Colin Camerer: The Early Professional Years of a Radical Educational Accelerant

Abstract

h n S. H o l m e s , L i -H s i e n Rin, J o a n n e M. T r e m b l a y , a n d R o b e r t K. Zeldin ( C o m p i l e d a n d e d i t e d b y [Barbara S.K. S t a n l e y ) fir at WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY on June 5, 2016 gct.sagepub.com Downloaded from

Radical Acceleration and Early Entry to College: A Review of the Research

“…The importance of parental support is reinforced by the positive outcomes arising from the radical acceleration of Colin Camerer, an exceptionally gifted young man whose progress was monitored through the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) at Johns Hopkins University (Holmes, Rin, Tremblay, & Zeldin, 1984). Colin attributed the success of his program, which included enrolling in college at age 14 with 34 credits and sophomore standing, to ongoing support and encouragement from his parents and other adults, including Dr. Julian Stanley, who served as friends and mentors.…”

“…Camerer holds strong positive views of his radical acceleration. He commented that, if he had been held to lockstep progression through school with age peers, he would paradoxically have developed an unrealistically modest perception of his abilities and would probably have entered a low-level management position (Holmes et al, 1984). He insists, however, that it is important for students to be emotionally stable before any form of acceleration is considered.…”

“…Such procedures may include early school entry, subject acceleration, grade skipping, dual enrollment, curriculum compacting, curriculum telescoping, Advanced Placement courses, part-time college courses, summer programs, and correspondence courses (Olszewski-Kubilius, n.d.;Robinson & Harsin, 2002). Studies of individual radical acceleration illustrate the variety of combinations of these procedures students have undertaken in their progress toward and through radical acceleration (Gross 1986(Gross , 1992Holmes et al, 1984;Sharkey, 1987). Stanley (1978b) suggested that academic and emotional harm may result for highly gifted students who are refused radical academic acceleration.…”

“…The student's personal characteristics inf luence the outcomes of radical acceleration significantly (Gregory & Stevens-Long, 1986;Sharkey 1987). Positive outcomes ensue when students are motivated to achieve, show persistence, and are closely involved in the educational decision making regarding their acceleration programs (Gross, 1986;Holmes et al, 1984). Ongoing family support and encouragement is essential for the student who chooses to radically accelerate (Montour 1977;Gross 1986).…”

“…Swiatek (1993) found that students who had radically accelerated were somewhat less involved in extracurricular activities than other students. Colin Camerer, however, suggested that such a finding probably ref lects a healthy interest in academic pursuits, rather than an unhealthy lack of social interaction (Holmes et al, 1984).…”