Don Ambrose

Tracy Cross

Morality, Ethics and Gifted Minds explores much of the current wisdom on ethics and morality while developing new perspectives on the ethical dimensions of high ability. Prominent authors from diverse disciplines are brought together, recognizing that no single discipline can capture the essence and entirety of nettlesome, complex, multidimensional moral issues. More specifically, the book explores new dimensions of ethics and morality; magnifies the importance of applying highly intelligent minds to ethical issues while developing ways to strengthen the ethical awareness of the creative and gifted, and brings diverse, interdisciplinary perspectives to bear on these issues.

Morality, Ethics, and Gifted Minds

Robert J. Sternberg

This book brings together eminent and emerging scholars to present cutting-edge research on diverse conceptions of giftedness and talent from a range of international perspectives. It covers classical views, emphasizing IQ, but also seeks to move the academic debate on from the common exclusive emphasis on IQ-based skills. In each chapter the contributors address both theoretical advances and practical applications for administrators, teachers, and parents. The editors conclude by integrating the different points of view and showing ways in which major ideas, even when given different names, can be integrated to provide a holistic and integral viewpoint on giftedness and talent. This book will appeal to students and scholars of creativity, giftedness and gifted education; as well as to practitioners, teachers and education policymakers.

Conceptions of Giftedness and Talent

Bharath Sriraman

Tracy L. Cross

How can we design schools that energetically promote intellectual development while also attending to the social, emotional, and ethical growth of students? In today’s frenzied climate of accountability driven school reform it is difficult to establish anything more than achievement of superficial knowledge and skill. Fortunately, there is a vibrant example of holistic, student-centered education that engenders dynamic, multidimensional student growth. The Roeper School enables students to develop strong intrinsic motivation as they discover aspirations and develop talents consistent with those aspirations. Simultaneously, from a very young age students take considerable responsibility for their own actions and for the processes that go on in their school. Following the Roeper philosophy each student generates a long-term sense of purposeful direction, a strong sense of intrapersonal awareness, impressive creative and critical thinking skills, and a finely tuned sense of ethical responsibility. Upon graduation Roeper students are well prepared to find or create highly productive niches in the world of work and rewarding personal lives while serving as mature, ethical citizens of a complex, 21st-century, globalized society. This book includes descriptions of the multidimensional education the Roeper School provides. The perspectives in the volume are diverse, coming from leading researchers and theorists in the field of gifted education as well as teachers, administrators, alumni, and current students from the school itself. Overall, the book provides a beacon of hope for 21st-century education.

A Model for Holistic Development of High Ability

The Roeper School

Kathleen M. Pierce

In an increasingly complex world the natural human inclination is to oversimplify issues and problems to make them seem more comprehensible and less threatening. This tendency usually generates forms of dogmatism that diminish our ability to think creatively and to develop worthy talents. Fortunately, complexity theory is giving us ways to make sense of intricate, evolving phenomena. This book represents a broad, interdisciplinary application of complexity theory to a wide variety of phenomena in general education, STEM education, learner diversity and special education, social-emotional development, organizational leadership, urban planning, and the history of philosophy. The contributors provide nuanced analyses of the structures and dynamics of complex adaptive systems in these academic and professional fields.

Deconstructing Clichés

A Critique of Creativity and Complexity

How can creative individuals and societies adapt to complex 21st-century conditions? Will civilizations thrive or collapse in the decades to come if they are not creative enough, or if they are too creative? Interest in these questions is growing; however, until now there has been inadequate understanding of the socioeconomic and cultural trends and issues that influence creativity. This book provides that understanding while yielding insights from many of the world’s leading creativity researchers and educational experts. The book begins with a big-picture, interdisciplinary overview of the socioeconomic, cultural, and technological pressures emerging from 21st-century globalization and describes some ways in which those pressures simultaneously suppress, distort, and invigorate creativity in general, and creative education in particular. After that, prominent scholars of creativity and education use their impressive knowledge bases to clarify how we can adjust our thoughts and actions in order to give ourselves the best possible chances for success in this complex world. “The world’s problems are complex, messy, and seemingly intractable, but history tells us that human creativity finds solutions to even the most daunting problems. This book collects perspectives on creative development from many of the most respected scholars and educators working in creativity and innovation today, helping chart a path forward for creativity in the 21st century.” – Jonathan Plucker, Julian C. Stanley Endowed Professor of Talent Development, Johns Hopkins University “A volume taking on macro-opportunities and macroproblems by editors Ambrose and Sternberg is a treat for readers who want to think ‘big’ and think ‘forward.’ Kick back for an imaginative journey that reaches back to early global insights but propels us solidly into the 21st century and beyond.” – Ann Robinson, Past President, National Association for Gifted Children

Don Ambrose

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