“Everyone
is gifted
in his/her own way:
In defense
of intellectualism
Revised, expanded, and still wrong
Presentation to MCGT Conference 2011
Breakout session II
10:45 – 11:45
[email protected]
1
Essential Questions
Is aptitude a factor in talent development?
2. Can anyone perform at elite levels with
10,000 hours of deliberate practice?
3. Why are the books that follow being
published?
1.
2
New Definition Proposed to NAGC
Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate
outstanding levels of aptitude (exceptional ability to
reason and learn) or competence (documented
performance at the top 10% or higher) in one or more
domains.
Note this definition is normative, as are all definitions in the field
3
Proposed Domains 1 of 2
Domains include any structured activity with
it’s own symbol system (e.g., math, music,
language) and/or set of sensori-motor skills
(e.g., painting, dance, sports)
4
Proposed Domains 2 of 2
While aptitude is the initial factor in giftedness, as the
individual progresses through adolescence to
adulthood, high levels of achievement and motivation
in the domain become the primary manifestations of
giftedness.
This was not meant to imply that achievement and motivation constitute giftedness, but
that achievement and motivation are integral if giftedness is to be fully developed!
5
The six books soon to be cited, in sum, refute the relevance of
Gifts vs. Talents
F. Gagne
“Giftedness refers to measures of potential, of
untrained natural ability, while talent is reserved
specifically for indices of achievement, of the
performance attained as the result of a systematic
program of training and practice.”
(Gagne 1995)
6
A Common G/T Vocabulary
Not?
Gifted
• high aptitude
• nature
• ability
• potential
• threshold
• endowment
7
Talented
• high achievement
• nurture
• performance
• environment
• accomplishment
• output
(Gagne 1995)
Josh Waitzkin: non-prodigy?
Born in 1976, introduced to chess at
6, won the NYC primary chess
championship at age 7, national
runner up in 1985 (age 8)
At age 10, he beat chess master
Edward Frumkin in 6 moves
National master at age 13,
international master at age 16
He is the only person to have won
the National Primary, Elementary,
Junior High School, High School,
U.S. Cadet, and U.S. Junior Closed
chess championships in his career.
8
A crucial distinction
Giftedness is a measure of ability or potential;
Achievement is a measure of effort,
ability and support
9
The “emerging view” in books on talent
development focus on:
Environment
Effort
And imply or state this
about giftedness:
Coaching
“luck”
The “10,000” hour rule
Deliberate practice
Perseverance
10
“Outliers”
overtly and
consistently
acknowledges
aptitude, but
focuses on
environment,
practice,
mentors, and
“luck
“Mindset”
overtly
acknowledges
aptitude, but
focuses on effort,
persistence, and
risk-taking (a
“growth”
mindset)
“The Genius in All of
Us” states that
heredity and
giftedness are not
related, and their
relationship is a
“myth that has
recently been
disproven.”
The books are
a selfreferential
echo chamber
“The Talent Code”
reluctantly
acknowledges, but
heavily discounts,
heredity (aptitude),
focusing on ”deep
practice,” ignition,
and master
coaching
“Bounce” asserts
that giftedness
(talent) is a myth,
citing the authors
that follow to
support that
opinion.
“Talent is
Overrated”
essentially denies
the validity of
heritable
(intellectual) traits
focusing on
(deliberate)
practice, hard
work and passion
11
The six sources of the emerging view
on a rejection of aptitude
(“heritability) continuum
“The Genius in All of Us”
focuses on:
The “myth of gifts”
“The end of ‘giftedness’”
“How to be a genius”
“How lifestyle can alter
heredity”
12
The six sources of the emerging view
on a rejection of aptitude
(“heritability) continuum
“Bounce” focuses on:
(Deliberate) Practice
The 10,000 hour rule
Challenging the
existence of prodigies
13
The six sources of the emerging view on a
rejection of aptitude (“heritability)
continuum
“Talent is Overrated”
(Colvin, 2008) essentially
denies the validity of
heritable (intellectual)
traits focusing on:
(deliberate) practice
hard work
passion
14
The six sources of the emerging view on a
rejection of aptitude (“heritability) continuum
“The Talent Code” (Coyle,
2009) reluctantly
acknowledges, but heavily
discounts, heredity
(aptitude), focusing on:
“deep practice”
“ignition”
master coaching
15
The six sources of the emerging view on a
rejection of aptitude (“heritability) continuum
“Mindset” (Dweck, 2006)
overtly acknowledges
aptitude, but focuses on:
effort
persistence
risk-taking (a “growth”
mindset)
16
The six sources of the emerging view on a
rejection of aptitude (“heritability) continuum
“Outliers” (Gladwell,
2008) overtly and
consistently acknowledges
aptitude, but focuses on:
environment
practice
Mentors
“luck”
17
NATURE VERSUS
NURTURE
Psychologists differ
with regards to the
importance they give
to nature and nurture.
