National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented

Topic: Jacob K. Javits Center for Gifted and Talented Education

Purpose: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRCGT) conducts research on a host of issues surrounding gifted education, namely: Who are the gifted? What characterizes "giftedness" and how can the term's definition be used to identify students for gifted programs and services? What programs and services most benefit gifted students and can those programs and services yield positive results for students not identified as gifted, as well as for students identified as gifted under traditional or expanded definitions?

Established through a five-year, $8.7 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, the Center is staffed by researchers with expertise in gifted education, and curriculum and instruction.

Identifying Gifted and Talented Students
One of the major research goals of the Center is to develop a system for identifying gifted and talented students using an expanded definition of giftedness that includes measurement of student outcomes across different types of assessments: standardized achievement scores; state standards in reading and mathematics that reflect expectations for advanced levels of achievement; and performance-based assessments of investigative and problem-solving skills; and teacher recommendation based on students' classroom performance.

Measuring Instructional Delivery (Intervention Implementation)
The Center will examine the fidelity of classroom instruction with the prescribed G&T intervention, use of differentiation in delivery, and any instructional adaptations or modification by utilizing teacher logs, surveys, interviews and in-class observations.

Achievement Assessment
The Center will measure achievement outcomes in reading and mathematics at the end of 3rd grade for all students and examine specific impacts for three categories of students: traditional definition gifted; expanded definition gifted; and not identified as gifted.

Other Activities
The Center will host a national conference of researchers and practitioners interested in gifted and talented education.

Key Personnel: Joseph Renzulli, Tutita Casa, M. Katherine Gavin, E. Jean Gubbins, Catherine Little, D. Betsy McCoach, Sally Reis, Robin Schader, Del Siegle.

Center Website: http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/

IES Program Contact: Dr. David Sweet
Email: David.Sweet@ed.gov
Telephone: (202) 219-1748