Search Database

Support: Talent Development

Jump to:

  • Guidebooks: Davidson Institute Guidebooks

    Giving Back: A Guidebook for Volunteerism and Community Service
    Community service and volunteer work are not only rewarding ways to do something good, but also provide wonderful educational, professional and personal growth opportunities. This guidebook provides resources, strategies and valuable information for gifted students and their parents associated with Giving Back.

  • Organizations: International

    Bavarian Centre for Gifted and Talented Children
    Founded in 2008, the Bavarian Centre for Gifted and Talented Children in Freising (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts) offers a broad spectrum of services aiming at promoting talent development. The centre is specialized in identifying and promoting gifted children and youngsters, as well as coaching and counselling their parents and educators.
    The Global Center for Gifted and Talented Children
    This organization offers a broad spectrum of services for gifted children, parents and specialists involved in gifted education. Daily work includes psychological and pedagogical consultancy, diagnosis and coaching. Their vision is to help gifted children discover their own strengths and dreams; and to pursue those dreams against all odds.
    Triple Nine Society (TNS)
    Triple Nine Society (TNS) is a high-IQ society for individuals 18 and older who score at or above the 99.9th percentile on selected intelligence tests. Annual dues are $10. TNS provides a number of benefits, most importantly a community of intellectual peers for social and educational purposes. The online community includes private Yahoo groups and Facebook pages, as well as members-only access to various resources on the login portion of the TNS website. TNS also organizes several annual gatherings in the United States and abroad.
    Wright Foundation for Transformational Leadership
    The Wright Foundation for Transformational Leadership promotes the study, development, expanding recognition, and impact of transformational leadership. The Foundation funds graduate research, transformational leadership awards, educational loans, scholarships, and symposia to support the development and dissemination of cutting-edge, forward-thinking human performance technology, philosophy, and methodology.

  • Organizations: Local

    Central New York Gifted Youth
    Central New York Gifted Youth is dedicated to helping parents, guardians and educators support gifted youth in Central New York. We share local events of educational value, and links and articles on the topic of giftedness.
    Imaginate Ink
    Imaginate Ink is a private creative mentorship program founded twenty years ago by Clarissa Ngo after she graduated from Harvard.
    Since 1998, Clarissa's students have learned to make things that matter to solve world problems and write and speak with power and eloquence. Eight of her students have given TED talks as kids, while others founded multi-national companies as young adults and charities with global impact as kids. After graduating from Harvard, Clarissa developed a method that lights young people on fire to help the world and learn to communicate with passion, which not only helps them gain admission to dream colleges but more importantly, teaches them real world skills. Clarissa teaches virtually worldwide, and her students win national and international awards in all subjects. Her youngest student is four and her oldest, 70. She also coaches CEOs. To find out more, visit ImaginateInk.com
    Prep for Prep
    Prep for Prep develops ethical and effective leaders who reflect our diverse society for the enduring benefit of all. Prep identifies talented students from minority group backgrounds, prepares them for placement in independent schools, and provides a sense of community, peer support, critical post-placement services, and a range of leadership development opportunities.

  • Organizations: National

    Agility Education Solutions
    Agility Education Solutions, founded by Dr. Michael Postma, is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of students identified as gifted/talented or those who are twice-exceptional (intellectually gifted students with one or more accompanying disabilities). The goal is to serve families, assist teachers, and develop comprehensive programming in public or private educational institutions.
    Amazing Kids!
    This non-profit organization's mission seeks to improve the lives of children by recognizing their fullest potential and providing them with the inspiration and tools to meet their objectives. They offer a variety of programs to support this mission. Visit the website to find fun and exciting contests, a "mentoring hub" which will connect you to a range of positive role models and more - all in support of excellence!
    Center for Creative Learning
    This organization offers numerous publications, training programs and consulting services on creativity, creative problem solving, talent development, and learning styles.
    Davidson Institute for Talent Development
    In 1999, Bob and Jan Davidson founded the Davidson Institute for Talent Development to support our nation's brightest young people. This national nonprofit, headquartered in Reno, Nev., provides a variety of programs including: Davidson Young Scholars, Davidson Fellows scholarships, the THINK Summer Institute, Educators Guild and the Davidson Academy. Additionally, the Davidsons co-authored the book Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds, published by Simon & Schuster in 2004.
    Davidson Young Scholars
    The Davidson Young Scholars is an individualized, family-oriented program that supports the educational and developmental needs of profoundly intelligent young people between the ages of 5 and 18. This program assists parents and students with academic support and educational advocacy, child and adolescent development, and talent development. Applications are due the 1st of each month.
    Gifted Research & Outreach (GRO)
    GRO’s mission consists of two distinct, yet interrelated components which reflect its commitment to further the world’s understanding of giftedness through scientific research and to promote a comprehensive and accurate understanding through outreach. The research arm of GRO is chartered with managing, funding, and distributing research that includes but is not limited to physiological, psychological, social and educational studies. The outreach arm of GRO is dedicated to promoting the understanding of giftedness through lectures, written material, and training. An important component of the outreach effort is GRO’s online resource library where the public can find material ranging from scientific studies on gifted physiology to articles that help parents and professionals better understand and meet the unique psychological, educational, and emotional needs of gifted individuals.
    Roadtrip Nation
    This organization provides a diverse and relevant collection of career exploration resources showing young people the vast scope of careers and possibilities. It also provides mentorship opportunities.
    The National Society of High School Scholars
    The mission of this organization is to recognize academic excellence among high-achieving students from around the world and inspire them to reach their full potential. NSHSS is helping to advance the goals and aspirations of high-achieving students through unique learning experiences, scholarships, internships, international study and peer networks. At each step along the way – from high school to college to career – NSHSS connects outstanding young scholars with the resources they need to develop their strengths and pursue their passions.
    U.S. Intelligence Careers and Student Programs
    The U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) is a group of 17 federal intelligence agencies working together to protect the United States of America. This group focuses on an ever-expanding range of issues, from terrorist financing to drug trafficking, from climate change and environmental issues to foreign technology threats and nuclear proliferation. The IC offers students a wide variety of excellent programs to get a jumpstart on a career in intelligence, such as summer programs and internships.

