Browsing by Subject "gifted"
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Item A Narrative Examination of the Experience of Early Entrance to College(2013-07-05) Kotinek, Jonathan DavidThis study addresses the question ?what is it like to be a gifted early college entrant?? Participants were eight college graduates between the ages of 23 and 45 who matriculated to college as full-time, degree-seeking students at age 16. This was a qualitative study conducted by open-ended interview and utilized narrative inquiry as a framework for the analysis. Participant responses were coded and analyzed using constant comparative method. Coded responses were grouped into 40 subcategories which were further collapsed into 7 overarching categories that provide a framework for understanding the experience of early college entrance: life story; being exceptional; understanding exceptionality through others? experience; transition to college, academic preparation, performance, and experience; getting involved and pursuing interests; and social-emotional awareness and agency. These categories provide a picture of the milieu in which participants made the decision to enter college early. Results of this study suggest that participants experienced a milieu of educational experiences, including academic acceleration, and embedded social-emotional contexts that increased their academic self-concept and precipitated early college entrance. Despite failing to recognize their own giftedness and experiencing academic struggle, participants successfully completed college and embarked on meaningful careers. Interpreting giftedness as asynchronous development provides a framework for these results. The results of the present study suggest that while the native cognitive ability of a gifted early entrant might be sufficient to complete college, additional social-emotional supports are needed to fully realize the academic potential of gifted students.Item Identifying linguistically diverse students as gifted and talented: a qualitative study of adding a new measure(2009-05-15) Breedlove, LynetteAs the population of linguistically diverse students in schools increases, so should the representation of these students in gifted and talented programs. This is a struggle for many schools districts where the ethnic diversity in the district is not reflected in the students identified as gifted. The objective of this study was to examine teachers? perspectives regarding students identified as gifted and talented through the addition of the Bilingual Verbal Abilities Test (BVAT) to the identification process. The researcher interviewed teachers to determine if they perceived the linguistically diverse students identified using the new measure to be gifted and talented, and what characteristics the teachers believed led to their being identified. In addition, the teachers were asked if they believed students should have been identified as gifted but were not despite the use of the new measure, and what the teachers believed were the barriers preventing identification. The use of the BVAT resulted in the identification of students the teachers perceived to be gifted; however, teachers described a number of students who were missed. Teachers overwhelmingly described the linguistically diverse students they perceived to be gifted as having advanced language skills, particularly in reading. The teachers rely on their experience in the classroom with students to help them determine which students to refer for testing, rather than training they have completed. The greatest barrier to identification that was identified by the teachers was language. They discussed the lack of students? language development (despite their advanced abilities) and the unusually high level of language required on standardized assessments. Finally, teachers suggested using a test preparation approach to improve the identification process, and to test linguistically diverse students for the gifted program repeatedly.Item Psychometric validation of the Hispanic Bilingual Gifted Screening Instrument (HBGSI)(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Fultz, Monica V.There is an evident under-representation of Hispanic students in Gifted and Talented (GT) programs. This is due to several reasons including lack of valid instruments, biased standardized tools, biased teacher perceptions, and misinterpretation of tests scores among others. The need to develop and/or validate instruments that reflect students?? cultural backgrounds has become a priority in the U.S. today. The purpose of this study was to analyze the reliability and validity facets of the Hispanic Bilingual Gifted Screening Instrument (HBGSI) developed by Irby and Lara-Alecio (1996), more specifically, the split-half reliability and the concurrent validity when correlated to the Bilingual Verbal Abilities Test (BVAT). Participants were 527 students from two elementary schools in Texas. Students were administered the HBGSI in May 2003 and a reduced sample was administered the BVAT in the latter part of 2003 and the beginning of 2004. Results were analyzed, interpreted and discussed. The researcher found that the HBGSI has evidence of high reliability coefficients using Guttman, Spearman-Brown and Cronbach??s alpha ranging from .93 to .97. Concurrent validity was computed using Pearson correlation coefficient r =.39. Additionally, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted and revealed the existence of 5 factors. Among the primary limitations is the generalizability of the findings. Readers should use caution in applying the findings of this study to other settings and populations. Further research is recommended to establish the concurrent validity of the HBGSI with other achievement measures. In conclusion, there has been a contemporary move to the incorporation of inclusive screening instruments for use with language minority students. This movement suggests the inclusion of portfolio and performance assessment, checklists, and teacher observations in addition to standardized measures. The HBGSI has shown promising results in the arena of Hispanic gifted identification. This instrument is recommended to be used at the first stage of the screening process of potential Hispanic GT students. This study provided insight into the improvement of practices and identification of Hispanic bilingual students.