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TITLE Talents Unlimited. A Critical and Creative Thinking SkillsModel. Awareness Packet.
INSTITUTION Talents Unlimited, Inc., Mobile, AL.PUB DATE 1995-00-00NOTE 62p.; For related documents, see UD 031 916-919.PUB TYPE Collected Works General (020) Guides Non-Classroom
(055) Reports Descriptive (141)EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Academic Achievement; Communication (Thought Transfer);
Decision Making; Elementary Education; Intelligence;*Minority Groups; Planning; Prediction; Productivity;*Talent Identification; Teacher Education; Teaching Methods;*Thinking Skills
IDENTIFIERS *Talents Unlimited Program
ABSTRACTThe Talents Unlimited (TU) is designed to help teachers
recognize and nurture the multiple talents of children. Research'based on thework of Calvin Taylor has identified high level talents in which all peopleexcel to varying extents. Taylor has suggested a grouping of talents based onthe needs of the world-of-work, specifying the academic talent and five othertypes: productive thinking, decision making, planning, forecasting, andcommunication. Each of these talents can function in acquiring knowledgeacross all subject matter areas. In the multiple talent approach, studentsdevelop their talents while growing in knowledge. Every student in theclassroom can be successful in at least one of these areas, and thesesuccesses will enhance student self-concept and enable the student to achievemore. This Awareness Packet contains the following material about the TUmodel: (1) a summary of the Talents Model; (2) sample TU lessons; (3)
professional article's about talents; (4) juried review of the Talents Model;(5) the "Talents Dovetail" flyer that endorses the compatibility of thetalents approach with other instructional innovations; (6) suggested talentsreading; and (7) a materials price list. (SLD)
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TALENTS UNLIMITEDA Critical and Creative Thinking Skills Model
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and improvement
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)
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Awareness Packet
TALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.109 South Cedar Street
Mobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060
FAX (334) 433-8364
aEST COPY AVAILABLE
PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL
HAS BEEN GRANTED BY
Prey) ,17 rf c4,s k^f)
TA ItS Or) l im
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2
TALENTS UNLIMITEDA Critical and Creative Thinking Skills Model
Awareness Packet
TALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.109 South Cedar Street
Mobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060
FAX (334) 433-8364
©1995, TALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.
3
We appreciate your interest in the TalentsUnlimited model. In this Awareness Packet,you will find
A Summary of the Talents Model
Sample Talents Unlimited Lessons
Professional Articles about Talents
Juried Review of the Talents Model
"Talents Dovetail" Flyers Endorsing theCompatibility of Talents with Other InstructionalInnovations
Suggested Talents Reading
Materials Price List
For additional information about the Talents Unlimited model, TalentsCertified Trainer contact information, or Talents technical support, call orwrite the Talents Unlimited office.
alee,iith4 cgcaoice;Brenda J. HaskewNational Project Director
4
A Summary of the Talents Model
SUMMARY OF THE TALENTS UNLIMITED MODEL
1. The Talents Unlimited model is designed to help teachers recognize and nurture themultiple talents of children.
2. Nearly all students are talented; that is, can be above average in at least one of themany important intellectual talents we can now measure.
3. Dr. Calvin Taylor's approach to the teaching/learning process is called the MultipleTalent Approach.
4. Talent research has identified high level talents in which all people excel to varyingdegrees.
5. Dr. Calvin Taylor states that there are several ways of being smart which are relatedto the world-of-work.
6. Taylor suggests a grouping of talents based upon world-of-work needs, specifying theAcademic talent and five other types: Productive Thinking talent, Decision Makingtalent, Planning talent, Forecasting talent, and Communication talent.
7. Each of the different talents can function in acquiring knowledge across all subjectmatter areas. In the Multiple Talent Approach, students develop their talents whilesimultaneously growing in knowledge.
8. Taylor feels that if the Multiple Talent Approach to education is used,, greaternumbers of our students will be successful both in and out of school.
9. The Multiple Talent Approach is a complex process incorporating cognitive, affective,and psychomotor components.
10. Nine out of ten children will be above average in at least one of these talent areas.
11. Every student in the classroom can become successful in at least one talent area.These successes will enhance student self-concept and enable him/her to achievemore.
Sample Talents Lessons
MOTIVATION:
TEACHER TALK:
Grade 2Productive ThinkingAcademic: Social Studies
GETTING TO KNOW YOU!
This activity is designed to be used with thesecond grade Macmillan Social Studies textOne Plus One. Using the Academic talent,develop the concept of new citizens as in
Chapter 11, pages 89-93.
Review the four Productive Thinking behaviorswith the students.
"Suppose we got a new citizen in ourclassroom. Use your Productive Thinkingtalent to list many, varied unusual things wecould do to make our new citizen feel welcome.As you tell me your ideas, I will write them onthe chart. Try to think of something no oneelse will think of."
STUDENT RESPONSE: As the teacher records on chart paper, studentswill respond orally with many, varied, unusualways to make a new person feel welcome.
REINFORCEMENT: Praise relevant answers that reflect fluent, flexible,original thinking.
8
Grade 6Communication #3Academic: Science
POND ERING
MOTIVATION: This activity will be taught as a culminatingactivity on ecology.
TEACHER TALK:
STUDENT RESPONSE:
REINFORCEMENT:
EXTENSION:
Have the class take a field trip to the Environ-mental Center or some similar setting.
Following the field trip, review the Communicationtalent behavior #3 with the students.
"On our field trip, we noticed the sundew plantthat grew very near the pond. We enjoyed watchingit trap insects. The plant's leaves have hairs with asticky substance enabling it to trap the insects. Useyour Communication talent behavior #3 to thinkof and write many, varied things in your worldthat are adhesive like the hairy leaves of the sundewplant. Finish the sentence stem: The hairy leaves ofthe sundew plant are adhesive like . Wewill share your responses in ten minutes."
Students individually write their many, variedcomparisons.
Praise students for their many, varied, relevantcomparisons.
Have the students select their favorite comparisonand illustrate it on art paper to be compiled intoa class booklet or displayed on a bulletin board.
9
Professional Articles about Talents
THIN '7THE MAGAZINE ON CRITICAL & CREATIVE THINKING
SPECIAL FOCUS:
Quality inThinking
4°-
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FEBRUARY, 196 $6.(X)
INSIDE:
Interview withArt Costa
TeachingThinking
Back to theII I Real Basics
Creativeand CriticalThinking
Exchange,Bright Ideas,Question Box,and Review
-U) EST COPY AVAILMW
FEATURE
Creative andCritical Thinking:Not Just Enrichmentby Carol SchlichterTuscaloosa, Alabama
In many classrooms aroundthe country, teaching for thinkingis given more than a passingthought. Creative and criticalthinking about topics of the ele-mentary and secondary schoolcurriculum are no longer relegatedto the challenge or enrichment ac-tivities suggested by the teacher'sguide. Instead, reflective thinkingis the standard for students repre-senting a wide range of abilities,interests, and needs. Consider thefollowing classroom scenarios.
As a follow-up lesson to dis-cussions and experiences regard-ing the different types of housesstudents live in, a first-gradeteacher reads aloud Mary AnnHoberman's A House Is a Housefor Me, which cleverly demon-strates many unusual ways onething can be a house for some-thing else (from "a hive is ahouse for a bee" to "a stocking'sa house for a knee"). UsingHoberman's ideas as models ofcreative thinking, the teacher in-vites students to generate a list ofmany items that could be housesfor something else.
