Gifted Child Today articles from January 2003

Gifted Child Today archives from January 2003

From the guest editors.
January 1, 2003... In 1995, the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was conducted at five grade levels with more than 40 countries participating. The cross-sectional study measured both mathematics and science achievement in grades 3, 4, 7,...

On the web.(educational Web sites)
January 1, 2003... National Council of Teachers of Mathematics http://www.nctm.org NCTM is the world's largest mathematics education organization. Its Principles and Standards for School Mathematics provides guidelines for excellence in math education and...

Issues related to Title IX.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... In a recent Education Week (September 25, 2002), Davis reported on the Chicago meeting of the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics. Reports from parents, coaches, former and current athletes, and advocacy group representatives focused on...

SAT scores rise and fall.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The College Board recently announced that SAT math scores have continued to rise. In 2002, the average SAT math score rose 2 points to 516, the highest level in 32 years, with female test takers scoring a 35-year high score of 500. While the...

Parent questions for assessing school quality.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), along with 34 partner organizations, developed questions for parents to ask in assessing the quality of their child's education: * Are there high-quality and committed teachers? The...

Instructional strategies that work.
January 1, 2003... Using the research from the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning, Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock (2001) have explained the following instructional strategies that are most likely to improve student achievement in their book...

Principal suspended.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... As reported in the Wichita Eagle on Friday, September 13, a high school principal was suspended for not providing services to a gifted student. In Kansas, the gifted program is regulated by state and federal law as part of special education,...

Wisdom as a form of giftedness.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Robert Sternberg of Yale University believes that another form of giftedness is wisdom. Wisdom is the "power of judging rightly and following the soundest course of action, based on knowledge, experience, understanding, etc." (Gifted Child...

Davidson Fellows.
January 1, 2003... The purpose of the Davidson Fellows awards program is to recognize outstanding achievements of young people under the age of 18 who can demonstrate their talent through a significant piece of work in one of the following categories: *...

Editorship of Gifted Child Quarterly. (Notable).(Paula Olszewski-Kubilius)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, director of the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, has assumed the editorship of Gifted Child Quarterly. Her first issue as editor will be the winter 2003 issue, which is a special issue on...

New web site. (Notable).(American Educational Research Association)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The Research on Giftedness and Talent Special Interest Group, American Educational Research Association, has announced a new Web site (http://www.aeragifted.org). Papers presented at the New Orleans conference will be posted.

Benefits of early education. (Notable).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) has developed a Web site (http://nieer.org) for those who are seeking hard data on the benefits of early education. The site features papers written by leading researchers, online...

Great Teachers Award for 2003. (Notable).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Twelve teachers, representing 10 states, were awarded the Great Books Foundation's Great Teachers Award for 2003. The honored teachers are Judy Bakalar (Shawnee Mission, KS), Alice Giovanniello (Burlington, MA), Christy Johnson (Louisville,...

Resource for educators. (Notable).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The nonprofit Hobby Industry Association (HIA) serves the interests of over 4,500 member companies. The HIA Foundation maintains a Web site (http://www.teacherplace.org) as a resource for educators with a listing of member stores that offer...

Improve history and civics education. (Notable).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... In an effort to improve history and civics education, the National Constitution Center has has published the report "Knowing It by Heart: Americans Consider the Constitution and Its Meaning." This survey examined 1,520 respondents' knowledge...

Trinity College fire-fighting home robot contest.
January 1, 2003... The goal of this competition is to build a computer-controlled robot that can move through a model floor plan of a house, find a lit candle (which represents a fire that has started in the home), and then extinguish it in the shortest time....

NASA Ames Research Center Annual Space Settlement Contest.
January 1, 2003... This is an annual contest for 6th-12th graders and is open to anyone in the world. Individuals, small teams of two to six, and large teams of seven or more may enter. Grades 6-9 and 10-12 are judged separately, except for the grand prize. The...

USA Mathematical Talent Search.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The USA Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS) is a free mathematics competition open to all U.S. high school students. Individuals may enter the competition at any time of the academic year. Each year, the competition consists of four rounds,...

West Point Bridge Design Contest.
January 1, 2003... The United States Military Academy is pleased to offer the second annual West Point Bridge Design Contest. The purpose of the contest is to provide middle school and high school students with a realistic introduction to engineering. The...

Out-of-field teachers. (Notable).
January 1, 2003... The Washington-based Education Trust recently published "All Talk, No Action: Putting an End to Out-of-Field Teaching," which focuses on out-of-field teaching. The researchers found that, in secondary schools where more than half the children...

