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Francis Galton
British Psychologist and cousin to Charles Darwin, he studied heredity and the effect of parental genes on the mental abilities of their children. He believed that if the parents had a higher deposition towards intellect, the children would as well. (Plucker, 2013) -
Alfred Binet
French psychologist know for creating the first standardized intelligent assessment and intelligence scale. He originally created it to identify students in need of remediation. Individuals were classified as “gifted” based on their score on the intelligence scale. (Cherry,2019). -
Lewis Terman
Terman revised Binet’s scale of intelligence and developed the “Stanford-Binet” which included and intelligence quota (IQ). It quickly became one of the most widely used assessments in the field and is still currently used. He also was a contributor in the development of the “National Intelligence Test.” (Minton,2019). -
Leta Hollingworth
Hollingsworth is known as the “birth-mother of profoundly gifted”. She is credited as spearheading the many “firsts” in the field of gifted education, including writings, teachings, and advocating. She published over 30 studies in the field of giftedness that are still used today. She also invented testing for children with IQs over 180 to better help service the profoundly gifted. (Silverman) -
Calvin W.Taylor
Taylor designed the Talents Unlimited Model, and the Multiple Talent Approach. In addition to academic talent, the method considers different types of talents such as productive thinking talent, decision making talent, planning talent, forecasting talent, and communication talent. He believes that nine out of ten students will succeed in at least one of these talents. (T.U.I., 1995). -
Joseph Renzulli
Professor of Gifted Education who developed the Three Ring Conception of Giftedness which takes three factors into consideration: above average abilities, task commitment, and creativity. These three traits are analyzed to determine lifelong productivity. He also developed the concepts of “schoolhouse giftedness” and “creative-productive giftedness”. His publications and teachings on schoolwide gifted learning environments are some of the most widely used texts. (Renzulli) -
Abraham Tannenbaum
Social Psychologist who believed that only those who achieve above average in adulthood could be classified as “gifted”. All youth who are defined as “gifted” are better defined as “potentially gifted”. His “Sea Star” model takes five factors into consideration (in addition to intellect): motivation, commitment, belief in oneself, sound mental health, and confidence. He wrote the widely used text Gifted Children: Psychological and Educational Perspectives in 1983. (T.C. 2014) -
Howard Gardner
A psychologist who wrote Frames of Mind where he defines his theory of Multiple Intelligence. In this theory he states that humans show intelligence in many different ways, not just through intellect. There are eight specific intelligences including visual, linguistic, mathematical, kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalistic. He also proposes that there may a necessity to add existential intelligence as well. (Cherry, 2019). -
Francoys Gagne
Created the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent. In this model he explains the difference between gifted and talented which pertains to nature vs. nurture. The model has 5 aptitude domains which include intellect, creativity, socioaffective, sensorimotor, and “other”. (Gagne, 1985) -
Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray –
Wrote the book The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life in which they correlated ,I.Q. with life achievements. It was a highly criticized book because it implied that disadvantages and race cause one to be inferior. (Beatty, 2018) -
Donna Ford
Professor, speaker, and advocate for gifted students, especially those who are minorities. Her main focus is “closing the gap” for students of race and low income; those affected by equity issues in testing and assessment; multicultural education, issues in urban education, and family involvement.