METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING COGNITIVELY GIFTED CHILDREN (original) (raw)
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AbstractIn this paper we suggest that instruments of neuro-cognitive research enable the evaluation of giftedness in mathematics. We start with a literature review on the related topics presented so as to situate our suggestions within the existing research on giftedness and excellence in mathematics. This literature review allows us later to discuss our findings, which are based on neurocognitive data collected in a large-scale multidimensional examination of mathematical giftedness. Sampling procedure in the study was performed based on two orthogonal (in our view) characteristics: general giftedness (G) and excellence in mathematics (EM). In this paper we present findings that lead to a definition of the mathematically gifted population. We present selected results to provide evidence for our findings. In this paper we demonstrate three major findings:A. Effects of G and EM factors are task-dependent both in behavioral and neurophysiological measures: the EM factor has significan...
2008
When it comes to high cognitive ability assessment, traditional "IQ-diagnosis" has not proven to be particularly helpful. Psychological assessment aimed at promoting the development of gifted individu- als requires a scientifically based theoretical model that identifies which cognitive strengths are neces- sary and which weaknesses can be compensated, and that takes the moderating effects of personality and environment into account when describing the interplay between ability and achievement. While such models - including the one described in the following paper - do exist, they currently lack an adequate theoretical foundation or at least a convincing empirical validation. Science still stands before the challenge of offering appropriate psycho-diagnostic instruments to measure model components while fulfilling practitioners' requirements. The following work describes a prototypic example of how such requirements might be met for ability testing. Yet in terms of pe...
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Frontiers in psychology, 2017
Most mathematical cognition research has focused on understanding normal adult function and child development as well as mildly and moderately impaired mathematical skill, often labeled developmental dyscalculia and/or mathematical learning disability. In contrast, much less research is available on cognitive and neural correlates of gifted/excellent mathematical knowledge in adults and children. In order to facilitate further inquiry into this area, here we review 40 available studies, which examine the cognitive and neural basis of gifted mathematics. Studies associated a large number of cognitive factors with gifted mathematics, with spatial processing and working memory being the most frequently identified contributors. However, the current literature suffers from low statistical power, which most probably contributes to variability across findings. Other major shortcomings include failing to establish domain and stimulus specificity of findings, suggesting causation without suf...
Identifying Gifted Children: Congruence among Different IQ Measures
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This study has two main aims: (1) analysing the relationship between intellectual capacities and levels of creativity in a sample of Spanish students from the third and sixth grades; and (2) examining the discrimination capacities and degree of congruence among different tests of intellectual ability that are commonly used to identify highability students. The study sample comprised 236 primary school students. Participants completed different tests of intellectual ability, which were based on both fluid and crystallized intelligence, as well as creativity. Results indicated that it is advisable to use varying tests in the assessment process, and a complementary measure (i.e., creativity) in order to create a multi-criteria means of detection that can more efficiently distinguish this population of students.
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The giftedness ideal of the 20th century is integration-capable excellence, individuals characterised by testable outstanding abilities and creativity. Giftedness, however, cannot be quantified and assessed. More and more data shows that even the most elaborate procedures falter in the case of individuals with special cerebral structures, in the case of exceptions, the special minority, who are becoming increasingly more numerous, and among whom many may be capable of outstanding achievements. The first and foremost stumbling block of gifted identification is creativity. Creative power entails, by its essence, unidentifiability. Something becomes creative exactly by surpassing that which existed before. Creative people most often manifest themselves as difficulties. The unbalanced ability profile characterising outstanding giftedness and the manifestations of special personalities make our usual assessment procedures unreliable and inadequate for the purpose of gifted identification.
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In this article, the concept of giftedness in children of different ages, its types and characteristics, the basics of diagnosis and methods of development of factors contributing to intellectual abilities were studied. In this context, quite a lot of opinions and worldviews of thinkers of different historical eras, including Plato, Confucius and others, were analyzed regarding the definition of the concept of giftedness in children. The neurophysiological features of mental thinking were also investigated. It was concluded that giftedness is a unique combination of abilities that are the result of neurophysiological processes, which is a prerequisite for achieving certain successes or certain achievements in a certain activity. Thanks to such unique features, the child differs from others in a certain way. Giftedness is some unique feature of children, which is determined by the neurophysiological features of the body's development. The relevance of such topics is extremely imp...
Issues in early prediction and identification of intellectual giftedness
The development of giftedness and talent across the life span., 2009
This chapter comprises three sections: (a) commentary on the Colombo, Shaddy, Blaga, Anderson, and Kannass chapter titled "High Cognitive Ability in Infancy and Early Childhood" (chap. 2, this volume); (b) consideration of issues concerning early prediction of gifted intelligence; and (c) discussion of implications regarding early identification of intellectual giftedness. COMMENTARY ON "HIGH COGNITIVE ABILITY IN INFANCY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD" Early prediction and detection of high intellectual ability has long been of interest to developmental psychologists and educators. As early as 1940, Thomdike (1940), in his Psychological Bulletin article titled " 'Constancy' of the IQ," reviewed the predictive value of infant and preschool tests and concluded that they are of limited value in predicting school-age intelligence test performance. Subsequent reviews throughout the century have continued to corroborate this general conclusion (e.g., Colombo, 1993; McCall, Hogarty,
Gifted and talented children: Heterogeneity and individual differences
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Título: Niños superdotados y Talentos: Heterogeneidad y diferencias individuales. Resumen: Superdotación es un tema amplio, que cubre muchos ámbitos de actividad y diversas manifestaciones. En este artículo examinamos dos temas específicos: (a) lo perfiles cognitivos de los niños superdotados, (b) el desarrollo del talento musical. El punto común de estos estudios es la observación de la heterogeneidad de los perfiles individuales. Los resultados del primer estudio realizado sobre 99 niños con un CI igual o superior de 130, muestra una amplia heterogeneidad en el potencial intelectual, el cual está enmascarado si observamos sólo el CI global. Un análisis de cluster jerárquico identifica seis clases de niños con perfiles medios contrastados. El segundo estudio es una investigación exploratoria, enla que intentamos describir el entorno de los estudiantes de música y evaluar la importancia que los padres y profesores dan a los principales factores de éxito en el entrenamiento musical. Nuestros resultados resaltan diversos perfiles diferenciales relacionados con los contextos de entrenamiento, centrados en la representación que los niños tiene sobre la música. Palabras clave: Superdotados, talento musical, perfiles individuales, heterogeneidad.
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