  • Organizations: Regional

    BRIGHTLinks (NC)
    Located in North Carolina, the mission of BRIGHTLinks is to create opportunities for emotional, social, and intellectual growth of profoundly gifted children, particularly those whose needs cannot always be met by traditional schooling, by offering structured and unstructured recreational connection, intellectual engagement, and collaboration.

  • Organizations: State

    Quest Scholars Network (Palo Alto, CA)
    QuestBridge is committed to providing personal growth opportunities for individuals who were selected as National College Match Finalists and matriculated into QuestBridge partner colleges. The organization provides a supportive community for Quest Scholars by furthering their access to academic, leadership, and social service opportunities, thereby narrowing the gap between talented low-income college students and their peers. Each QuestBridge chapter is founded upon a commitment to these ideals.

  • Printed Materials: Books

    21st Century Violinists
    This book by String Letter Publishing offers a rare glimpse into the world of the classical violin soloist, whether they're child prodigies just coming onto the stage or cultural icons whose careers have had a lasting influence on generations of players. In this collection of in-depth interviews, today's leading violinists discuss making music on one of the world's most beloved instruments. How they practice, how they work with other musicians, their performance secrets and anxieties, and what moves and inspires them.
    A Parent's Guide to Gifted Teens: Living with Intense and Creative Adolescents
    A Parent's Guide to Gifted Teens will help parents understand their gifted adolescent's intensity and excitability and provide tips for nurturing self-discipline, being supportive without being controlling, and for caring for yourself while guiding an intense, creative teen. Click here to read a review of this book.
    And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-City High School Students
    Miles Corwin's book is a narrative account of twelve gifted students who live and learn in distressed neighborhoods and the AP teachers who have helped them. This book can enlighten readers about the gifted and emphasizes that gifted children are not a socio-culturally homogeneous population.
    Arts Education for Gifted Learners (The Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education)
    Written by Jesse Rachel Cukierkorn, Ph.D., this book provides information for teachers and parents interested in supporting an artistically talented child. It reveals the characteristics of artistically talented students, describes program options, and shares an approach for supporting the affective needs of these students.
    Awaken the Genius in Your Child: A Practical Guide for Parents
    Every child is a genius to his or her parents, but not every parent has the knowledge or confidence to develop their child's creative, intellectual potential to its fullest extent. This book by Shakuntala Devi helps create a constructive, fun and supportive learning environment for children, from babyhood through school. It offers practical, manageable advice and accessible, step-by-step methods designed to bring out natural abilities.
    Awakening Genius in the Classroom
    This book describes how popular culture, classroom and home environments can shut down the genius of children. Author Thomas Armstrong urges readers to look beyond traditional understandings of what constitutes genius and describes 12 such qualities: curiosity, playfulness, imagination, creativity, wonder, wisdom, inventiveness, vitality, sensitivity, flexibility, humor, and joy.
    Barefoot Irreverence: A Guide to Critical Issues in Gifted Child Education
    This book is a collection of the most popular writings from the past two decades of esteemed gifted education researcher Dr. James R. Delisle and includes more than 50 articles and essays from such publications as Education Week, Parenting for High Potential, Understanding Our Gifted and more.
    Being Smart About Gifted Children: A Guidebook For Parents And Educators
    Writers Dona J. Matthews and Joanne F. Foster advises the reader on how to answer the tricky questions, support gifted kids in today's "common" world, and what to tell the kids along the way. This book also examines different ways of supporting optimal development in those who have been labeled "gifted," and those who have not.
    Being the Parent You Want to Be: 12 Communication Skills for Effective Parenting
    Positive, effective communication with your children. What parent or caregiver wouldn't want that? Unfortunately, positive communication skills aren't something everyone is born with! Gary Page teaches everyone who works with and cares for children 12 time-tested skills that transform adult-child relationships.
    Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World
    This book by Tony Wagner addresses issues of innovation, such as why innovation is so crucial to America's future, how innovation can be fostered, and how young innovations can get the support they need. This book examines these issues through in-depth profiles of young innovators and the adults who have made a difference in their lives, as well as offers descriptions of innovation-driven classrooms and places of work.
    Creativity and Innovation: Theory, Research, and Practice
    Creativity and innovation are frequently mentioned as key 21st-century skills for career and life success. Indeed, recent research provides evidence that the jobs of the future will increasingly require the ability to bring creative solutions to complex problems. This book brings together some of the world’s best thinkers and researchers on creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship to provide a comprehensive but highly readable overview of these exciting, important topics.
    Danielle: Chronicles of a Superheroine
    Futurist, inventor, and author Ray Kurzweil has written his first novel to inspire you. In this book, a precocious girl uses her intelligence and accelerating technologies to solve the world’s biggest challenges. Danielle’s journey casts a hopeful vision of humanity’s future—and two free companion books show how you can achieve it.
    Developing Leadership Potential in Gifted Students (The Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education)
    Written by Suzanne M. Bean, Ph.D., this book offers insight into developing leadership skills in gifted students and provides definitions and theories of leadership, looks at trends and changing paradigms, and suggests screening and identification tools for leadership as well as instructional programs and materials to incorporate into the regular curriculum.
    Developing Mathematically Promising Students
    Comprises 34 contributions that, collectively, explore the possibilities for the recognition and nurturing of mathematically gifted students in grades K-12. Specific topics include the use of awards programs, the cultural challenge facing gifted girls, what teachers can learn from students' reasoning, international perspectives, the definition of talent, curricular strategies, and connecting parents to the schools.
    Developing Mentorship Programs for Gifted Students (Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education)
    Written by Frances A. Karnes, Ph.D. and Kristen R. Stephens, Ph.D., this guide offers practical strategies for starting and developing a mentoring program. As gifted students develop their interests and talents in a chosen area of study, it is often necessary to structure learning experiences with out-of-school mentors. From structuring a program, selecting a mentor, and monitoring progress, to ensuring success, this book provides an excellent introduction to this topic.
    Developing Talent in Young People
    This book by Dr. Benjamin Bloom describes the dramatic findings of a study of 120 extremely talented individuals in various fields such as music, art, athletics, math, and science.
    Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism
    Presented in an easy to read format, this book by Temple Grandin and Kate Duffy focuses on using one's strengths, natural talents, and special interests to gain employment and lead successful lives.
    Diverse Populations of Gifted Children: Meeting Their Needs in the Regular Classroom and Beyond
    Starr Cline and Diane Schwartz focus on how teachers can help their students reach their full potential. The authors discuss reasons for the failure to integrate gifted education into the fabric of the school and the relationships between multiple intelligences philosophy and the curriculum.
    Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
    Written by Daniel H. Pink, this book provides a paradigm-changing examination of what truly motivates us and how to harness that knowledge to find greater satisfaction in our lives and our work.
    Early Childhood Gifted Education (The Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education)
    Written by Nancy B. Hertzog, Ph.D., this book presents an array of strategies that facilitate the growth and development of young gifted children. From creating a literacy-rich environment to affording opportunities for inquiry, the implementation of the strategies presented is sure to empower young children to pursue and develop their gifts and talents.
    Early Gifts: Recognizing and Nurturing Children's Talents
    Written by Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, Ph.D., Lisa Limburg-Weber, Ph.D. and Steven Pfeiffer, Ph.D., this book offers sound advice and guidance for parents of gifted and talented children of preschool and elementary school age. The authors detail how parents can create a home environment that both elicits and develops their child's special abilities through activities, games, and play.
    Encouraging Your Child's Math Talent: The Involved Parents' Guide (The Involved Parents' Guides)
    Michael J. Bosse and Jennifer V. Rotigela authored this comprehensive, helpful guide to supporting a child's mathematical talent. The authors guide parents in recognizing advanced math ability in their children, working with the school system and tips for connecting a child's math ability to his or her everyday interests.
    Encouraging Your Child's Science Talent: The Involved Parents' Guide
    Michael Matthews provides parents with advice for recognizing early science ability in children and enriching a child's science ability outside of school. However, this advice can be used to help science ability flourish at home and in the classroom. Matthews also includes a special section devoted to science fairs that takes parents through the process of helping their children create award-winning science projects. Click here to read a review of this book.
    Enhancing and Expanding Gifted Programs: The Levels of Service Approach
    This guidebook offers an innovative, field-tested approach to programming for gifted children. The "Levels of Service" approach to programming is a research-supported, common-sense technique to gifted education program development. This how-to manual for building an effective gifted program offers a four-level approach to gifted education services. Each level is thoroughly discussed, specific services are suggested, real-world examples are provided, and additional areas of development are discussed.
    Expert Approaches to Support Gifted Learners:
    Professional Perspectives, Best Practices, and Positive Solutions
    Educators and parents need practical information they can use now to help them best understand and support the gifted learners in their lives. Because of the unique social and emotional needs faced by gifted learners—not to mention the unique academic needs—teaching and parenting them can be as demanding as it is rewarding. These 36 articles provide much-needed help. They are a “best of” from the last seven years of the Gifted Education Communicator, the national publication of the California Association for the Gifted.
    Extraordinary Young People
    In the pages of this fine collective biography, readers meet more than 50 children and adolescents who made a mark on the world while very young. Historically, figures such as Genghis Khan, Joan of Arc, John Stuart Mill, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are profiled. Chronologically, the panorama of youthful heroes moves forward to examine the accomplishments of Rachel Carson, Pele, and Maria Tallchief. More recent people such as Tiger Woods, Midori, Nawrose Nur, and Ryan White are also profiled. Coverage is brief but informative and lively.
    Fostering Creativity in Gifted Students (The Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education)
    Encouraging creative thinking in the classroom is an exciting component of any effective gifted education program. This guide by Bonnie Cramond, Ph.D. offers basic foundations required for supporting creativity. From establishing the right classroom environment, to using creative teaching strategies, to assessing student outcomes, this book is filled with practical information. The book also includes a listing of competitive contests and programs and an extensive list of resources.
    Genius and Eminence
    This book by Robert S. Albert traces the recurrent themes in the lives of talented individuals, and seeks to identify factors that contribute to achievement. Twenty-eight chapters cover giftedness; genius; social, educational, parental influences on exceptional achievement; personality dispositions and personal dynamics. Each chapter reports on research studies with clarity and a minimal amount of jargon.
    Genius Came Early
    In this book, author Lee Cullum explores the 20th century with its spirit of relentless innovation. She discovered that the 20th century, even with its power to appall, has been animated by creative wonder. Freud, Franklin Rossevelt, Picasso, Virginia Woolf, Gershwin, and Charlie Chaplin all brought forth new worlds and shaped them by the light of their own genius.
    Genius Creativity and Leadership: Historiometric Inquiries
    Dean Keith Simonton examines uncommon people: those creators and leaders whose impact on their own and later times has been so great that they deserve the label "genius." A simultaneous look at creativity and leadership is itself uncommon, and the comparison shows that when creators and leaders act at genius levels they have many similarities. What it is that causes them to stand out above others? Simonton believes that if we subject the lives of the eminent to scientific analysis we may be able to discover general laws of history and social behavior. To do this he defines a discipline called historiometry.
    Genius Revisited: High IQ Children Grown Up
    The authors explore the lives of those who have grown up gifted. It summarizes a study administered to access the outcomes of early identification and schooling among a group of highly gifted students. There is information on the realities of schools, the expectations of others, and the choices that the gifted make as adults. The authors propose that reported reflections of these now older subjects can help in the gifted development of future students.
    Gifted Adolescents (The Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education)
    Written by Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, Ph.D., this book covers topics dealing with gifted adolescents, such as: talent development during adolescence; critical issues for gifted adolescents; and, implications for educational practice and parenting.
    Greatness: Who Makes History and Why
    In this book, Dean Keith Simonton examines a range of important personalities and events that have influenced the course of history. He discusses how people who go down in history might be different from the rest of us, and explores which personality traits predispose certain people to become world leaders, movie stars, scientific geniuses, and star athletes. In exploring the psychology of greatness, this fascinating work also sheds light on the characteristics that any of us may share with history-making people.
    Grit in the Classroom: Building Perseverance for Excellence in Today's Students
