Clark - Discovering Gifts Talents and Exceptionalities.

2
The Co1zceptt1 o.f l1zteLLigelzce, GiftedJzecJd,

Tale1zt, and Tale1zt De~eLoptne1zt
What was the historical development of the

concept of intelligence?
How does the brain function to develop

intelligence and giftedness?
What is the interaction of nature and

nurture in the development of
intelligence 7
What are appropriate definitions of the

terms intelligence, giftedness, gifted
in elividual, talent, and talent development?
In this chapter, the reader will find answers to these questions and a declaration of the educational rights
of the gifted child.
Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Development
29
Now that we baPe f,egwzlo apprect.ale the pla.1tt"city 4 our cerebml CtJJ '/t!.\', the .leatl!f'tl.7e
t"ntellectwzl.fiuzctt"olllll.tJ tl.wt ch~ttill.tJIU~Ihe.l 11.1 a., humall f,ein,tp; we mwt feam to we tbt~l
knowlet~qe. It mtl.lf ,1timulate anc) .tJuide our e.flort., ftJ work towarc> enrichil~tJI.Jeredity
tl.mllzq/.J enrt"c/.Jill,lJ tbe e1wimnmeflf . .. .f;,,. ePeryone . .. at any a_qe.
MARIAN CLEEVES DIAMON D
fntdlt:qe1zce ,;, no! ;it.~t a matter ofactin.tJ or behmin.tJ ifltellt:qmtly. Bebmiort;, a

man{/e.,tationt!f' intelligmce, but not t/.1e cmtral c/.Jamc!et'l;,tic or prt.llllll~lf de.fi"nt"tt.mz 4'
f,einp ,ntellt:qelzl. .. . f..qnoritl,tJ what poe., 011 ,n your I.N:ad atzJ.f;,cu.,,n.tJ ,fl,l/ead 011 f,ef.Jllf't.or
ba,l been a lm:qe impec>immt to unc)el~'tant>in.q t"ntellt:qmce.
j EFF HAWh::INS
Just 2 days ago Sally had been given a present by her grandmother: a bag of brightly colored letters that had something on the back
that made them stick to lots of things around
the house. She was already getting very good
at spelling all kinds of words. Mother said that
not many 3-year-olds could spell so many
"unusual" words. It was great fun to have
everyone guess what she had spelled. This
morning she was putting her words on the
side of the refrigerator because her daddy
could see them as he ate breakfast. She was
sure he would play the word game because he
had to be there anyway. What Sally didn 't
know was that as he ate her dad would be distracted by mentally planning for a major presentation he was making at work that day.
As her daddy sat down, Sally was ready.
She took several letters from the bag and
placed them on the side of the refrigerator.
"What does that spell, Daddy?"
Her father looked up and said, "Honey, that

doesn't spell anything. It isn't a word."
Sally put the letters back in the bag and
carefully selected another handful. "What does
that spell?" she asked eagerly.
Looking up impatiently her father again
disclaimed , "I told you, that doesn't spell
anything."
Sally was disappointed but determined as
she replaced the offending letters and took
two handfuls out, placing them carefully in
sequence. "Now what word is that?"
Clearly annoyed, Sally's father restated,
this time rather loudly, "Sally, it doesn't spell
anything. That is not a word!"
Sally looked at the letters so elegantly
placed across the refrigerator, thought a
minute, and said with wonder, "Isn't that amazing! I can spell all those words that you don't
even know."
THE CONCEPT OF INTELLIGENCE

Children do not understand their intellectual limits in the same way adults do. But with
investigations into how our brains work, how we learn, and how we de\'elop intelligence,
we are finding that we may not have the lintits we thought we did. In fact, our belief systems may be the most limiting part of developing intelligence, giftedness, and talent.
From the beginning of the concern for understanding and measming intelligence.
controversy has existed regarding its origins and development. Is it determined by

30
Part 1: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development
heredity, or does the environment make a difference? Is intelligence fixed at birth, or

could it change over time, depending on environmental experiences? Is it best understood and defined as a set of behaviors , or do its origins and development require
understanding of the brain itself? We must look back to the late 1800s and the beginnings of the development of the concept of intelligence to understand the progress that
h as been made. We will see how old con cepts of intelligence continue to affect the
beliefs we hold regarding giftedness and the education of gifted learners. Current discoveries bring new dimensions and understanding to our view of intelligence.
Although the con cept of intelligence as an interaction between genetics and the
environment has gained wide acceptance, many still are either unaware of the data or
convinced of another view. Let us look back at how the concept of intelligence has
developed over the past century (Figure 2. 1) .
Figure 2.1 A Timeline of the Development of the Concept of Intelligence as It Affects Giftedness and Talent
Development
1859
Charles Darwin (UK) began his investigation of the origin of the species.
1869
Francis Galton (UK) investigated the heritability of human intelligence and

individual differences; developed the concept of fixed intelligence and the
first intelligence test.
1905
Alfred Binet (France) developed intelligence scales, the concept of mental

age, and intelligence quotient (10) to separate slow learners in schools
for a special curriculum.
1921
Lewis Terman revised the Binet Intelligence Scale to establish the

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.
1930s-1 940s
Intelligence testing became very popular, used especially by the U.S.

Army, vocational counselors, and schools.
1930-1950
Concept of predeterminism (maturation leads learning) established by

G. Stanley Hall and Arnold Gesell.
1930s-1970s
Development of concepts of educability of intelligence, inconstancy of 10 ,

and interactive intelligence by Montessori, Wellman, Skeels and Dye,
Dennis, and Hunt.
1952
Jean Piaget described the growth and development of intelligence; drew

attention to intellectual development during early childhood; evolved
principles of active participation in learning and stages of development;
contributed to the interactive view of intelligence.
1956
J.P. Guilford's presidential speech at the American Psychological

Association introduced the Structure of Intellect Model that expanded the
concept of intelligence to 120 factors, including a strong focus on
creativity, seen as divergent thinking.
1960s
Work done by Vygotsky in Russia in the 1920s was finally made available
in the United States and challenged ideas of fixed intelligence; indicated
that learning leads and directs maturation; stressed the importance of early
stimulation. Many researchers, incl uding Bruner, Hunt, Kagan,
Rosensweig, and Krech, established a database for interactive intel ligence.
Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, TalenL, and Talent Development
1964
Bloom contributed to an increased awareness of the preschool years as

essential to learning, the interactive intelligence theory, and the
understanding of the learning process. Highlights of this work were the
establishment of a database for the Headstart Program and the
publication of Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, used as a guide in
many gifted and talented programs.
1983
Howard Gardner proposed the theory of multiple intelligences, that

includes linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodilykinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligences.
1984
Robert Sternberg theorized a triarchic concept of intelligence that

includes meta-processes, performance processes, and knowledgeacquisition processes.
1995
The accumulation of evidence indicated that intelligence is

multidimensional and is affected by an interaction between that which is
inherited and the environment in which one lives.
2000
Diamond, Kandel, LeDoux, Siegel, and other neuroscientists extend the

concept of intelligence beyond the behavioral aspects of the past theories
to an understanding of intelligence as it operates and develops with in the
brain.
2004
Hawkins suggests and explores a new framework of intelligence based

