Developing Math Talent: A Guide for Educating Gifted And Advanced Learners in Math [Paperback]

Susan Assouline Ph.D. (Author), Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005

Build student success in math with the only comprehensive parent and teacher guide for developing math talent among advanced learners. The authors, nationally recognized math education experts, offer a focused look at educating gifted and talented students for success in math. More than just a guidebook for educators and parents, this book offers a comprehensive approach to mathematics education for gifted students of elementary or middle school age.

The authors provide concrete suggestions for identifying mathematically talented students, tools for instructional planning, and specific programming approaches.

Developing Math Talent features topics such as:

• strategies for identifying mathematically gifted learners,
• strategies for advocating for gifted children with math talent,
• how to design a systematic math education program for gifted students,
• specific curricula and materials that support success, and
• teaching strategies and approaches that encourage and challenge gifted learners.

The book also includes an extensive listing of both print and Internet resources that support math education for talented children. Additionally, the authors include an entire section featuring exemplary sets of challenging math problems for gifted students.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Our intention in writing this book was to give parents and teachers a handbook for working with mathematically talented youth. We drew on over 25 years of experience in identifying and providing programs for these students. The first edition of this book was so well-received, we wrote a second edition, which has just become available (publication date 2011).

Ann Lupkowski Shoplik

About the Author

Susan Assouline, Ph.D., has an appointment as a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Iowa and is the Associate Director and Clinical Supervisor at the university's Belin-Blank Center. She serves as the center's primary consultant regarding whole-grade acceleration, mathematically talented students, and students who are gifted and also have an exceptionality that may interfere with the manifestation of their gift.

Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik is the director of the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary and Secondary Students (C-MITES). She earned a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Texas A&M University and then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth at Johns Hopkins University. She was also an assistant professor and director of the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth at the University of North Texas.

In 1992, she founded the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary and Secondary Students (C-MITES) at Carnegie Mellon University, where she continues to conduct research and develop programs on behalf of academically talented youth. She conducts the annual Elementary Student Talent Search throughout Pennsylvania and oversees the C-MITES summer programs and Weekend Workshops for academically talented students in 9th grade and younger. Her research interests include identifying mathematically talented students younger than age 12 and studying their characteristics and academic needs. She has published many articles on gifted education in scholarly journals. Together with Susan Assouline, she wrote Jane and Johnny Love Math: Recognizing and Encouraging Mathematical Talent in Elementary Students and Developing Math Talent. She is also a coauthor of the Iowa Acceleration Scale with Susan Assouline, Nicholas Colangelo, Jonathan Lipscomb, and Leslie Forstadt.

Product Details

• Paperback: 387 pages
• Publisher: Prufrock Press (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593631596
• ISBN-13: 978-1593631598
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for every parent of a gifted math student, December 11, 2006

By 

Mom of Three - See all my reviews

This review is from: Developing Math Talent: A Guide for Educating Gifted And Advanced Learners in Math (Paperback)

This is by far the best book I have read on the subject of giftedness in math. This goes through the myths of teaching math to gifted. It will hit home- as these myths are WIDELY believed by the schools in the USA. There is a plethora of very practical advice for parents. Many talented youth are underachieving in math in the USA because of they way the schools go about teaching. This book goes through how to work with the schools step by step. It is indispensible for parents of a traditionally schooled child- for homeschoolers still helpful- but maybe not as much as in the traditional schools.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No math content, but solid advice, September 5, 2010

By 

Tom Verhoeff (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Developing Math Talent: A Guide for Educating Gifted And Advanced Learners in Math (Paperback)

From the subtitle (A Guide for Educating Gifted and Advanced Learners in Math), you might get the impression (as I did) that this book will provide (at least some) math content that you can use in teaching talented math students. So, at first, I was disappointed to find out that this book does not offer any material for that purpose. Let me immediately add that it does contain many references to such material and other valuable resources.

Once you know that this is not a math textbook for talented students, and read it for what it is, you'll find out that it is a very good book on dealing with the full range of issues surrounding math education for talented students. The book is organized in a systematic way, where each chapter addresses a particular topic and starts off with the key points. The main target audience of the book consists of parents of talented kids, and teachers (whether teaching talented students or not).

Here are some of the interesting new things that I learned from the book.

It is important to differentiate between good, talented, and exceptionally talented students, since that difference will help decide whether and how to adjust their education. Grade-level tests are not suitable for this, because all these students will score near the top. But above-level standardized tests can be used to differentiate reliably. This is supported by research.

There are many myths (false beliefs) about talented students, and the book makes it possible to discuss these and provides good counterarguments. For instance, many people seem to believe that accelerated education is not good because it will disrupt the social/emotional development of the child. Not true. Of course, acceleration needs to be done in a planned manner. The book will tell you how. Another one is that you cannot detect math talent at an early age (you can, and it is a pity not to develop such talent from an early age on).

Talented students will stay ahead of average students, and with every year the gap will increase, because they pick up new concepts at a higher rate. So, their education will need to be adjusted all the time.

General gifted programs are not the best option. For one thing, the entry criteria may disqualify math talents with average performance on other subjects. For another thing, such programs usually do not provide specific math challenges. Enrichment is also not a solution when it is not accompanied by acceleration and when it does not incorporate specific math-related challenges (special math topics like knot theory, or problem solving).

I liked the many detailed references to research that support the claims of the authors (who themselves also do research in this area, involving large numbers of students). The book is also full of concrete examples and tables. Some quotes from the book can be found on my Quotes web page.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredibly helpful map for a frustrated mom, October 17, 2010

By 

Lynn (Florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Developing Math Talent: A Guide for Educating Gifted And Advanced Learners in Math (Paperback)

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone with a mathematically talented child. The elementary school system (at least where we live) is not prepared to develop math talent. To be fair, I do understand that resources are limited and they can only do so much. The curriculum is necessarily designed for all children, not just the few mathematically talented kids. My son was so bored, frustrated and disengaged he started to make careless errors and develop some other bad habits. With the help of this book, he is now taking online math courses through Johns Hopkins CTY. The public school he attends has made some modifications to partially incorporate this course into his math curriculum. In short, he's thriving!

This book also gave me the confidence that, yes, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to my son. For two years, we had been taking the "wait and see" approach since we were always assured his needs would be met. Two years later, we knew we needed to do something different but really didn't know what to do. If you are in this situation, get this book, use the tools it suggests, and then do what you know is best for your child.