To get the ball rolling, theteacher leads her students on awalking scavenger hunt aroundthe classroom. She points to abookshelf and says, "I see some-thing that is a house for somethingelse. What do you see?" The chil-dren are encouraged to state their
*ay
ideas in Hoberman's pattern: abookshelf is a house for books; anaquarium is a house for our fish;a book is a house for a story. Theteacher selects objects that modela variety of possible ideas; in fact,she comments about these variedideas aloud to students. Back attheir desks, the children continuetheir search for ideas that fit thepattern. They are encouraged tothink of new, different ideas andto think of ideas that others mightnot use. They come up with suchimaginative ideas as an apple isa house for a worm; a stomachis a house for food; a watch is ahouse for time; and a head is ahouse for a headache. Later in theday, each student illustrates a fa-vorite idea for a class book, ManyThings Are Houses.
A group of fourth graders isbecoming familiar with the wayinterdependent members of thefood chain cycle matter and ener-gy through the ecosystem. Theirteacher asks how many of the stu-dents have heard of the artificialturf used on sports fields and incommercial landscapes. Afterbriefly discussing their experienceswith artificial turf and examininga sample, the teacher asks stu-dents this question: "What if peoplewere so pleased that this type ofgrass is always green, doesn't die,and doesn't have to be watered ormowed that all grass in our neigh-
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borhood were replaced by artificialturf? Predict many, varied possibleeffects of this situation."
The students offer responsesthat reflect some scientific connec-tion-making. They predict thatcows and other animals wouldhave to find something else greento eat and that erosion would bea major problem because artificialturf provides no roots to holdsoil. In addition, some studentsmake connections of another kind.by suggesting that people wouldn'tenjoy going barefoot, and therewouldn't be the odor of fresh-mown grass anymore.
In a seventh-grade math class,students are learning variousmethods of graphing data. Theyare to decide which graphingmethod would is the best way topresent information they havegathered on topics of individualinterest They generate criteriaquestions, such as the following
Which graphing methodpresents the main ideas mostclearly?
Which method would pro-vide an attractive visual display?
Which method can illustratethe level of detail appropriate tomy audience?
Using a decision-making ma-trix, each student weighs his/heralternatives with answers to the
FEBRUARY '96 THINK 17
FEATURE
questions, makes a decision, anddefends the choice with a varietyof reasons before implementingthe decision.
A high-school English teacherbegins class by encouraging- stu-dents to share aloud personal ex-periences in which they felt theywere treated unfairly. All studentshave stories to tell and are active-ly involved in comparing andcontrasting their experiences withthose of their classmates. Follow-ing this sharing of personal expe-riences, the teacher skillfully guidesstudents to connect their own ex-periences with those of a majorcharacter in To Kill A Mockingbird,which they now begin reading.
A special education teacherchallenges students to discriminateamong different types of angleswith this assignment "Find exam-ples of objects around your home andneighborhood that contain any of thethree types of angles we have beenstudying acute, right, and obtuseangles. Stretch your imagination andyour eyes as you search for examplesno one else will find."
As students become increas-ingly sensitized to angles in theireveryday world, their excitementabout their own ideas increases.Follow-up projects are a naturalculmination activity. Students maymake pop-up books using maga-zine pictures of scenes in whichvarious angles can be observed
18 THINK FEBRUARY '96
"Thinking skills instructionis embedded in the content ofthe discipline being taught."
and labeled. Others may use blackand white photography to makean alphabet book of unusualobjects that contain either acute,right, or obtuse angles.
Thinking Skills InstructionAll of the classrooms described
above share some common featuresof effective instruction for thinking:
Explicit language for thinkingis used to guide students in usingvarious types of thinking. Forexample, students using decisionmaking are guided in identifyingalternatives and criteria, in usinga matrix for the weighing processand decision making, and in de-
13
fending a final choice with a vari-ety of reasons.
Thinking skills instruction isembedded in the content of the dis-cipline being taught. For example,students draw from their own ex-periences of discrimination to un-derstand a similar theme in anovel they are reading.
The tasks require that studentsmanipulate information/skills. Theymust go beyond mere recall tosolve problems, make applications,examine cause and effect, etc.
Students are actively engagedin the learning process, construct-ing knowledge for themselves.
These features of thinkingskills instruction are characteristicsof good teaching appropriate forall students. Teaching that helpsstudents understand specific oper-ational components of differentthinking processes is good teach-ing and results in improved think-ing for any learner. Providingopportunities to think about con-cepts and issues in various disci-plines increases opportunities forstudents to apply preferred think-ing styles. This kind of interactionin instruction is as important forunderachieving or unmotivatedstudents as it is for students whoare driven to achieve.
Instructional activities thatplace students in an active roleand that require them to make
use of information/skills to solveproblems, to consider differentviewpoints, to examine underlyingassumptions, and to envision newpossibilities make learning moreinteresting and personal. Noteacher would suggest that suchoutcomes should be limited toonly a few students. No, teachingfor creative and critical thinkingis not just enrichment; it is goodinstruction for all students!
Talents UnlimitedThe particular thinking skills
approach used in each of theabove classroom scenarios is Tal-ents Unlimited (Schlichter & Palm-er, 1993), a staff developmentmodel for helping teachers identi-fy and nurture students' multiplethinking talents. Talents Unlimited(TU) is based on specific defini-tions of 22 thinking skills in thetalent areas of productive think-ing, decision making, planning,forecasting, and communication.The theoretical and researchbackground for Talents Unlimitedgrew out of the work of CalvinW. Taylor (1968) and J. P. Guil-ford (1956), who have exploredthe multi-dimensional nature ofhuman intelligence for manyyears. This theoretical frameworkis consistent with more contempo-rary interpretations of multipleintelligences, such as those ofGardner (1993) and Sternberg
(1984). The pragmatic support forTalents Unlimited draws on thevalue of creative and critical think-ing skills as a major component ofthe adaptive behavior necessary forindividual independence, flexibility,and self-sufficiency in a time ofunprecedented change.
A major strength of the Tal-ents Unlimited model is its effec-tiveness with groups of studentsdiverse in intellectual ability andachievement, socioeconomic level,and interests. Groups of studentsoften referred to as slow learnersas well as gifted students were in-cluded in the population of theoriginal research. Students in ruralareas as well as students from mi-nority groups were represented inthe study. Numerous successfuladoptions of Talents Unlimited insites representing. all areas of theUnited States and several foreigncountries attest to the validity ofthis program in enhancing thedevelopment of multiple thinkingtalents of students with diversebackgrounds and abilities (Chis-som & McLean, 1993).
Productive ThinkingIn the first-grade scenario, stu-
dents used four well-documentedcreative thinking skills:
fluencymany ideasflexibilityvaried ideas or
ideas reflecting a mental shift
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FEATURE
originalityunusual ideas,something few others would think of
elaborationadding to ideasto make them more interesting
The operational procedures forthinking productively do notchange from grade to grade, butthe content into which lessons areintegrated reflects the developingsophistication of the curriculumat varying grade levels and forvarying audiences and purposes.While the first graders used pro-ductive thinking to expand theirconcept of house, students in oth-er grades apply these same skillsin different contexts.