on knowledge of brain function.
31
The Behavioral Concept of Intelligence

Fixed Intelligence
Nearly 150 years ago, Charles Darwin (1859) began his investigation of the origin of
the species. His cousin, Francis Galton (1869), had great interest in the hereditary factors that Darwin was investigating and began asking important questions regarding the
heritability of human intelligence. The importance of his investigation into intellectual
differences must not be minimized because , prior to Galton, no one had investigated
the individual differences of human beings. The very success of this investigation , however, locked us into a limited concept of intellectual development for over a century:
Because Galton, influenced by Darwin, admired and pursu ed the heritability issue to
the exclu sion of environmental effects, h e established a pattern that remains a part of
the inquiry into intelligence to this clay. This view resulted in the theory of fixed intelligence. People believed that the amount of intelligence possessed at birth would remain
intact until the day the person died. It was thought that nothing could add to, subtract
from, or in any way change this amount.
Galton was the first to attempt an intelligence test based on scientific data. His
test assumed a relationship between sensory acuity and general intelligen ce. Although
this later proved to be an inadequate base for such testing, his efforts nevertheless initiated the search for functional intelligence testing. As testing for intelligence became
popular, the belief prevailed that if we could find a test powerful enough, we could predict from infancy exactly what the individual would become. The seeming unreliability
32
Part I: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development
of infant testing was thought to be a problem of the testing procedure, not of any
change in actual intelligence. Although with current information it is clear that intelligence grows or diminishes over time depending on the environment, especially in the
early years, many still hold to the belief that intelligence is unchangeable.
During this period of belief in fixed intelligence, many significant events occurred. In
1905, the French government asked Alfred Binet to develop a way to separate a group of
slow learners from other schoolchildren in order to create a special curriculum and
methodology that would aid in their learning. Unlike those who later utilized his intelligence scales and concept of mental age, Binet did not agree with the theory of fixed intelligence or with a unitary "g factor" of intelligence. He believed intelligence to be educable, a
belief not again heard until the 1960s. Binet's articles and speeches would be considered
quite radical even today. Many of the educational problems he spoke out against during his
day still need change (Binet, 1969). Today, in the United States, Binet is best known
through a revision of his intelligence scale, originally devised by Lewis Terman of Stanford
University in 1921. This test, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, originated when no one
questioned the validity of fixed intelligence. It is important to note that later revisions of
the test are still based on these assumptions.
The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was developed in 1912 by Wilhelm Stern to indicate the score on an intelligence test. In the development of intelligence tests, variations
in test performance caused by age differences were taken into account. This adjustment
led to the idea of the IQ, which is computed by dividing the mental age by the chronological age and multiplying by 100. The average IQ for the general population at any
age was set at 100. The IQ of the middle 50% of the population falls between 90 and
llO. The IQ was used by Terman as the indicator of the score on the Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scale. An IQ of 132 reflects the beginning of the upper 2% and is often used
as an indicator of giftedness.
Using his revision of Binet's intelligence scale, Terman began the most extensive longitudinal study of the characteristics and behaviors of gifted individuals. In 1921, working
in California from Stanford University under a grant from the Commonwealth Fund of
New York City, he chose more than 1,500 students with an average age of ll years and an
IQ exceeding 140 (in fact, the mean was 150). He collected extensive personal and educational data on each student. The stereotype of a gifted person at that time was a bespectacled, frail youngster who was socially ill at ease, lost in a world of books and lofty thoughts,
and usually isolated in some corner tenuously holding onto sanity. "Early ripe, early rot"
was the motto of the day used to describe the gifted person . No clear-thinking parent
would ever desire to have such a child. Any attempt to encourage this type of development
was unthinkable.
Terman's data went far to dispel these myths. Although his sample was limited
culturally, socioeconomically, and racially, his findings were significant in influencing
those who held extreme ideas about gifted individuals. His data allowed a more realistic
opinion and a more accepting view of the gifted learner. Although conceived and
mostly conducted during a period of belief in fixed intelligence, Terman's longitudinal
work (lasting 30 years during his life and later updated by some of his colleagues)
added to the data disputing fixed intelligence as a viable concept (Terman, 1925).
Testing achieved great popularity during the 1930s and 1940s. For a time in
America, everyone was tested for everything. There were tests for career placement, for
various kinds of aptitude, for scholastic ability, for personality factors, and even for
33
predicting success with a future marriage partner. Armies of men and thousands of
schoolchildren were tested. During this period, the test became the ultimate authority.
Intelligence testing was valued to such an extreme that a test score placed on a school
cumulative record could be used for educational decision making withou t the availability of the protocol,the answer sheet, or even the name of the test. Parents were not permitted to know the IQs of their children because the prevailing belief was that this
number gave evidence of capacity for mental development and such a powerful piece of
information could not be tmsted to the lay public. Some school districts and classrooms
still are reluctant to share this information.
In the first half of the 20th century, a student of Galton, G. Stanley Hall, introduced
another idea about human development that was a logical outgrowth of the concept of
fixed intelligence. Hall believed development was predetermined, a view that was made
popular largely by the work of Arnold Gesell (Gesell et al. , 1940), a disciple of Hall.
Again, as with Galton, a man who made many valuable contlibutions to our understanding of children became instmmental in solidifying misconceptions abou t how children
grow and develop. Predeterminism assumes that the human organism is programmed in a
sequentially time-controlled way and that, regardless of events or environments, the program will prevail. Maturation and learning were seen as distinct and , to some extent,
separate processes, vvith maturation controlled by heredity and learning controlled by
environmental conditions. Maturation was thought to lead necessarily to learning. This
idea was carried to such an extreme that avant-garde schools viewed any attempt to guide
the growth of youngsters as a grievous fault. The educational abuses that followed-most
notably, lack of stimulation-inevitably limited the growth and development of the
human beings involved. Parents were advised to allow each child to "flower" unrestrained. Permissive patterns of child rearing and education were extolled.
However, some dissonant information began to appear in this climate of nonintervention and nonstimulation . At first, people disputed, rationalized away, or simply
ignored any ideas that varied from the accepted view. The slow acceptance of the work of
Maria Montessori exemplifies the reception offered educational methodology based on
opposing ideas (Standing, 1966). Although Montessori's work was highly successful educationally, it assumed the educability of intelligence and, therefore, the inconstancy of the
IQ, ideas that were not yet accepted. Not until decades later could the techniques and
ideas of Montessori be incorporated into our educational practices. Such ideas were lost
until years of eviden ce began to accumulate. Determined and courageous researchers and
practitioners in education and psychology risked their professional reputations to share
findings that were in direct conflict with the concept of intelligence as "fixed. " Even today
some still consider this area of inquiry controversial.
Beth Wellman and her colleagues at Iowa University were among the first to question the premise of fixed intelligence. In 1938, this group began an experiment that
later caused them to become part of a professional controversy (Skeels, Updegraff,
Wellman, & Williams, 1938; Skodak & Skells, 1949; Wellman, 1940) . The group established a model nursery school on the grounds of an orphanage. The operation of the
orphanage had been efficient in that the basic needs of the children were provided
for, but little time was spent in stimulation or educational activities. The model nursery sch ool provided the n eeded stimulation and was highly successful. In fact, it
seemed to change the intellectual behavior exhibited by the children in attendance.
After measuring the children's progress on achievement and intelligence tests, Wellman
34
reported her findings to the academic community in what must have been a mood of
optimistic enthusiasm. At a time when information such as changes in intelligence
scores and environmental intervention was received with suspicion and when women
professors were themselves not taken seriously, it is small wonder that the storm of
protest that followed became a humiliating experience for Wellman.
Not until years later did another team, some of whom had worked on the original
project, conduct a similar study after carefully redesigning their approach to meet the
criticisms of improper sampling procedures, lack of a control group , and improper
research design that were aimed at the Wellman data. This study and subsequent followup s tudies finally made an impact on the academic community. The findings were
intriguing. Children removed from the orphanage to a more stimulating environment
(an institution for retarded girls, where they received much attention, stimulation, and
affection) gained more than 20 IQ points when retested, while the control group remaining at the orphanage lost between 13 and 45 IQ points (Skeels & Dye, 1959) . A followup study (Skeels, 1966) further dramatized the findings by reporting that those in the
ex'})erimental group had become productive, functioning adults, while those in the control group, for the most part, had been institutionalized as mentally retarded; few of the
latter group became productive adults. Whatever one might think of the research design
or sampling methods used, the results were, at the very least, provocative.
In 1960, another event occurred that again raised questions that the prevailing theory of intelligence could not answer. While observing deprived conditions in orphanages
in Teheran, Iran, Dennis (1960) found 12-month-old babies who could not sit by themselves, even though maturational theories assured this behavior by 8 months of age at
the latest. Some 4-year-olds could not yet walk alone, although development scales
showed 1 year of age to be the appropriate time schedule. How could the maturational
development of these children be so far off the norm? Do environments affect maturation after all? To answer these questions, Dennis conducted a series of experiments. The
resulting data showed the concept of fixed intelligence and its natural extension, predeterminism, to be untenable (Dennis & Dennis, 1955; Dennis & Najarian, 1957).
Interactive Intelligence
Data such as those produced by researchers Wellman, Skodak, Skeels, Dye, and Dennis
made it necessary to formulate a new theory for looking at intelligence. An important new
model, "The Structure of the Intellect Model , now appeared that was the result of the
factor-analytic work of Guilford (1956) . Guilford felt that psychology had overly restricted
its view of human intelligence. His model expanded the factors seen as part of human intelligence and showed their interrelatedness. Guilford, too, discussed intelligence as educable.
He drew attention to creativity as an important function of the human mental process.
It was, however, well into the 1960s when the challenge against fixed intelligence
reached significant proportions. A veritable cadre of intelligent men and women now faced
the issue. Armed with data resulting from their work, they proceeded from an examination
of the dissonance between accumulating information and the old theoretic framework,
through the postulation of a new theory of intelligence, to the collection of evidence to
support the new hypothesis. From this point on, intelligence would be seen as educable,
changeable, and dependent on the interaction between the genetic inheritance and the
experiences provided by the environment. A wealth of studies followed that supported the
35
new concept. Recorded here are only a few of the milestone events because the sheer quantity of activity makes the delineation of a chronology of importance impossible.
From France, in varying quality of translation, came the work of]ean Piaget (1952),
who influenced educational theory and practice to an unprecedented degree. He began
his inquiry in a most unscientific manner, one that no scientist would consider sound as
a research design. Without obj ectivity, he selected only three subj ects to observe and no
control group. The subj ects were his own children . However, he described so clearly and
in such detail what he observed that his evidence enabled him to evolve principles of
growth and development. Later examination of data from a multitude of studies including
respectable numbers of children verified many of his principles as viable and useful.
Piaget was among the first to ask about intellectual development during the first few
years of human life. Drawn from his background in marine biology, his work emphasized
the principles of assimilation and accommodative interaction. He believed that intellectual
growth resulted from the learner's active participation in the learning process, invariably
sequenced into stages. Although he set no strict time lines on the stages of development, he
considered the order unalterable, with mastery of the lower stages preceding learning in
the higher stages of cognition. Piaget stated that the age at which a child passes from one
stage to another depends on both the genetic endown1ent and the quality of the environment. He espoused one of the first interactive theories of intelligence.
In the 1960s, work done in the 1920s in Russia by researcher Lev Vygotsky had just
begun to reach the American academic community. Suppressed during his lifetime because
it contradicted the beliefs and actions of the totalitarian government, his work finally
became known and discussed. Contrary to the theories of Piaget, Vygotsky's research supported the idea that learning led and directed the quality and speed of maturation.
Vygotsky's contributions provided data for the areas of language development, educational
remediation, early stimulation, and remediation of physical disability (Vygotsky, 1962).
The work of Benjamin Bloom (1964) made an other important contribution to
educational practice, particularly with regard to an area of growing concern, the years of
early intellectual development. A reexamination of previously published data allowed
Bloom to suggest a startling hypothesis. It had long been assumed (and intelligence testing norms complied with the assumption) that humans learn in a regularly ascending
line between birth and 18 years of age, after which they level off to a plateau until around
45 , the age when a gradual decline to senility begins. Bloom used the reassessed data to
show a very differen t pattern. Although he looked at many human characteristics, just
the findings from the area of intelligen ce receive comment h ere. Between birth and
4 years of age, children accomplish 50% of the deviation in IQ that they will acquire by
18 years of age. By 6 years of age, another 30% will have been added. With the data
showing 80% of the deviation in adult IQ actualized by age 6, educators developed a new
awareness of the preschool years as an essential time for learning. As society's concern
for compensatory education also gained a following, many programs were then established to take advantage of the important early years.
The educational community began to focus on the early years of development as
educators became aware of the limitations and deceptions caused by the theo ries of
fixed intelligence and predeterminism. Reliance on these older concepts had left us
with a near void in understanding how infants and young children develop intellectually. Bloom made an important contribution to classroom organization for learning with
the publication of his Taxonomy of Edttcational Objectives, Handbooh I: Cognitive Domain
36
Part I: Un derstanding Gifted Ed ucation and Talent Development
(Bloom , 1956) and his work with Krathwohl and Masia (1964) in Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives, Handbooh II: Affective Domain.
For readers nearing or past the magic age of 45 , let me hasten to add that subsequent
studies done by the Fels Foundation (Kagan & Moss, 1962), the Berkeley Growth Studies
(Bayley, 1968; Bayley & Schaefer, 1964) and the Tem1an data themselves (Terman & Oden,
1947) give us a very different view of the "off to senility" phenomenon. Those studies
indicate that we do not plateau intellectually at 18 years of age; rather, we continue to
move either upward or gradually downward, depending on the environment with which
we interact, the intellectual challenges in which we engage, and on our personality characteristics. Aggressive, inquiring, active, independent, sensitive people who seek new ideas
and adapt comfortably to change tend to continue upward; passive, docile, dependent people who follow set patterns and seek security and repetition gradually lose intellectual
facility. Data collected from the Terman studies show that growth patterns continue as people reach their 60s and 70s. Data on aging further support these possibilities.
The constancy of the IQ received a final blow from the work of Sontag, Baker, and
Nelson (1958) and Kagan and Moss (1962). Longitudinal studies followed300 children
from p renatal development through adulthood, with data collected at regular intervals.
The results showed consistent change in IQ scores, especially at the extreme ends, with
more variation evident for boys than for girls.
Bruner, Hunt, and many others began the task of establishing and supporting a new
theory of intelligence. Bruner (1968) hypothesized that the young process information in
three ways: through action, imagery, and symbols. He believed that the preschool experience should work toward translating one into the other. Bruner stated, "The significance
about the growth of the mind in the child is to what degree it depends not upon capacity
but upon the unlocking of capacity" (p. 14) . He saw that the process of translating or
unlocking depends on interaction with the environment of the culture. He attempted to
give us a method of implementation as he set forth his new theories on instruction.
Hunt (1961) brought out the problem of the nwtch, that is, finding the most stimulating circums tances for children at each point in their developm ent. To him, th e
major challenge of our time was to discover a way to govern the encounters children
have with their environment, especially during the early years of their development.
With such a match of ability and experien ce, children could be expected to achieve a
substantially higher level of intellectual capacity as adults.
High levels of intelligence, whether expressed in cognitive abilities (such as the
capacity to generalize, to conceptualize, or to reason abstractly), specific academic ability,
leadership, or creative behavior expressed through visual and performing arts, result from
tl1e interaction between inherited potentialities and experiences acquired from the environment. This interaction encompasses all of the physical, mental, and emotional characteristics of the person and all of the people, events, and objects entering the person's
awareness. Just as no two people have identical physical, mental, and emotional properties, neither do they have the same environment. Reality is unique to each of us. Even so
simple a perception as color differs vastly among individuals. We view color differently
not only because we have biological differences, but also because our own emotional patterns cause us to develop a personal meaning for each color that might change or be reinforced as our experiences with obj ects of each color give us additional information.
Because the newer data from many sources n ow make the fixed view of intelligence untenable, the interactive theory of intelligence best describes the data available.
37
From this interactive point of view, we could not say which is more important: the
inherited abilities or the environmental opportunities to develop them. A restriction on
either would inhibit high levels of actualized intellectual ability. High levels of intellectual development do not occur without a high level of interaction between the inherited
abi.lities and appropriately enriching experiences.
Further support for this interaction theory of intelligence must be noted in the
renorming of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale in the 1970s. An analysis of the standardization resul ts showed a dramatic rise in the IQ level, especially among the
preschool population. We might assume that the higher levels of educa tion among
parents and a richer earlier environment-television, higher mobility, wider use of
educational toys and books, better nutrition-have h elped fos ter this change. Later
s tudies indicated that the observed change is a genuine phenomenon and not a research
error (Thorndike, 1975) . This information is even more impelling as evidence wh en
one considers that the n ew standardization population purposefully included minority
and broader socioeconomic representation, which had been omitted from the previous
samplings.
Expanded Views of Intelligence Based on Behavior
During the 1980s, expanding the concept of intelligence, first suggested by Guilford,
was the concern of a number of researchers and scholars. Each has added a dimension
to consider in our understanding of intelligence.
In 1983, Howard Gardner, a Harvard University psychologist, proposed a theo ry of
multiple intelligences, originally including seven of what he purported to be relatively
independent intelligences-linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodilykinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. He believes that "only if we expand and
reformulate our view of what counts as human intellect vvill we be able to devise more
appropriate ways of assessing it and more effective ways of educating it" (p. 4). He later
developed an eighth intelligence, naturalistic, that tries to capture the more unique
aspects of each individual.
In the process of formulating his original theory, Gardner drew from a wide range
of studies on subjects including prodigies, gifted individuals, brain-damaged patients,
n ormal children and adults, and individuals of diverse cu ltures. Gardner's theory
addresses many areas that have not previously been seen as a part of intelligence, and he
brings additional clarity to the critical importance of the interaction of both genetics
and environment in its development.
Through out the discussion of the eight intelligences, Gardner discusses th e
power of using one of the intelligen ces that is well developed as an alternative learning
mode for others not as developed. This use of the multiple intelligences to support one
another and thereby create powerful learning comes very close to the view of integrative education developed in this text, although the area of intuitive function is not yet
included in Gardner's model. Gardner shows a deep con cern for optimal learning in his
theoretic framework.
In 1985 , a psychologist from Yale University, Robert Sternberg, th eori=ed a triarchic concept of intelligence. To understand intelligence, he believes th at we must view
its development from three aspects: the internal world of the individual, exemplified by
analytical thinking; the external world of the individual, environmental awareness; and
38
the interaction between these two worlds that synthesizes disparate experiences
in insightful ways. According to the triarchic theory, three kinds of mental processes
operate: (1) meta-processes, used to plan, monitor, and evaluate one's problem solving;
(2) performance processes, used to carry out the instructions of the meta-processes; and
(3) knowledge-acquisition processes, used to figure out how to solve problems. These
processes result in three types of giftedness: Analytic giftedness-the academic type of
reasoning measured by intelligence tests; Synthetic giftedness-creative, intuitive, imaginative, insightful thinking; and Practical giftedness-the ability to apply analytic and
synthetic abilities to everyday issues and problems successfully. Sternberg inclu des
wisdom, defined as concern for the needs and welfare of others, in the area of practical
intelligence to modify the concept to favor positive expressions. He believes that the
experiential expression of synthetic giftedness most impacts the world and that
augmenting our understanding of this area will permit us to develop a more complete
theory of intelligence and provide a base for a more useful assessment. It is in the area of
experience that Sternberg feels we fail the individual most notably, both in the development of his or her intelligence and in its identification. This concept is important to note
in light of more recent developments in understanding intelligence that suggest the
critical nature of the environment.
The fields of psychology and education continue to define intelligence most often
by behaviors and to measure it through tests of knowledge and skills. Such tests seem to
be valid for ranking individuals and are highly predictive of performance on tasks of a
similar nature, such as those related to school activities. Current theories of intelligence
in these fields value the ease and speed with which individuals acquire new knowledge
and skills.
The Concept of Intelligence as a Process Within the Brain

