Topic: Jacob K. Javits Center for Gifted and Talented Education

Purpose: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRCGT) conducts research on a host of issues surrounding gifted education, namely: Who are the gifted? What characterizes "giftedness" and how can the term's definition be used to identify students for gifted programs and services? What programs and services most benefit gifted students and can those programs and services yield positive results for students not identified as gifted, as well as for students identified as gifted under traditional or expanded definitions?

Established through a five-year, $8.7 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, the Center is staffed by researchers with expertise in gifted education, and curriculum and instruction.

Projects

Identifying Gifted and Talented Students
One of the major research goals of the Center is to develop a system for identifying gifted and talented students using an expanded definition of giftedness that includes measurement of student outcomes across different types of assessments: standardized achievement scores; state standards in reading and mathematics that reflect expectations for advanced levels of achievement; and performance-based assessments of investigative and problem-solving skills; and teacher recommendation based on students' classroom performance.

Measuring Instructional Delivery (Intervention Implementation)
The Center will examine the fidelity of classroom instruction with the prescribed G&T intervention, use of differentiation in delivery, and any instructional adaptations or modification by utilizing teacher logs, surveys, interviews and in-class observations.

Achievement Assessment
The Center will measure achievement outcomes in reading and mathematics at the end of 3rd grade for all students and examine specific impacts for three categories of students: traditional definition gifted; expanded definition gifted; and not identified as gifted.

Other Activities
The Center will host a national conference of researchers and practitioners interested in gifted and talented education.

Key Personnel: Joseph Renzulli, Tutita Casa, M. Katherine Gavin, E. Jean Gubbins, Catherine Little, D. Betsy McCoach, Sally Reis, Robin Schader, Del Siegle.

Center Website: http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/

IES Program Contact: Dr. Corinne Alfeld
Email: Corinne.Alfeld@ed.gov
Telephone: (202) 208-2321

Products and Publications

Book chapter

Gubbins, E.J. (2013). Cognitive and Affective Outcomes of Pull-Out Programs: Knowns and Unknowns. In C.M. Callahan, and H.L. Hertberg-Davis (Eds.), Fundamentals of Gifted Education: Considering Multiple Perspectives (pp. 176–187). New York: Routledge.

Reis, S.M., and Renzulli, J.S. (2011). Challenging Gifted and Talented Learners With a Continuum of Research-Based Intervention Strategies. In M.A. Bray, and T.J. Kehle (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of School Psychology(pp. 456–482). New York: Oxford University Press.

Reis, S.M., and Renzulli, J.S. (2011). Intellectual Giftedness. In R.J. Sternberg, and S.B. Kaufman (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence(pp. 235–252). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Renzulli, J.S. (2011). Freedom to Teach: Using Investigative Learning to Develop High Potentials in Young People. In D. Thurnau (Ed.), Hochbegabung Exzellenz Werte(pp. 29–50). Dresden, Germany: Eckhard Richter and Co.

Renzulli, J.S. (2011). The Empire Strikes Back: Redefining the Role of Gifted eEducation in the 21st Century. In C.F. Klassen, and E. Polyzoi (Eds.), Investing in Gifted and Talented Learners: An International Perspective(pp. 1–8). Winnipeg, Canada: The World Council for Gifted and Talented Children.

Renzulli, J.S. (2012). A Theory of Giftedness Based on the Anticipated Social Roles of High Potential Youth. In R. Subotnik, A. Robinson, C.M. Callahan, and E.J. Gubbins (Eds.), Malleable Minds: Translating Insights from Psychology and Neuroscience to Gifted Education(pp. 119–139). Storrs, CT: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, University of Connecticut.

Renzulli, J.S., Sands, M.M., and Heilbronner, N.N. (2011). Operation Houndstooth: A Positive Perspective on Developing Social Intelligence. In A. Ziegler, and C. Perleth (Eds.), Essays in Honour of Kurt Heller (pp. 217–244). Hamburg, Germany: LIT Verlag.

Journal article, monograph, or newsletter

de Wet, C.F., and Gubbins, E.J. (2011). Teachers' Beliefs About Culturally, Linguistically, and Economically Diverse Gifted Students: A Quantitative Study. Roeper Review, 33(2): 97–108.

Rubenstein, L.D., Siegle, D., Reis, S.M., and McCoach, D.B. (2012). A Complex Quest: The Development and Research of Underachievement Interventions for Gifted Students. Psychology in the Schools, 49(7): 678–694.