    The combination of sustained hard work and resiliency, grit is the difference between those who give up and those who don’t. This book assists educators in creating a learning environment that fosters grit development for all students, regardless of ability. Each chapter includes stories to illustrate the research and ideas presented and ends with discussion questions that can be used to continue the conversation. In an era of talent development and the pursuit of excellence, learners must be equipped with the perseverance that is essential to reaching high levels of success. This book provides a rationale for cultivating grit in the classroom with the goal of propelling this topic into discussions of building passion and talent in today’s students.
    Growing Up Gifted: Developing the Potential of Children at Home and at School
    Barbara Clark's Growing Up Gifted is a textbook for gifted education studies. While it doesn't focus on the highly gifted, it does offer a good overview of the research in various areas of gifted education and development. Click here to read a review of this book.
    Handbook for Counselors Serving Students With Gifts and Talents: Development, Relationships, School Issues, and Counseling Needs/Interventions
    This book provides an overview of research on the general knowledge that has been amassed regarding the psychology of gifted students, introducing the reader to the varied conceptions of giftedness, issues specific to gifted children, and various intervention methods. Additionally, this handbook describes programs designed to fulfill the need these children have for challenge. With chapters authored by leading experts in the field, this book offers a place for professionals to turn for answers to a wide variety of questions about gifted children.
    If I’m So Smart, Why Aren’t the Answers Easy?
    Based on surveys with more than 5,000 gifted young adults, this book sheds light on the day-to-day experiences of those growing up gifted. In their own enlightening words, teens share their experiences with giftedness, including friendships and fitting in with peers, school struggles and successes, and worries about the future.
    In Search of Genius
    More than a collection of conversations, this is an investigation of creativity - an investigation conducted by the investigated. Here, men around whom we structure the word "genius" itself, men whose minds have helped shape the genius of this century, men like Picasso, Cocteau, Chagall, Dali, and Marceau, reveal and define the genius that moves them.
    Independent Study for Gifted Learners (The Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education)
    Allow your gifted students to study a high-interest topic with depth and complexity. Written by Susan K. Johnsen, Ph.D. and Krystal Goree, this book offers the advice you need to help your gifted students explore important content and show their learning in creative and innovative ways. From selecting a topic, to using innovative research strategies, to reporting results in an interesting way, this book shows you how to help your students succeed at independent study.
    Insights of Genius: Imagery and Creativity in Science and Art
    How can new knowledge be created from already existing knowledge? This book shows how seeing in all its many forms - insight, revelation, a distinctive point of view - is central to the greatest advances of the human intellect. Artists and scientists alike rely on visual representations of worlds both visible and invisible.
    Intellectual Talent: Psychometric and Social Issues
    Based on the work of Julian C. Stanley and his landmark model for working with gifted youth, this book brings together a distinguished group of authorities to examine the dominant techniques used to educate gifted youth today and the exemplification of those techniques in various university-based programs across the country.
    Investigating Creativity in Youth
    This book provides an accessible source of ideas on major issues pertaining to development of creative individuals and training for creativity. It presents recently developing perspectives to investigate many facets of creativity.
    It's All in Your Head: A Guide to Understanding Your Brain and Boosting Your Brain Power
    For ages 9-12, this book for students discusses how the brain evolved, what the different parts do, what makes a person a genius, why play is good for the brain, 10 tips for making life easier, 20 ways to become more creative, how to maximize their potential, what happens in the brain during sleep, how to take care of their brain, and more. There is also a teacher's edition with student activities and resources.
    Jane and Johnny Love Math: Recognizing and Encouraging Mathematical Talent in Elementary Students
    For parents and educators, this book delineates methods of addressing the needs of mathematically talented students younger than 12. The approaches described are based on the authors’ experiences with hundreds of talented students. They discuss educational options allowing students to move systematically through the elementary math curriculum while matching the curriculum to the students' abilities and achievements. The book includes problem sets from the Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary Schools as well as practical ideas for classroom teachers, mathematics mentors, and parents.
    Leadership for Students: A Guide for Young Leaders
    Written by Frances A. Karnes, Ph.D. and Suzanne M. Bean, Ph.D., this book explodes with positive ideas and activities that will help your students discover their leadership abilities. The activities throughout this book stimulate the exploration of ideas and encourage critical thinking about leadership. Students will find guidance and advice that emphasize leadership skills in a variety of settings, including leadership in the classroom, school activities, and the community. It also includes real-life stories about students who took on leadership positions.
    Learning All the Time
    Author of 10 books that concentrate on early child development and education, John Holt is widely considered the father of the modern-day homeschooling movement, because he grew to believe that schools stifle the learning process. In this, his final book--compiled by colleagues from drafts, letters, and magazine essays written by Holt before he died in 1985--he strings together his own observations and philosophies to show how young children can be encouraged to learn everything from reading and math to music and science.
    Learning to Learn: Strengthening Study Skills and Brain Power
    This book by Gloria Frender delivers some great tools to help students achieve success in both school and life. Practical hints are useful to parents, teachers or anyone wanting a hands-on guide on "learning how to learn."
    Nurturing Brilliance: Discovering and Developing Your Child's Gifts
    This book offers advice to parents about what they can do to nurture the talents of children who demonstrate evidence of various types of giftedness. It includes concrete recommendations for getting appropriate educational adjustments from a child’s school, as well as how to help a child develop communication and motor skills, deal with friendship and parent-child relationship issues, learn the best way to become financially responsible, and choose the right college.
    Organic Creativity in the Classroom: Teaching to Intuition in Academics and the Arts.
    This innovative collection of essays explores approaches to teaching creativity from the perspective of experienced educators and artists. The 23 authors have taught for more than 500 years combined, and in this book they share teaching stories and helpful strategies that can be used to encourage students to become more creative within specific domains.
    Origins of Genius: Darwinian Perspectives on Creativity
    What makes an Einstein happen? How is it that some kids grow up to be Nobel laureates while others, seemingly their equals, go on to undistinguished careers? Dr. Dean Simonton, professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis, has striven to understand this phenomenon for years and has compiled his insights and research in this book.
    Out of Our Minds: Turning the Tide of Anti-Intellectualism in American Schools
