Journal for the Education of the Gifted

Classroom instruction in problem solving often takes the form of presenting neat, verification-style problems to students at the end of a period of learning. This practice stands in stark contrast to professional problem solving, where the problem comes first, and is a catalyst for investigation and learning. Problem-based learning provides students with an opportunity to grapple with realistic, ill-structured problems using the same kinds of techniques and habits of mind professionals use. The problem-based curriculum and instruction design puts students in the role of professional problem solvers by designing instruction around the investigation of an ill-structured problem. Teachers act as metacognitive coaches and tutors instead of “experts” who have the “right answer” to the problem. Two different applications of problem-based learning at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy are described in this article. One application is in an interdisciplinary senior elective course entitled Science, Society and the Future where problems investigate modern dilemmas resulting in modern advances in science and technology; the other is in a more traditional sophomore required course, American Studies, where the problems studied provide students with a feel for the critical decisions which drove the development of the Nation. A description of research projects underway to document the effectiveness of the program is also provided.

Productive citizens of the next century will possess the lifelong learning and technical skills required to deal with constant change resulting from a rapidly advancing technological society. Educational reform is needed to prepare students adequately for the challenges they will face in the future. At the Central Virginia Governor's School for Science and Technology, a variety of techniques have been developed during the last six years which infuse the use of technology throughout the curriculum. This article describes three technology infusion categories providing examples and rationale for using them with gifted students and offers suggestions for planning and implementing technology infusion programs.

Rural schools struggle with limited resources including an inadequate curriculum, lack of qualified teachers and little access to programming usually available to larger metropolitan schools. Such inequities have prevented many rural students from pursuing scholarship opportunities and entrance to institutions with restricted admissions.

The Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts attempts to remediate the problem by serving rural students throughout the state with a distance learning network, Project Outreach, which delivers special classes that otherwise would be unavailable. The system uses interactive computer technology to teach advanced content courses in math, foreign language, science, and survey of the arts. The effectiveness of the outreach program was evaluated as to its potential to provide courses at a distance to rural students in Louisiana. Results of the study included a significant gain in scores between pre-test and posttest scores on a national calculus exam, and open-ended responses revealed favorable comments toward the system from its participants. The distance learning network is seen as one method for connecting rural students to the superior programs offered by special schools.

The Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts combines a required core curriculum with specialized focus areas, providing breadth, depth and choice. Students at the school are carefully selected for academic and/or artistic talent from throughout the state of Louisiana during their sophomore year of high school and spend the remaining years prior to college in residence at the Louisiana School. Student perceptions of the curriculum were noted in a survey; results of the survey are reported and the curriculum is described in detail.

Throughout the 70 years that Waldorf schools around the world have been educating children, the teachers and parents in these schools have been excited by their observations. They observe their children becoming confident, conscious, thought-provoking individuals. Through a curriculum of “academics permeated with the arts” (J. Huchingson, 1990), the teacher stands as an evocateur and midwife assisting as the gifts within the individual human being are brought forth.

A study was conducted to determine which practices in a special school for gifted and talented adolescents were associated with ratings of effectiveness of program outcomes. Subjects included 2,213 students attending the five Tennessee Governor's Schools from 1986 to 1988 and the directors of the schools. Questionnaire data collected from the students were compared with internal data gathered via interviews from the school directors to establish which changes in practice influenced students' ratings.

Relationships were found between student' ratings of program effectiveness and director' changes in program practices. In addition, yearly evaluation data were compared with three year evaluation data to illustrate potential misinterpretations of program effectiveness. A case is made to expand the time line for program evaluations so the iterative nature of the relationship between practices and outcomes will emerge against the specific program backdrop which includes population characteristics and director decision making.