From Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (1989)
gifted- (gif’tid) adj. 1. having great special talents or ability: the debut of a gifted artist. 2. having exceptionally high intelligence: gifted children.
Terman (1926): conservative in restrictiveness
…the top 1% level in general intellectual ability as measured by the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale or a comparable instrument.
Witty (1958): Liberal in restrictiveness
There are children whose outstanding potentialities in art, in writing, or in social leadership can be recognized largely by their performance. Hence, we have recommended that the definition of giftedness be expanded and that we consider any child gifted whose performance, in a potentially valuable line of human activity, is consistently remarkable.
U.S Office of Education Definition (Marland, 1972) (This is used by many states and school districts)
Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society.
Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas, singly or in combination:
1. General intellectual ability
2. Specific academic aptitude
3. Creative or productive thinking
4. Leadership ability
5. Visual and performing arts
Gardner (1999)
A biopsychological potential to process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture.
Three Ring Definition of Giftedness by Renzulli (1985 in The Schoolwide Enrichment Model book)
Gifted behavior consists of behaviors that reflect an interaction among three basic clusters of human traits…these clusters being above average general and/or specific abilities, high levels of task commitment, and high levels of creativity. Individuals capable of developing gifted behavior are those possessing or capable of developing this composite set of traits and applying them to any potentially valuable area of human performance. Persons who manifest or are capable of developing an interaction among the three clusters require a wide variety of educational opportunities and services that are not ordinarily provided through regular instructional programs.
(A Brief Introduction To)
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) was developed by Dr. Renzulli and Dr. Reis, currently professors at the University of Connecticut in the mid 70’s. It is now the most popular model of gifted education in the world, however it is important to note that this not only serves the gifted population, but also provides enrichment to the entire school population.
SEM includes both organizational and service delivery components. Organizational components would include staff development, curricular materials, the schoolwide enrichment team and the schoolwide enrichment specialist, parent orientation and involvement, and a democratic school management plan. The service delivery components include Total Talent Portfolio, curriculum modification techniques, and the enrichment learning and teaching (Types I, II, and III).
Enrichment Learning and Teaching, a service delivery component of the model, includes the following three types of activities:
Type I – Introduction to new exploratory material which includes whole school assemblies, guest speakers in a classroom or pull-out class, enrichment subjects that aren’t regular subjects or topics
Type II – Group training of methodology, or how-to do it = how to do research, how to interview subjects, how to behave like a practitioner in their chosen field of interest. Also includes creativity training, critical and other thinking skills.
Type III – The big projects = Independent Investigations of real world problems, either individually or small group investigations. Must include a Process, a Product, and an Audience to share results with.
The Seven Cs of School Change
The essence of this plan is built around what we call the seven Cs of School Change and the use of these Cs by a governing council. The seven Cs consist of the following:
- Consensus
- Compromise
- Communication
- Collegiality
- Commitment
- Creativity
- Courage
The school governing council should consist of the principal, an equal number of elected teachers and parents, an appointed number from the special service staff (e.g., school psychologist, social worker, nurse), and an appointed member of the nonprofessional staff(e.g., custodian, security guard, cafeteria worker). The principal should chair the council and be responsible for setting up regularly scheduled meeting and soliciting agenda items from all staff members and parents of students in the school. There may also be times when agenda items are solicited from students or members of the community at large.
The first, and perhaps most important, C for the council to consider is consensus. The difficult task of sharing power and decision making must begin with a willingness to establish a governance group in each school that honors the opinions of all members of the council. A second but related C is compromise. Each group (teachers, parents, administrators) brings to the table its own agenda and accumulated history of grievances that is prone to blame on one or more of the other groups. Many school improvement initiatives have faltered or become in effective because ground rules were not established to ensure consensus and compromise at the very outset of the governance process. One of the first decisions that the council should make is whether or not it should obtain professional assistance in learning how to conduct a democratic governance process that is based on consensus and compromise.
The third C is communication. All council meetings should be open to staff and public, and a summary of the minutes of meetings should be included in a regularly published newsletter. A budget for communication, reproduction, and distribution services should be made available to the council, and a council work space should be provided so that parents feel they have a home base when they come to the school. Each newsletter should have a clip-and-mail coupon that encourages readers to react to actions by the council and to make suggestions about issues or services that readers would like the council to consider.
The fourth C, collegiality, should help define the larger mission of the council. This mission transcends the traditional constituencies of school organizations (i.e., parents representing parents, teachers representing teachers, etc.) Collegiality means that members of the council are tied together in the larger mission of working together to make a difference in the lives of students. Colleagues are persons who talk with one another and collaborate in order to better serve the interests of their common clients. Far too many school organizations and legislative bodies view themselves as representatives of vested interest peer groups rather than participants who share a common vision. All council activities should address the questions relating to the satisfaction of one’s fellow teachers, parents, or administrators. Admittedly, this is a difficult transition for any leadership group to make; however, all adults associated with a school should know beforehand that the council will have this kind of orientation.
The fifth and sixth Cs are commitment and creativity. Involvement on a school council that is going to accomplish anything important requires a commitment of time and energy that goes beyond the time spent in meetings. Background reading, meetings with subgroups, attendance at leadership training activities, preparing material for distribution to others, writing proposals, and working one-on-one with reluctant individuals are all commitments of time that persons should be willing to make if they choose to serve on a school council. The most effective meetings are those that draw upon activities that have taken place in preparation for the meeting.
Persons who become involved in school councils should also be willing to explore ways of expanding their own creative ability. One of the main reasons that schools have not changed is that we have tried to address present-day school concerns and problems with endless variations of the same solutions. Albert Einstein once said, “Problem cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them.” As schools have become more structured and subjected to an endless proliferation of regulations, we have used these very structures and regulations as defenses against change. ”We can’t change the schedule because it won’t meet state requirements.” “The teachers’ union will never let you have a staff development session that is not over by 4:20.” “Who will pay the custodians if we have a Saturday morning enrichment program?” “If it doesn’t cover one of the standards on the state list, the director of curriculum will never buy it.” None of these is an insurmountable problem; however, we often act as if they are as inevitable and omnipresent as the phases of the moon. The result has been that we tinker with the same status quo rather than use our imaginations to change it.
Edward de Bono (1985) developed a planned strategy for improving the efficiency of meetings. De Bono’s plan is also built around his work in the area of creativity training. We recommend that the school council consider engaging in some type of systemic creativity training such as de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats model, or other approaches that are listed in the Resource Guide. It would be unthinkable to put together a talent development program for students without a creative thinking and problem-solving component, and we believe that such a component is equally important for adults who are responsible for both program development and for overcoming the traditional roadblocks that have stood in the way of most efforts to improve schools.
The last C in our Seven Cs of School Improvement is courage. The activities described here and, indeed, throughout this book, are not radical or revolutionary; they do, however, require that some people have the courage to examine what is widely recognized as one of the most intransigent and bureaucratized public service agencies in our society. Radical changes have taken place in our society during the last quarter of the twentieth century. The emergence of a global economy and the transfer of manufacturing jobs to other nations; the development of sophisticated communication systems and information technologies; and the rise of feminism, multiculturalism, and concerns for planetary ecosystem have all played a part in bringing about massive cultural changes. As this trend accelerates, the ways that we modify our education system become the most crucial factors in determining whether schools will play a role in shaping society or whether they will become obsolete. To change the system, even through a gentle and evolutionary process, persons at all levels of involvement need to summon up courage to think and act in ways that may be discomforting.
Renzulli, J. S. (2001). Enriching Curriculum for All Students. Arlington Height, Il: Skylight Professional Development