    This second edition of the often-cited book on anti-intellectualism, Out of Our Minds, focuses on U.S. schools’ failure to care for the intellects and talents of all children, gifted children in particular. The authors provocatively examine issues of poverty, racism, and sexism and look at new information on the roles of higher education, media and technology, privatization, families, and the global economy as they pertain to the education of students in American schools.
    Parents' Guide to Raising a Gifted Child
    James Alvino details a practical, informative primer for raising and educating our gifted children from preschool to adolescence. Strategies are provided for determining whether a child is gifted as well as ways to nurture a child's gifts and talents, and explains how gifted children can become bored, socially aggressive, and even underachieving if not appropriately challenged.
    Peak Performance for Smart Kids
    This book provides success strategies, activities, tools, real-life examples, and checklists for parents to employ to help their kids to achieve their highest potential. Maureen Neihart, a psychologist and leading authority on talent development in children, examines seven mental habits of successful kids, providing practical approaches for developing them in talented children of all ages in this easy-to-read guide for parents and teachers.
    Profiles of Female Genius: Thirteen Creative Women Who Changed the World
    Author Gene Landrum looks at the common characteristics linking the diverse careers of highly creative women and concludes that "female creative genius is synonymous with a strong self-esteem and self-confidence coupled with a right-brain-driven intuitive spirit and a manic energy to succeed." The lives and careers profiled in this book include Mary Kay Ash, Jane Fonda, and Oprah Winfrey.
    Programs and Services for Gifted Secondary Students: A Guide to Recommended Practices
    Written by Felicia A. Dixon, Ph.D., this book is designed to be a reference for service and program options for practitioners, administrators, and coordinators of gifted education programs. As such, it is a companion to the lengthier and more in-depth The Handbook of Secondary Gifted Education. The first part focuses on the gifted adolescent, including suggestions for academic, personal/social, and career exploration best practices. The second part explicates programmatic offerings available for gifted secondary students, such as AP and IB programming, distance learning, magnet and other special schools, study abroad, and early entrance to college options. The final section moves the discussion from “what is” to “what could be” for high-ability adolescents.
    Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts
    Written by Susan Cain, author of Quiet, this book titled Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts speaks directly to introverted kids and teens, and to the teachers and parents in their lives. Quiet Power explains just what an introvert is, and takes kids through all the ways being an introvert plays out in their everyday: in school; with friends; while pursuing extra-curricular activities; and at home. Quiet Power shows introverted kids how strong and special they really are, and helps them to embrace their secret strengths.
    Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
    This book questions the dominant values of American business culture, where forced collaboration can stand in the way of innovation, and where the leadership potential of introverts is often overlooked. And it draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience to reveal the surprising differences between extroverts and introverts. Quiet introduces successful introverts–from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Finally, it offers invaluable advice on everything from how to better negotiate differences in introvert-extrovert relationships, to how to empower an introverted child, to when it makes sense to be a “pretend extrovert.”
    Raising Musical Kids: A Guide for Parents
    Author Robert A. Cutietta, offers a complete, practical guide to this common parenting issue. The premise of the book is that practicing is hard work and the pay-off is very long term. The book suggests using rewards related to music (concert tickets, better instruments, etc.) to get kids to practice. The basic point is that even people who become professional musicians relied on parent involvement to get them to practice when they were young.
    Scientific Genius: A psychology of science
    Author Dean Simonton develops a theory of scientific genius, using the "blind variation and selective retention" model of creativity as his starting point, and expands it into his own "chance-configuration" theory. He then accounts for aspects of pathbreaking science: mental processes and behaviors behind the creative act, cognitive and motivational styles of great scientists, causes and consequences of exceptional productivity, developmental antecedents of distinguished scientific work.
    Six Thinking Hats
    This book uses the metaphor of six different hats to talk about different styles of thinking. A great resource for parents and teachers who are interested in helping bright young people to differentiate their thinking abilities.
    Smart Kids: How Academic Talents Are Developed & Nurtured in America
    There are many theories circulating about how to reform our educational system. One organization, which has a proven track record in this field, is the Center for Talented Youth at The Johns Hopkins University. The material presented here is of interest to educators, as well as parents of both preschool and school children, and should be required reading for school administrators and education policy makers at all levels. Its unconventional approach to reforming American education also provides insights for foreign educators and social scientists interested in comparing educational systems.
    Sprezzatura: 50 Ways Italian Genius Shaped the World
    No one has demonstrated sprezzatura, or the art of effortless mastery, quite like the Italians. From the rise of the Roman calendar and the birth of the first university to the development of modern political science by Niccolo Machiavelli and the creation of the modern orchestra by Claudio Monteverdi, Sprezzatura chronicles fifty great Italian cultural achievements in a series of witty, erudite, and information-packed essays.
    Supporting the Child of Exceptional Ability: At Home and School
    This book aims to help those who live and work with exceptionally able children of all ages, by raising awareness of what it is like to grow up "different". It considers the children's social and emotional development and offers suggestions on how to provide suitable learning environments. The book should be of interest to parents and teachers, and professionals who support the work of schools. The first edition of this book was published as "Helping the Child of Exceptional Ability".
    Talent In Context: Historical and Social Perspectives on Giftedness
    This book seeks to define, understand, and enhance the talents of extraordinary individuals. The author discusses the social and historical forces that shapes the conceptualization and nurturing of gifted talent. The chapters go in depth about the perspectives-psychological, sociological, biological, and anthropological of the emergence of talent.
    Talented Children and Adults: Their Development and Education
    Jane Piirto designed this book to cover both the characteristics of gifted students and to present important information on how to teach them. It contains the latest results of federal research projects, suggestions for inclusion, and definitions of who is gifted and talented.
    Talented Teenagers: The Roots of Success & Failure
    The result of an extensive five-year study, this pioneering book examines a group of gifted teenagers in an effort to understand the loss of motivation and diminution of talent that takes place during this troublesome period. Click here to read a review of this book.
    Teaching Genius: Dorothy Delay and the Making of a Musician
