https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3938-8917
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ABSTRACT
During the Cultivating Diverse Talent in STEM (CDTIS), studies were designed to identify and cultivate talent in potential innovators from low socioeconomic status (SES) and cultural groups underrepresented in the region: American Indian and Hispanic. Comparisons were made between those identified using conventional measures (CI) and those identified using performance assessments of problem solving (PSI) in STEM domains. In this study, using Q Factor Analysis, 43 students clustered on 13 factors, explaining 81.18% of the variance. Factors included high and low achievers; students from diverse groups; and 11 other clusters. Profiles are described and compared with profiles in other studies and theories. Implications for theory and practice include a paradigm shift from gifted child to talent development.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Notes on contributors
C. June Maker
C. June Maker, PhD, Litt D, is Professor Emerita in Special Education, Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies, University of Arizona, where she coordinated masters and doctoral studies in education of the gifted and interdisciplinary early childhood education. She prepared doctoral students to write well through her love of and proficiency in writing. She is dedicated to spreading ideas and research to improve identification and programs for gifted and talented students, so she has been active in national and international organizations, presenting workshops and keynote speeches, and serving as associate editor and on editorial boards for national and international journals. Her dedication has led her to publish books, chapters, monographs, and journal articles to help others implement research and practices she has found successful. In recognition of her work, in 2015, she received the International Research Award from the World Council for Gifted and Talented Students and Doctor of Letters Degree from Western Kentucky University. Because of her commitment to recognizing and developing diverse talents in young people from all cultures and economic groups, she created and has continued to study performance assessments (Discovering Intellectual Strengths and Capabilities while Observing Varied Ethnic Responses [DISCOVER]) and curriculum models (Real Engagement in Active Problem Solving [REAPS]) for talent development. June is passionate about creative problem solving as a way to find and develop talents while making the world a better place and wants to create ways to connect young people through the GCS Group: (www.globalcooperativesynergygroup.org). Her email is [email protected].
Randy Pease
Randy Pease is co-founder of the Global Cooperative Synergy (GCS) Group, teacher educator in the project in which this research was conducted, and co-director of the most recent DISCOVER Project. He has had a wide range of experiences in both general curriculum design and services for gifted and talented students. As a gifted services coordinator and teacher in a self-contained class of gifted students, he wrote and implemented curricula for gifted students in grades 1 through 10, and served as an instructional coach. He has been involved in various projects with June Maker for over 30 years, first as a targeted research teacher, and then as a national research coordinator, and teacher educator. One of June and Randy’s major projects was to field test and implement the REAPS project in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, China, and the United Arab Emirates. Randy has written and coauthored articles and can be contacted at [email protected].
A. Kadir Bahar
Kadir Bahar, PhD is Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia. After graduating from Bilkent University in Turkey with a degree in industrial engineering, he completed his PhD in special education with a focus on education of the gifted at the University of Arizona. Kadir is an associate editor for Gifted and Talented International and on the editorial board for Gifted Child Quarterly and Gifted Education International. His research interests include excellence gaps in STEM (particularly in mathematics achievement), mathematical creativity and talent, and problem solving. His research has appeared in journals including the Gifted Child Quarterly and the Journal of Advanced Academics. Kadir is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Early Career Award from the National Association for Gifted Children Special Populations Network and the Edith May Sliffe Distinguished Teaching Award from the Mathematical Association of America. He can be contacted at [email protected].