Researchers in the neurosciences are currently investigating the actual process of developing intelligence. The focus for the understanding and definition of intelligence is
now shifting from the observation of intelligent behaviors to the neural processes that
underlie and create these behaviors. What we have been calling theories or definitions of
intelligence can now be seen as the behavioral outcomes of being intelligent. A complete
theory of intelligence must now include the processes within the brain. Understanding
these processes will allow educators to affect the quality and quantity of intelligent
behavior and lead to knowledge of how to design the most effective educational strategies to nurture higher levels of intelligence.
In 1993, Wittrock suggested that educators not ask what the brain has to do with
learning; rather, they should ask (1) How can we understand the operations of the brain
so that we can create more powerful lessons? and (2) How can education usc the
processes of the brain more effectively?
A number of researchers from the neurosciences have been defining and developing an understanding of intelligence from vvithin the brain (e.g., Diamond, 1988;
Diamond, 1998; Edelman, 2004; Hawkins, 200-+; Kandel, 200 6; LeD oux, 2003;
Restak, 2003; Siegel, 1999). Others from psychology and the cognitive sciences continue to explore the concept of intelligence by studying intelligent behavior (e.g.,
Gardner, 1999; Greenspan , 1997; Sternberg, et al. , 2000). Both groups have produced
39
useful insights that can inform classroom practice. The advantage of the focus from
neuroscience is that we are able no t only to improve some of the outcomes of teaching, but also to actually understand what is needed in the environment and in the
teaching interactions with children to optimize the learning outcomes. In fact, by
defining intelligence as brain function, we can move to the level of creating conditions for the development of higher levels of intelligence. From this point of view,
nearly all children at the beginning of their lives can be seen as possessing the equipment necessary to develop increasingly complex intellectual abilities. As we con tinue
to learn more about the brain, educators at home and at school will be able to provide
the essential opportunities that can establish the neural patterns that will result in
increasingly higher intellectual behavior. It is important that we make bette r usc of
the information we now have to allow our children to develop the unique abilities
embedded in their genetic patterns.
To understand how some individuals become gifted and others do not, we need to
become familiar with the basic structure and function of the human brain. As we seek
to nurture giftedness, such knowledge will prove invaluable.
The Organization of the Brain
The human brain can be organized into four major functional areas (Figures 2.2 and2.3) ,
each with different structures and chemistry. "The idea that different regions of the brain
are specialized for different purposes is central to modern brain science" (Kandel, 2006,
Figure 2 .2 Areas of Function
Cognitive
'
Source: Based on a drawing by Allyson Balay.
40
Figure 2 .3 The Universe of Intelligence Based on Areas of Brain Function
Intuitive
Predictive
Rational \
Transformational
\
Linear
Emotional
~
\ I
>
~
\1
_c ________ --------~-
o~
I
I
Spatial
<.
Social
<~>
I
I
Sensing
: Movement
I
I
Physical
p. 123) . Use of these general areas will allow us to overview major brain functions and
their approximate locations and make our discussion manageable. In reality, information
is processed from a vast number of brain areas, through myriad neural pathways and linkages, to be analyzed and integrated in cellular structures at higher and higher levels,
resulting in retention and storage of unbelievable amounts of data, all contributing to
our uniqueness of self and our worldview. While we do not need to comprehend the
complexity of this total system in order to understand some basic brain structures and
functions, it is well to keep it in mind. What we already understand about brain function
has changed our beliefs and procedures for optimizing learning and teaching. As more
information regarding the functioning of the brain becomes available, educators can
expect amazing benefits, enriching and enhancing our ability to teach and to create more
effective learning opportunities.
As an aid to understanding the organization and structure of the brain, we will borrow from Paul MacLean (1978) and extend an analogy he used that has helped me in my
thinking and teaching. Make a fist with each of your hands so that you can see the
fingernails, and then place your hands together with the fingernails touching. As you look
down at your hands, they now form a very respectable model of the brain (Figures 2.4 and
2.5). Wiggle your little fingers and you have identified the occipital lobe, the area tl1rough
which vision enters th e brain. Move your middle finger and you have located the motor
area in the parietal lobe. The language area is just below the middle knuckle on the right
hand (left hemisphere). Please no te that the left hemisphere is connected to the right
41
Figure 2.4 A Hand Model of the Human Brain
Figure 2.5 The Human Brain
Side View
Prefrontal _
Lobe
Cerebellum
coordination)
BrainS!em
(regulalion)
_ -
BackVfew..,.__ From Below