    The late Dorothy DeLay taught violin at Juilliard for more than 50 years, and a list of her pupils - from Itzhak Perlman and Kennedy to Midori and Sarah Chang - reads like a who's who of the violin world. For 10 years, the author was granted access to DeLay's classes at Juilliard and the Aspen School, allowing her to write this fascinating book. Click here to read a review of this book and here to read an excerpt.
    The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer's Block
    Author, coach and workshop leader Hillary Rettig characterizes, in great detail and depth, the major causes of underproductivity, including: procrastination, perfectionism, resource scarcity, time scarcity, an ineffective writing process, bias, ambivalence, internalized oppression, traumatic rejection, and exploitative career paths. Then she tells you how to conquer each.
    The Book of Learning and Forgetting
    A book about the learning difficulties presented by current teaching methods, which result in short term memory and poor ownership of material by the student. Good for rethinking teaching methodology.
    The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance
    This handbook covers the concept of expertise, differentiating between the performance and knowledge of experts and non-experts. The editors imply a series of interviews and diary entries to further display the inner workings of the minds of experts. Topics of expertise covered include brain activity, self-regulated learning, knowledge management, and much more.
    The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for Liberating Everyday Genius (Alternate Title - Liberating Everyday Genius: A Revolutionary Guide for Identifying and Mastering Your Exceptional Gifts)
    Are you relentlessly curious and creative, always willing to rock the boat in order to get things done; extremely energetic and focused, yet constantly switching gears; intensely sensitive, able to intuit subtly charged situations and decipher others' feelings? If these traits sound familiar, then you may be an Everyday Genius, someone who shares qualities with figures as diverse as Bill Gates and Mother Teresa. These are people who break the mold and change the world, who actualize their singular talents, who don't hesitate to "think different." Click here to read a review of this book.
    The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids
    In this book, journalist Alexandra Robbins delivers a poignant, funny, riveting narrative that explores how our high-stakes educational culture has spiraled out of control. High school isn’t what it used to be. With record numbers of students competing fiercely to get into college, schools are no longer primarily places of learning. They’re dog-eat-dog battlegrounds in which kids must set aside interests and passions in order to strategize over how to game the system. In this increasingly stressful environment, kids aren’t defined by their character or hunger for knowledge, but by often arbitrary scores and statistics.
    The Quark and the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple and the Complex
    This book, written by Nobel Prize-winning physicist M. Gell-Mann, is an engaging introduction to the life's work of one of this century's most accomplished and influential scientists. This is Gell-Mann's own story of finding the connections between the basic laws of physics and the complexity and diversity of the natural world. From the simple, a quark inside an atom, to the complex, a jaguar prowling its jungle territory. Exploring the relationship between them becomes a series of exciting intellectual adventures.
    The Ultimate Guide for Student Product Development & Evaluation
    From animations to WebQuests, this book's second edition by Frances A. Karnes, Ph.D. and Kristen R. Stephens, Ph.D. features all new products that promote the development of 21st-century skills in students. This new edition discusses how the skills and content gained from the development of products can be aligned with state and national standards. A special section is dedicated to how teachers can nurture the habits of the mind necessary for successful product completion. This book offers a step-by-step introduction to using creative projects in your classroom confidently.
    Uncommon Genius: How Great Ideas Are Born
    In this searching look into the essence of creativity, 40 winners of the coveted MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, the so-called “genius award”, provide a glimpse inside their own experience of the creative process.
    Underserved Gifted Populations: Responding to Their Needs and Abilities
    This book by Joan Smutney is a collection of 25 papers that address issues of the underserved gifted, including environmental influences, multicultural and global factors, special learning problems, and the highly gifted and creatively gifted.
    Understanding Creativity
    This book by J. Piirto offers advice on how to plan adventures, value work without "evaluation", set a creative tone, and incorporate creativity values into one's own family or classroom culture. Readers will learn how to spot talent through a child's behaviors and how to encourage practice. Real-life examples of artists, musicians, dancers, entrepreneurs, architects, and authors are included. Click here to read a review of this book.
    Understanding Those Who Create
    Jane Piirto brings to her readers a unique perspective on the study of creativity from her dual life as a long-time educator and as a professional writer. She has masterfully synthesized and translated the major research on creativity and giftedness into a comprehensive and readable book.
    What Do You Really Want?: How to Set a Goal and Go for It! A Guide for Teens
    Why do some people accomplish so much more than others? It’s not because they’re smarter or more talented. It’s because they know how to set and reach goals. Research shows that effective goal setters have less stress and anxiety, concentrate better, and are more satisfied with their lives. For teens, goal setting is linked to improved school performance, motivation, self-confidence, and self-esteem. What Do You Really Want? is a step-by-step guide to goal setting, written especially for teens.
    Why Did Grandma Put Her Underwear in the Refrigerator?: An Explanation of Alzheimer's Disease for Children
    This book is a sensitive, light-hearted children’s story that seamlessly provides its young readers with a toolbox to help them overcome their fears and frustrations. It shares easy-to-understand explanations of what happens inside the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, how to cope with gradual memory loss, with a missed holiday, or even a missing Grandma! This 40-page fully illustrated children’s book is told from a second-grader’s perspective in her own style and vocabulary, but it lovingly shares real strategies, scientific insights and lessons of dignity from which adult caregivers may also benefit.
    Wild Ink: Success Secrets to Writing and Publishing in the Young Adult Market
    This book helps readers understand the ins and outs of the Young Adult genre, how to stay inspired and how to avoid common mistakes writers make in trying to reach teens. This book includes unique writing exercises to help readers find their own authentic teen voice and dozens of interviews with Young Adult authors, blogging experts, editors and agents to give inspiration and guidance for getting published. Chapters include writing exercises and self-editing techniques tailored to Young Adults, along with encouraging words on dealing with self-doubt, rejection and lack of time.
    Your Gifted Child: How to Recognize and Develop the Special Talents in Your Child from Birth to Age Seven
    An estimated 500,000 potentially gifted children are born each year. Since most schools don't begin to test for giftedness until about age 8, it is left to parents to recognize and nurture their children's special talents and abilities in the early critical years. Written by Joan Franklin Smutny, Kathleen Veenker and Stephen Veenker, this intelligent, insightful, and useful book is a complete guide to identifying gifted children and helping them develop to the fullest.

