Ecological Stewardship and Gifted Children

Abstract

n even the earliest studies of giftedness in young children (Burks, Jensen, & Terman, 1930;Hollingworth, 1926), researchers noted distinct character traits among gifted students, which included global awareness, sensitivity to complex issues, and a tendency to worry about injustice and dangers that often are beyond a child's control. Dabrowski and Piechowski (1977) described what they called emotional overexcitabilities that can be observed among gifted students as great depth and intensity of emotional life expressed through a wide range of "feeling, attachments, compassion, heightened sense of responsibility, and scrupulous self-examination" (p. 287). This sensitivity of students is one of the positive gifts they bring to a classroom and the world. Yet, characteristics of sensitivity in gifted children can sometimes frustrate or annoy classmates and, unfortunately, some teachers who do not have the same sense of global awareness and responsibility. It can be difficult to reassure young gifted students that solutions will be found to complex problems without patronizing them or minimizing their concerns.This article describes ways in which gifted students explored issues of ecological concern through a description of student projects that addressed coastal erosion and habitat reduction in meaningful ways. Through projects such as these, children who were impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita became empowered to help restore their environment. Ecological Stewardshipgifted child today 17 Ecological Stewardship

Development of An Inventory to Classify Task Commitment Type in Science Learning and Its Application to Classify Students' Types

“…Likewise, task commitment can be shown to be heterogeneous due to the individual difference related to task situation and environment (McHardy et al, 2009). Students are bound to have different task commitment types because they have unique and diverse experiences and interests.…”