Cross Section
iliib~:ft-Thalamus
(senSO<)' relay)
hemisphere (left hand) by way of the touching fingernails, which now represent the corpus
callosum. This connector between the right and left hemispheres of the brain has within it
more neural connections than there are in any other part of the body Although Sperry
(1973) discovered that the functions of each of the two hemispheres are different- the left
42
hemisphere is most responsible for linear, rational functions and the right hemisphere is
most responsible for spatial, gestalt functions. Clearly the interconnection or integration of
the right and left hemisphere specializations is biologically intended. Genetics and gender
will inOuence the nature of these lateral connections as well.
Separate your hands, maintaining the closed fist, and we can explore th e inside of
our brain model. Begin with the arm-wrist area; this represents the brain stem, in which
we find the seat of autonomic (i.e., automatic) function. Here is the primitive brain, the
system that relieves us of consciously processing each breath and each beat of our heart.
However, those working in the area of biofeedback have shown us that, while most
auton omic functions remain just that, we can, if we choose, bring the awareness of
these functions to consciousness, allowing us to m onitor or change the process if it has
become destructive or inefficien t. For example, people with high blood pressure can
use biofeedback techniques to monitor and change an inappropriate distribution rate of
blood, consciously helping the body to better regulate this usually automatic function
(Taylor, Tom,&: Ayers, 1981) . In the brain stem, we find the neural pathways for many
high er brain centers. Here, too , are cells concerned with motor control and the communication link between the rest of the brain and the cerebellum, located at the very
base of the brain. The reticular formatio n is located in this area. It is, in essence , the
physical basis for consciousness and plays a major role in keeping us awake and alert.
The Physical Function (Sensing and Movem ent). The first area of function that we will
discuss includes movement and the entire sensorium: sight, h earing, smell, taste, and
touch. The access to our world is primarily through movement and physical sensing.
Our level of intellectual ability, even our view of reality, will depend on how our brain
organizes and processes this information. We know that gifted learners have a
heightened ability to bring in information from their environment and process it in
ways that expand their view of reality. They do, however, often define themselves by
their cognitive ability and may recognize their value through that ability alone.
Therefore, gifted students may focus more and more energy toward th e pursu it of
cognitive excellence and may ignore their physical growth and development. Although
many gifted children develop above-average physical skills, they often value physical
pursuits far less than cognitive endeavors, denying the need for integration. It is
common for gifted learners to develop a Cartesian split (i. e. , a m ental separation
between mind and body) that if unrecognized and allowed to intensify, can limit the
cognitive grow th they so value. Integration of the body and the mind becomes an
essential part of a program for optimizing learning (see Chapter 3).
The Affective Function (Emotional and Social). This second function is expressed in
emo tions and interactions; while affecting and affected by every part of the brain/mind
system, it is primarily regulated by biochemical mechanisms housed in the limbic area.
This second area of the brain, the limbic area, including the hippocampus and the
amygdala (Figure 2.5) or the emotional mind, is wrapped around the top of the brain
stem. It is located at midbrain and contributes significantly to the learning process. You
can symbolically view the limbic area by partially unclen ching your fist and looking at
the palm of the hand. One can see the ventricles of the brain as well as the mounds and
depressions of the limbic area itself. Here are the biochemical systems that are activated
by the emotions of the learner. Here, too, are processes that enhance or inhibit memory.
43
This area affects su ch diverse functions as anxiety, rage, sentimentality, and attention
span. In addition , our feelings of personal identity and uniqueness depend on this area
of the brain to combine internal and external experience. It is in this area that affective
feelings provide the connecting bridge between our inner and ou ter worlds and add
significantly to our constmct of reality and our model of a possible world. By the release
of biochemicals from the limbic area , the cells of the cortex are either facilitated or
in hibited in th eir functioning. One ac tivator for growth o f function in this area is
n ovelty (Kandel, 2006; Restak, 1979).
The affective function does more than support cognitive processes; in fact, it provides the gateway to enhance or limit higher cognition. To allow optimal learning, families must include in the environment and teachers must integrate into their presentations
activities that promote emotional growth.
T he Cognitive Function (Linear and Spatial). This third system of the brain is located in
the convoluted mass known as the neocortex or cerebrum, represented by the exposed
surface of the fingers and thumbs of both hands held together. It is the largest brain system,
comprising five-sixths of the total brain mass, and envelops the two systems previously
mentioned, the brain stem and the limbic area. It is here that data are processed, decisions
made, action initiated, and memory stored. The neocortex is necessary for language and
speech. Its most overriding functions involve the reception , processing, storage, and
retrieval of information. Hawkins (2004) acknowledges the neocortex as the seat of
intelligence. "Almost everything we think of as intelligence-perception , language,
imagination , mathematics, art, music, and planning- occurs here" (p. 40).
Even though it has a great number of abilities and powerful flexibility, the neocortex is surprisingly regular in its structural details. The different parts of the neocortex, whether they
are responsible for vision, hearing, touch, or language, all work on the same principles. The
key to understanding the neocortex is understanding these common principles, and in particular, its hierarchical structure . .. its structure captures the structure of the world. (p. 6)
Hawkins considers the primary_function of the neocortex to be prediction , a function he
believes to be the foundation of intelligence. To better understand th e structure of this
most important area of the brain, let us borrow from Hawkins his analogy for the structure of the neocortex. By stacking SL"C business cards or playing cards, you have a sense of
the six levels of layering that are involved and how thin this important covering is.
The cognitive function includes the linear analytic, problem-solving, sequential,
evaluative specialization of the left cortical hemisphere of the brain (in th e h and
model, your right hand), as well as the more spatially oriented gestalt specialization of
the right cortical h emisphere (your left hand in the model). High er intelligence
requires accelerated synaptic activity and an increased density of th e dendrites, which
allows the es tablishment of complex networks of thought. Stimulating environments
promote the grow th and branching of dendrites, resulting in an advanced capacity to
generalize, conceptualize, and reason abstractly.
The Intuitive Function. This function may be organized in the most recently evolved
section of the neocortex, the prefron tal cortex. In our hand analogy, it is represented by
your thumbs. This area of th e brain focuses on behaviors associated with plannina,
organizing, and creating insight, empathy, and introspection. LeDoux (2003) and Luria
44
Part I: Understanding Gifted Education and Talem Development
(cited in Wittrock, 1980) considered the prefrontal cortex the basis of intuitive thought.
It is engaged in firming up intention, deciding on action, and regulating our most
complex behaviors (Restak, 1979). It seems to be the area that energizes and regulates
other parts of the brain.
As early as the late 70s Goodman placed the following functions in the area of the
prefrontal cortex, which is believed to develop most fully between 12 and 16 years of age:
Foresight: Ability to sec patterns of change, to extrapolate from present trends to future
possibilities; this process uses imagination, prediction, and behavioral planning.
Self-regulation: Regulation of bodily processes through insight, internal commands,

and generation of visual images; this process is the basis for meditation and biofeedback strategies.
Analytic systems thinhing: High form of creativity, complex analysis of input requiring formal logic and metaphor.
Haws: Social sense, rational and emotional; the foundation of altruism.