Fifth graders studying theAmerican Revolutionary War areencouraged to generate ways theearly American colonists couldhave expressed their discontentwith British rule. In a follow-uptask, they classify their list ofalternative responses as eitherviolent or nonviolent methodsand evaluate them in the contextof the historical period.
In a high-school technicalpreparation business course, stu-dents studying marketing tech- .
niques develop many examplesof customer services they wouldoffer if they owned a John Deeredealership. These responses arelater compared to marketing ideasgenerated inside the factory,
FEBRUARY '96 THINK 19
FEATURE
providing students with bothexternal and internal viewpointson customer services.
ForecastingThe central focus of the fore-
casting talent cluster is making avariety of predictions about thepossible causes and/or effects ofvarious phenomena. In the fourth-grade classroom described earlier,students envisioned a future inwhich artificial turf replaced allgrass by thinking of the possibleeffects or consequences. The fol-low-up discussion included effortsto verify predictions. Studentsused what they had been learningabout food chains and their func-tions to provide evidence aboutwhy a particular effect was moreor less likely to occur. Theirthink-aloud efforts provided theteacher with a good indication ofthe students' level of understand-ing regarding the academic objec-tives. In addition, the discussionalso generated new knowledge/understanding for some studentsas their peers articulated connec-tions some had not yet made.Other examples of the applicationfor forecasting follow.
In an introductory activityfor the study of Romeo and Juliet,students are asked to predictcauses for a parent to forbid arelationship. Their responses are
20 THINK FEBRUARY '96
"This kind of inferentialthinking can help studentsavoid simplistic, pigeonholed
thinking."
examined against the backdrop ofa similar issue in a different timeand serve in making the literaryselection more personal.
The practical importance offractions is made immediately realto an elementary group asked topredict the consequences if storesallowed them to purchase only inwhole units and omitted fractionalparts of units.
While an obvious advantageof such strategies is to stimulateanalytic thinking by helping stu-dents examine and manipulatetheir knowledge base throughconnection making, there is anoth-er important benefit of forecasting
15
skills. This kind of inferentialthinking can help students avoidsimplistic, pigeonholed thinking.
Decision MakingDecision making talent assists
students in outlining, weighing,making final judgments, and de-fending a decision on the alterna-tives to a problem. In the mathclass described earlier, studentsmade choices among graphingmethods limited to those present-ed in class. The decision-makingprocess was invigorated becausetheir choices were based ongraphing criteria that matched thestudents' interests. Such a processempowers students by givingthem some control over theirlearning, regardless of age levelor discipline being investigated.
First graders preparing foran Earth Day poster contest gen-erate choices for poster topics(e.g., littering, car pooling). Theirconsiderable experience in usingthe skills of decision makingserves them in developing someof their own criteria (Can I drawthis? Is this a good message? Isthis idea something I want to doto help save the earth?) and inmaking defensible decisions onwhich they will later act.
A high-school computerclass uses decision making to gen-erate, evaluate, and decide on the
best spreadsheet design for calcu-lating their class average.
CommunicationThe high-school English teach-
er in the earlier scenario used acommunication skill to help stu-dents develop a base for express-ing empathy for a character in anovel. No matter which of the sixskills defined in the communica-tion talent may be employed, acentral objective is to increasestudents' facility with both verbaland nonverbal language throughemphasis on variety, clarity, andrichness of expression.
A social studies unit onEgypt provides third graders withopportunities to learn about thebuilders and building of the pyra-mids. To help them focus theirideas about the necessary charac-teristics of workers who built thepyramids, students pretend theyare in charge of hiring a crew toconstruct a pyramid. They listsingle words to describe the kindof pyramid builders they want tohire. In a follow-up task, alsoemploying a communication skill,they incorporate some of theirdescribing words in a newspaperad about pyramid builders.
The importance of usingwritten language in science isdemonstrated in a biology class,following a study of the circulato-
ry system. Students imagine theyhave been shrunk and injectedinto a vein of a frog. They com-pose a network of ideas in theform of an "on the scene" report totrace their flow through the frog'scirculatory system, comparing it totheir own circulatory system.
PlanningThe planning talent skills are
a natural link to decision makingand emphasize designing a wayto implement an idea. Planninginvolves describing what is to bedone (the objective), identifyingthe resources needed, outlining asequence of steps, pinpointingpossible problems, and makingchanges to improve the plan.While none of the dassroomscenarios highlighted the planningtalent, it was the thinking talentof choice to follow the mathstudents' decision about the bestgraphing method to display theirdata. Making the decision doesnot guarantee effective implemen-tation; thus, these students movedfrom decision making to planninga way to com- plete their graph-ing project. Feedback from peersand teacher enhanced the im-provement aspect of planning,which is so critical to successfulimplementation. Other examplesof planning include the following:
Fifth graders detail a plan
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FEATURE
for making a large chart to showsimilarities and differences of thethree geographic groups of earlyAmerican colonies.
Second graders plan (andlater test) pinwheels as part of anenergy unit.
Ninth graders in an earthscience class plan a school land-scaping model to encourage thepresence of butterflies.
Talents Unlimited has beenwidely adopted by school districtsto enhance the creative and criti-cal thinking of all students. Staffdevelopment models for both theelementary grades (Talents Unlim-ited, Inc.) and the secondarygrades (Talents Unlimited to theSecondary Power) are monitoredand evaluated by headquartersstaff and guide the training ofteachers by certified Talents train-ers (Schlichter, 1986). Evidencefrom evaluation studies demon-strates the effectiveness of provid-ing thinking skills instruction forstudents diverse in ability, inter-ests, and learning styles.
Carol 4 Schlichter is a Professor ofSpecial Education, Program for Gifted .
and Talented, at The University ofAlabama. The original director ofTalents Unlimited, she presentlyserves as chairperson of the Board ofDirectors for the Talents Unlimitedto the Secondary Power.
FEBRUARY '98 THINK 21
FEATURE
ReferencesChissom, B. S. & McLean, J. E. (1993).
"Research and Evaluation Re-lated to the Talents Unlim-ited Model: Review and Rec-ommendations." In Carol L.Schlichter and W. RossPalmer (Eds.), Thinking Smart:A Primer of the Talents Un-limited Model (pp. 171-197).
Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learn-ing Press.
Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple Intelli-gences. New York: BasicBooks.
Guilford, J. P. (1956). "Structure ofIntellect" Psychological Bulle-tin, 53, 267-293.
Schlichter, C. L (1986). "Talents Un-limited: An Inservice Educa-tion Model for TeachingThinking Skills." Gifted ChildQuarterly, 30 (3), 119-123.
Schlichter, C. L. & Palmer, W. Ross(Eds.). (1993). Thinking Smart:A Primer of the Talents Unlim-ited Model. Mansfield Center,CT: Creative Learning Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (1984). "Toward aTriarchic Theory of HumanIntelligence." Behavioral andBrain Sciences, 7, 269-287.
Taylor, C. W. (1968). "Be Talent De-velopers as Well as Knowl-edge Dispensers." Today'sEducation, December, 67-69.
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Gifted Child Quarterly, Vol. 30 (3), 1986.
