R14-2013 Anitha Kurup Amita Basu Ajay Chandra Parvathy Jayan Suneetha Nayar Goutam C. Jain Arun G. Rao An Introductory Reading on GIFTEDNESS IN CHILDREN NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES Bangalore, India An Introductory Reading on Giftedness in Children A Report Prepared As Part of The NIAS Gifted Education Project by The Gifted Education Team and People for Science Anitha Kurup*, Principal Investigator Suneetha Nayar Ph.D Amita Basu Goutam C. Jain Ajay Chandra Arun G. Rao Parvathy Jayan NATIO N AL IN STITUTE OF ADVA N CED STUDIES Bangalore January 2013 * Dr. Anitha Kurup, Principal Investigator of the NIAS Gifted Education Project, is the corresponding author of this report. © National Institute of Advanced Studies, 2013 Published by National Institute of Advanced Studies Indian Institute of Science Campus Bangalore - 560 012 Tel: 2218 5000, Fax: 2218 5028 E-mail: [email protected] NIAS Report: R14-2013 ISBN 978-81-87663-73-7 Typeset & Printed by Aditi Enterprises Magadi Road, Bangalore - 23 [email protected] A nation’s resources of intellectual talent are among the most precious it will ever have. – Lewis Terman, 1925 iii FOREWORD The debate about nature vs. nurture in the social sciences continues to yield fruitful research and fresh perspectives, but is less polarising than in its heyday. Most social scientists now embrace a ‘middle’ or ‘interactionist’ view. Gifted education is no exception. We now know that the highest levels of achievement, especially in academic disciplines, require exceptional ability; but we also acknowledge that ability without environmental support often disappears into the crowd. While India has a historical tradition of mentoring, training, and nurturance of talent in the arts, especially in music, no such parallel system exists in the sciences in a structure that is inclusive and comprehensive. While several private institutions and government schemes cater to gifted children in the sciences, these schemes operate in isolation and without foundation in current theory and practices in gifted education. These schemes tend to use imported as well as limited definitions of giftedness, reflecting those of the mainstream educational system where academic achievement is valued rather than original thought. It is in an attempt to challenge limited definitions of giftedness, as well as to highlight the need for a more concerted programme of gifted education in India, that we present this Introductory Reading on Giftedness in Children. This document presents and reviews current research on important concepts in giftedness from countries with well-established gifted education programmes, and discusses their relevance to the Indian context. In the 21st century, as India both strives to fulfill her promise as a world power and struggles with problems of science and society including climate change, unchecked population growth, brain drain, and the destruction of natural resources, we can no longer afford to do without a national system to identify and nurture talent wherever it may exist. This document is presented as part of of the Gifted Education project undertaken by NIAS. The project was commissioned in 2010 by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India and aims to study giftedness in Indian contexts, with the view of developing context-appropriate means of identification and nurturance. Our partners in this endeavour include Agastya Foundation and Delhi University. I join the Gifted Education team in expressing the hope that researchers, educationists, and educational policymakers across the country recognise the need for this effort and come together in their attempts to develop a gifted education programme for India. Prof. V.S. Ramamurthy Director NIAS Bangalore India v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to express our gratitude to Prof. V. S. Ramamurthy, Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, under whose leadership this project was conceived and launched. His enthusiasm and ideas have encouraged the project to continuously renew itself and expand its scope. We would also like to express our gratitude to the Principal Scientific Advisor’s Office to the Government of India, particularly Dr. R. Chidambaram, Dr. R. P. Gupta, and Dr. Ketaki Bapat who have recognised the importance and need for this project and supported us generously. Their active association and participation have guided our work on the project. Our sincere gratitude goes out to the Project Review and Monitoring Committee consisting of Prof. N. Mukunda, Prof. K. Siddappa, Prof. H. P. Dikshit, Dr. Shailesh Shirali, Prof. Manoj K. Harbola, Prof. Raghavendra Pratap Singh, and Prof. Pratibha Jolly, whose guidance, suggestions, and insights have been useful in systematically planning and undertaking the project. This report was developed with the assistance of the People for Science Team. In particular, we wish to mention Dr. Suneetha Nayar, Mr. Goutam C. Jain, and Mr. Arun G. Rao. Last but not least, we would like to thank the NIAS team, particularly the administrative unit which has provided us ample support in taking this study forward. vii ix x CONTENTS ABSTR A CT ................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCT I ON ............................................................................................. 2 THE PHENOMENON OF GI FTEDNESS ................................................................... 3 TY P ES OF GI FTEDNESS ................................................................................................4 Gifted, Talented, Skilled, or Bright? ..................................................................................... 4 Is Giftedness Merely a Difference of Degree? ....................................................................... 5 Levels of Giftedness .............................................................................................................. 5 Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Children ................................................................ 7 Twice Exceptional Children ............................................................................................ 8 Savants ......................................................................................................................... 8 Child Prodigies .............................................................................................................. 9 A BR I EF HI STORY OF GI FTEDNESS RESE A RCH ..................................................... 10 THE NA TURE OF RESE A RCH I NTO GI FTEDNESS ..................................................... 13 CH A N gi N G PERCE P T I ONS OF GI FTEDNESS OVER THE YE A RS ..................................... 15 MODELS OF INTELL ig ENCE ............................................................................. 19 PO P UL A R MI SCONCE P T I ONS A BOUT GI FTED CH I LDREN ........................................... 23 DO GI FTED CH I LDREN HA VE SP EC ia L NEEDS ? .................................................... 24 IS THERE A NEUROB I OLO gi C A L BA S I S FOR GI FTEDNESS ? ........................................ 26 GI FTEDNESS A ND HER I TA B I L I TY OF IQ .............................................................. 29 HER I TA B I L I TY OF IQ .................................................................................... 30 The Flynn Effect and Changing IQs .................................................................................... 30 Can IQ be altered after birth?............................................................................................. 31 Enrichment Programmes.............................................................................................. 32 Improving Working Memory ........................................................................................ 33 THE IDENT I F I C A T I ON OF GI FTEDNESS ................................................................ 34 Manifestations of Giftedness in Infancy and Early Childhood ............................................ 34 Identifying and Evaluating Giftedness in the Young – Process, Tools, Tests, Pitfalls ............................................................................................... 35 Best Practices for Identifying Gifted Children: ............................................................... 35 xi IQ Tests, Dynamic Assessment Tests, Tests of Infant Intelligence, Non-Verbal Tests .................................................................................. 37 Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test .................................................................................... 38 The Wechsler Intelligence Tests ..................................................................................... 39 Gifted Rating Scales (GRS) .......................................................................................... 41 Learning Propensity Assessment Device (LPAD) ............................................................ 42 Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT, CogAT-6) ..................................................................... 42 Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery (WJ-III) ................................................ 43 Characteristics of Giftedness Scale ................................................................................ 44 Non-Verbal Tests: ............................................................................................................... 45 (1) Draw a Person