Editing Intellectual giftedness (section)

=== Definitions ===
Since [[Lewis Terman]] in 1916, psychometricians and psychologists have sometimes equated giftedness with high IQ. Later researchers (e.g., [[Raymond Cattell]], [[J. P. Guilford]], and [[Louis Leon Thurstone]]) have argued that intellect cannot be expressed in such a unitary manner, and have suggested more multifaceted approaches to intelligence.

Research conducted in the 1980s and 1990s has provided data that supports notions of multiple components to intelligence. This is particularly evident in the reexamination of "giftedness" by Sternberg and Davidson in their collection of articles ''Conceptions of Giftedness'' (1986; second edition 2005). The many different conceptions of giftedness presented, although distinct, are interrelated in several ways. Most of the investigators define giftedness in terms of multiple qualities, not all of which are intellectual. IQ scores are often viewed as inadequate measures of giftedness.<ref>{{cite book |title=Conceptions of Giftedness |editor1-last=Sternberg |editor1-first=Robert J. |editor2-last=Davidson |editor2-first=Janet E. |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-54730-7}} This review of contemporary research includes chapters by James Borland, Linda E. Brody, Julian Stanley, Carolyn M. Callahan, Erin M. Miller, Tracy L. Cross, Laurence J. Coleman, John F. Feldhusen, Joan Freeman, Francoys Gagne, Edmund Gordon, Beatrice L. Bridglall, Kurt A. Heller, Christoph Perleth, Tock Keng Lim, Ida Jeltova, Elena L. Grigorenko, Franz J. Monks, Michael W. Katzko, Jonathan A. Plucker, Sasha A. Barab, Sally M. Reis, Joseph S. Renzulli, Nancy M. Robinson, Mark A. Runco, Dean Keith Simonton, Robert J. Sternberg, Rena F. Subotnik, Linda Jarvin, Joyce Van Tassel-Baska, Catya von Karolyi, [[Ellen Winner]], Herbert J. Walberg, Susan J. Paik, Albert Ziegler, and Richard E. Mayer.</ref> [[Motivation]], high [[self-concept]], and [[creativity]] are key qualities in many of these broadened conceptions of giftedness.

[[Joseph Renzulli]]'s (1978) "three ring" definition of giftedness is one frequently mentioned conceptualization of giftedness. Renzulli's definition, which defines gifted behaviors rather than gifted individuals, is composed of three components as follows: Gifted behavior consists of behaviors that reflect an interaction among three basic clusters of human traits—above average ability, high levels of task commitment, and high levels of creativity.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Renzulli |first=J. |title=What Makes Giftedness? Reexamining a Definition |journal=Phi Delta Kappan |volume=60 |number=3 |pages=180–184, 261 |date=November 1978 | id={{ERIC|EJ190430}}}}</ref> Individuals capable of developing gifted behavior are those possessing or capable of developing this composite set of traits and applying them to any potentially valuable area of human performance. Persons who manifest or are capable of developing an interaction among the three clusters require a wide variety of educational opportunities and services that are not ordinarily provided through regular instructional programs.

In ''Identifying Gifted Children: A Practical Guide'', Susan K. Johnsen explains that gifted children all exhibit the potential for high performance in the areas included in the United States' federal definition of gifted and talented students:<ref name=Johnsen2011>{{cite book |last=Johnsen |first=Susan K. |title=Identifying Gifted Students: A Practical Guide |edition=2nd |date=May 2011 |location=Waco, Texas |publisher=Prufrock Press |isbn=978-1-59363-701-9 |url=http://www.prufrock.com/Identifying-Gifted-Students-A-Practical-Guide-2nd-ed-P899.aspx |access-date=29 November 2014 }}</ref>

There is a federal government statutory definition of gifted and talented students in the United States.

{{Blockquote|The term "gifted and talented" when used in respect to students, children, or youth means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high-performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop such capabilities." (The Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994, P.L. 103–382, Title XIV, p. 388)}}

This definition has been adopted partially or completely by the majority of the individual states in the United States (which have the main responsibility for education policy as compared to the federal government). Most states have a definition similar to that used in the State of Texas:

{{Blockquote|"gifted and talented student" means a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment, and who
* exhibits high-performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;
* possesses an unusual capacity for [[leadership]]; or
* excels in a specific academic field." (74th legislature of the State of Texas, Chapter 29, Subchapter D, Section 29.121)}}

The major characteristics of these definitions are (a) the diversity of areas in which performance may be exhibited (e.g., intellectual, creativity, artistic, leadership, academically), (b) the comparison with other groups (e.g., those in general education classrooms or of the same age, experience, or environment), and (c) the use of terms that imply a need for development of the gift (e.g., capability and potential).

Another understanding of giftedness is that of asynchronous development. This asynchrony has also been referred to as “dyssynchrony” (Terrassier 1985).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Terrassier |first=J-C |title=The psychology of gifted children |publisher=Wiley |year=1985 |editor-last=Freeman |editor-first=J |location=New York |pages=265–274 |chapter=Dyssynchrony-uneven development}}</ref> It can be within the person; where the child has distinctly different development levels socially, emotionally, physically, or even between different academic areas. It can also be asynchrony between the child and their social and/or academic environment.

The Columbus Group came together in 1991 to talk about their concerns that the current trends in gifted education focused overwhelmingly on achievement and the future impact these students could have on the world, and were missing focusing on and valuing who those children are in the moment, and what their lived experiences were like.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Silverman |first=Linda |title=Handbook for Counselors Serving Students with Gifts and Talents: Development, Relationships, School Issues, and Counseling Needs/Interventions |publisher=Prufrock Press |year=2021 |isbn=9781646320929 |editor-last=Cross |editor-first=Tracy L |location=Waco, TX |chapter=Counseling asynchronous gifted students: A 30-year perspective |editor-last2=Cross |editor-first2=Jennifer Riedl}}</ref> They created a definition of giftedness that centers around asynchrony and intensity, which first appeared in print in an article titled “Giftedness: The View from Within” (Morelock, 1992). It states that:<blockquote>“Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally.”<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal |last=Morelock |first=M.J. |date=1992b |title=Giftedness: The view from within |url=https://dabrowskicenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Giftedness-The-View-from-Within.pdf |journal=Understanding Our Gifted |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=14}}</ref></blockquote>This definition shares many commonalities with the definitions above, but also emphasizes the parenting and counseling differences gifted students may need to be fully supported.<ref name=":03" />