Talents Unlimited: An Inservice Education Modelfor Teaching Thinking Skills
Carol L. SchllchterThe University of Alabama
AbstractThe Talents Unlimited project is an effective inservice
education model for training both regular classroomteachers and specialists in gifted education in thedevelopment of students' creative and critical thinkingskills. Four categories of training activities which com-prise this model closely approximate the componentswhich inservice research suggests are critical in helpingteachers master new instructional approaches: Presen-tation of theory or description of strategy; modelingof skills; practice in simulated and classroom settings;feedback about performance; and coaching for applica-tion of skills to the classroom. The effectiveness of theTalents Unlimited model in enhancing teacher skillsin the identification and instruction of students withvarying backgrounds and diverse abilities is discussed.
IntroductionIncreasing attention to the lifelong process of learning for
both teachers and students is reflected in the rhetoric andresearch of professional literature of the past five to tenyears. Inservice education and staff development werethemes of publications including Educational Leadership(February, 1980; October, 1982), Phi Delta Kappan (Febru-ary, 1982), Theory into Practice (Autumn, 1980), andRoeper Review (September, 1983). A brief summary ofsome of the critical issues in research on inservice educa-tion is provided in the following section. This informationcan serve as a backdrop for the description of the TalentsUnlimited inservice model for the teaching of thinking.
Inservice TrainingIn an extensive review of 200 research studies on teacher
training, Joyce and Showers (1980) identified three generalfindings about the ability of teachers to acquire teachingskills and strategies: 1) nearly all teachers can be successfulin learning new teaching strategies; 2) certain conditions arenecessary for the improvement of teaching, conditions notcommon in most inservice settings; and 3) research is avail-able to give direction in designing staff development activi-ties which address these necessary conditions. This reviewof teacher training research included attention both toimproving or "tuning" present skills and to learning newskills or strategies.
A major focus of the Joyce and Showers review was ananalysis of how various components of teacher training con-
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tribute to learning. The five major components identified inthe review were: 1) presentation of theory or description ofskill or strategy; 2) modeling or demonstration of skills ormodels of teaching; 3) practice in simulated and classroomsettings; 4) structured and open-ended feedback about per-formance; and 5) coaching for application or transfer ofskills to the classroom.
Presentation of theory the rationale, theoretical base,and verbal description of an approach to teaching of a skillor technique was not, by itself, the training strategy in anystudy but was frequently combined with one or more othercomponents. The evidence from such research suggestedthat presentation of theory can raise awareness of anapproach or skill but its greatest impact is made when it isused in combination with other training components, suchas modeling or demonstration of skills. Similarly, none of thestudies reviewed used practice alone as the treatment, butmany demonstrated the effectiveness of this component incombination with prior awareness and knowledge of strate-gies and skills.
The evidence for the modeling and feedback componentsis the clearest in the analysis done by Joyce and Showers(1980). Modeling involves demonstrating the teaching skillor strategy with children or adults or through some form ofmedia. Feedback includes both structured feedback, whichinvolves learning a system for observing teaching behaviorand providing opportunity for reflection on that teaching,and unstructured feedback consisting of informal discus-sion following observation. Joyce and Showers' analysisindicated that the use of modeling alone can produce someimprovement in teaching where tuning of style is involved;however, for the mastery of new approaches, modelingmust be accompanied by other components. Review ofstudies on feedback revealed that structured feedback haspositive impact on awareness of teaching behavior andknowledge about alternatives. Open-ended feedback hasuneven impact and may be used best as an awarenessactivity for more directed training activities.
Coaching for application involves helping teachers ana-lyze content to be taught and processes to be used orapproaches to be taken, as well as using goal-setting andspecific planning to help the teacher incorporate the newteaching approach in the classroom. Although few studiesfocused on this component of training as defined by Joyceand Showers (1982), several treatments which involvedlengthy follow-up feedback and goal-setting suggested thepositive impact of coaching in this analysis of inservicetraining.
18
Gifted Child Quarterly
Joyce and Showers concluded that inservice activities,especially those directed toward mastery of a new approach,are more likely to have maximum effectiveness if theyinclude all five components of training. The combination ofpresentation of theory, modeling or demonstration, prac-tice, feedback, and coaching has the greatest impact inhelping teachers progress to the transfer level, the levelwhich has the most meaning for school improvement.
The Talents UnlimitedInservice Education Model
Talents Unlimited is an innovative educational programdeveloped under a Title III Elementary and Secondary Edu-cation Act grant in Mobile, Alabama, in 1971. This projectrepresents a classroom level, research-based implementa-tion of the multiple talent approach to teaching defined byCalvin Taylor (1967) and linked to Guilford's (1956) researchon the nature of intelligence. The multiple talent approachto teaching is a system for helping teachers identify andnurture youngsters' multiple talents in productive thinking,forecasting, communication, planning, decision making,and academics. In this approach, traditional academictalent helps students gain knowledge in a variety of disci-plines, while the other thinking skills clusters assist studentsin processing or using the knowledge to create new solu-tions to problems (see Table 1).
The overall goal of the Talents Unlimited (TU) project isto design and implement a developmental program of activi-ties which would help teachers to gain and maintain thenecessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes for successfullyimplementing the multiple talent approach to teaching intheir classrooms. The major objectives of the TU projectare directed toward the development of a three-facetedmodel which includes: 1) the training of teachers in therecognition and nurturing of students' multiple thinkingabilities; 2) the development of materials to support theintegration of the thinking processes into the regular cur-ricula of the classroom; and 3) the enhancement of studentperformance in the multiple talent skills, including academicachievement, in creative thinking, and in self-concept.
The success of this project in effecting change in stu-dents' use of a variety of thinking skills and in their attitudesabout themselves has been described in detail elsewhere(Chissom & McLean, 1980; McLean & Chissom, 1980;Schlichter, in press). This article focuses on a description ofthe inservice education model and uses of the TU model inregular education and in gifted education programs.
Talents Unlimited in Regular EducationFrom its inception the TU project was intended to focus
on teacher training, as the teacher was perceived to be thekey person in student talent development. Thirty-sevenregular teachers representing grades one through six par-ticipated as "talents" teachers for the three-year period ofresearch. The project teachers were from four experimental
Volume 30 Number 3 Summer 1986
Table 1
Description of the Talents Unlimited Model
Talent Areas Definition Sample Activity
ProductiveThinking
DecisionMaking
Planning
Forecasting
To generate many, variedand unusual ideas orsolutions and to adddetail to the ideas toimprove or make themmore interesting.
To outline, weigh, makefinal judgments, anddefend a decision on themany alternativesto a problem.
To design a means forimplementing an idea bydescribing what is to bedone, identifying theresources needed, out-lining a sequence ofsteps to take, and pin-pointing possibleproblems in the plan.
To make a variety ofpredictions about thepossible causes and/oreffects of variousphenomena.
Communication To use and interpretboth verbal andnonverbal forms ofcommunication toexpress ideas, feelings,and needs to others.
Academic To develop a base ofknowledge and/or skillabout a topic or issuethrough acquisition ofinformation andconcepts.
Students working in a .
math unit on surveyingand graphing are askedto think of a variety ofunusual topics for asurvey they will conductand graph during the day.
Students who are pre-paring to order materialsthrough the ScholasticBooks campaign areassisted in making finalselections by weighingalternatives with suchcriteria as cost, interest,reading level, etc.