Intuition is defined and viewed by different researchers and writers in different
ways. Wcbstcrs (1996) defines intuition as the direct perception of truth or fact independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension; a keen and quick insight;
pure, untaught, noninferential knowledge. jung (1933) referred to intuition as one of
the four basic human functions. He stated, "Intuition does not denote something contrary to reason, but something outside the province ofreason" (p. -+54). He considered
intuition vital to understanding. Bruner (1960) discussed intui tion as an important
part of the education process and encouraged its training. The physicist Capra (1975)
tells us that rational knowing is useless if not accompanied and enhanced by intuitive
knowing .
The development and implementation of strategies for integrating intuition into
the classroom can be facilitated by the work ofLoye (1983). He has organized intuition
in at least three levels: rational, predictive, and transforn1ational.
Rational intuition is intuitive behavior that realigns known information in such a

way that new insights emerge.
Predictive intHition enlarges on the processes of the rational level by including new
infonn ation within existing patterns or sequences and then synthesizing unknown
or only suspected information. An unconscious impression or information from a
seemingly unknoW11 source becomes an important part of the new patterns formed ,
the insights , or the profound conclusions. This type of intuitive process is responsible for many breakthrough discoveries, the forecasting of trends, and the intuitive
leap so valued in business, diplomacy, science, economics, and decision making in
one's personal life.
Transforlllational intuition seems to use a different kind of sensing that "picks up

information through a means that has defied scientific understanding" (p. 52). Ideas
come suddenly, unbidden, or in a dream, and what is written comes through as if
from an outside source. This level of intuition can be experienced as transcendence
and can be observed within the brain as a change in the rate of coherence of brain
waves from separate regions of the brain.
45
The function of intuition, which we all have, but use in varying degrees, represents a
different way of knowing. Activating intuition gives a person a sense of completeness,
or whol~ness . This powerful tool leads to the understanding of concepts and people
and to an expansion of the reach of the mind.
These insights tend to come suddenly and, characteristically, not when sitting at a
desk working out equations, but when relaxing (e.g. , in the bath, during a walk in the
woods, on the beach ). "During these periods ofrelaxation after concentrated intellectual
activity, the intuitive mind seems to take over and can produce the sudden clarifying
insights which give so much joy and delight to scientific research" (Capra, 1975, p. 31).
Many of those working to include the development of intuition in the educational
se tting believe that the ability to concentrate and to work at complex tasks with
unusual clarity results from the intuitive function . Identified now as a part of the function of the prefrontal cortex, intuition becomes a part of the planning, future thinking,
and insight so necessary to the intelligent person.
From these perspectives, we end up vvith four somewhat different brains in one:
(1) the brain stem-the smallest and oldest part of the brain; (2) the structures of the
limbic area; (3) the neocortex or cerebrum-the six-layered, largest part of the brain;
and (4) the prefrontal cortex- the newest, most sophisticated section. Under stress, the
neocortex begins shutting down, turning over more and more functions to the lower,
limbic area of the brain. While rote learning can be continued, higher and more complex learning is inhibited (Hart, 1981). Creating opportunities for the effective operation of this total brain is our responsibility as parents and educators.
Research data from the neurosciences suggest that a high level of intelligence is the
result of advanced, highly integrated, and accelerated processing within the brain. The concept of intelligence- and, therefore, "giftedness" as a label for high development of
intelligence-can no longer be confined to cognitive function; it clearly must include
all brain functions and their efficient and integrated use. Using this information, we
find that those who are more intelligent tend to have more integrated, effective use of
these functions of the brain.
The Neuron, the Basic Unit of the Brain

In the 1970s, it was established that at birth the human brain contains some 100 billion
to 200 billion brain cells or neurons. Each neural cell is ready to be developed and used
for actualizing the highest levels of human potential. With a relatively small number of
exceptions, all human infants come equipped with this marvelous, powerful heritage ,
made increasingly complex by unique genetic patterns. Such a structure allows us to
process trillions of bits of information in our lifetime. However, it is estimated that we
actually use less than 5% of our capability to connect neural structures. How we use
this complex system becomes critical to our development of intelligence and personality and to our very quality of life (Diamond, 1998; Hawkins, 2004; Kandel, 2006;
LeDou x, 2003; Siegel, 1999; Teyler, 1977).
The billions of neurons within the brain are so small that 100,000 of them can fit
into a space the size of a pinhead. A neuron is composed of the cell body, the dendrites,
and a branching axon (Figure 2.6). If you open your hand to the fullest extent possible,
you will have a good model of the nerve cell (Figure 2. 7). The palm of the hand is the
46
Figure 2.6 Three Interconnected Neurons
Figure 2. 7 The Human Hand as Representing a Nerve Cell

Dendntes
Chapter 2: The Concepts of lnlelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Developmenl
47
cell body, with the indentation at the center representing the nucleus of the cell. Inside
the cell body are the bioch emical processes that maintain th e life of the cell. Th e
extended fingers are located in the appropriate place for the dendrites and would more
closely resemble dendrites if bran ches grew from each finger. The arm extending from
the hand makes a good model of the axon that, in fact, extends from the cell body in
much the same way. It is possible to use both hands as models of neurons to show the
exchange of information as it occurs in the learning process.
The neuron is a tiny information-processing system that receives and sends thousands of signals. No two cells are exactly alike, and no two brains are exactly alike. We
are as different from one another as sn owflakes, although overall we function with the
same processes. The pathways for receiving information from nearby n erve cells are the
dendrites, short fibers that branch out from the cell body. The axon , a long nerve fiber
that extends from the cell body and often branch es at the end , serves as a transmitter,
sending signals that are picked up by the branches of the neighboring dendrites. The
activity between neurons consists of the axon of one cell contacting the dendrite of
another. The end of the axon does not actually touch the dendrite of the other cell, but
trans mits the information chemically across a region where the cells are particularly
close. This junction, across which impulses travel from one nerve cell to another, is
called the synapse. The transmission of a n erve impulse is an electrical-biochemicalelectrical process. At the synapse, the electrical impulses that travel through the cell are
converted into biochemical signals and then back to electrical impulses by the receiving
cell. It is this synaptic activity that is thought to be the site for the neural mechanisms
of learning and mem ory. Here is the seat of in telligence (Hawkins, 2004; Kandel, 2006;
LeDoux, 2003; Siegel, 1999) .
Surrounding the n eurons are special cells known as glia. These cells outnumber
the n eural cells 10 to 1 and can be increased by stimulation from the environmen t
(Diamond, 1988; Hawkins, 2004; LeDoux, 2003; Rosenzweig, 1966) . The glial cells
provide the brain with nourishment, consume waste products, and serve as packing
material that glues (i.e. , from glial or glue) the brain together. They also insulate the
nerve cell, creating a myelin sh eath around the axon (Figure 2.6) , a special coating
around the axon th at protects it and amplifies the signal leaving the cell. Myelin has an
important function: It allows the myelin-coated axon to condu ct information away
from the neu ron at a much faster rate than would be possible for axons with less of the
myelin coating. It is like the difference in electrical conduction throu gh insulated and
n oninsulated wiring: The speed and power of the charge are increased by the presence
of insulation. As the glial cells in the brain increase and provide more myelination, the
speed of learning accelerates.
The rate of glial cell production is influenced by the richness of the experiences
provided in the environmen t (Diamond, 1988; Hawkins, 2004; LeDoux, 2003;
Rosenzweig, 1966; Siegel, 1999). The more glia there are, the more accelerated will be
the synaptic activity, and the more powerful will be the impulse exchange from one cell
to the next. This allows for faster and more complex patterns of thinking, two characteris tics we find in gifted children. The speed of thought is amazing. If a nerve pathway
is used often, the threshold of the synapse falls, so that the pathway operates even more
readily. A wave front is started that may sweep over at least 100 ,000 n eurons a second
(Brierley, 1976) .
48
Another way to increase synaptic activity, thereby increasing the effectiveness and
efficien cy of the brain system , is to strengthen the n euron's cell body. Although the
quantity of neural cells may not be readily increased , the quality of the cells can be
(Diamond, 1988; Kandel, 2006; Krech, 1969; LeDou x, 2003; Rosenzweig, 1966). This
quality enhancement allows for information to be processed more quickly and for more
power to be conducted, resulting in the availability of more complex neural networks.
An individual's interaction in an enriched en vironment changes the chemical structure of the
nerve cell, thereby strengthening the cell body. The result is more rapid, more complex
thought processing.
Integration, constant feedback, and vast experience in a rich environment are the keys
to powerful learning and mem01y. Nobel-winning neuroscientist Gerald Edelman (2004)
supports the importan ce of a variety of experiences and the essential nature of feedback
to high levels of brain function. By providing quantity and quality of experiences, we
build memory, a basic component of the process of intelligence. With broadened memory comes accuracy of prediction, the basis of intelligence (Hawkins, 2004) . This is an
important reminder for the classroom.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLIGENCE

The terms intelligence and intellectual ability express many different ideas. In our discussion, we have acknowledged intelligence as the result of the development, interrelationship, and integration of all functions of the human brain. We have sh own that the
development of intelligen ce can be enhanced or inhibited by the interaction between
the genetic pattern and the experiences provided by the environment. To communicate
the dynamic nature of this development, Cross (Cited in Diamond, 1998) observes that
"an animal is only as smart as it needs to be," (p. 29)and Diamond supports this statement by adding, "Nature programs parts of the brain to sharpen up when-and only
when-experien ce demands it" (Diamond, 1998, p. 29).
Nature Plus Nurture

