This chapter provides a brief introduction to thinking about the nature of giftedness, particularly in science. The chapter begins by considering how 'giftedness' is commonly understood (in terms of general characteristics, rather than simply a percentage of a cohort), and then reports some of the indicators that have been used to identify gifted learners in science.
What do we mean by gifted?
The term gifted is widely used around the world, although it is one of those terms that is often used differently by different writers. Although teachers tend to know what they mean by 'the gifted', it is much more difficult to get general agreement on what the term actually means, and who it should include.
Robert Sternberg, a leading expert on intelligence and related topics, suggests that judgements of giftedness should be based on a set of criteria relating to an unusual ability that is considered by society to be of value. According to Sternberg, a gifted person must be
- extremely good at something,
- that is rare among peers;
- that leads to a productive outcome;
- that can be clearly demonstrated;
- and which is valued.
Furthermore, Sternberg discounts such excellence as giftedness, if it is brought about by training and practice.
Where Sternberg seems to be referring to a giftedness that 'comes naturally', Stepanek argues that, just as intelligence "is not static and can be learned, then giftedness can also be developed". So Renzulli has developed a notion of giftedness, one that comprises of
- above-average ability plus
- creativity plus
- task commitment or motivation.
Some descriptions of giftedness include a wide range of traits, so that Heller (1996) uses a multidimensional concept of giftedness (the 'Munich model' ), where giftedness comprises:
- intelligence (intellect)
- creativity
- social competence
- musical ability
- psychomotor ability/practical intelligence
Spotting the gifted
Given the preceding comments it is clearly not appropriate to suggest that there is a single, simple 'checklist' of characteristics of the gifted. Different definitions and perspectives on giftedness naturally lead to different views of what counts as giftedness. However, among the characteristics that have been proposed for gifted learners, gifted learners may demonstrate:
- a strong drive for achievement,
- a willingness to exert themselves,
- perseverance
- a thirst for knowledge,
- inventiveness
- self-assurance,
- autodidactic tendencies – well developed ability to develop their own learning
The most able (i.e. 'highly gifted') may score less well on 'planning and organisation of work', and 'control of motivation', possibly a sign that they "do not need the usual…techniques for coping with" school work. It has also been suggested that these very able students "prefer to work alone and not to cooperate in groups with classmates".
The Nebraska Curriculum Manual for working with high-ability learners suggests there are eight 'great gripes' of high ability students:
- No one explains what being a high-ability learner is all about–it's kept a big secret.
- The stuff we do in school is too easy and it's boring.
- Parents, teachers, and friends expect us to be perfect, to do our best all the time.
- Kids often tease us about being smart.
- Friends who really understand us are few and far between.
- We feel too different and wish people would accept us for what we are.
- We are overwhelmed by the number of things we can do in life.
- We worry a lot about world problems and feel helpless to do anything about them.
'A boy and girl had a tendency to delve back to the definitions of topics and their clarity of thought and verbal/communication skills were amazing to observe. They often countered an opinion by specifying a real life example. They also used phrases such as: 'suppose you' and sometimes posed hypothetical situations.'
Observation notes from an ASCEND session
How might 'giftedness in science' be characterised?
he notion of giftedness relates to high ability in an academic area (see chapter 1), and doubtless there are some traits that would support high levels of attainment in any 'academic' subject. However the disciplinary nature of different subjects is both likely to lead to characteristic ways in which giftedness is realised in particular subjects, and (through particular interest in the subject matter) lead to some learners showing unusually high levels of attainment through a particular engagement with the subject or aspects of it.
Indeed, the work of Csikszentmihalyi reminds us just how much more can be achieved (and seemingly with little effort) when we are so engaged in an activity that we 'lose ourselves' in the task. Teachers will recognize how a lesson where we feel really engrossed will seem to 'fly by': sadly for many students in some lessons quite the opposite is true. Csikszentmihalyi argues that the type of intense concentration that comes with this high level of engagement (which he calls 'flow') allows us to think much more effectively than under more normal conditions. A learner engaged at this level may well demonstrate gifted characteristics that are not observed in other learning situations.