Grants and awards. (Notable).
January 1, 2003... Democracy.org offers a Web site containing hundreds of links for grant seekers. For more information, visit http:/ /www.democracy.org/foundations. The National Association for Gifted Children provides Nicholas Green Distinguished Student...

Meetings.
January 1, 2003... MARCH 6-8 National Curriculum Network conference at the College of William and Mary's Center for Gifted Education. Keynote speakers include Bruce Bracken and James Gallagher. For more information, call (757) 221-2363. 7-9 ...

Did you know ...(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... ... 57% believe that an increase in the federal government's involvement in local public school affairs is a good thing. ... 67% would favor an annual test that tracks student progress from grades 3-8. ... 68% would favor a nationally...

"Oh! The places we've been!"
January 1, 2003... Many states have special certification requirements for those who choose to teach in a gifted program. Generally, they involve either graduate coursework or a degree in gifted child education, or, at the minimum, some extended exposure to the...

A hands-on approach to Maglev for gifted students.
January 1, 2003... Gifted students love the challenge of working with a technology so new that it's still in the experimental stages. Such a technology is Maglev, or Magnetic Levitation. Maglev has the promise of becoming the largest development in transportation...

Four variables for success.
January 1, 2003... Every student has unique learning needs. This makes teaching both exciting and challenging. The dynamics of teaching and learning are complex with many intervening variables that impact success. Navigating this multifaceted system and working...

Thinking creatively about science: suggestions for primary teachers.
January 1, 2003... At the beginning of life (after their physical needs are satisfied), infants learn through the explorations of their world. They use all of their senses to investigate and enter discovery without any preconceived notions regarding what they...

"If you build it, they will come".(teaching higher order thinking skills)
January 1, 2003... "If you build it, they will come" has become something of a cliche since it was first spoken in the film Field of Dreams. Perhaps it has become platitudinous, intoned with an air of unwarranted significance. But the fact is that overused or...

Helping teachers to encourage talented girls in mathematics.
January 1, 2003... Jennifer was an A student, not just in mathematics, but in all of her subjects. She was in an accelerated seventh grade algebra class--the only accelerated class in her suburban middle school. Mathematics had been easy for Jennifer in...

Practicing what we preach: the reality factors in talent development. (International Perspectives).
January 1, 2003... As a university academic in gifted and talented education with a fifth-floor office in the Tower Block, the age-old "ivory tower" analogy felt as if it were becoming all too real. Lecturing teachers on the principles of gifted education is...

Impressionists for Kids.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... Now children can decorate their homes and lives with art in the style of the Impressionist artists as they learn to create shimmering land scapes, colorful still lifes, and other vivid works of art while also evoking the excitement of life in...

Bibliotherapy for the gifted.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... Books can provide important emotional and intellectual support for gifted children, many of whom face unique issues in their lives due to their special gifts, talents, and abilities. In Some of My Best Friends Are Books (ISBN 0-910707-51-0),...

A guide for research with middle school students.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... Collaborative problem-solving projects that strengthen brainstorming, strategizing, writing, critiquing, and oral communication skills are targeted in Information Literacy and Technology Research Projects: Grades 6-9 (ISBN 1-56308-752-9)...

Personal and professional development for educators. (New Products).(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... What kind of resources and experiences do effective teachers draw upon? How do these resources and teachers' roles coalesce in professional development? What factors help teachers acquire and sustain a positive professional journey? What It...

Identifying and fostering musical talent.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... The spark of musical talent is relatively easy to recognize, yet it remains an enigma to define. Are certain people born with musical talent? Can everyone have musical talent with proper training? How do we recognize students who have musical...

Linking assessment practices to standards.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... In How to Grade for Learning: Linking Grades to Standards (ISBN 1-57517-816-8), Ken O'Connor updates his eight guidelines for assessment and offers strategies teachers can use in designing and conducting grading practices that help students...

Mathematical acceleration in a mixed-ability classroom: applying a tiered objectives model.
January 1, 2003... What does effective differentiation look like in a math classroom, and in particular, what does it look like in a mixed-ability math classroom? Those essential questions must be confronted by teachers and program directors who work with gifted...

The benefits of outdoor learning centers for young gifted learners.
January 1, 2003... An Ohio initiative encourages educators to use the land around their schools to engage students in exploring and understanding the local ecosystem (Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 1995). No matter what the school grounds--grass, asphalt,...