Fact vs. Myth

The "Marland" Definition of Gifted and Talented

• Many struggle to accurately define what it means to be academically gifted as it can be a bit complicated.

• A definition for gifted and talented children was developed in 1972 by Sidney Marland, and is still used in most state legislation today (Clark, 2013, p. 30).

• The Marland definition is as follows: 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 by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society.

Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas:

1) General intellectual ability 2) Specific academic ability 3) Creative or productive thinking

4) leadership ability 5) Visual and performing arts 6) Psychomotor ability

1. Prior to this course, I was under the impression that students who are deemed Gifted and Talented inherit these traits.

2. However, upon reading "Growing up Gifted" I now am aware that there are studies showing a correlation between giftedness and interaction with one's environment.

3. One myth society holds that is addressed in the text is that "our intelligence is determined by heredity and is fixed at birth" (Clark, 2013, p. 3). However, this form of fixed intelligence has been disproven throughout ample studies.

4. Clark asserts how "high levels of intelligence....result from the interaction between inherited potentialities and experiences acquired from the environment" (Clark, 2013, p. 9). With this information in mind, it is evident how gifted learners do not necessarily inherit their giftedness. Rather, there is a process through which some form of aptitude or intellect interacts with one's environment that establishes these traits through time in some individuals.