A number of characteristics of giftedness in science have been proposed. We might expect gifted learners in school science:
- To show strong curiosity about objects and environments; to seek explanations for the things and events they observe, often asking many questions, especially 'Why?';
- To show interest in collecting, sorting, and classifying objects;
- To demonstrate (and sustain) high interest in investigating scientific phenomena
- To demonstrate intense interest in one particular area of science (e.g. astrophysics) to the exclusion of other topics.
- To show good powers of concentration
- To be easily bored by over-repetition of basic ideas but enjoy challenges and problem solving;
- To have a tendency to make observations and ask questions;
- To readily learn novel ideas: they can quickly understand models and theories;
- To relate novel ideas to familiar ideas, including the ability to make connections between scientific concepts and observed phenomena;
- To move beyond the information given, remaining within the context in which it has been learnt;
- To move ideas from the context in which the have been learnt to an unfamiliar context, e.g. linking school science concepts to knowledge and understanding developed outside of school,
- To be dissatisfied with over-generalised explanations and inadequate detail
- To recognise and use formal scientific conventions;
- To leap ahead or jump steps in an argument and detect flaws in reasoning of others;
- To readily hypothesise, manipulate variables fairly and make predictions;
- To suggest a variety of alternative strategies for testing predictions or gathering evidence;
- To rapidly perceive the direction of an investigation and anticipate outcomes;
- To identify patterns in data where the links are not obvious;
- To want to quantify experimental results by counting, weighing or otherwise measuring;
- To produce models – they may mathematically model;
- To generate creative and valid explanations;
- To use a more extensive scientific vocabulary than their peers when explaining things and events;
- To reflect on their own thinking and learning;
- To take on roles and exercise leadership within a group;
- To be prepared to live with uncertainty.
As pointed out above, it is important to see a list such as this as indicators of the characteristics that gifted learners may show in science, and so as a guide to support planning teaching to meet their special needs. It is not appropriate to expect all gifted learners to match all these characteristics, or to consistently match characteristics on all occasions and in all contexts.
One feature of gifted behaviour in science relates to how students cope with the formal and abstract aspects of science subjects, something that many other learners find especially challenging. For example, Fisher describes how a group of gifted primary pupils (c.10 year-olds) with an interest in science were able to discuss the gas laws,
"This desire to take an active part in discussion has led more recently to a consideration of the factors which affect the pressure of a gas, being treated in a semi-formal manner, and here was a powerful demonstration of the advanced ability to separate variables and exclude variables in the investigation of relationships. Preconceptions were dealt with in a more immediate manner and progress was very rapid; this topic involves mathematical concepts…"
Similarly, 'particle theory' is usually considered as a demanding concept area that many learners have difficulty coming to grips with. This may be one area of science where gifted learners cope with the conceptual demands more readily. So in the 1960s, researchers at Brentwood College of Education (in Essex, England), studied gifted children from local junior schools who attended for a half-day per week, to work with trainee teachers. They suggested that such able upper primary children (at a time when science in the primary school was limited and often down to the teacher's whim) might well cope with the particle model of matter,
"There seemed no doubt, during a conversation of some duration with a ten-year-old group, that ideas of the particulate nature of matter were immediately available and ready for application in new situations. These concepts seemed to have been arrived at intuitively and as a matter of faith, (as indeed, in the final analysis, there is little available first-hand evidence for a choice between continuous and non-continuous material hypotheses)."
In a study of Greek 7th and 8th grade students, Georgousi, Kampourakis & Tsaparlis (2001), found that for the 'able' students
"submicroscopic concepts not only may be within their grasp, but also they may entice them and increase their interest in science. Such knowledge, then, can have its place, offered as an optional reading…"
There are, of course, many other highly conceptual and abstract ideas that are met in science. Teachers spend much time attempting to make these ideas more concrete and straight-forward for many learners. This is certainly sensible when introducing abstract and complex ideas, but gifted learners may well quickly be ready to tackle these topics in terms of more sophisticated and nuanced treatments. It is to the nature of educational provision for the gifted we now turn.
