Can school be structured so that all students are held to high expectations? Can curriculum be designed to find and nurture students with gifted potential from underrepresented populations? Can basic skills be strengthened so that such students can interact, compete, and work with other gifted learners? Young Scholars (YS) is a K-8 model that…

Having a gifted math or science student in the family or classroom is a fascination as well as a significant challenge and responsibility for many parents and teachers. In order to help maximize student learning, several questions need to be asked. What should be the role of technology? How well do traditional schools serve gifted students? What…

Many teachers struggle with meeting the needs of their most talented science students. How can these gifted students be challenged and learn as fast as they are able, especially in a classroom with a wide variety of abilities and interest in science? Many excellent teachers have found the answers in differentiating instruction by adding the…

With the passage of the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB), the emphasis is for all children to reach proficient levels. Since they already work above this benchmark, the needs of gifted students are often de-emphasized. If teachers define learning as moving forward from the knowledge a student already has, they find that those who are at…

Through a longitudinal study focused on identification policy that is inclusive of underrepresented gifted students (Van Tassel-Baska & Feng, 2003; Van Tassel-Baska, Feng, & deBrux, under review; Van Tassel-Baska, Feng, & Evans, in press; Van Tassel-Baska, Johnson, & Avery, 2002), a team of researchers developed case studies of special needs…

While people have learned much from special education about using an array of services, from the least restrictive to the most restrictive learning environments, public schools still base many instructional decisions on a child's chronological age. Are the child's interests best served by being grouped all day solely by the number of years lived?…

Students have used Cogito.org to pose and/or solve math problems and brain teasers, share their experiences in academic competitions, debate the pros and cons of using biofuels for energy, design an alien world based on sound scientific principles, and expand their cultural understanding by connecting with students from around the world.…

Teachers know their students must struggle and grapple with authentic tasks in order to grow stronger. Classroom teachers of the gifted know that their students cannot advance cognitively without facing relevant and challenging material that demands higher level thinking and reasoning. Therefore, the teacher of gifted mathematics students must…

"Re-forming Gifted Education" (Rogers, 2002) offers "best practices" for gifted students. The book also includes a procedure for developing a child's education plan with a variety of choices. Nevertheless, in recent years, the author has often been asked "how" one can ensure that the "best" matches are made for a child. A parent or teacher may…

Gifted students are often underserved because they do not have access to highly challenging curriculum. In October, 2002, Project LOGgED ON (www.scrolldown.com/loggedon/) at University of Virginia received federal funding from the Jacob Javits Act to tackle this issue. Those who were part of the LOGgED ON project developed advanced science…

The field of gifted education has done an admirable job of raising awareness about underrepresentation and unique needs of gifted students from culturally and linguistically diverse populations. The efforts of the National Association for Gifted Children to reach out to teachers through the "Javits-Frasier Teacher Scholarship for Diverse…

The term "twice exceptional" is used to describe gifted students who also have specific academic, behavioral, and social-emotional difficulties. This is a population of gifted students for whom the expertise and experience of school psychologists may be particularly relevant. This article discusses the ways in which school psychologists can help…

The Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) Online High School (OHS) is a three-year, diploma granting, online independent high school for gifted students. The mission statement reads as follows: "Through advanced technology, rigorous courses, and the resources of Stanford University, the Online High School affords gifted students everywhere an…

In the field of gifted education, those identified as at risk may include student groups who have been historically underrepresented--among them those who are poor, minority, and/or culturally and linguistically diverse. Typically, the most at risk students are considered those in poverty. Living in poverty often limits equity, access, and…

Some gifts with which children are born are not all that great. There are many categories of at risk gifted children, each with a separate set of needs. Among these categories are profoundly gifted, gifted with LD, gifted and emotionally disabled, and an increasing number of gifted youngsters who try unrealistically to be perfect. In what ways can…