What we believe about how people become intelligent will influence the way we plan
for their educational development. If we believe that individuals are born gifted, we will
probably feel that we can do little to influence their development. We may believe that
enrichment will be sufficient to allow people with this ability to "get by on their own. "
If, however, we consider giftedness a dynamic process in which a person's innate ability
is in constant and continuous interaction with the environment, and if we believe that
the strength of that interaction will determine just how much ability this person will be
able to develop, then we will become highly sensitive to the level of needs he or she
expresses. Our awareness will allow us to support and challenge this developing intellect. Without such efforts, intellectual abilities will be wasted, and untold potential will
never be realized. A discussion of how intelligence develops is far more than an academic
pursuit. For our children , it is a matter of who they are and who they may become.
Chap ter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness , Talent, and Talent Development
49
Children are n ot born gifted , but they are born with a unique an d n early unlimited
potential. Clearly, there is an early and continuous need for talent development.
As early as the 1970s, Cattell spoke of the human's "capacity to acquire new
capacity" (1971, p. 8) , alluding to the marvelous ability human beings have to actually
change their own capacity. We can become more than we were at birth-not more in
the sense of exceeding the limits of our inborn characteristics of physical structure, but
most certainly more in our ability to use those ch aracteris tics and that s tructure. In
some cases, we may modify the total to become more efficient and more powerful than
these limits seemingly dictated. We have not properly appreciated the ability of our
organism to expand or decrease as it interacts with the environment. As Diam ond
(1998) states, "The brain, with its complex architecture and limitless potential, is a
highly plastic, constantly changing entity that is powerfully shaped by our experiences
in childhood an d through out life .... Our collective actions, sensations, and memories are
a powe1j ul shaper of both jimction and anatomy" (pp. 2-3) [Emphasis that of the author].
Neurobiologist Teyler explained in 1977:
The fabric of the brain is set down as a result of the interaction of genetic blueprints and
environmental influences. While the basic features of brain organization are present at birth
(cell division is essentially complete), the brain experiences tremendous growth in neural
p rocesses, synapse formation, and myelin sheath formation , declining aro und puberty.
These processes can be profoundly altered by the organism's environment. Furthermore, it
has been shown that brain processes present at birth will degenerate if the environmental stimulation necessary to activate them is withheld. It appears that the genetic contribution provides a
Jrameworh which, if not used, will clisappea1; but which is capable of f urther development given
the optimal environmental stimulation. (pp. 31-32) [Emphasis that of the author]
Gen es cannot be th ought of as causing particular attributes; rather, they have a

wide range of effects in different environments. Genes do n ot make specific bits and
pieces of a body; they code for a range of forms u nder an array of environmental conditions. Moreover, even when a trait has been built and set, environmen tal intervention
may still modify what has been inherited.
Even our beliefs about the absolute s tability of genes must be reexamined. Genes
provide us with a structure or pattern, but are dependent on the environment for the
particular characteristics that they will express. While genes provide us with our own
unique menu, the environment makes the actual selection within that range of choice.
It is misleading to think of either genes or the environment as being m ore important: Gen es can express themselves only in an environment, and an environment has no
effect except by evoking genotypes already present. Restak (2003) con cludes that no
matter how powerful the gen etic inheritan ce, the environment must be conducive to
the development of a particular talent for it to develop to high levels. Any reference to
high-IQ genes must be seen as a misnomer. It would be equally incorrect to regard
genetic en dowment as "setting the limits." Siegel (1999), Medical Director of the Infant
and Preschool Service and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of
California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine concludes:
An infant is born vvith a genetically programmed excess in neurons, and both genes and
experience determine the postnatal establishment of synaptic connections. Genes contain
the information for the general organization of the brains structure, but experience detcnnines
which genes become expressed, how, and when. (p. 14) [Emphasis that of the author]
50
A wide range of studies over several decades has now supported the fact that development
is a product of the effect of experien"ce on the unfolding of genetic potential (Diamond,
1988; Edelman, 2004; Hawkins, 2004; Kandel, 2006; LeDoux , 2003; Rosenzweig, 1966;
Siegel, 1999).
The interaction between genetic and environmental contributions is complex and
interdependen t. Throughout this text, our exploration of this interaction focuses on the
environment. This one-sided focus reflec ts our ability as educators to influence growth
and development only from th e environmental realm. We provide environments to
deliver learning experiences, so we must be aware that decisions about those environments do, in fact, change the neurological and biological structure of our students.
Environmental interaction with the gen etic program of the individual occurs
whether it is planned or left to occur by chance. We already know enough about supportive environments to ensure that most of our children attain a level of functioning
that would actualize far higher levels of intellectual ability. Yet, because of society's priorities , social dilemmas, and lack of parental training, we do not use wh at we know.
High Levels of Intellectual Development: Giftedness

High levels of intelligence or giftedness is the result of a dynamic, s timulating, interactive process that leads to quantitative and qualitative differences in performance. How
giftedness is expressed depends both on the genetic patterns of the individual and on
the experiences provided by that individual's environment. The opportunities to
develop their genetic programs provided in the environment allow some individuals to
enhance their abilities to the point of giftedness, whereas the lack of such opportunities
inhibits others in their development, some even to the level of retardation . Children are
not born gifted, but they are born with a unique and nearly unlimited potential. Clearly,
there is an early and continuous n eed for talent development.
The Gifted Brain

There are conditions needed to build the strong, integrated, flexible, complex brain we
will call gifted. Among them are the following:
The provision of a variety of quality experiences from our early beginnings as the
n eural patterns and sequences are being formed.
The developmen t of the concepts of integration, choice, patterns, and sequences,

starting with a child's early experiences.
The provision of feedback throughout the acquisition of knowledge and skills.
The enrichment of the environment and the experiences that the environment provides so that the growth of intelligence is facilitated and expanded rather than limited and inhibited.
Creating these conditions will result will in a brain that is more effective and efficient at processing information, not because the gifted brain has more cells, but because
51
Figure 2.8 Differences in the Neural Cells
Gifted
Nongifted
Source: Based on a drawing by Allyson Salay.
the n eural connec tions have become more integrated, more quickly made, and far
more complex. There are more dendrites to create more pathways and more richness
within the cell itself (Figure 2.8). The glial cells have increased, and greater myelination of the axons enhances speed and power in the transmission of information from
one cell to another, allowing speed of thought and adding power to the retention of
ideas and memory to the neural data banks. We are now working with a gifted brain
(Figure 2.9).
In an interesting longitudinal s tudy, Gottfried and Gottfried (1996) documented that heightened cognitive stimulation is a widespread finding among gifted
children. Th ey received more stimulation from their environment from the first year
of life. As a result, they showed differen ces in the rate of development and in the level
of performance as they grew. Frequently, early development of expressive language
was observed. From these data, Morelock (1996) concluded, "Consequ ently, it follows that there are important differences in information processing characteristics of
the young gifted brain" (p . 9) . In this way, gifted children become biologically different
from average leam ers, not at birth, but as a result of using and developing the wondroLts,
complex stl1lcture with which they wae bom. At birth, nearly eve1yone is programmed to
be pitcnomc11al.
52
Figure 2 .9 The Gifted Brain
More glial cell production results in more

myelination of the axon sheath and taster
synaptic exchanges = student's need tor
acceleration
INTELLIGENCE, GIFTEDNESS, GIFTED INDIVIDUALS ,

TALENT, AND TALENT DEVELOPMENT: DEFINITIONS
The field of gifted education does not have a single, unified definition of intelligence,
giftedness, gifted individuals, talent, or talent development. Therefore, it is necessary to
briefly review the various definitions, so that the reader will be able to distinguish the
meaning each author and researcher may have in mind when making use of these
terms. After this brief review, each term will be defined as it will be used in this text.
Although there are no common definitions within the educational community for the
above terms, current research provides a common basis for agreement about these concepts.
1. All individuals inherit a genotype or genetic makeup that is unique to them and,
with the exception of those with brain damage , includes a brain that has vast potential for the development of intelligence.
53
2. The concept of intelligence is known to be dynamic. The opportunities provided by

the environment have been found to enhance or inhibit the development of the
brain's structure and function. This allows parents and educa tors to provide for the
realization of human potential.
3. Individuals are quite differen t from each other and in their abilities , including the
expressions of intelligence of which they are capable.
4. The concept of intelligence has expanded to include cognitive, affective, intuitive/
creative, and physical motor/sensory expressions. High levels of intelligence may be
identified in any of these areas.
5. Owing to its dynamic nature and the importance of both genetic inheritance and
environmental opportunity, intelligence can no longer be thought to be wholly in
place at birth, innate and permanent. Experience in the process of individual development is critical to development.
6. It must be acknowledged that there are individuals who, through the interaction
between their genetic endowment and environmental stimulation, have enhanced
the development of their intelligence more than have others, and this enhancemen t
has resulted in accelerated and advanced brain function. These are the individuals
who are labeled "gifted."
7. The importance of the dynamic nature of human development suggests that, if
gifted individuals are to continue their intellectual development, they must be
engaged in learning opportunities that challenge them and enhance their talents at
their level of development or they will regress in whatever abilities and talents are
not supported. Therefore, gifted individuals must have appropriate educational
experience at the level of their ability and talen t to be able to grow.
Intelligence
The definitions of intelligence often focus on behavior or performance as the defining
feature. Although observable behavior is necessary for the identification of levels of
intelligence, whether assessed by a tes.t , a performance of skill, anecdotal reports , or
other measures, such a basis for understanding intelligence is unnecessarily limited.
Intelligence is defined in Websters (1996) as "the capacity for learning, reasoning,
understanding and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings."
If intelligence is used to connote only that which is measured by intelligence
tests , then those who score in the upper 2% on s uch a test could be spoken of as highly
intelligent or gifted, as Terman suggested in 1925.
Gardner ( 1983) defines intelligence as a predisposition in multiple areas to carry
out certain specific operations whose nature can be inferred from careful observation. It
should be noted that, although he broadens the view of intelligence by suggesting a
construct of eight separate intelligences, Gardner misrepresents the strongly unified
and integrated nature of the brain process.
Sternberg (1985) sees intelligence as a triarchy consisting of meta-processes, performances processes, and knowledge-acquisition processes.
54