Students who arestudying the unusualcharacteristics of slimemold are asked to designexperiments to answerquestions they havegenerated about thebehavior of the mold.
Students who are con-ducting a parent poll ontheir school's dress codeare encouraged to gener-ate predictions about thepossible causes for lowreturns on the survey.
Fifth graders studying theAmerican Revolutionrole-play reactions ofboth Loyalists andRebels, as they hear thereading of the Declara-tion of Independence, inan attempt to describethe different emotions ofthese groups of colonists.
Students read from avariety of resources togain information aboutthe Impressionist periodand then share theinformation in a discus-sion of a paintingby Monet.
schools with highly diverse student populations. Theseteachers represented different levels of professional com-petency and attitude, as judged by administrative andsupervisory staff, and varied widely in teaching experience(0-44 years) and age (22-68 years). Approximately 40% ofthe participating teachers were black and 60% were white.Needs assessment data established that the teachers hadno prior training in areas related to the specific focus ofthe project.
19
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Gifted Child Quarterly
The Talents Unlimited inservice model was designed
originally as a competency-based training program for the
development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary
for the successful implementation of the multiple talentapproach to teaching. A hierarchy of skills was identified to
guide the implementation and evaluation of training activi-
ties. Four major categories of activities and strategiesemployed in the training were summarized in the TU vali-dation report (1974): 1) input sessions on multiple talent
theory and talent skills definitions; 2) modeling and demon-
stration; 3) classroom practice sessions; and 4) one-to-one
and small group planning sessions. These four categories
of training activities closely approximate the training com-
ponents of inservice education analyzed by Joyce and
Showers (1980).
Presentation of TheoryTU inservice training begins with awareness sessions
designed to inform teachers about multiple talent theory
and research on human intelligence which underlie therationale for development of a broad range of thinkingabilities. In addition, teachers are introduced to descrip-
tions of the six talent clusters comprising the multiple talent
approach to teaching (Taylor, 1967). Classroom examples
of each talent are shared with teachers and audience par-
ticipation is invited for selected examples. Three-year
research results on the TU project are described andhandout materials, including a summary sheet on themultiple talent rationale, a description of the talent clusters,and a bibliography of related readings, are provided toteachers at the end of these input sessions.
A project-designed instrument, "The Talent Reactor,"
provides for the assessment of comprehension of basictalent theory and research and an indication of teacherattitude regarding talent development. In the initial research
period, pre- and post-test data collected foreach participat-
ing teacher demonstrated that minimum performancestandards (75% accuracy on theory base and 90% positive
responses on attitude scale) were met and exceeded. Insubsequent adoptions of the TU model, this instrumentoften is used by teachers as a self-evaluation tool.
Teacher comprehension of the multiple talent approach
to teaching and its underlying rationale goes beyond theobvious goal of helping teachers understand why they are
employing this method and what they might expect as a
result. The value of this training component can be viewed
best in the context of one of the classroom instructionalgoals: teaching students the multiple talent model. Helping
students understand at a conscious level what the talenttraining program is about is a deliberate attempt to encour-age students to share the ownership for their personaltalent development. Further, the development of a clearunderstanding about the multiple talent approach on the
teacher's part facilitates communication with parents and
the diffusion of information to colleagues in the school.
Volume 30 Number 3 Summer 1986
Modeling or DemonstrationAdditional inservice training sessions focus on the dem-
onstration of teaching skills specific to each cluster of think-ing skills in the multiple talent model. The setting for these
activities varies. Some demonstrations are provided inworkshop groups and employ a small group of students;other demonstrations in a workshop setting are imple-mented through role playing with adults or through the useof videotapes of talent teaching. Demonstrations in ateacher's classroom are another method of implementingthis component.
Five key instructional skills are the targets of thesemodeling and demonstration sessions: 1) giving directionsor asking questions which contain specific cues for thecognitive tasks the student is to perform; 2) providing timefor students to respond; 3) accepting/rewarding students'ideas and building upon their ideas; 4) modeling the thinkingskills for students; and 5) developing materials to integrateskills instruction into all subject areas.
PracticeIn the TU inservice model, teachers develop skills in
writing and critiquing talent activities, in implementing andevaluating talent instruction with students and in evaluatingstudent response to instructional activities. Structuredobservational feedback is provided to teachers; in addition,peer feedback and self-evaluation techniques are employed.
"The Talent Reactor" instrument is used to assess someaspects of skill in writing and evaluating instructional activi-ties, but the primary method for evaluating practice centerson the variables in the Teacher Self-Rating Scale. An impor-
tant factor in the TU inservice model is that feedback onpractice is given at regular intervals over a considerablelength of time. In the original research project, teachers
participated in combined practice and feedback sessions
with trainers approximately once a month for three years.Additional practice and feedback sessions were imple-
mented with peers and supervising principals who weretrained in the multiple talent model. The continued use of
the TU thinking skills model by project teachers after theresearch ended was strong evidence of maintenance of
learned skills.Teachers who participated in the original TU research
met or exceeded all minimum performance standards for
the practice component, including number of activitiestaught (R = 66.8 where 50 was minimum), appropriate use ofinstructional variables (R = 8.7 on 9.0 scale where 7.5 was
minimum standard), integration of talent skills with curric-ula (R = 2.5 on 3.0 scale where 2.0 was minimum standard),
and accurate evaluation of student development (R = 4.0 in
one talent, 3.5 in four other talents on 5.0 scale). Althoughthese measures of teachers' successes in implementing theTU thinking skills model are notable, a second set of sup-
portive data was even more significant: student perform-
ance on project-developed measures of thinking skills
20
Gifted Child Quarterly Volume 30 Number 3 Summer 1986
(Criterion Referenced Tests of Talents, 1974), academicachievement, creativity, and self-concept.
Planning and Follow-Through ActivityThis component of the TU inservice model provides a
sense of the commitment to excellence which guidesimplementation efforts. Activities which define this compo-nent focus on efforts to address the nitty-gritty, day-to-dayquestions, problems, and challenges normally experiencedby teachers engaged in instructional innovation.
Planning activities are largely individual in nature becausethe focus is on helping each teacher find the best fit for thenew strategies in the classroom. Topics such as adaptingtalent instruction to students of varying ability and integrat-ing skill development in all subject areas were frequenttargets of these planning activities.
The validation of the TU project and its membership inthe National Diffusion Network are based on results fromthe initial research with students in grades one through six.Some of the subsequent adoptions included secondarystudents. There is ample evidence that the thinking skillsinstruction based on the TU model is applicable withstudents K-12.
Talents Unlimited in Gifted EducationThe basic inservice model for training teachers to use the
TU thinking skills program is appropriate for both regulareducators and specialists in gifted education when the goalis to enhance the creative and critical thinking of students.While the initial research on the TU program was con-ducted with heterogeneous groups of students in the main-stream and the resuling data did not address specificquestions concerning the effectiveness of the model withgifted students, a subsequent replication study using giftedstudents produced significant results for all talents (Chis-som & McLean, 1980). In addition, initial results fromresearch now in progress confirm the usefulness of the TUmodel in identification and instruction of gifted students.Taken together, these data give some direction in suggest-ing implications for gifted education in both regular class-room enrichment and instruction in special programs. Thefollowing sections highlight several applications with giftedstudents by teachers trained in the TU model.
