Identification

Gifted children are not superior to other kids; rather, they show great potential in many areas. Intense and highly energetic, they demand constant stimulation. They have extraordinary perception and capacity for complex cognitive reasoning, learning in intuitive leaps. They are deeply motivated, with a compelling drive to create. They are sensitive and possess a keen, sophisticated sense of humor, relating better to adults than to their peers. __Existential concerns often overwhelm them.__ Wunderkinds Gifted numbers are increasing, the result, in part, of improved nutrition and advances in child-rearing techniques. Early exposure to increasingly sophisticated knowledge, ideas, concepts and technology also contributes to an overall rise in intelligence among youth. As a result tests to measure intellect are being revised to adjust the standard, says Garland, who is also a clinical associate professor in UBC's department of psychiatry. And you thought it was just your imagination that kids were getting smarter. Wunderkinds

Work in talent development (e.g. Csikszentmihalyi, 1996; Simonton, 1999) has convinced most people in our field that ability alone may be insufficient to predict success in gifted programs, let alone life endeavors. //__Non-intellectual factors like motivation, personality, persistence, and concentration impact greatly on creative productivity at particular stages of development__// but also over the lifespan. //__Thus our identification processes may need to be sensitive to students whose ability threshold may be slightly lower but whose capacity and zeal to do work in a given domain may be very high__//. Tapping into these non-intellectual strengths can best be accomplished through performance and portfolio-based assessment protocols coupled with careful observation of performance over time. The on-going dilemma of effective identification practices in gifted education