This Dissertation in Practice (DIP) utilizes Action Research methods to answer the question of: What is the impact of utilizing an authentic study of an author's life and literary works to increase students' motivation to read in a third grade gifted and talented classroom? Through intentional questioning and inquiry, the following Chapters…

Project Linking Learning ("Link") was created to target the needs of gifted students in urban school districts with historically underserved populations. Project Linking Learning implemented a linking curriculum between in-class instruction and an afterschool enrichment program for selected students in second through fifth grade.…

Using the off-level test scores of more than 250,000 students who participated in talent search testing from 2000 to 2008, this study examined if previously reported gender differences in students' performances in math versus verbal areas as well as the reported ratios of males and females for specific scoring levels still existed across years.…

In this research study, the type and nature of reading instruction provided for talented readers was investigated through use of in-depth qualitative comparative case studies. A team of researchers conducted multiple observations in 12 different third and seventh grade reading classrooms in both urban and suburban school districts over a 9-month…