Identification and Classroom Enrichment
Research in progress indicates that teacher training inthe use of the Talents Unlimited model may be an importantstep toward more effective teacher referral of youngsterswith different kinds of outstanding abilities. The use of talentassessment data on individual students may go a long wayin reducing the bias of teachers in referring as gifted onlythose students with high scores on intelligence/achieve-ment tests. In addition, the systematic use of this model maylead to greater identification of minority and/or disadvan-
21
taged gifted youngsters. In the Talents Unlimited research,successes in student talent development were as wellrepresented in the predominantly rural and black experi-mental schools as in the predominantly urban and whitemiddle-class experimental schools (Chissom & McLean,1980).
Teachers of the Talents Unlimited model are trained toprovide systematic opportunities for all youngsters in aclass to develop potential in all talent areas and especially inthe one or more talents identified as a student's particularstrengths. Often these group activities stimulate possibili-ties for bright youngsters to pursue an idea or projectfurther, as well as provide opportunities for training inspecific cognitive and affective skills.
Talents Instruction in Special Programsfor the Gifted
Talents Unlimited can be implemented as a supportsystem in assisting gifted students as they conduct investi-gations of problems of interest to them. Teachers of thegifted who are trained in the TU model can use the multipletalent skills as a strategy for helping these students focus aninterest, define the interest in terms of a problem, and movethrough a process of solving the problem in a mannerappropriate to students' interests and abilities.
The talents model can also be used in the developmentand management of an overall plan for an independentproject. Trained teachers use the various talent skills toassist students in identifying resources and describing proj-ect procedures, in generating and evaluating the productsand outlets for projects; and in analyzing and revising theproject on a day-to-day basis. In addition, the talent skillscan be focused to assist students in developing specificmethodological skills needed to pursue an investigation.
SummaryThe multiple talent approach, as defined in the Talents
Unlimited model, provides the basis for an inservice edu-cation program to train both regular classroom teachersand specialists in gifted education in the development ofstudents' critical and creative thinking skills. The fourcategories of training activities which comprise the TUproject closely approximate the components which in-service research suggests are critical in helping teachersmaster new instructional approaches.
Implementation of the TU model can enhance identifi-cation of students with high potential in a wide range of -abilities and can provide the basis for enrichment in areasof student talent strengths. In addition, the skills of the TUmodel can be used to assist gifted students in the develop-ment and management of independent projects.
ReferencesChissom, B. S., & McLean, J. E. (1980). Talents Unlimited program:
Technical report summarizing research findings. Mobile, AL: Mobile
Gifted Child QuarterlyVolume 30 Number 3 Summer 1986
County Public Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.
ED 179 556).Criterion referenced tests of talents (1974). Mobile, AL: Mobile County
Public Schools.Guilford, J. P. (1956). Structure of intellect. Psychological Bulletin, 53,
267.293.
Joyce, B., & Showers, B. (1980). Improving inservice training: Themessage of research. Educational Leadership, 37, 379.385.
Joyce, B., & Showers, B. (1982). The coaching of teaching. EducationalLeadership. 49(1), 4.10.
McLean, J. E., & Chissom, B. S. (1980). Talents Unlimited program:Summary of research findings for 1979.80. Mobile, AL: Mobile
County Public Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.ED 198 660).
Schlichter, C. L. (in press). Talents Unlimited: Applying the Multiple TalentApproach in Mainstream and Gifted Programs. In Joseph Renzulli (Ed.),Systems and models for developing programs for the gifted andtalented. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.
Talents Unlimited: Application for validation (1974). Mobile, AL: MobileCounty Public Schools.
Taylor, C. W. (1967). Questioning and creating: A model for curriculumreform. Journal of Creative Behavior, 1(1), 22.33.
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EDUCATIONALLEADERSHIP
a 1111
In thd issue. perennial questions about theteaching of thinking appear as usual: anarray of ansukrs offers illumination aboutwhat schools are doing to teach thinking inall areas of the curriculum. Photograph byDennis Johnson. Design by Al Way.
01,11.:1-) 4.011141111MMI
EMPRESS:I
Journal of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
April 1988 Volume 45. Number
TEACHING THINKING THROUGHOUT THE CURRICULUM3 New Possibilities Ron Brandt
Teaching Thinking Throughout the CurriculumWhere Else? John H. ChambersAvoiding Battle at Curriculum Gulch: Teaching Thinking AND ContentBarbara Z. Prezeisen
10 On Teaching Thinking: A Conversation with Art Costa Ron Brandt
'14 Fostering Thoughtful Self-Direction in Students John Barell, Rosemarie Liebmann.and Irving Sigel
18 Cueing Thinking in the Classroom: The Promise of Theory-Embedded ToolsJav AkTighe and Frank T. Lyman, Jr.
26 Developing.a Scope and Sequence for Thinking Skills instruction Barn' K. Bfl*T
How Schools...Teach Thinking32 Using CoRT Thinking in Schools Timothy M. Melchior, Robert E Kaufold, and
Ellen Edwards34 Learning to Think with Philosophy for Children Patricia J. Derrico
Talents Unlimited: One School's Success Story Edmund L. Barbieri,t5 Extending Talents Unlimited to Secondary Schools Carol L Schlichter,
Deborah Hobbs, and W. Donald CrumpAn Overview of Talents Unlimited Edmund L. Barbieri
41 Project IMPACT in Elementary Schools Jacqueline P. Shulik2 Tactics for Thinking in Action Lean King and Rita King6 Toward an Integrating Framework for Teaching Thinking Debra Pickering and
Karen Harvey48 Introducing the Wednesday Revolution Genevieve H. Arnold, Alice Hart, and
Karen Campbell49 Better Student Thinking Through Changing Teacher Behaviors Marilyn Tabor50 Think Before You Ask Stanley L Bippu.s52 Making a Difference in Arkansas: The Multicultural Reading and Thinking Project
Edys S. Quellmalz and Janata Hoskvn56 A "Grow As You Go" Thinking Skills Model Antoinette Worsham58 Writing as a Thinking Tool Carol Bland and Irene Koppel62 "You Have to Think Real Hard When You Write" Libby Branon64 Infusing Thinking Through "Connections- Jill Mirman and Shari Tishman
66 Let's Not Handicap Able Thinkers John Baer
76 Teaching Thinking Needn't Put Able Thinkers at Risk: A Response to John BaerD. N. Perkins
-9 Teaching Thinking to At-Risk Elementary Students Stanley Pogrou'
DEPARTMENTS86 TRENDS
Social Studies. Walter C. Parker. Textbooks. Connie ,Mutter: Supervision. Eduard Pagile
90 REVIEWS
92 LETTERS
96 ASCD in Action
23 BEST COPY AVAILABLE
4.)ZO
C-4
ElINIt NO L. bARRIERI
Talents Unlimited: One School'sSuccess Story
Participation and motivation are no problem whenteachers teach thinking with Talents Unlimited activities.
