Fox, L. (1974). Facilitating educational development of mathematically precocious youth. In J. C. Stanley, D. P. Keating and L. H. Fox (Eds), Mathematical talent: Discovery, description and development (pp 47-69). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Objective: To describe education options available to facilitate the educational development of highly precocious youth. To illustrate the process used at the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) to address the needs of precocious youth.
Design: Discussion of the fundamental principles underlying the work of SMPY and case studies illustrating this work.
Setting: SMPY, Johns Hopkins University.
Assessment of Variables: Education options offered to students at SMPY were evaluated in light of theory and research. Case studies were screened for the options employed to facilitate appropriate education for precocious students and for signs suggesting success of such options in meeting academic and social needs of these students.
Main Results: There are relatively few specific programs for precocious youth. While many schools have programs for students in the upper 10% or 15% of ability, most do not offer specific teaching strategies for students who fall within the top 1% in relation to ability level. These students require curriculum to be telescoped so that they can cover it faster. They also need programs to be individualised to meet their unique needs.
Homogenous grouping strategies are used frequently for gifted youth. However this strategy appears inappropriate for highly gifted youth because it would be impossible to locate a large enough number of such youth at one site to make this option viable. Also these students do not possess like ability profiles and thus would not be matched in ability across all subject areas. This would make teaching such a group very difficult. Another problem would be ensuring that curriculum is pitched high enough to be challenging for these students. Most curricula written for homogenous groups of gifted students are directed at the moderately gifted rather than the highly gifted.
It has been suggested that the needs of highly gifted students might be better met in schools specially set up to cater for them. However this does not appear to be a viable option due to the very small number of these students in geographic proximity.
Enrichment strategies have been used widely in an effort to meet the needs of highly gifted students.
However, enrichment options tend to supply ‘busy work’ rather than work offering appropriate intellectual challenge. They also tend to focus on areas of study that do not relate directly to a student’s area of ability, in an attempt to expand the student’s range of interests. This does not address the need for challenging work in the specific areas of a student’s strengths.
Acceleration options offer ways of addressing the needs of highly gifted students. Students can skip one or more grades as well as advance in particular subjects, depending on their unique needs.
Radical acceleration in the form of early admission to college has been shown to be an appropriate option for some gifted students. It allows gifted youth access to challenging curricula and saves time towards earning an advanced degree. Students can find intellectual equals among the older university students. Courses that allow for advanced college study whilst the student is still at high school can allow students to develop habits appropriate for university and college study and allow students to enter college early with advanced standing and credit in some courses.
The author goes on to outline seven cases of students identified by SMPY as being highly gifted in mathematics and/or science. The case studies illustrate how SMPY staff supported the students to choose from acceleration options, in different combinations, to successfully meet their needs. In some cases radical educational acceleration was shown to be most appropriate education option.
Conclusion: Highly gifted students require curriculum to be telescoped so that they can cover it faster, and need individualised programs that can meet their unique needs. Options that should be considered for these students include grade skipping, subject-matter acceleration, taking college courses for credit as part-time students or by correspondence, earning college credits by examination, independent study programs, and any combination of these. The best method for any given student will depend on several considerations, including factors unique to the student and his or her social background.
Commentary: This paper is valuable for the evaluations of the many education options that have been implemented to cater for gifted students. The author presents clear arguments for and against the appropriateness of such options for highly gifted students based on theory and research. The article is valuable for educationalists involved in catering for highly gifted children as it clearly outlines strategies that have proven to be very successful for the implementation of programs for these students. For instance, the author suggests ways to help parents approach school principals and teachers regarding the education of their gifted children. The article is particularly valuable for outlining appropriate strategies for radical acceleration.
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