  • Printed Materials: Online Documents

    Amplifying the Voices of the Gifted through Advocacy – Keynote Presentation
    As keynote presenter at the New England Conference on Gifted and Talented Education on October 15, 2011, Colleen Harsin, Director of The Davidson Academy, spoke about cost-effective options for gifted education, educational advocacy examples and tips. Her presentation featured brief video segments to provide the audience with the opportunity to hear student, parent and educator perspectives on addressing the educational needs of gifted students. Programs, services and resources were also highlighted in this presentation.
    Fostering adult giftedness: Acknowledging and addressing affective needs of gifted adults
    Hosted on the Talent Development Resources website, this article by Sharon Lind, discusses the difficulties an adult may go through in identifying themselves as gifted. Some adults realize that while teaching, guiding, and/or parenting their gifted children, they see similar traits in themselves. Lind focuses on
    five key affective needs of gifted adults: acknowledging your own gifts; nurturing your identity development; giving yourself permission to be a growing, changing, imperfect person; taking advantage of and coping with over excitabilities; and learning practical coping skills.
    Remarkable Women: Perspectives on Female Talent Development
    This 18-page booklet is the first publication to consolidate and expand existing knowledge about highly capable women and the internal and external forces that lead them to extraordinary adult accomplishment. The collected studies include women from a wide variety of backgrounds and talent domains whose paths to exceptional achievement illuminate the nature of female talent development and provide models to help more women fulfill their promise in adulthood.
    Talent Search Opportunities
    Compiled by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, this comprehensive table provides a schedule of Talent Search programs in the United States. Much of the information is applicable to summer programs.

  • Printed Materials: Periodicals/Reports & Studies

    Imagine Magazine
    This magazine was published by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth from September 1993 through June 2018. Select back issues are available.

  • Schools & Programs: College Affiliated

    Belin-Blank Center - The University of Iowa (IA)
    One of the top gifted education and talent development centers in the nation, the Belin-Blank Center has established itself as a worldwide leader in research, training and gifted resources. Gifted students are the focus – this organization concentrates on identification, specialized opportunities (such as talent searches and summer programs) and much more. With a recent focus on international education, useful policy information and more is available for those interested, all over the globe. There are also a number of resources available for parents and teachers.
    Center for Bright Kids' Western Academic Talent Search (WATS) (Westminster, CO)
    Formerly known as Rocky Mountain Academic Talent Search, the Center for Bright Kids (CBK) offers K-12 enrichment and acceleration programming for high interest and high ability kids. Their focus is not only on how kids think and learn, but how they discover ways to navigate the world while thinking and learning differently. CBK has offered the Western Academic Talent Search, Summer Programs, and other youth programs for 28 years.
    Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development - Ball State University (IN)
    The Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development, founded by Dr. Tracy L. Cross, is an organization that prepares educators to meet the academic needs of gifted students both in and outside of the regular classroom. The Center offers courses both on campus in the summer and statewide through the academic year over the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System (IHETS) for teachers interested in obtaining the Endorsement in Gifted and Talented Education, and by offering special workshops for educators.
    Center for Talent Development (CTD) - Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
    The Center for Talent Development (CTD), housed at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, is an accredited learning center and research facility serving gifted students, their families and educators for nearly 30 years. Some of their programs include: the Midwest Talent Search, summer programs for pre-K through grade 12, Saturday enrichment programs for pre-K through grade 9, an Accelerated Weekend Experience (AWE), Gifted Learning Links for K through grade 12, a Civic Education Program for grades 7 through 12, scholarship programs for underrepresented students, and educator and parent programs.
    Robinson Center for Young Scholars at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
    The University of Washington is home to an internationally unique and renowned resource for gifted students, the Halbert and Nancy Robinson Center for Young Scholars. For more than 25 years, the Robinson Center has been the gateway through which some of the brightest young scholars in Washington state enter the University of Washington and/or participate in academically accelerated summer courses. The Early Entrance Program and UW Academy are the Robinson Center’s early university entrance programs. The Robinson Center also offers summer academic programs for students finishing the 5th-10th grade, as well as a Saturday Enrichment Program during the school year and the Robinson Center Online Program.
    The Hollingworth Center - Teachers College, Columbia University (New York, NY)
    The Hollingworth Center, a program within the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University, is a service, research, and demonstration site. The Center is designed to provide internship and training opportunities for the gradute students of Teachers College, develop model programs in early childhood education, and offer enriched educational services for children, families, and educators. Primarily concerned with nuturing the talent development of all young children, the Center maintains a special commitment to creating and implementing programs for underserved children and teachers in urban schools, and designing model curricula in areas traditionally neglected in elementary schools.
    TRIO Educational Talent Search - Utah Valley University (Orem, UT)
    Educational Talent Search is a federally funded program that identifies and serves individuals interested in post secondary education or vocational training. Academic counseling: educational planning, (SEOP), study skills, time management, learning styles, ACT preparation, and tutoring are also available.
    University of Georgia - College of Education, Torrance Center for Creativity & Talent Development (Athens, GA)
    This service, research, and instructional center is concerned with the identification and development of creative potential and with gifted and future studies. Its goals are to investigate, implement, and evaluate techniques for enhancing creative thinking and to facilitate national and international systems that support creative development.