C CTT7T c are planning a wed-ding herween Mr. Q andMs. a 5-year-old ex
citedlv explains to a visitor at WestoverElementary Magnet School i stamtord.Connecticut 1. tie points to a hulletinhoard which slum.: the four parts ofthe plan. "First we told about ourplan.- he says 'Then we thought of ailthe things we would need for ouryedding.- l.nder the heading. "Things\eeded for the Wedding.- the classhas listed something to eat. tableclothcake. tuxedo. flowers. presents.mumc. judge. man to be Q. tucnium tohe I.. and bathroom (just in case)
Then we had to think of what wewere going to do. the 5-year-old ex-plains further. "and then put ever -thing in the right place.. The thirdheading on the bulletin hoard, "Stepsin our Plan... includes the following:send out invitations. bur a cake andmice. ,Lfet stereo. and get married.
The enthusiastic youngster goes on.'Before we could have the wedding.we had to think of problems thatmight spoil our plan.- Again, the bul-letin hoard reflects concerns of theclass. people might cause trouble byhest too noisy. bride and groommight be late. judge might he absent,And people might spill the cake.
.As a result of this engaging lesson.there is a good chance these 5- andt) -year -olds will remember the Q-L.'
relationship because the process usedto plan the wedding required theyoungsters to interact actively with thesuhiect matter they were expected toremember. Such lessons occur withthe same regularity at Westover SchoolIs do skills drills and morning exer-cises.
This exciting kind of learning re-sults from a teacher training programcalled "Talents Unlimited... "Talents...as it is familiarly known. focuses on
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24 ,,
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critical and creative thinking. inviteschildren to become active learnersrather than passive receivers. and en-ables teachers to function as facilita-tors of learning rather than dissemina-tors of information. Talents Unlimitedproponents believe that nurturingchildren's abilities in the areas of pro-ductive thinking, communication.forecasting. decision making. andplanning will improve their academicperformance along with their chancesfor future success.
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Since its inception at Westover m1981. Talents Unlimited has worked tothe satisfaction of teachers. parents.and students. Teachers plan 50-160lessons each year to enhance dill-dren.s thinking abilities: and childrenfrom kindergarten through (Ali gradeengage in daily activities during whichthey compare. design. predict. categt r-rize. classify. invent, and communicate.
Results are encouraging: test scoresexceed expectations at West( ever. andstudent attendance is well above aver.age. The children demonstrate enthu-siasm for thinking critically and cre-atively and for participation in Talentslessons. Both students and teacherstake pleasure in telling visitors abouttheir work. exhibiting pride in theiraccomplishments. The reason forTalents Unlimited's success is simpleit works. Ask anyone at WestoverSchool.
Edmund L. Barbieri is Principal ofWestover Elementary Magnet school. 412Stillwater Ave.. Stamford. CT 06902. and anAdjunct Professor at Sacred !lean I niYersit in Bridgeport. Connecticut. where heteaches a course called Talents Unlimited.
BEST COPY AVAILABIY
CAROL L ScHusarrER, DEBORAH HOBBS, AND W. DONALD CRUMP
Exten g Talents Unlimitedto Secondary Schools
School districts in Alabama, Arkansas, and NewMexico are finding Talents Unlimited an effective
model for teaching thinking in secondaryclassrooms.
Talents Unlimiteda research-based model for teaching think-ing that has proven effective at
the elementary level for 14 yearsisnow being used with success in sec-ondary schools. The backbone of themodel is instruction in 19 thinkingskills in the five "talent" areas of pro-ductive thinking, decision making,planning, forecasting, and communi-cation, in addition to the basic aca-demic skills (see tig. 1 ). A detailed staffdevelopment model guides imple-mentation of the instructional pro-gram. The program emphasizes spe-cific strategies that help classroomteachers integrate practice in thinkingskills with the academic content of thedisciplines they teach (Schlichter1986). Underlying this approach tothinking skills instruction are the fol-lowing assumptions:
1. People have talents (strengths orpreferences) for different thinkingprocesses.
2. Training in the use of these think-ing processes can enhance ones po-tential in various areas of talent and atthe same time foster positive feelings.about oneself.
3. Training in particular thinkingprocesses can be integrated withknowledge or content in any subjectarea and can enhance academicachievement.
111111111=11111"A detailed staffdevelopmentmodel guidesimplementation ofthe instructionalprogram."
4. The various thinking processesare also linked to success in the worldof work (Taylor 19671.
Here we describe successful imple.mentation of Talents Unlimited at thesecondary level in three locationsthroughout the country. (See "TalentsUnlimited: One School's SuccessStory," Edmund Barbieri. p. 35. for adescription of Talents l'nlimited inelementary school.)
In Las Cruces, New MexicoOne of the first districts to recognizethe importance of Talents I 'illimited a.a model for thinking skills instructionin secondary classrooms was Inc LisCruces, New Mexico. school NVtiteM.The district had used the model suc-cessfully in several elementary Ncht x )Isfor three years. As students from theseschools moved to junior high. theirteachers began to notice that the Tal-ents-trained students more frequentlyraised questions in class discussions.more often suggested other ways oflooking at issues. and more consis-tently exhibited .self-initiated learningthan did other students. Impressed bythese students, secondary teachers re-
36
BEST COPY AVAIL ABLE
Eot*CAT1O5AL 1.FAUFJoriii.
quested and received training in Tal-ents Unlimited. The following thinkingskills lessons illustrate teachers' use ofthe Talents model in extending stu-dents' academic knowledge.
An English teacher- u,,ed a hypo-thetical planning_activity to help 9thgraders studying Romeo and Juliet tobe more aware of the subtlety andcomplexity of relationships betweenthe feuding families. After reading theplay and discussing central issues, thestudents were asked to design a planto convince Juliet's parents that Ro-meo was a suitable mate. The teacherconducted-the planning-activity orallyso that discussion could flow contin-ually during the process. Half theclass did the actual planning aloudand recorded the process on thechalkboard for all to see. The otherhalf of the class, who had heard theinteraction as the plan developed,evaluated the plan. Their commentsserved as take-off points for discus-sion and sometimes as the basis formodifying the plan when the plan-ners determined that the changeswere an improvement. The teacherfound this planning exercise to be ahighly stimulating way to engage stu-dents in using their own ideas toelaborate the finer points of a pieceof literature.
Instruction based on the Talentsmodel was evident in other subjectareas, too.
Students- used productive think-ing to apply academic concepts whentheir calculus teacher asked them togenerate a variety of problems inwhich someone might want to findmaximum or minimum quantities.
In a remedial language lab, acanned exercise on using preposi-tional phrases was replaced by stu-dents' own inventive phrases to com-plete such sentences as, "A busy squir-rel could scamper Sampleresponses generated through produc-tive thinking included:around an oaktree, undera pile of grass clippings,between the legs of a passing jogger,and into -a discarded Nike.
In a 7th grade. life science class,students- used: communication skills toproduce' separate lists of single wordsto describe various biomes. They theri
used the lists to compare and contrastthe biomes under study.
In social studies classes, studentspracticed their forecasting skills, forexample, by predicting causes for thegrowth of the labor movement and forthe legislation of child labor laws.They also considered the conse-quences if czars had not been abol-ished in Russia and if advertisers werenot restricted by truth-in-advertisinglaws. Forecasting questions help stu-dents avoid simplistic, pigeonholedthinking and examine the-connectionsamong historic events that result fromstudents' inferential thinking.
These and .other innovative lessonsthat integrate thinking skills instruc-tion directly with academic contentare available in Talents Unlimited forSecondary Classrooms (Votaw andWyszkowski 1984).