Brain researchers view high levels of intelligence as the result of a dynamic, stimu lating, interactive process that leads to quantitative and qualitative differences in
structures and performance. How intelligence is expressed depends both on the genetic
patterns of the individual and on the experiences provided by that individual's environm ent. The quality and quantity of opportunities provided in the environment allow
some individuals to enhance their intellectual abilities to the point of giftedness,
whereas the lack of such opportunities inhibits others in their development, some even
to the level of retardation. Such research indicates that the brain operates with specialized areas of function always in association and interaction, as was noted as early as the
1970s (Diamond, 1988; MacLean, 1978; Pribram, 1977; Restak, 1979). It is the integrative and associative nature of the brain that is its most noteworthy aspect. Therefore,
the definitions of intelligence and giftedness used in this text include all areas of brain
function and their expressions as interactive (referring to the constant interaction
between heredity and environmental opportunities) and integrative (referring to the
relationship among all areas of brain function as interrelated and interdependent).
Gifted, Giftedness, and Gifted Students

You will find a wide range of definitions of gifted in the literantre that rely on the behavior or level of performance of the student.
Witty (1940) believed that giftedness needs no referent to intelligence and can be
described as possessed by those "whose performance is consistently remarkable in any
potentially valuable area" (p. 516).
The point of view suggested by Renzulli since 1978 indicates that there is only
gifted behavior, not an inninsic quality called giftedness. In this conceptualization, giftedness derives and can be identified from a cluster of observable behavioral traits, such
as above-average ability, creativity, and task commitment rather than from a high level
of intelligence, and gifted programs are n eeded only wh en students are engaged in creative production.
A definition of giftedness was proposed in 199 1 by a group of edu cators known as
the Columbus Group (cited in Silverman , 1993), who extended the view of intelligence
to include its emotional aspects.
Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. [Asynchrony refers to the uneven rates of cognitive, emotional, and
physical development found in gifted children. Their vulnerability results from the tension
such a lack of synchrony creates.] This asynchrony increases with higher intellecntal capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching, and counseling in order for them to develop optimally. (p. 3)
A definition for gifted and talented children was developed in 1972 by U.S.
Commissioner of Education Sidney Marland for a report, Education of the Gifted, to
Congress on the status of the education of gifted and talented children . It is the definition used in most state legislation today.
Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons who
by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are children who
require differentiated educational programs and services beyond those normally provided
Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, Talent, an d Talent Developmen t
55
by th e regular sch ool program in order to realize their contribu tions to self and society.
Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement
anclJor potential ability in any of the following areas: l ) General intellectual aptitude ,
2) sp ecific academic aptitude, 3) creative or productive thinking, 4) leadership ability,
5) visual and performing arts. ( p. 2)
The most current federal definition of gifted and talented individuals was a part of the
2002 reauthorization of the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talen ted Students Education Act
(PL. 100-297).
The term "gifted and talented" wh en used in respect to students, children or youth, means
students, children, or you th wh o give evidence of high achievement capability in areas
such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields,
and who need services or activities n ot ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully
develop th ose capabilities. (Title IX, Part A, Section 9101(22))
Morelock (1996) observed:

The research suggests that gifted children are special n eeds children because th ey learn differently, function differently neuropsychologically and require a different level and type of
cognitive stimulation . They are also potentially socially/emotionally at risk. The developmental differences increase as the level of asynchrony increases. (p. lO)
Talent and Talent Development

Talent is a term that has been used at different times in quite disparate ways. When it was
first added to the terminology in gifted education , as in "gifted and talented studen ts," it
was often used as a tem1 that allowed an extension of expressions of giftedness beyond
those of an academic nature. The educational community spoke of the talented artist,
musician , leader, or gymnast and sought identification procedures for these students that
were far different from those used for academically able studen ts. Some chose to use the
tenn and separate procedures as a way to identify more students from the low socioeconomic and minority communities for gifted and talented programs. The implication was
that these students could not meet the testing criteria then in place- generally a single
test of intelligence represented by an IQ score- and could be identified better using tests
of creativity, leadership, or nonacademic/so-called nonverbal performan ce. Because
gifted programs often remained highly academic in content, the identification of lowsocioeconomic-status and minority students using special criteria became a problem . Not
only was the assumption that none of these students could test well academically false,
but also the premise that students identified for creativity or other expressions of giftedness would be well served by narrowly defined academic gifted programs proved to be
clearly in error. Such identification and placement practices placed low-socioeconomicstatus and minority students at risk.
Some psychologists and educators u se talent as a term to designate individuals
who are not intellectually accomplished to the level of giftedness, but who show evidence of better-than-average intellectual potential. Confusion as to wh ether reference is
being made to the quality of the performance or the type of performance still plagues
the use of the term talent in educa tion today.
More recently, the term has been extended to include the mission of talent development and represents a philosophical commitment of those engaged in th e education
56
of gifted and talented individuals. Talent development indicates a belief in the need to
nurture the highest capabilities within individuals who show potential for the development of giftedness, but who need additional support to achieve that potential. This is a
welcome clarification of the double mission of the field of gifted and talented education, and by adding this fo cus to the actualization of the highest abilities in promising
individuals, the development of more giftedness can be ensured in our society.
Many of those who are most involved in the development of talent suggest that it
should become a primary concern of general education, with identification and nurturing of talent potential a central goal for all children (Morelock , 1996). Others remain
committed primarily to the education of the large underserved population of gifted,
highly gifted, and profoundly gifted individuals and welcome the efforts of those who
would expand this population through search for and support of talented individuals.
In this text, we will use definitions that are supported by the findings of neuroscience and that allow us to understand how intelligence, giftedness, and talent are
developed and function. The following definitions of intelligence, giftedness, gifted individuals, talent, and talent development encompass current knowledge and provide a synthesis of earlier definitions:
Intelligence is the result of a dynamic, within-the-brain process, largely at the synaptic
level, wherein the cells communicate, integrate, and associate information drawn from
all areas of the brain. The result of this process is shown in the ability to generate
predictions, intentions, and ideas; put them into a logical or analytical framework;
and express them symbolically. A high level of intelligence is advanced, accelerated,
and highly integrated processing within the brain that is effective and effici ent. The
development of intelligence is enhanced or inhibited by the interaction between the
genetic pattern of an individual and the opportunities provided by the environment
throughout the individual's life span.
Giftedness is a biologically rooted concept that is the result of a high level of integration
and accelera~ion among the neural cells within the brain. The level of intelligence and
the structure and process of thinking and learning change, becoming more complex,
accelerated, and in-depth. Giftedness may be developed and expressed to a moderate, high , or profound level.
Th e term gifted serves as a label for a high level of intelligence and indicates an
advanced, highly integrated, and accelerated development ofJunctions within the brain.
Such development may be expressed in high levels of abilities such as academic
aptitude , insight and innovation, creative behavior, leadership, personal and interpersonal skill, visual and performing arts, or other generative areas.
Gifted individuals are those who have developed high levels of intelligence and, therefore, operate or pe1jorm, or show promise of operating or pe1jonning, at high levels in
any of the areas of human ability. In schools, these abilities are usually identified in
general intellectual aptitude, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive
thinking, leadership ability, and!or ability in the visual and performing arts. Because
of such advanced and accelerated development, and its dynamic nature, gifted individuals require services not ordinarily provided by the schools so that these individuals and society as a whole can ensure continuing development and benefit from
their growth rather than suffering the loss of such abilities.
57
Talent is an aptitude for a specific area or areas of ability, academic or artistic, that, if
given appropriate opportunities for development, may realize their giftedness .
Talent development is a process that involves the deliberate and planned effort to provide
promising children with an enriched and responsive learning environment, both at home
and at school, so that all of their budding talents and abilities will have the opportunity to
develop to maximum levels. Such appropriate stimulation will allow high levels of intelligence to develop in a variety of forms and expressions and will result in increased
numbers of individuals operating or performing at the level we have labeled "gifted."
The incidence of students with giftedness varies from 2% to 5%, depending on the
definition used. In talent development programs and in the Schoolwide Enrichment
Program (Renzulli & Reis, 1985), 10% to 25% of students might be included in these
populations.
In this chapter, we have begun the exploration of gifted and talemed individuals
by establishing a common understanding of the terms and concepts that will be used
throughout our discussion. We have reviewed the historical development of the concept of intelligence and found that the interactive concept of intelligence is critical to
understanding the development of giftedness. An overview of the evolution of this concept was presented to aid in this understanding. Brain research, as it relates to optimal
development, allows parents and educators to more effectively create stimulating interactions that may lead to high levels of intelligence. This information about how learning occurs, what stimulates and what inhibits learning, and in what ways enriched
environments change the neural structure is essential to nurturing intelligence, giftedness, and the continuous development of talent.
A DECLARATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS

