Journal for the Education of the Gifted
Summer 2000, Volume 23, Number 4 Abstracts

Approach and Avoidance Motivation as Predictors of Achievement Behavior in Physics Instructions Among Mildly and Highly Gifted Eighth-Grade Students
Albert Ziegler & Kurt A. Heller

An investigation was undertaken to test the predictive power of motivational variables in introductory physics courses completed at German college preparatory high schools. Dependent variables consisted of achievement assessments, self-perceptions of competence, motivational variables, and intended electives. Achievement differences were influenced by the talent variable; no significant influence could be registered for approach motivation or avoidance motivation. In contrast, approach motivation did have a positive influence on self-perceptions of competence and intended elective choices, however, and not on the motivational factors.

Gender Differences in Academic Attitudes Among Gifted Elementary School Students
Mary Ann Swiatek & Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik

A number of studies have documented gender differences in the academic attitudes of gifted adolescents, but few studies have investigated these differences among students younger than age 12. Very few studies explore the age at which the differences emerge. The present study investigated four questions: Are gender differences in attitudes toward academic subjects evident among gifted 3rd through 6th graders? Do the students’ attitudes toward school subjects vary according to grade level? Do gender differences become more or less pronounced from 3rd to 6th grade? Are attitudes toward academic areas related to students’ ability in those areas? To address these questions, 2,089 gifted 3rd- through 6th-grade children rated their liking for 11 academic areas. Observed gender differences were consistent with those found in research with older students participating in talent-search programs. Grade-level differences suggest that attitudes toward several academic areas become more negative with age. Attitudes were not related to tested academic ability.

An Evaluation of Alternative Screening Procedures
Carol Reid, Brenda Romanoff, Bob Algozzine, & Ann Udall

Disproportional minority membership in special programs has become a major issue in gifted education programs. Identifying students who are gifted has traditionally been grounded in criteria emphasizing unitary measures of intellectual ability. An alternative perspective with promise for addressing concerns related to disproportion and bias in placement practices has emerged from the theory of multiple intelligences (MI; Gardner, 1983, 1993). While perspectives and opinions regarding multiple intelligences are plentiful, research on the effectiveness of assessment and instructional practices grounded in MI theory has been sparse. This research was designed to shed light on the problem-solving assessment (PSA) procedure, an application of MI theory focused on identification of students for gifted education programs. Scores and decisions grounded in PSA and more traditional criteria were described, compared, and analyzed. As in previous research, positive correlations were evident among scores for different types of intelligences and applications of another identification criterion. More important, different groups of students were identified when using each approach; a more diverse population was identified with the problem-solving-assessment procedure.

Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms for Gifted African American Students
Donna Y. Ford, Tyrone C. Howard, J. John Harris, III, & Cynthia A. Tyson

The need to more effectively teach and meet the needs of culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse students occupies a great deal of attention in the field of education.  In gifted education, much of the discussion centers on the underrepresentation of diverse students in programs and services for gifted students, with a growing body of work focusing on issues of underachievement among these students.  In this article, we contend that one solution to these two issues is for schools to create culturally responsive classrooms.  We describe the needs of diverse students, give several rationales for creating culturally responsive classrooms, and provide recommendations for creating classrooms that affirm diverse students.