• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

DOCUMENT R-SUME ED 132 755 EC 092 054 TITLE Case Studies of Gifted Students: Work Resource Packet. INSTITUTION Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Research and Guidance Lab. fon Superior Students. PUB DATE 76 NOTE 169p. EDRS PRICE MF-$0.83 BC-$8.69 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Career Exploration; *Case Studies; Exceptional Child Education; *Followup Studies; *Gifted; Longitudinal Studies; Occupational Choice; Post Secondary Education; Secondary Education; Self Evaluation; *Vocational Development ABSTRACT Provided are 11 case studies of-gifted students based on materials from the 4 years the student participated in a special program fon superior high school students, foliowup questionnaires from 11 4, 6, and 10 years after high school graduation, and a personal interview. The studies, organized longitudinally on the basis of a career development model, are presented to show the influences and significant factors in career development as perceived by the student. Data are given in the areas of awareness, orientation, exploration, selective formulation, and action in regard to self, social relations, and resources. Some studies include a test record; and all include a comprehensive summary and conclusions section with demographic, family, and other personal data. It is noted that these case studies have been used as a part of in-service workshops for counselors and teachers. (IM) * Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * * responsible for the quality of Ale original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. * ************************************ ******************************** * tr4t LI-1 N- C-NJ U 5 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION F WELFARE re% NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF III EVOCATION T ho5 DOCoME NT HAS BEENREPRO- f=3 DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVEDFROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATIONORIGIN- ATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OROPINIONS LL., STATED DO NOT NECESSARILYREPRE- SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTEOF EDUCATION PoSITION OR POLICY CASE STUDIES OF GIFTED STUDENTS: WORKSHOP RESOURCE PACKET by the Research Assistants Staff, Research and Guidance Laboratory University of Wisconsin-Madison (1975-1976) INTRODUCTION The Research and Guidance Laboratory of the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a ce: e- for research and service to school districts in the area of edu- cation for superior students. A unique feature of the Laboratory has been Its emphasis on longitudinal data. The Laboratory was founded in 1957 and has worked with over 3 500 high school students identified as superior. It has been a function of the Laboratory staff to gather follow-up dataon 1,1Trit. -y students for up to 10 years after high school graduation. The following case studies are based on materialA ht include the 4 years a student participated in the Laboratory, llow-up questionnaires of 1, 4 6, 10 years afte- high school and n -sonal interview with the individual (these interviews were condu- Y5-76 The purpose of thc studies were to organize longitudinal data on the basis of carI development. The career development model used was the Wisconsin Career Education Planning Model developed by Dr. Philip Perrone, UW-Madison. The materials in these cases are presented to show the influences and significant fact_i.s in career development as perceived by the individuals. These cases have been used as part of in-service workshops for counselors and teache s. They are used as resources for longitudinal information about the patterns of vocational development in superior students. These case studies were compiled by the entire Laboratory staff (1975-76). Individuals chosen for case studies were among 1963-64 graduates of the Laboratory program. Students that could not be contacted or had information missing in their Laboratory folders were not considered. Nick Colangelo, Project Coordinator Research & Guidance Laboratory 1976 TWENTY QUESTIONS ABOUT A CASE STUDY _The following questions may be used in the evaluation of a case study written by another person or of one you have written. They may also he used as a checklist in deciding whether you have the materials you need and have done enough thinking about them before you begin to write your case study. None of the questions should be answered with only one word. Some statement should be given of how the reader arrived at an answer for each question. 1. Are there .12../ serious omissions ln _the da You have decide what you consider a serious_ omission. 2. Was more than one method eM1312Yed in the collection of the data? Obviously if the case report consists of only a series of interviews it will be inadequate, since it cannot provide information about the behavior of the subject when he is not in the presence of the investigator. In a good case study, you expect to find evidence of the use of tests, personal docu- ments, behavior descriptions, interviews, and other t chniques employed in the study of persons. Has more than one school of thought been considered in the inter- 3. - _ _ pretation of the data? You must be familiar with the many possible inter- pretations. -Most statements in a case study are based on the school of thought espoused by the writer, but in a good study the writer will have suggested other possible interpretations. You will seldom find that this has been done. 4 Are the sources of all data specified? The author of the case study owes his reader a clear description of the sources from which his information was collected, knowledge of when it was obtained, and the technique employed in obtaining it. It is not necessary to be explicit about the source of the information contained in every sentence, but it should always be made clear to the reader whether the data were obtained directly from the subject or from a secondary source, 5. Have kTitEIA:1 _judgments been made 12x use of tests, judges, and those who uovided behavior descriptions? The emphasis here is on the word independent. There is, of course, some merit in a summary behavior des- cription compiled after the result of discussion of several observers, but it will usually be well to obtain uncontaminated and separate judgments from sevetal individuals who have observed the subject in different situations. These may be pooled later, but a pooling obtained from several independent judgments is likely to present a more valid picture than one judgment made in collaboration. 2 6. Have reference 22ints for statistics been _given?As indicated in previous discussion, numbers without some basis for comparison maybe mis- leading. 7. Has consIderation been given to the pEREItilityof deception by the subject? For many reasons, people do not always tell the truth. The need for verification of reports obtained from secondary sourcesis partic- ularly important, but subjects may deceive an interviewerunless he makes special efforts to check the veracity of statements. Unverified data may lead to faulty interpretations. The reader will a. Is the cultural situation given in miapsh derail? have to define the word enough. If he finds insufficient infortation about the community in which the subject lives, inadequatedata about the sicu- ations met, OT paucity of accounts of experiencesencountered, he must answer this quesiton in the negative. Particular 9. la theitEperilnof the familyitustion presented? attention should be paid to the presentationof information about both parents and the need for a description of the atmosphereof the home, as well as a atement about economIc circumstances. In 10. Is the developmental etory told as far asit is relevant? some case studies it will be desirable to have a record of eventsin early childhood; in others that period may be so farremoved that the events cannot be recalled with validity. In each case the reader will have to decide whether the record is long enough to indicate themain influence on the sub- descrip- ject's development. Every case study does not require an elaborate tion of early infancy. trends of behavior? 11. Has adequate attention been given to current In this, the above, and the followingquestion, the reader will consider the danger of stressing one period of aperson's life without giving enough attention to the past and, perhaps, thefuture. Although the developmental trends are most important, it is essentialthat current behavior and per- formances be reported and that some attentionbe given eo the subject's aspirations and plans for the period ahead. 12. Are future plarn1 given enqugh consideration? The 13. Are data presented as evidence whenEasliLt121_is are made? making of predictions is a hazardous procedure, evenwhen the case record seems to be quite complete. lf, however, they are attempted, the writer should make very clear the bases OD whichthey were made. 14. Has due care been exercised in the interpretatiopof the moti- Earlier in this volume it was indicated thatmaking vation of the subject?ee interpretations of the subject's behavior is a verydifficult undertaking. Has the case writer indicated thatfull consideration has been given to this matter? 15. Are concrete illustrations of general cate,goriespresented? Every category that the writer uses for the classificationof his subject should be followed or preceded by specific reports of thebehavior on ich the categorization was made. 16. Have censo_ial terms been avoided? If the zase study writer makes judgments about the subject and describes him with terms such as poor, care- less, irresponsible, bad, or lazy, he is name-calling rather than presenting information about the subject's behavior. If he quotes others who use such terms, he must make it clear that they are quotations. 17. Is the wri ing 122.4? The judgment here will not be solely in terms of grammatical construction and mechanics of languagel the readerwill look for continuity and coherence.

Load more

  169

Copy Link