  • Schools & Programs: Independent

    Baywood Learning Center (Oakland, CA)
    The mission of this organization is to provide an exceptional learning environment where gifted students may have an education that provides unlimited growth in their areas of interest while building strategies needed for lifelong learning and well-being.

  • Schools & Programs: Public

    The Center for Advanced Academics (Milwaukee, WI)
    Milwaukee Public Schools, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the U.S. Department of Education is proud to present The Center for Advanced Academics. "The Center," is the new home for the MPS Online Academy, Project A and Smart Spaces Programming, and will provide a transition for Online Academy gifted and talented programming, which will continue to be available to middle school students in schools across the state.

  • Summer Programs: National

    Adventures of the Mind
    Adventures of the Mind is a mentoring camp for promising high school students from all over the country. Camp locations vary each year. Mentors include astronauts, artists, athletes, economists, entrepreneurs, inventors, journalists, MacArthur geniuses, Nobel laureates, public servants, Pulitzer prizewinning writers, tech titans, scientists, scholars and more.
    Envision - National Youth Leadership Forums (NYLF)
    Envision's National Youth Leadership Forums (NYLF) are designed and created specifically for the nation's most outstanding elementary, middle and high school students for career exploration of specific fields in various locations throughout the United States.

  • Websites & Other Media: Informational

    Becomeopedia.com
    Becomeopedia.com is a website dedicated to providing the most up to date and accurate information about How to Become Anything to assist with career planning. This site contains articles about pursuing careers in various fields.
    Challenging schools' expectations of Native American students
    This study discusses the challenges facing schools related to the under-identification and placement of Native American students in public school programs for the gifted and talented.
    Common misconceptions about the gifted
    This article by Mary Rocamora discusses how "the term 'gifted' is often misunderstood. I have heard people respond to that label by saying, 'Well, everyone is gifted in some way,' as if to mitigate the implication that 'gifted' is synonymous with 'elitist.'"
    Cultivating otherwise untapped potential
    This article by Deborah Smith, touches on how "People have talents in various areas, but if those talents aren't developed, they're not going to mean anything."
    Developing Creativity in Gifted Children: The Central Importance of Motivation and Classroom Climate
    This monograph discusses developing creativity in gifted children. The author also provides suggestions on how policy makers, administrators, and teachers can collaborate to create an atmosphere that promotes creativity.
    Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Students: An Underserved Population
    This article details what happens to the profoundly gifted student when schooled with age mates rather than intellectual peers. Anecdotes of individual children support Gross's findings that profoundly gifted children do not have their needs met in the regular classroom.
    Gifted Resources
    Based in Australia, Gifted Resources is an information service for parents and teachers of gifted students and the service providers who cater for them.
    Gifted Resources - Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP)
    Duke TIP's Educational Opportunity Guide is a comprehensive online directory of educational programs designed to inform students, parents, and educators about the numerous educational opportunities available for gifted students. The site includes detailed information on over 380 programs located throughout the nation and abroad.
    Meeting the Needs of High-Ability and High-Potential Learners in the Middle Grades
    This webpage presents the joint position statement of the National Middle School Association (NMSA) & the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). The article helps teachers in gifted education classrooms by defining giftedness, listing possible sceanarios that teachers have encountered when culture has not been understood and explains many aspects of culture to help them become aware of the issues.
    Milestones by Great Schools/Great Kids
    Milestones is a free online collection of videos aimed at helping parents understand grade-level expectations in grades K-12. The website shows students demonstrating what success looks like in reading, writing and math, grade by grade. High school Milestones shows some real-world skills kids should know as well as the academic ones.
    Nobelprize.org
    This site is an introduction to past and present Nobel Laureates with articles written by Laureates, biographies, autobiographical essays and photos and video footage. Fascinating information into the lives of these accomplished intellectuals.
    Project EXCITE
    Project EXCITE is a collaborative project involving Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy through its Center for Talent Development (CTD), Evanston/Skokie School District 65, and Evanston Township High School (ETHS) District 202. Project EXCITE addresses the achievement gap existing between minority and non-minority students in the Evanston schools by providing supplemental educational opportunities for students who are underrepresented in the advanced mathematics and science courses at ETHS. EXCITE serves 130 underrepresented minority students in grades 3-8.
    Recurring Themes in Career Counseling of Gifted and Talented Students
    This article explores the challenges that gifted students may face with career development.
    Social Thinking
    The term social thinking encompasses many treatment programs described as "teaching social thinking and related social skills." These strategies share common traits: How their own social minds work - why they react and respond the way they do, The behaviors that make others feel good and bad, How these behaviors are affecting their own emotions, responses to and relationships with others across different social contexts.
    Socratic.org
    This website is a free, open resource designed to make learning easier, with access to great, contextual teaching when needed. Socratic allows users to ask and answer questions around the world, earn karma for answers and get thanked, and level up and unlock badges along the way.
    Talent Development Resources
    This website showcases perspectives on having multiple talents and exceptional ability - information and inspiration to enhance creative expression. The site includes scholarly articles, interviews and many, many interesting quotations.
    Understood.org
    15 nonprofit organizations have joined forces to support parents of the one in five children with learning and attention issues throughout their journey. With the right support, parents can help children unlock their strengths and reach their full potential. With state-of-the-art technology, personalized resources, free daily access to experts, a secure online community, practical tips and more, Understood.org aims to be that support.
    What Can I Do With This Major?
    Whether exploring multiple majors or searching for information about a chosen field, this site will help connect majors to careers. Learn about the typical career areas and the types of employers that hire people with each major, as well as strategies to make people more marketable job candidates.
    What is this thing called giftedness, and how do we develop it?
    This author provides reflections on the 25 years of his work, focusing on the evolutions of models designed to help identify and meet the needs of gifted and talented students. The cited models include the Three Ring Conception of Giftedness, the Enrichment Triad Model, and the Schoolwide Enrichment Model. Summaries focus on the rationale supporting each model, including practical applications of the model in various school situations and underlying research.