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This article focuses on the first phase of a recent National Research Center on Giftedness and Talented (NRC/GT) project, which used survey research to target a disproportionate nationally stratified random sample of primary grade teachers about their beliefs and practices related to talent development in young children and their responses to case studies describing four different types of students--one easily identified as gifted from a traditional paradigm; the others manifested talents masked by some other factor--poverty, language status, or concurrent social/emotional needs. The mixed-method survey design facilitated triangulation of findings to better understand the contextual factors that influence primary grade teachers' perceptions and behaviors. Findings indicate that primary grade teachers continue to hold traditional conceptions of talent that shapes how they view cultural minority students, nonnative English speakers, and children with other exceptionalities. These beliefs influence the types of academic, social, and programmatic interventions they believe diverse primary grade learners need, often seeing the deficits before identifying the talents. (Contains 5 tables and 2 endnotes.)

Despite the ongoing, extensive focus on the more equitable representation of gifted students from diverse populations, poor and minority students remain underserved by gifted education proportional to their representation in the broader student population (Donovan & Cross, 2002; U.S. Department of Education, 1993). One possible factor contributing to the continued under-representation of poor and minority students in gifted programs is an inadequate understanding of the roots of the problem in the earliest years of schooling. Failure to identify and develop talent in very young children has been linked to subsequent negative outcomes in cognitive, academic, social, and affective development (Neihart, Reis, Robinson, & Moon, 2002). The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) at the University of Virginia conducted a two-phase, mixed-methods study designed to explore the beliefs and practices of teachers at the primary school level (grades K-2). Of particular interest were (a) teachers' beliefs about the nature of giftedness in young students; (b) teachers' beliefs about how giftedness is manifested and distributed across cultural and socioeconomic groups of young students; and (c) teachers' classroom practices related to talent development in the primary grades. In this way, the study considered both teachers' attitudes and beliefs about giftedness and the translation of these beliefs into instructional practices related to perceived student potential. In addition, the study explored the pedagogical potential of equipping teachers with context-specific lessons that incorporate strategies most likely to uncover and develop talent in previously unrecognized gifted students. The first phase of the project involved a multidisciplinary review of the relevant literature to determine those attributes, principles, and recommendations for identifying talent in at-risk, disadvantaged, and culturally diverse young children. The general themes from these literatures informed the development of a survey designed to assess primary grade teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and practices in regard to young gifted (or potentially gifted) students from diverse backgrounds. The second phase of the study involved intensive classroom observations by trained participant observers in primary grade classrooms in six diverse elementary schools. The purpose of this phase of the project was to extensively describe and document the classroom context and to determine the degree of consistency between teachers' philosophies about giftedness and talent and their classroom practices aimed at nurturing and developing talent in all students, particularly those from under-represented groups. Findings from both phases of this study revealed consistent patterns in four interrelated areas: (a) factors internal to the teacher, (b) forces on the teacher outside the self, (c) teacher behaviors, and (d) observable student behaviors and verbal responses which operate in concert to shape the course of talent development for typically underserved children in primary grade classrooms. (Separate chapters have references and appendices. Contains 8 tables and 1 figure.)

Experts have developed varying, and sometimes conflicting, conceptions of academic talent and giftedness. Classroom and school composition often are tied to these conceptions of academic talent and giftedness, and magnet and charter schools select certain students who best "ft" their particular conception of giftedness. Educators' perceptions and attitudes regarding academic talent and giftedness thus impact what services are delivered to which students. Little is known about educators' beliefs regarding conceptions of academic talent and giftedness. The current national study surveyed 900 public school educators, including regular classroom teachers, administrators, and gifted education specialists, regarding their definitions of academic talent and giftedness. The educators believed that all traditional and popular conceptions of academic talent and giftedness were valid, but they were less likely to support definitions involving talents in less-traditional areas. Educators accepted some of the more recently conceived, and more inclusive, conceptions of academic talent or giftedness. Such results are potentially valuable to school administrators, gifted education specialists, and regular classroom teachers who work with academically talented and gifted students, as well as to those who are concerned with the factors influencing school or classroom composition. (Contains 4 tables.)

Includes bibliographies and indexes

Includes bibliographies and indexes

Includes bibliographies and indexes

Includes bibliographies and indexes

1Life of a Fossil Hunter

By Charles Sternberg

Charles Sternberg was an American fossil collector and paleontologist. He was active in both fields from 1876 to 1928, and collected fossils for private collectors as well as for international museums. This book is part travelogue, part paleontology, and part historical narrative of life on the open prairie. In it, Sternberg tells of his early interest in fossil hunting as a boy, and scientific expeditions from his first in 1876 to one for the Munich Museum in 1901. - Summary by Ava

Infection and Immunity with Special Reference to the Prevention of Infectious Diseases presents a subject that is as relevant today as it was in 1903. This book was written for readers without a medical background, and includes general information on infectious disease, as well as specific diseases prevalent at the time. To quote the author, who served as the U.S. Army Surgeon General from 1893-1902, "The general statement may be made that all infectious disease are preventable disease, and at the present time it is possible to indicate the necessary measures of prevention for nearly all of these diseases. That they continue to prevail, and to claim hundreds of thousands of victims annually, is largely due to the fact that the public, generally, has not yet been educated upon these subjects." <br><br> Many of the diseases described in this book have since been largely eradicated through education of the public regarding modes and prevention of transmission and with effective vaccines. Some persist, and new ones will continue to arise, despite tremendous advances in public health, science and medicine. While some of the specific advice is outdated, the general principles are still relevant. (Summary by knotyouraveragejo)