Self concepts of 90 gifted and 90 high achieving normal students (grades four through six) were measured. Scores on the Piers Harris Children's Self Concept Scale were substantially lower for gifted Ss, independent of grade placement or time of measurement. (CL)

Twelve gifted students (grades three through five) in a music and imagery training program scored higher on indices of figural originality, figural fluency, figural flexibility, and figural elaboration than gifted students in two packaged treatment programs: New Directions in Creativity Basic and New Directions in Creativity Enhanced. (CL)

The project evaluated the discriminant validity of gifted intermediate children's (N=97) divergent thinking test scores with multitrait-multimethod and factor analytic procedures. Results indicated that the indices drawn from the divergent thinking tests lacked discriminant validity in this gifted sample. (Author/CL)

Sentence combining by itself or teamed with creative thinking activities resulted in higher holistic ratings of writing samples for gifted fifth- and sixth-graders. Results further revealed that the writing quality was significantly higher for sessions within the classroom than for "pull-out" sessions. Four specific educational implications were…

Fifty-five gifted fifth and sixth graders in segregated or integrated classes completed the Piers-Harris Self Concept Test and a measure of peer relationship. Comparison with scores of 55 gifted children who had not been identified or placed revealed no significant differences among social distance or self-concept scores. (CL)

Home environments of 43 highly creative and 43 less creative boys in fourth through sixth grade were studied through 150-question semistructured interviews with 86 mothers. Interview responses, categorized along 24 dimensions, revealed significant differences related to parental creativity, independence and flexibility, emotional distance, and…

The descriptive study assessed the effectiveness of teaching critical thinking skills by comparing student (n=10) perceptions of a critical thinking lesson with teachers' stated objectives. Findings indicated that middle school gifted students are able to identify teachers' intentions and articulate their own processes as they work through…

In a study involving 59 gifted fifth- and sixth-grade students, Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices test was a more significant predictor of intelligence than Meeker's Structure of Intellect screening form for gifted. The use of either measure in screening or identification was questioned. (CL)

Fifteen high-ability fifth graders who received mathematics training via a microcomputer scored significantly higher on affective, cognitive, and composite computer literacy than a control group of high-ability subjects who received identical drill and practice without the microcomputer. (CL)

Study of relationships among divergent thinking, metamemory, achievement, and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) in gifted fifth- and sixth-graders (N=98) found that metamemory was related to both divergent thinking and achievement, suggesting that metamemory is independent from, yet essential for, convergent and divergent thinking which may underlie…

It was found that high achievers (HAs) in comparison with low achievers (LAs) tended to be more field independent, more creative in divergent production tasks, and more interested in academic achievement. (DLS)

Talented students (n=520) in grades three through five were given the Quantitative, Reading Comprehension, and Verbal sections of the Lower Level of the Secondary School Admission Test (developed for fifth through seventh graders). Students' scores covered nearly the entire possible range indicating that the SSAT-L effectively differentiated among…

Perfectionism scores of 600 students identified as academically talented and 418 peers from the general cohort of sixth graders, all from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, were compared using the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Findings indicated little intergroup difference in mean scores or in the frequency of perfectionistic types. (DB)

The research investigated what characteristics distinguish high ability/learning disabled (LD) intermediate grade students from average ability LD and high ability students. High ability/LD students were more creative than average LD students but cause the most classroom disturbance and perceive themselves as less efficacious in academic tasks.…

This study compared perceptions of male and female gifted students (grades four through eight) and their teachers on quality of work, effort, and ability. Teachers consistently rated females higher on effort and quality of work. The correlation between ratings of students' ability and quality of work and between effort and quality of work were…