However in reality,
both heredity and
environment interact
with each other to
influence the
development of the
individual.
Heritability
Heritability is a measure of the proportion of variation for a
given trait that can be attributed to genetics.
A heritability of 1.00 would mean that all the variation was
the results of genetic variation (none of the variation is due
to environment).
A heritability of 0.00 would mean that none of the variation
was the result of genetics, and that all of the variation of a
given trait are the result of environment (or
effort/coaching/ignition/deep practice/mindset).
The cumulative
19
Impact of an
uncritical look at
the books and
their you tube
companions
Heredity sets limits and environment helps (or hinders)
the individual reach the limits. See example below of
two runners who trained at identical intensity and
duration with radically different results
Steve Schroeder-Davis
Mesomorph
Height: 5’ 10”
Weight: 180
Best marathon time: 2:45: 15
Per mile pace: 6:18
20
Dick Beardsley
Height: 5’11”
Ectomorph
Weight: 128
Best Marathon Time: 2:08
Per mile Pace: 4:56
Revisionist’s
Gagne’s
Formula
formula
Aptitude
Luck + Catalysts + Practice = Achievement
Dennis Hopson, third overall pick in the
NBA draft 1987
Michael Jordan, third overall pick
in the NBA draft 1984
Revisionists: Everyone can attain “expert” status in anything they choose, since
aptitude is irrelevant
The does not appear to explain the two athletes above
21
Outliers example
Gladwell contends
that “The Beatles
would not have
become the Beatles
without Hamburg.”
22
What does the
“Hamburg
Crucible” and the
10,000 hour rule
imply for gifted
students and talent
development?
The Beatles’ “Hamburg Crucible”
From 1960 - 1962 the Beatles played in Hamburg,
Germany:
Five trips
270 nights
8 hours per night, 7 nights a week
1,200 live performances in 18 months
23
The Beatles’ “Hamburg Crucible”
Lennon: “We had to try even harder,
put our heart and souls into it . . .
we had to play for 8 hours and so
we really had to find a new way of
playing.”
24
The Beatles’ “Hamburg Crucible”4
Biographer Philip Norman, “They learned not
only stamina. They had to learn an
enormous amount of numbers-cover
versions of everything you can think of-not
just rock and roll, a bit of jazz too. When they
came back, they sounded like no one else. It
was the making of them.”
25
The Beatles’ “Hamburg Crucible”
Does this mean that any
four musicians playing
1,200 live performances
could equal the Beatles’
creative and productive
legacy?
Who is this
man?
Headliner
Understudy
26
The Beatles’ “Hamburg Crucible”5
Author Gladwell: “The Beatles are undeniably
talented. Lennon and McCartney had a musical
gift of the sort that comes along once in a
generation.”
Conceding that Hamburg was crucial to the
Beatles’ development does NOT mean that any
four musicians would exit Hamburg and become
the most successful band in history!
27
Why this matters!
1962 was one of the few
times significant money has
been devoted to gifted as a
Categorical population
Due to both implicit and
explicit acceptance of
the skewed
nature/nurture equation,
virtually every extant
educational initiative is
compensatory in nature,
either ignoring or
harming gifted students
28
How we “do” school
29
What are “Grade Level Expectations”?
The concept of age-defined school “grades” is based in the
presumption that all children will learn the same things
– in all subject and skill areas – at the same chronological
point in their lives.
Grade Level Expectations, and examinations based on those
expectations, enforce this presumption.
What are “Grade Level Expectations”?
Graded classrooms are taught to an ‘age-based median’ which
can make it difficult to either excel or catch up.
“Accountability” testing encourages grade retention –
which leads to dropouts (both gifted and struggling).
