 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Intelligence
Intelligence and the childMythsGeneticsStudy of intelligenceNature of giftednessCreativityFAQIdentificationPsychology testsIQ scoreIdentifying talentscharacteristicsExceptional qualitiesObservationsLists and limitationNurture
Protegy and childhoodSecret of successGenius factoryObjectionsAssembly lineGrowthCultivating talentsProblemsPlay and explorationSelf conceptFamily relationshipKindergartenUnderachieversPre-schoolPrenatal developmentInfanthoodStimulation|
|
| Nature of giftedness and talents |
 |
| What are we talking about? |
| ||||||
| There are four broad definitions of talent/giftedness : 1. Talent can be described by looking at history and people with outstanding achievements of some kind. This is called an expost facto definition (after the fact). 2. Another way is to assume that a certain percentage of the population will be talented in relation to the intellectual ability of the general population. Again, the problem emerges of where to draw the line. Terman suggested that the top 2 per cent of the population is gifted. Others have thought the top 10 per cent, while others still believe that 20 per cent will include all talented people. This is called a percentage definition. 3. Probably the most common way is to describe talent in terms of performance in one or more tests of general intelligence - the so-called IQ tests. This is called a psychometric definition. 4. Another way considers a wide range of factors such as behavior, creativity, performance, special ability or even potential in many areas of worthwhile human endeavor. This is known as a multi-faceted or multi-criteria definition. During the first half of the twentieth century, researchers into education and psychology began to examine the concept of giftedness. As a result, many definitions and a huge, sometimes confusing list of criteria have emerged. The first solid research was by Lewis Terman, who followed a group of children he had identified as 'gifted and talented' from school to middle age. He based his definition on the fact that his subjects had scored above 150 on a standard intelligence test. He adapted Binet's work to embark on a longitudinal study, from 1925 to the late 1950s, hoping his findings might eventually suggest how more geniuses could be brought up. His research subjects were based on white, middle class families. The findings appeared to show that talented children excelled in all areas of intellectual development and performance, were highly motivated to learn and achieve, could all handle language well, and were mature, independent and self-directed. Terman's theories became the basis for research and the teaching of talented children for decades. By the 1970s, new questions were being asked about many of the assumptions underlying the whole talented child area. Surely, for example, as children from a variety of economic and ethnic backgrounds became successful adults, so wouldn't they be just as talented as Terman's group? Where do you cut off the IQ score to distinguish between the 'talented' and the 'non-talented'? (It's a bit like trying to define 'tall' and not tall'!) Educationists began to question the validity of IQ tests as the sole basis for judging intelligence. The very nature of these tests seemed to discriminate against those minority groups for whom English was not a first language. Many went so far as to question seriously whether such tests really did test what they were supposed to test - certain thinking and reasoning skills, for example. Quite a dilemma! If talent can't be defined alone by IQ tests or intellectual ability, how can it be defined? Today, most definitions of 'gifted and talented' use the multi-criteria approach - they have broadened from the very narrow basis of intellectual performance, to a much wider basis encompassing many valued areas of human achievement. Most importantly, this means that more children are being identified as talented. This wider concept has several applications. Every child should receive an education geared to their particular gifts and talents. Ideally, they should be assessed early in life to determine strengths and weaknesses in each area, and encouraged to develop in the direction of his talents in order to make best use of a society's intelligence resources. Another application is to avoid dismissing any child who does not excel at traditional academic intelligence, which some teachers seem to do. The child may have great talents in other areas which need to be nurtured. Identifying talented children is a continuous and sometimes difficult process, using many criteria and starting at an early age. Talent may only reveal itself when a child encounters an experience which taps a latent interest or ability. A great deal of research into this area has resulted in lists of intellectual and social characteristics to look for. Although far from definitive, these lists may help parents to identify a talented child with some accuracy. Of course, a talented child may have only a few of the characteristics listed. (Refer to various sections on characteristics} The checklists provided in this document are in a shortened form. They are not exhaustive and are designed to provide parents with a guide only. Most parents can in addition learn, by watching their child, if he/she enjoys a particular activity very much and is beginning to excel at it, in comparison with the peer group or siblings. The importance of family background is mentioned in the music checklist only, but of course it can be important in any area. A child who comes from a home where reading, writing and conversation are the norm, is likely to be more talented linguistically than the child who is given unlimited television watching as the main stimulus. Think of how many sports people come from 'sporting families' or how areas such as medicine and law can become family professions. |
| IQ gifted talent | IQ intelligence |
 mail to : swarovski@gmail.com |
|
 Sign Guestbook |
|
. |
| Visitors: 26075 |