Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.32633/eb.7.2
Assessing potential giftedness in the natural field as a tool to improve teaching of gifted students
Dorotea Vrbanović
orcid.org/0000-0002-1519-8406
; V. Gymnasium, Zagreb, Croatia
Slavica Šimić Šašić
orcid.org/0000-0002-4465-1716
; Department of Teacher and Preschool Teacher education, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
Ines Radanović
orcid.org/0000-0003-3239-0536
; Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Despite numerous insights, the concept of being gifted is still insufficiently defined for the needs of education, when it comes to the teachers and professional associates the upbringing and education of such children is still a very complex task. Until the mid-1990s, there was a belief that the accuracy and reliability of teachers in assessing giftedness were not significant, but the teacher played an essential role in the accuracy of those assessments with the use of scales. Moreover, teachers can make highly subjective assessments if they do not use the correct criteria and scales that guide them towards the characteristics that they need to observe to assess giftedness and ensure that their subjectivity does not affect the outcome. The scales to evaluate potential giftedness in the natural field were developed to guide and facilitate the identification of gifted students by their teachers for implementing the HRZZ project "Learning Biology in an Epidemiologically Adapted Research Environment", to adapt the educational process to the needs of gifted students. The theoretical basis for the development of the scales was Renzulli's three-ringed model of giftedness, which includes an above-average development of basic or specific abilities, personality traits, task commitment, and creativity. The scales consist of a series of positively formulated statements arranged in subscales that examine the different characteristics of gifted students. Those students who belong to the top 25% of the total score for all three scales (basic or specific abilities, task commitment and creativity) will be considered potentially gifted. The Student Assessment Scale, in addition to the tests conducted by psychologists, can be an excellent tool for teachers to identify gifted students in the classroom, and with the use of the scale, the teachers can improve their teaching process by following the specific requirements of individual students.
Keywords
giftedness; above average ability; types of intelligence; creativity; task commitment
Hrčak ID:
281113
URI
Publication date:
27.12.2021.
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