In this system, gifted students can spend more than 50% of
their class time “treading water.”
Hollingworth (1942), Renzulli, Silverman (1991)
From an R(esponse) t(o)I(nstruction document):
I’m in 4th grade and
E
wih
this
statement?
RtI
read at an 8th grade
Why?
level. I struggle to
“The quality of a
learn something new
everyday!!!!!
school as a learning
community can be
measured by how
effectively it addresses
the needs of struggling
students.”
--Wright (2005)
Source: Wright, J. (2005, Summer). Five interventions that work.
NAESP Leadership Compass, 2(4) pp.1,6.
32
A Differentiated Support Continuum
Support Received for
Students below
“standard”
Support Received for GTs
Fold this
diagram in
half:
Equally
exceptional
students on
both ends
33
All students in “the achievement zone”
34
Different strategies needed to optimize challenge!
35
GIFTEDNESS
INTRAPERSONAL
Aptitude domains
MOTIVATION
INTELLECTUAL
Reasoning
(e.g. verbal,
spatial,
memory,
judgment.)
CREATIVE
Originality,
inventiveness,
humor, etc.
SOCI-AFFECTIVE
Leadership, empathy,
self-awareness, etc.
Initiative, needs,
Interests,
perseverance, TEMPERAMENT/PERSONALITY
Adaptability, attitudes,
etc.
Competitiveness, independence, TALENTS
Fields relevant to
self esteem, values, etc.
school-age
youth.
ACADEMIC
Language, science, etc.
Can only be “developmental”
if it’s
DEVELOPMENTAL
PROCESS
Learning - challenging!
Training - Practicing
SENSORIMOTOR
SURROUNDINGS
Strength, fine motor
control, endurance,
flexibility, etc.
PERSONS
OTHERS
Extrasensory perception,
gift of healing, etc.
Home, school, community, etc.
Parents, teachers, mentors, etc.
GAMES OF STRATEGY
Clues, puzzles, video, etc.
TECHNOLOGY
Mechanics, computers, etc.
ARTS
Visual, drama, music, etc.
UNDERTAKINGS
Activities, courses, programs, etc.
EVENTS
Encounters, awards, accidents, etc.
36
ENVIRONMENTAL
SOCIAL ACTION
Tutoring, school politics, etc.
BUSINESS
Sales, entrepreneurship etc.
ATHLETICS AND SPORTS
Gagne’s Formula from 1995 (!)
Aptitude + Catalysts + Practice = (Level of Achievement)
High Aptitude/Catalysts/Practice
/Catalysts/Practice
Less Aptitude
Virtually everyone can improve significantly in virtually any endeavor,
but that does not mean everyone is gifted. It does mean that all
students need an appropriately challenging education to thrive!
37
The Appeal of the Books
• They are relentlessly egalitarian
• They are upbeat, hopeful, aspirational
• Their focus on effort and perseverance might
be empowering
• The importance of luck and environment
might offer (exculpatory) solace to some
38
The irony of the books: they are as
deterministic as the theory they challenge
Hereditary intelligence
“Luck,” environment,
culture
1902-1992
Nobel Science Laureate
1983
Elite cyto-geneticist
MacArthur “Genius”
grant
National Medal of
science recipient
39
Moved away from home
at age 3 to save the family
money
Mother opposed college,
fearing it would make
Barbara
“unmarriable”
Almost denied college to
due finances and gender
The problems (I had) with the books
They advance the
(unprovable) assertion that
because most expertise
takes about 10,000 hours
or 10 years to develop,
anyone devoting that much
time to any endeavor will
become expert (which is a
not a quantifiable concept)
rather than merely
maximizing their own
unique potential
40
Environment and luck
are (at least) as
deterministic as
heredity
All but Mindset derive
their fundamental
argument from the
same, singular source:
K. Anders Ericsson’s
study of violinist’s
expertise
None of the books
can explain the
difference between
Michael Jordan and
Dennis Hopson
Built in plausible
deniability: if the
10,000 hours do not
result in “expertise,”
the practice time must
not have been
appropriate
(“deliberate”)
41
The Genius in all of US
The Daily Beast
Author Shenk
"The Genius in All of Us
will give new hope to
those of us who have not
yet written a classic
sonata or played center
field for the Yankees.”
