Being Smart about Gifted Education: A Guidebook for Educators and Parents (2nd edition)

by Dona J. Matthews, Joanne Foster

Overview

Written for both parents and educators, the book presents practical strategies to identify and nurture exceptionally high ability in children. These authors promote the “mastery” (rather than the “mystery”) model of gifted education and challenge several common practices and assumptions. They assert that if children are to learn optimally, teachers must provide them with educational experiences that are appropriate for each individual child's level of readiness. An important step in the process of determining a child's level of learning is pre-testing before starting a new unit of instruction to discover the correct level of classroom instruction necessary for each child. The authors also advocate achievement testing for the same reason, and they explain how this works in the classroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780910707954
Publisher:	Gifted Unlimited
Publication date:	08/01/2009
Pages:	452
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Dona Matthews, Ph.D. was the Executive Director of the Millennium Dialogue for Early Child Development at the University of Toronto, and the founding director of the Hunter College Center for Gifted Education and Development, City University of New York. She has taught at universities in Canada and the US, and worked with children, families, and schools, doing assessments, counseling, and consultations. She has written dozens of articles and book chapters, given dozens of conference presentations, and co-authored or co-edited four books: Beyond Intelligence; The Development of Giftedness and Talent across the Life Span; and The Routledge International Companion to Gifted Education, and the forthcoming Being Smart About Gifted Learning: Empowering Parents and Kids Through Challenge and Change. She has another book coming soon with the American Psychological Association, and writes a blog for Psychology Today.

Joanne Foster holds a Doctoral degree in Human Development and Applied Psychology, and a Master's degree in Special Education and Adaptive Instruction, both from the University of Toronto. She has worked in the field of gifted education for 30 years, focusing on ways to encourage and support high-ability learners. She writes extensively about intelligence, creativity, productivity, and procrastination. Dr. Foster taught at Educational Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto for twelve years, and continues to provide leadership across Canada and beyond. She speaks to parent groups and educators about the complexities and implications of high-level development, facilitates community networking in gifted education, and writes extensively on gifted-related issues. Dr. Foster also writes the column "Fostering Kids' Success" at The Creativity Post.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Perspectives and Paradigm Shifts

Chapter 2. Creativity and Giftedness

Chapter 3. Questions and Answers about Testing

Chapter 4. Assessments and Tests

Chapter 5. Mismatch Diagnostics: Moving away from Categorical Identification and Labeling

Chapter 6. Adaptations: The Gifted Learner in the Regular Classroom

Chapter 7. Alternative Options: Stretching the Boundaries

Chapter 8. Motivation and Achievement Issues

Chapter 9. How Does Giftedness Develop?

Chapter 10. Emotional, Social, and Behavioral Considerations

Chapter 11. Parenting Matters

Chapter 12. Teacher Development

Chapter 13. Optimal Learning for All Children

Appendix I. Test Scores: The Nuts and Bolts of Assessments

Appendix II. Educational Decision Making

Poem “They Tell Me I’m Gifted…”

Endnotes

References

Index

About the Authors

What People are Saying About This

James Borland

"Being Smart has become even smarter in its second edition. This is an essential book for anyone interested in gifted education."--(James Borland, Ph.D., Professor of Education, Columbia University)

Horowitz Frances Degen

"A highly readable and accessible volume about the development of children with gifts and talents. Both practical and theoretical, it is informed by the most recent research, and it is filled with useful informa-tion and insights. It will be valued by teachers, parents, and counselors."--(Frances Degen Horowitz, Ph.D., University Professor; President Emerita, The City University of New York Graduate Center)

Carol S. Dweck

By presenting exciting new work on mindsets, as well as recent research findings on expertise and cognitive neuroscience, these authors show the importance of habits of mind in cognitive develop­ment. This book will prompt re-examination of many long-held beliefs! (Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.,Lewis & Virginia EatonProfessor of Psychology, Stanford University)

Sally M. Reis

Rich with examples, this book highlights the importance of an optimal match between challeng­ing and engaging school and home experiences and opportunities to develop gifts and talents! A practical, thoughtful contribution by two leading experts! (Sally M. Reis, Ph.D., Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Teaching Fellow, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut)

Frances Degen Horowitz

A highly readable and accessible volume about the development of children with gifts and talents. Both practical and theoretical, it is informed by the most recent research, and it is filled with useful information and insights. It will be valued by teachers, parents, and counselors. (Frances Degen Horowitz, Ph.D.,University Professor; President Emerita, The City University of New York Graduate Center)

Lorel Shea

"Being Smart About Gifted Education - A Guidebook for Educators and Parents is an updated version of the 2004 book, Being Smart About Gifted Children. The authors, Dona Matthews and Joanne Foster, have rewritten the book to include the most recent research on brain development, recent trends in the education system, and new ways of focusing efforts to meet the needs of gifted learners . . . This is a thoughtful and instructive handbook which will be quite useful to teachers and administrators, as well as parents of gifted children."--(Lorel Shea, BellaOnline's Gifted Education Editor)

Editorial Reviews

“A highly readable and accessible volume about the development of children with gifts and talents. Both practical and theoretical, it is informed by the most recent research, and it is filled with useful information and insights. It will be valued by teachers, parents, and counselors.”

Frances Degen Horowitz, Ph.D., University Professor; President Emeriti, The City University of New York Graduate Center

“By presenting exciting new work on mindsets, as well as recent research findings on expertise and cognitive neuroscience, these authors show the importance of habits of mind in cognitive development. This book will prompt re-examination of many long-held beliefs!”



Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., Lewis & Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology, Stanford University

"Rich with examples, this book highlights the importance of an optimal match between challenging and engaging school and home experiences and opportunities to develop gifts and talents! A practical, thoughtful contribution by two leading experts!"

Sally M. Reis, Ph.D., Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Teaching Fellow, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut

From the Publisher