Educating Able Learners: Programs and Promising Practices - Softcover

Cox, June; Daniel, Neil; Boston, Bruce O.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0292703872 ISBN 13: 9780292703872

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 1985

Synopsis

American education has long been under a microscope. In a time when all aspects of our school system face close scrutiny, educators, administrators, and parents are asking critical questions about how we educate those superior students we call “able learners.”

Our schools reward behavior inappropriate for an independent thinker, researcher, or artist. Programming for our most capable students is fragmented and discontinuous. And yet there are schools and programs that hold significant promise.

This four-year national study from the Sid W. Richardson Foundation provides a broad database, looks into the backgrounds of a few unusually creative individuals, and examines programs with a record of success. It argues in favor of comprehensive programming for able learners, providing a steady challenge for all students, helping to insure that no individual talent withers for want of opportunity. Included are recommendations for discovering and nurturing talent in students (including traditionally neglected groups, the economically disadvantaged, and the culturally diverse), building and administering sound programs, developing appropriately trained staff and teachers, and evaluating effectiveness of programs to assure accountability and add credibility.

Compiling data from diverse sources—including 35 MacArthur Foundation Fellows, 400 schools, 1,172 school districts, and countless school personnel and students—the study looks at programs for able learners throughout the country, from Project Pegasus in Iowa to Oaks Academy in Texas, from Bronx High School of Science in New York to Bishop Carroll High School in Alberta, Canada. The authors’ conclusions based on this broad investigation provide an impassioned call for coordinated schooling and cooperation among all segments of society to develop a new generation of creative, self-motivated students.

About this title

About the Author

June Cox was Director of Research for the Richardson Foundation.

From Library Journal

This presents the results of a national study of educational programs for the gifted, talented, and able learner. The study attempted to identify and locate such programs, determine which models are most effective, and arrive at recommendations for all types of schools serving these learners. A brief description of the project's stages is followed by a summary of a wide variety of information gathered. The remaining chapters discuss five program types and steps necessary in developing a comprehensive plan. Appendixes contain a wealth of material, including the follow-up questionnaire, statistical data, and criteria. A research report that is well done and readable. Joanne Troutner, Media Specialist, Klondike Middle School, West Lafayette, Ind.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 1985
• ISBN 10: 0292703872
• ISBN 13: 9780292703872
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 262