Factors That Enable or Hinder the Implementation of Game Development Activity in Learning Environments

This study aims to investigate the factors that enable or hinder the implementation of game development activity in the instructional process. One instructor and 15 gifted students between the ages of 11 and 15 took part in the study. The students developed computer games related to science topics using MS Kodu game engine within the implementation process. According to the findings, it is seen that instructional practices have great importance, and the instructor plays a key role in the activity. Making and playing games have been the greatest motivation resource for students. In addition, the social environment can be an important tool in sustaining students' motivation levels. The students' negative attitudes toward educational game topics and non-computer activities hinder the successful implementation of the activity. The MS Kodu game engine might be appropriate for novice designers but not be enough for teaching programming concepts. Team-based game development activity is believed to be useful for developing advanced games and increasing the level of interaction between students.

Social-Emotional Learning Iterations to Strengthen Programs in India for Gifted Students in Poverty

A nonresidential gifted program for economically disadvantaged students in India (Grades 6 through 12) uses a continuum of services for social emotional learning (SEL) support to prepare students for college admission. The program stands in contrast to the residential gifted schools in India, which have minimal SEL considerations. SEL is deeply integrated with the Sitare Foundation program's design and evaluation by using emotional intelligence assessments and action plans to customize support for its students and staff. During the coronavirus pandemic, SEL training and mentoring of the city coordinators provided resilience models to encourage continued commitment to the program, especially for female gifted students. Three specific examples (student, leader, and coordinators) are presented as illustrations of growth and transformation. Continuous gathering of both qualitative and quantitative SEL data, combined with traditional academic records, is recommended for effective program iterations.

Design and Development of an Instructional Program for Teaching Programming Processes to Gifted Students Using Scratch

This chapter examines practical applications of an educational program designed to teach Turkish gifted second, third, and fourth grade students programming using Scratch, an online programming website (https://scratch.mit.edu). This qualitative research study was conducted with gifted identified students in an elementary school in Ankara's Altındağ district. Qualitative data collection methods were used. The study found program strengths included practical orientation, student independence, student free expression, computer literacy, and interdisciplinary connections. Additionally, providing a variety of tools and equipment, using Scratch, having a course web site, and on-line resource sharing were also seen as strengths by the participants. Perceived weaknesses were technical difficulties, the limited number of course hours, some of Scratch's negative features, inadequate help at particular points, and negative situations caused by gender and grade level differences. Results indicate preliminary knowledge of participant computer literacy as important to programming success.

A Multiple Perspective Framework to Differentiate Curricula

A framework presenting the multiple definitions of options to differentiate the curriculum for gifted students is outlined. The framework also conveys the accompanying characteristics to consider to facilitate the appropriate selection and implementation of these options across grade levels and subject areas. The framework enables teachers to examine each of the options to determine their feasibility to differentiate curriculum to meet the educational expectations for gifted students and the perceived needs of the teaching/learning processes.

Improving Education for African American Gifted Students Through African American Intellectualism

Researchers have consistently advocated for more culturally relevant and responsive practices in gifted education to better meet the academic and social-emotional needs of Black gifted students. This chapter provides overviews of contemporary views of culturally relevant practices but also provides alternative perspectives of the elements that comprise culturally relevant experiences for Black gifted students by exploring the lives and work of early Black gifted scholars. Recommendations for designing culturally relevant and responsive learning experiences by utilizing elements of African American intellectualism along with curricular models from gifted education will be discussed and shared.

Equitable Assessment of Gifted Students Using the Naglieri General Ability Tests

Even though it is well documented that Black, Hispanic, Native American students have been denied access to gifted education for decades, injustice continues. The authors present research showing that traditional IQ tests with their verbal and quantitative questions contribute to under-representation because they yield large differences for students of color. Some (e.g., NNAT), but not all, nonverbal tests help but verbal and quantitative content is omitted. The authors suggest that students of color who are intellectually capable (gifted) but perhaps not talented (knowledgeable) could be more equitably evaluated if the verbal comprehension of instructions and verbal and quantitative knowledge were taken out of the tests used for identification. Research evidence is provided which shows that the Naglieri General Ability Tests: Verbal, Nonverbal, and Quantitative, which have nonverbal directions, do not demand knowledge acquired at school and do not require verbal response yield small differences by gender, race, ethnicity, and parental education.

Technology for Gifted Students

This chapter proposes that software design using software with programming capabilities, such as Classroom Suite, is a good activity for gifted students to increase their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills while designing appropriate learning activities for all students, including those with disabilities. The chapter describes design techniques that gifted students can apply during the development, offers as an example the design process for one of the authors' own Classroom Suite instructional games, and concludes with a description of several other games designed by the authors as further examples of the kinds of instructional software that gifted students can develop for students with disabilities using Classroom Suite.

Learning from Programming Robots

Oftentimes, elementary students are not provided with rich, investigative lessons that support computation thinking (CT) and critical analysis through the use of tools. The purpose of this study was to explore how programming educational robotics (ERs) support third grade gifted students' CT skills in the context of Taxicab geometry focusing on data processing abilities and time estimation skills. Using qualitative case study methodology, data were gathered though classroom interviews, observations and document analyses. Results indicated that ERs provided students with opportunities for both learning programming in early grades and applying mathematical knowledge and skills through a meaningful task that supported content commonly emphasized in mathematics. Specifically, there was growth in student understanding in terms of abstraction, decomposition, algorithmic thinking, evaluation, and generalization. The findings also suggested that working with ERs supported students' estimation and data processing skills. Implications are provided for the integration of ERs as a tool for primary gifted students' learning of mathematics in technology-mediated environments emphasizing CT.