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Research on Domain Specific Abilities and Trajectories: Implications for Practice with Gifted Students — Paula Olszewski-Kubilius

Tuesday, May 21, 2024, 9:15 – 10:15 am, Lawrence D. McHugh Hall, Room 101

Eighty percent of journalists for the Wall Street Journal and New York Times did not earn undergraduate degrees in journalism. Highly successful scientists had early exposure to outside-of-school science programs and competitions. The field of gifted education has shifted from a focus on general giftedness to talent within domains. But what do we know about the nature of talent development within different domains? What is the evidence regarding the role and importance of IQ and other more specific abilities for achievement in adulthood? When and how can domain specific abilities be assessed to better identify talents? What are the typical pathways for scientists, athletes, and journalists regarding education, training, and other critical experiences? How do psychosocial skills and insider knowledge affect career trajectories? How can educators use knowledge about the pathways and trajectories for different domains to foster talent development for more students? These are the questions that will be addressed in this presentation.

Dr. Paula Olszewski-Kubilius is the director of the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University and a professor in the School of Education and Social Policy. Over the past 38 years, she has worked to create program models to meet the need of diverse gifted learners, including distance learning, summer, and weekend programs. She has written and published extensively about issues in gifted education, with a particular focus on talent development for under-served gifted students. She has served as the editor of Gifted Child Quarterly, co-editor of the Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, and on the editorial boards of Gifted and Talented International, Roeper Review, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, and Gifted Child Today. She currently is on the board of trustees of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy and is a past president of the Illinois Association for the Gifted. She also serves on advisory boards for the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary and the Robinson Center for Young Scholars at the University of Washington. She is a past- President of the National Association for Gifted Children and received the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2009 from NAGC.