A recent article published by distinguished gifted education scholar David Lubinski of Vanderbilt University, “From Terman to today: A century of findings on intellectual precocity,” serves as an excellent resource for parents, students, and educators who are interested in the findings of two major longitudinal studies of the gifted which roughly span the last century, and more broadly the historical progression of research on the gifted. Here are brief descriptions of the longitudinal … [Read more...] about What have we learned from 100 years of longitudinal research on intellectual talent?
Julian Stanley
Is My Child A Math Prodigy? What Can I Do For Them?
What are some signs of math talent? Mathematically talented students often show an early interest in and facility with numbers. For example, they may learn to tell time at age two and begin adding and subtracting long before they enter kindergarten. Anecdotes shared by parents about their precocious youngsters are helpful in identifying these students initially, but the objective information determined from an appropriate assessment is essential in determining the extent of their abilities and … [Read more...] about Is My Child A Math Prodigy? What Can I Do For Them?
Defining Giftedness and Its Goals
Researchers in the field of giftedness face a major struggle: they can’t agree on a definition of giftedness. If you were to ask 10 giftedness researchers for a definition of giftedness, you’d likely get 11 different answers! This becomes problematic within the field when we try to determine who is gifted and what we should do for them. And from outside the field, this disagreement on things as “simple” as definitions makes us look like we don’t know what are talking about. After all, physicists … [Read more...] about Defining Giftedness and Its Goals
Talent Search Model: Stanley
In the summer of 1968, Julian Stanley, a professor at Johns Hopkins University learned about a 12-year-old boy named Joe. Joe was an excellent student for his age. In fact, he could be found helping graduate students in computer science with some of their projects. To test Joe’s intelligence, Dr. Stanley arranged for Joe to take the SAT the following fall when he was in the eighth grade. It turned out that Joe scored better than most Johns Hopkins students, even though he hadn’t even started … [Read more...] about Talent Search Model: Stanley
Developing Mathematical Talent: Advice to Parents
Mathematically talented students often show an early interest in and facility with numbers. For example, they may learn to tell time at age two and begin adding and subtracting long before they enter kindergarten. Anecdotes shared by parents about their precocious youngsters are helpful in identifying these students initially, but the objective information determined from an appropriate assessment is essential in determining the extent of their abilities and providing them with a challenging … [Read more...] about Developing Mathematical Talent: Advice to Parents
An Interview with Julian C. Stanley
Editor's note: Julian C. Stanley, who died on August 12, 2005 at the age of 87, established the talent search model when he began the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) at Johns Hopkins University in 1971. He found that grade-level tests did not provide enough information about the abilities of academically talented students. Stanley decided to give a large group of seventh-graders the Scholastic Aptitude Test (now the SAT Reasoning Test). Stanley found that the SAT, given as an … [Read more...] about An Interview with Julian C. Stanley