Definitions of Giftedness and Talent - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... The three traits are: above-average ability, creativity and task commitment. Renzulli (2011) suggests that special programs tend to favor children with above average ability and ignore those who may perform poorly academically but demonstrate a high level of task commitment.
Renzulli (2011) sums everything in his own definition which suggests that giftedness can be defined as a sum of three basic clusters of human traits – above average general abilities, high level of task commitment, and high level of creativity. Gifted children are those capable of developing and applying these traits to valuable areas of human performance. For children to attain an effective interaction of these trait clusters, they should be provided with unique programs and services that are not available to ordinary instructional systems.
This can be related to the definition of Gagne (2003) who suggests that giftedness is the possession and use of superior natural abilities to at least one area of ability, to a level where an individual appears among top 10% of his peers. These natural abilities are used to develop talents through a developmental process that uses environmental and interpersonal catalysts. Talents are defined as systematically developed skills, and include arts, social affection, business, academics, leisure and sports (Gagné, 1999). Natural abilities are genetically determined and include: intellectual abilities, creative abilities, sensory abilities, and socio-affective abilities. Some of the interpersonal catalysts that can be used in the development process of giftedness include physical abilities e.g. health, motivation, self-management and personality. Environmental catalysts include: other people, culture and family, programs and events.
From this definition by Gagne, it is clear that the concept of natural abilities brings the whole difference between Renzulli’s and Gagne’s definition. Although both ...Download file to see next pagesRead More