Is true greatness obtainable from
everyday means and everyday
genes? Conventional wisdom
says no, that a lucky few are
simply born with certain gifts
while most are not; that talent
and high intelligence are
somewhat scarce gems, scattered
throughout the human gene
pool; that the best we can do is
to locate and polish these rare
gems— and accept the
limitations and mediocrity built
into the rest of us.
42
Bounce analysis
"Individual capability is
not set in genetic stone,
but is a constantly
moving frontier, shifting
ever outward as we
develop and grow in our
area of expertise."
Elite cyclists might disagree,
especially those who competed
against Spanish great Miguel
Indurain, who was reputed to
have a lung capacity 33% bigger
than the average adult's—an
advantage unrelated to how hard
he trained.
Lance Armstrong’s VO2 max:
85 ml/kg/min; “superior” 20
year old’s: 52.4
It’s also derivative,
citing Gladwell and
Dweck 6 times each
43
Or….. Who is this?
A few physical attributes particularly suit Phelps to
swimming: his long, thin torso offers low drag; his
arms span 6 feet 7 inches (201 cm)—disproportionate
to his height of 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm)—and act as
long, propulsive "paddles"; his relatively short legs
lower drag, and perhaps add the speed enhancement of
a hydrofoil; his size 14 feet provide the effect of
flippers; and his hypermobile ankles he can extend
beyond the point of a ballet dancer, enabling him to
whip his feet as if they were fins for maximum thrust
through the water
44
Talent is Overrated Analysis
No alternative theories are
Dr. Simonton suggests
offered
“straw men” are proffered
and then debunked
The author(s) hedge:
“Colvin debunks the myth
of innate talent . . . and will
inspire you to achieve
more in all you do.” (not a
normative issue)
that 30 – 40% of genius
can be attributed to
genetics
(Gifted have) Larger
Frontal Lobes, faster
synapses, more
efficient processes
See Sanjay Gupta
45
Argumentative oddities and fallacies
• “Had the six-year-old Mozart
been compared with
musicians who had clocked
3,500 hours of practice, rather
than other children of the
same age, he would not have
seemed exceptional at all.” p.
57 Bounce
• “His greatest compositions
did not emerge until he had
been composing for two
decades.” p. 58 Bounce
“Of course, none of this
explains why Mozart
eventually managed to
produce compositions that
are considered among the
greatest artistic creations in
human history, but it ought
to dispel the myth that they
emerged from on high, like
gifts from the gods.” P. 58,
Bounce
46
Inherent Contradictions: The Talent
Code
From the cover:
“Greatness isn’t born.
It’s grown. Here’s how.”
From page 73 (in reference
to the role of myelin in
skill development): “The is
not to say that every
person on the planet has
the potential to become
Einstein (whose brain had
an unusual amount of
myelin). Nor does it mean
that genes don’t matterthey do.”
47
Assuming the books are accurate
Let’s take the authors at
their word.
What would that imply
for gifted students?
48
A really
ready
man!!
Giftedness as a “spectrum disorder”
“Readiness”
49
The following slide portrays the “levels” of giftedness. In general, the
higher the I.Q. (or any other capacity) the more underserved the child
in a K-12 system.
Gagne’s Metric System
Level
Label
5
Profoundly
1:100,000
165
+ 4.3
4
“Ready”
Exceptionally
“Ready”
1:10,000
155
+ 3.7
1:1,000
145
+ 3.0
1:100
135
+ 2.3
1:10
120
+ 1.3
2
Highly
“Ready”
Moderately
1
“Ready”
Mildly
3
“Ready”
Ratio
IQ
SD
50
What is needed to learn?
•“Deep practice . . . takes events we would
51
normally strive to avoid-namely, mistakes-and
turns them into skills.” Coyle
•“Those with the growth mindset found setbacks
motivating. They’re a wake-up call.” Dweck
•“Deliberate practice is difficult. It hurts.” Colvin
“Deliberate practice” is focused, intense, specific
practice designed to increase performance (+
hard work + passion) = talent
An example of
precocity
How much “deliberate
practice” or setbacks
will these students
encounter?
52
Response to Intervention
“Tesselations” Pre-Assessment
Define it…
A prehistoric fish
Name: Eric G.
Give an example…
Tesselations no longer
live on earth.
