal subsidies, and the
sample was composed of students from diverse racial and ethnic groups.
Paired t-tests were conducted on the total scores for each unit pre- and
posttest. Changes in the total scores for each unit indicate statistically
significant gains from pretest mean to posttest mean at the p < .01 level of
statistical significance. In addition, the effect sizes were all large and ranged
from 1.55 to 3.49. These results indicate significant increases in understanding
across all mathematical concepts in each unit from pre- to posttesting. Thus,
Project M3 materials may help fill a curriculum void by providing appropriate
accelerated and enriched units to meet the needs of talented elementary
students.
Gorodetsky, M. & Klavir, R. (2003). What can we learn from how gifted/average
pupils describe their process of problem solving? Learning and instruction, 13,
305-325.
Abstract: Research on the cognitive sub-processes involved in the excellent problem
solving of the gifted, as compared to the problem solving of the average
person, has attributed the difference between these two populations to
selectivity in their Encoding, Comparison and Combination sub-processes.
This paper extends this list by adding two sub-processes that are imported
from the literature on experts and novices: namely, Retrieval and Goal
Directness. Based on these five sub-processes in conjunction with the concept
of selectivity as an ordinal (rather than dichotomous) dimension, we have
constructed a model that is being used for the analysis of the solution
processes of gifted and average students, as reflected in their post solution
protocols. Middle high school students (gifted and average) solved insight
problems, without and with analogical learning, and were asked to report on
the solution process they undertook. The suggested model was found to be an
effective instrument for analyzing the sub-processes employed during
problem solving. Though both the gifted and the average were able to arrive
at correct solutions, the study shows that they employed different sub-
processes in doing so. The model can serve as a fine-grade analysis of solution
processes among various populations (gifted/average and possibly
experts/novices) that will be helpful in research and teaching.
Hong, E. & Aqui, Y. (2004). Cognitive and motivational characteristics of
adolescents gifted in mathematics: Comparison among students with
different types of giftedness. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 48 (3), 191-201.
Abstract: Although numerous studies have compared cognitive and motivational
characteristics of gifted and nongifted students, research comparing those
characteristics among different types of gifted students has not kept up with
the theoretical development that saw a transition from uni-dimensional to
multi-dimensional conceptualizations of giftedness. This study compares
cognitive and motivational characteristics of high school students who are
academically gifted in math, creatively talented in math, and nongifted.
Whereas no differences were found among the three groups in their beliefs
about ability, most of the other characteristics examined in the study
distinguished the three groups. Academically gifted female students reported
expending more effort than did academically gifted male students. Creatively
talented males put forth more effort than academically gifted males, and the
creatively talented in general used more cognitive strategies than the
academically gifted. Overall, students who were either academically gifted or
creatively talented in mathematics perceived that they were self-efficacious in
general, used cognitive strategies, perceived their math ability and math self-
efficacy to be high, and valued learning math more so than their nongifted age
peers.
Housman, D. & Porter, M. (2003). Proof schemes and learning strategies of above-
average mathematics students. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 53 (2),
139-158.
Abstract: What patterns can be observed among the mathematical arguments above-
average students find convincing and the strategies these students use to learn
new mathematical concepts? To investigate this question, we gave task-based
interviews to eleven female students who had performed well in their college-
level mathematics courses, but who differed in the number of proof-oriented
courses each had taken. One interview was designed to elicit expressions of
what students find convincing. These expressions were categorized according
to the proof schemes defined by Harel and Sowder (1998). A second interview
was designed to elicit expressions of what strategies students use to learn a
mathematical concept from its definition, and these expressions were
classified according to the learning strategies described by Dahlberg and
Housman (1997). A qualitative analysis of the data uncovered the existence of
a variety of phenomena, including the following: All of the students
successfully generated examples when asked to do so, but they differed in
whether they generated examples without prompting and whether they
successfully generated examples when it was necessary to disprove
conjectures. All but one of the students exhibited two or more proof schemes,
with one student exhibiting four different proof schemes. The students who
were most convinced by external factors were unsuccessful in generating
examples, using examples, and reformulating concepts. The only student who
found an examples-based argument convincing generated examples far more
than the other students. The students who wrote and were convinced by
deductive arguments were successful in reformulating concepts and using
examples, and they were the same set of students who did not generate
examples spontaneously but did successfully generate examples when asked
to do so or when it was necessary to disprove a conjecture.
Koichu, B. & Berman, A. (2005). When do gifted high school students use geometry
to solve geometry problems? The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education,
16(4), 168-179.
Abstract: This article describes the following phenomenon: Gifted high school
students trained in solving Olympiad-style mathematics problems
experienced conflict between their conceptions of "effectiveness" and
"elegance" (the EEC). This phenomenon was observed while analyzing clinical
task-based interviews that were conducted with three members of the Israeli
team participating in the International Mathematics Olympiad. We illustrate
how the conflict between the students' conceptions of effectiveness and
elegance is reflected in their geometrical problem solving, and analyze
didactical and epistemological roots of the phenomenon.
Koichu, B., Berman, A. & Moore, M. (2006). Patterns of middle school students’
heuristic behaviors in solving seemingly familiar problems. In J. Novotna,
H. Moraova, M. Kratka, and N. Stehlikova (Eds.), Proceedings of the 30th
Conference of the International Group for the psychology of Mathematics
Education, 3, 457-464, Prague, Charles University.
Abstract: The goal of this paper is to present patterns of problem solving behaviors
that emerged from three rounds of clinical interviews with middle school
students of different mathematical aptitudes. In the interviews the students
were given algebra and geometry problems that looked like tasks recently
solved in class, but, in fact, were much more challenging. We call such tasks
seemingly familiar problems. Building on past research, we argue that
heuristics are useful organizational units in modeling problem solving and
present an empirical definition of heuristic behavior. That multi-attribute
definition enables us to make inferences regarding similarities in some
solutions, and, in turn, to distinguish four patterns of the students’ heuristic
behaviors that cut across algebra and geometry problem solving domains.
Mann, E.L., (2006). Creativity: The essence of mathematics. Journal for the
Education of the Gifted, 30 (2), 236-262.
Abstract: For the gifted mathematics student, early mastery of concepts and skills in
the mathematics curriculum usually results in getting more of the same work
and/or moving through the curriculum at a faster pace. Testing, grades, and
pacing overshadow the essential role of creativity involved in doing
mathematics. Talent development requires creative applications in the
exploration of mathematics problems. Traditional teaching methods involving
demonstration and practice using closed problems with predetermined
answers insufficiently prepare students in mathematics. Students leave school
with adequate computational skills but lack the ability to apply these skills in
meaningful ways. Teaching mathematics without providing for creativity
denies all students, especially gifted and talented students, the opportunity to
appreciate the beauty of mathematics and fails to provide the gifted student
an opportunity to fully develop his or her talents. In this article, a review of
literature defines mathematical creativity, develops an understanding of the
creative student of mathematics, and discusses the issues and implications for
the teaching of mathematics.