OF THE GIFTED CHILD
By Barbara Clarh
In a democracy equal opportunity cannot, must not, mean the same opportunity. Every child is
unique; all children have a right to develop their own potential. All children must include
gifted children.
It is the right of a gifted child to engage in appropriate educational experiences even when other
children of that grade level or age are unable to profit from the experience.
It is the right of a gifted child to be grouped and to interact with other gifted children for some part
of the learning experience so that the child may be understood, engaged, and challenged.
It is the right of a gifted child to be taught rather than to be used as a tu tor or teaching assistant
for a significant part of the school day.
It is the right of a gifted child to be presented with new, advanced, and challenging ideas and concepts, regardless of the materials and resources that have been designated for the age group
or grade level in which the child was placed.
It is the right of a gifted child to be taught concepts that the child does not yet know instead of
relearning old concepts that the child has already shown evidence of mastering.
It is the right of a gifted child to learn faster than age peers and to have that pace of learning
respected and provided for.
It is the right of a gifted child to think in alternative ways, produce diverse products. and bring
intuition and innovation to the learning experience.
58

It is the righ t of a gifted child to be idealistic and sensitive to fairness, justice, accuracy, and the
global problems facing humankind and to have a forum for expressing these concerns.
It is the right of a gifted child to question generalizations, offer alternative solutions, and value
complex and profound levels of thought.
It is the right of a gifted child to be intense, persistent, and goal-directed in the pursuit of knowledge.
It is the right of a gifted child to express a sense of humor that is unusual, playful, and often complex.
It is the right of a gifted child to hold high expectations for self and others and to be sensitive to
inconsistency between ideals and behavior, with the need to have help in seeing the value
in h uman differences.
It is the right of a gifted child to be a high achiever in some areas of the cu rriculum and not in
others, making thoughtful, knowledgeable academic placement a necessity.
It is the right of a gifted child to have a low tolerance for the lag between vision and actualization,
between personal s tandards and developed skill , and between physical maturity and athletic ability.
It is the right of a gifted child to pursue interests that are beyond the ability of age-peers, are outside th e grade-level curriculum, or involve areas as yet unexplored or un known.
These are some of the rights of gifted children that deserve advocacy If we could
only be sure that the educational experiences of all gifted children honored these 15 rights,
we would have the assurance that society would be blessed with a continuous supply of
gifted adults, for we would have nurtured our gifted children by providing opportunities
for excellence and developed the talen t within all children by providing educational equity.
REVIEW OF IMPORTANT IDEAS

The Concept of Intelligen ce
Although the concept of intelligence as an
interaction between genetics and th e environment
has gained wide acceptance, many still are either
unaware of the data or convinced of another view.
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, originated
when no one questioned the validity of fixed
intelligence. It is important to note that later
revisions of the test are still based on these
assumptions.
Studies indicate that we continue to grow in
intelligence or show a loss of intelligence as we
develop depending on the environment with
which we interact, the intellectual challenges in
which we engage, an d on our personality
characteristics.
The focus for the understanding and definition of
intelligence is now shifting from the observation
of intelligent behaviors to the neural processes
that underlie and create these behaviors.
The Development of Intelligence

Integration, constant feedback, and vast
experience in a rich environment are the keys
to powerful learning and memory.
Wh at we believe about how people become

intelligent will influence the way we plan for
their educational development. Therefore, those
who work with gifted and talented ch ildren
must acquire an understanding of the brain and
the power of the interaction between the
organism and the environment.
By the environment we provide, we do not just
change the behavior of the children; we chan ge
them at the cellular level.
Growth of intelligence depends on the interaction
between our biological inheritance and our
enviromnental opportunities to use that inheritance.
High levels of intelligence or giftedness are the
result of a dynamic, stimulating, interactive
process that leads to quantitative and qualitative
differences in brain function.
How giftedness is expressed depends both on
the genetic patterns of the individual and on the
experiences provided by that individual's
environment.
Gifted learners are biologically different, not at
birth, but as the result of genetic patterns and
environmental opportunities interacting to
produce actual cellular changes in the brain.
Talent Development
Talent development does not identify persons; it
indicates a belief in the need to nurture the
highest capabilities within all individuals.
In telligen ce, Giftedness, Gifted Individuals,

Talent, and Talent Development: Definitions
Although there is no single definition of either
intelligence or giftedness in use, research provides
a common basis for agreement that is important.
As human beings develop higher levels of
functioning, many unique patterns and traits
emerge. The more gifted a person becomes, the
more unique that person may appear.
Intelligence is the result of a dynamic, within-thebrain process, largely at the synaptic level, wherein
the cells communicate, integrate, and associate
information drawn from all areas of the brain.
The result of this process is shown in the ability
to generate predictions, intentions, and ideas;
put them into a logical or analytical framework;
and express them symbolically.
A high level of intelligence is advanced, accelerated,

and highly integrated processing within the
brain that is effective and efficient.
The development of intelligence is enhanced or
inhibited by the interaction between the genetic
pattern of an individual and the opportunities
provided by the environment throughout the
individual's life span.
Giftedness is a biologically rooted concept that is the

result of a high level of integration and acceleration
among the neural cells within the brain.
The level of intelligence and the structure and
process of thinking and learning change, becoming
more complex, accelerated , and in-depth.
Giftedness may be developed and expressed to a
moderate, high, or profound level.
59
The term gifted serves as a label for a high level

of intelligen ce and indicates an advanced, highly
integrated, and accelerated development of
functions within the brain.
Such development may be expressed in high levels
of abilities such as academic aptitude, insight
and innovation , creative behavior, leadership,
personal and interpersonal skill, visual and
performing arts, or other generative areas.
Giftecl individuals are those who have developed
high levels of intelligence and , therefore, operate
or perform , or show promise of operating or
performing, at high levels in any of the areas of
human ability.
In schools, these abilities are usually iden tified
in general intellectual aptitude, specific academic
aptitude, creative or productive thinking,
leadership ability, ancVor ability in the visual
and performing arts.
Because of such advanced and accelerated
development, and its dynamic nature, gifted
individuals require services not ordinarily
provided by the sch ools so that these individuals
and society as a whole can ensure continuing
development and benefit from th eir growth
rather than suffering the loss of such abilities.
Talent is an aptitude for a specific area or areas of
ability that, if given appropriate opportunities
for development, may show giftedness.
Talent development is a process that involves the

deliberate and planned effort to provide promising
children 'vvith an enriched and responsive learning
environment, both at home and at school, so that
all of their buckling talents and abilities will have
the opportunity to develop to maximum levels.
Such appropriate stimulation will allow high
levels of intelligence to develop in a variety of
forms and expressions and will result in
increased numbers of individuals operating or
performing at the level we have labeled "gifted. ''
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Make a presentation
Using the information on the brain shared in this
chapter as your basis, outline a presentation that
you would make to students in you r classroom ,
parents of gifted learners at a parent meeting, or
other teachers in your school or district if you
were given an hour of their time. Your goal will be
to have yo ur chosen audience unders tand the
followino
e
The meaning of intelligen ce, giftedness, and

talent development;
The role of nature and nurture in the development
of intelligence and giftedness;
Why the concept of interactive intelligence has
replaced the idea that children are born gifted; and
The importance of brain function in understanding
the nature and nurture of giftedness.

Clark - Discovering Gifts Talents and Exceptionalities.

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2

The Co1zceptt1 o.f l1zteLLigelzce, GiftedJzecJd,

What was the historical development of the

How does the brain function to develop

What is the interaction of nature and

What are appropriate definitions of the

Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Development

fntdlt:qe1zce ,;, no! ;it.~t a matter ofactin.tJ or behmin.tJ ifltellt:qmtly. Bebmiort;, a

Her father looked up and said, "Honey, that

THE CONCEPT OF INTELLIGENCE

Part 1: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development

heredity, or does the environment make a difference? Is intelligence fixed at birth, or

Francis Galton (UK) investigated the heritability of human intelligence and

Alfred Binet (France) developed intelligence scales, the concept of mental

Lewis Terman revised the Binet Intelligence Scale to establish the

Intelligence testing became very popular, used especially by the U.S.

Concept of predeterminism (maturation leads learning) established by

Development of concepts of educability of intelligence, inconstancy of 10 ,

Jean Piaget described the growth and development of intelligence; drew

J.P. Guilford's presidential speech at the American Psychological

Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, TalenL, and Talent Development

Bloom contributed to an increased awareness of the preschool years as

Howard Gardner proposed the theory of multiple intelligences, that

Robert Sternberg theorized a triarchic concept of intelligence that

The accumulation of evidence indicated that intelligence is

Diamond, Kandel, LeDoux, Siegel, and other neuroscientists extend the

Hawkins suggests and explores a new framework of intelligence based

The Behavioral Concept of Intelligence

Part I: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development

Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Development

Part I: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development

Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Development

Part I: Un derstanding Gifted Ed ucation and Talent Development

Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Development

Part I: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development

The Concept of Intelligence as a Process Within the Brain

Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Development

Source: Based on a drawing by Allyson Balay.

Part 1: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development

Figure 2 .3 The Universe of Intelligence Based on Areas of Brain Function

Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Development

Figure 2.4 A Hand Model of the Human Brain

Figure 2.5 The Human Brain

BackVfew..,.__ From Below

Part I: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development

Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Development

Part I: Understanding Gifted Education and Talem Development

Self-regulation: Regulation of bodily processes through insight, internal commands,

Haws: Social sense, rational and emotional; the foundation of altruism.

Rational intuition is intuitive behavior that realigns known information in such a

Transforlllational intuition seems to use a different kind of sensing that "picks up

Chapter 2: The Concepts of Intelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Development

The Neuron, the Basic Unit of the Brain

Part I: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development

Figure 2.6 Three Interconnected Neurons

Figure 2. 7 The Human Hand as Representing a Nerve Cell

Chapter 2: The Concepts of lnlelligence, Giftedness, Talent, and Talent Developmenl

Part I: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development

THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLIGENCE

Nature Plus Nurture

Gen es cannot be th ought of as causing particular attributes; rather, they have a

Part I: Understanding Gifted Education and Talent Development

High Levels of Intellectual Development: Giftedness