Give a non-example… Ask a question about
I don’t know
it…
Why are we studying
tesselations in math?
www.interventioncentral.org
53
Response to Intervention
“Tesselations” Pre-Assessment
Define it…
To “tessellate” means to
form or arrange small
squares in a checkered or
mosaic pattern. A
tessellation is the pattern
formed.
Name: Sally
Give an example…
Ask a question about it…
Have you visited the website on
tesselations:
http://www.boxermath.com/plp/mo
dules/online/workshop/toolbox/mos
aictool.html?offer_id=PMTHF BACK
www.interventioncentral.org
Give a non-example…
54
Response to Intervention
Who is more likely to receive an
Who is more at risk for learning nothing during the
appropriate intervention?
time devoted to tesselations?
Sally?
Or Eric?
www.interventioncentral.org
55
Two other examples: Annie and Josh
Response to
intervention—hereafter
referred to as RTI—is a
new element in our
nation’s special
education law and our
nation’s schools. RTI is
a process that schools
can use to help children
who are struggling
academically or
behaviorally.
56
Annie and Josh
Annie is in first grade,
reading & writing at a 4th
grade level
Josh is a budding
biologist “placed” in
third grade – but
functioning far higher
57
Dear Miss Brin,
Yesterday you got really really mad at me in class. I didn’t argue with you, because that
just makes you madder and being yelled at makes my stomach feel funny and I can’t think. But I
want to say what happened. Maybe you will understand why it looks like I don’t pay attention in
class.
You told us to open our books to chapter 4 and read silently. Then you asked everyone to
put your hand up if we had finished the third page and Sean didn’t. You waited for him to finish
the page. Then you told us to take turns reading out loud. When you got to me, I asked you
what paragraph to start on, and you started yelling at me. You asked me a lot of questions but
you didn’t let me answer any of them. You answered them yourself but the things you said
weren’t true answers!
This is what happened. I started reading when you said. I finished the chapter and stopped
because you get mad if I read any more. I didn’t get out another book because that makes you
mad too. I didn’t doodle or do math or talk to Sarah or get up or walk around because those
things make you mad. So I worked on my Greek in my head until you called on me.
58
I tried to keep track of where the other kids were when they were
reading. And I had the right page. I just didn’t hear where Kim stopped. Her
voice is sooo quiet and the verb I was saying was too loud in my head! So
it’s not true that I was day dreaming! And I’m not stuck up or arrogant or
insolent or any of the things you said I was! I TRY to follow along but I CAN’T read that slow!!
You said you got mad because I was wasting everybody's’ time. But I
just asked “which paragraph Miss Brin?” Look at your watch and say it too.
It takes 2 seconds. You could have said “the third paragraph.” That takes
2.1 seconds. I timed it too. Then Sarah and Amy R and Amy B would have
6 minutes to read aloud. Instead you yelled at ME for 6 minutes and they did
not get to read any thing!
Peter takes almost a whole minute to read “Ben heard the bear cough
behind him.” I timed him. It’s a game I made up to pay attention instead of
doing Greek or making up poems in my head. If I ask you what paragraph
and you tell me it still takes me less than half a minute for me to read a
whole paragraph. So I guess I don’t understand why you are mad or why you
used 6 minutes to tell the class what a bad stupid mean person I am because
I wasted their time for 4 seconds. I think YOU wasted their time!!! And I think
YOU were mean to call me those names in front of everybody!!!!
59
Miss Brin I want to do what you tell
me! I don’t understand why I can’t keep
reading at the end of a chapter. Or get out my
other books. or study my Greek. Or draw or
doodle or write in my journal. But you don’t
want me to do that so I don’t. But I can’t sit
and stare at the wall. If I try to do that I just
start thinking about something else! I don’t
know HOW to not think! I don’t know HOW to
read slow! Please tell me what to do so it
won’t make you mad at me all the time. And
PLEASE don’t yell at me in class.
love,
your sad student,
Anne
60
Talking point: redefine “struggling”
and “at-risk” to include students who
exceed standard but aren’t learning!
RTI is a process that
schools can use to help
children who are
struggling
academically or
behaviorally.
61
Gifted as a marginalized population
“The quality of a
school as a learning
community can be
measured by how
effectively it addresses
the needs of struggling
students.”
--Wright (2005)
I haven’t
learned a
blessed thing
all year!
Burning questions?
63