In Benton, Arkansas-In Benton, Arkansas, a project fundedthrough the Winthrop RockefellerFoundation during 1985-88 providesfor the training of all secondary teach-ers in the Talents Unlimited model.Teachers are learning to develop activ-ities to integrate all 19 thinking skillswith academic units of instruction inall subject areas.
Initially, teachers found that somethinking skills are more easily inte-grated into certain. subject areas thanothers. For example, 12th grade En-glish teachers readily developed thefollowing decision-making activity fora literature class that had just com-pleted study of Oedipus and was be-ginning Canterbury Tales:
Think about the characteristics of thetragic hero we discussed in our study ofOedipus, and apply those concepts to theCanterbury Pilgrims. Decide which. mem-ber of the pilgrimage would make the besttragic hero if the circumstances were right.(Possible clues: Does the description of thecharacters in the Prologue suggest a tragicsituation? Is this character admirable to theother characters? Is there something.aboutthis character that suggests the possibilityof a fall?) Defend your decision with many,varied reasons.
An 8th grade science teacher alsoeasily identified a target question forforecasting to help astronomy studentsdistinguish the earth's rotation from its
"The backboneof the model isinstruction. in 19thinking skills inthe five 'talent'areas of productivethinking, decisionmaking, planning,forecasting, andcommunication, inaddition to the basicacademic skills."
APRIL 1988
26 BEST COPY AVAILABLE
"In social studies classes, studentspracticed _their forecasting skills, forexample, by . . . [considering] theconsequences if czars had not beenabolished in Russia and if advertisers werenot restricted by truth-in-advertising laws."
Talent Areas
ProductiveThinking
DecisionMaking
Planning
Forecasting
Dellnitkin
To generate many vaned and
unusual ideas or solutions and to
add detail to the ideas to improve
or make them more interesting.
To outline. weigh, make final
ludgrnents,and defend a decision
on the manyalternatives to a
problem.
Communication
Academic
To design a means for
implementing an idea by
describing what is to be done,
identifying the resources needed,
outlining a sequence of steps to
take. and prnpointing possible
problems in the plan.
To make a variety of predictions
about the possible causes andior
effects of various phenomena.
To use and interpret both verbal
and nonverbalforms of
communication to express ideas.
feelings, andneeds to others.
Sansple Activity
in a compositionclass. students
generate a variety of clever ways
the element of surprise could be
used to createinterest in a given
story situation.On the basis of research on
various funeriCan presidents,
students presentcases for "the
ideal president"using such
criteria as education. experience,
magnitude of events during
presidency,impact of media,
handling of crises. etc.
Studeno who are studying the
unusual characteristicsof slime
/1016 are asked to design
experiments to answer Questions
they have generated about the
behavior of the mold.
Students in a business math class
are asked to predict the possible
consequencesif a company did
not prepare departmentalmargin
statements.Students in a biology lab are
given practice in writing reports
of experimentsby expressing
inthe
varied and interesting ways all
statementsthat could be made on
the basis of a completedchart of
data on traitsobserved in sets of
riff specimens.Students read
from a variety of
resourcesto pin information
about the ImPessionistperiod
and then share the informationin
a discussionof a painting by
Monet.
To develop a base of knowledge
andior skillabout a topic or an
issue through acquisition of
information and concepts.
Fig, 1. The Talents Unlimited Model
revolution and to consider the impor-tance of each phenomenon to life onearth:
What are all the possible effects upon lifeon earth if our planet suddenly stoppedspinning on its axis but continued to re-volve around the sun?
The mathematics curriculum oftenproves to be the most challengingcontent for employing all the thinkingskills, but even this more structureddiscipline did not elude the teachersof Benton. Consider the following de-cision-making lesson on factoring inan algebra class. Students are given apolynomial to factor and asked to de-cide which factoring method would bebest. Students weigh the various meth-ods they have learned in previousclasswork and any variations they maydevelop through discussion of criteriaquestions they generate: Huw manyterms does the polynomial have? Whatis the degree of the ix)lynomial?.Doesthe polynomial contain terms that areperfect squares? Is the constant posi-tive or negative? Decisions are de-fended. and the application of solu-tions to the problem begins. This useof evaluative thinking is only one ofthe strategies teachers believe canhelp students be more reflective intheir mathematics problem solving.
Another important component ofthe Benton project is a strategy forfollow-through on implementationthat takes into account the turnover inschool faculties. Several teachers. rep-resenting each major discipline. vol.unteered to become local Talents 'n.limited trainers. They received addi-tional inservice training in order towork with new faculty members. andthey will assist in the continuing (level.opment of instructional materials tointegrate thinking skills into the cur-riculum.
In Vestavla Hills, AlabamaA K-12 adoption of the Talents Unlim-ited model was the response of theVestavia Hills. Alabama. schools to astate plan for excellence which callsfor the teaching of creative and criticalthinking skills to all students, not ;Listto academically gifted students. Grades
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EDI :CATIOAt I.F AI +.10 II P
"In a remedial.language lab, acanned exercise onusing prepositionalphrases was replacedby students' owninventive phrases . . .generated through-productive thinking."
6-12 were part of a special two-yearstudy. since prior research on themodel was limited primarily to theelementary grades. Training was pro-
. vided to regular classroom teachers,special education teachers, librarians,counselors, and administrative staff.
The aspects of the training that teach-ers found most helpful were: the con-crete examples of ways to implementTalents training in various subject ar-eas: the emphasis on the need forcreative ideas which need not be eval-uated as right or wrong; phrasingquestions specifically to elicit differentkinds of thinking from students; guid-ance in developing specific thinkingskills lessons; and extending conceptsbeyond the textbook. Teachers consis-tently expressed a desire for morescheduled time to work with otherteachers in developing and writingthinking skills activities. This need wasaddressed, to some extent, by coach-ing sessions, which are a part of thecomprehensive Talents Unlimited staffdevelopment model.
Middle school teams (all teachers ata grade level) used some of theirplanning periods to work out strate-gies for ensuring that students re-ceived regular guided practice in allthinking skills. At the high school
Your grouptask is to design a reelection
campaign for Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, which will
be the basis for a class presentation.Your campaign
plan mustinclude the
use of a slogants),
a song, psters/campaignliterature,
and a nominatingspeech to be given to the Progressive
Party convention.This worksheet
is to asstu yourgroup in identifying
all the tasks and
resources, including a timeline fordevelopment,
needed for the presentationof your campaign
in class on(date)
1. State the major theme/Presentation
for the reelection campaign.
2. Identify all the resources you willneed in the development
and Presentationtation of your
campaign.
3. List a sequenceof steps for the development
and presentationof your campaign, including
a timelineand the identification
of specificgroup member responsibility
for each step.
4. Identifycampaign plan.
blems you may encounterwith the develoPent
and presentation of Your
Fig. 2. PISC.1111PRIVI (W04113heen
level, a Talents trainer provided direc-tion, sometimes during departmentalplanning sessions at which teachersbrainstormed questions and activitiesthat would target specific thinkingskills in a particular academic disci-pline. The planning task shown inFigure 2 illustrates the creativity ofteachers in using . thinking skills in-struction.
Teachers kept monthly logs docu-menting planned, guided practice forstudents in the thinking skills. At reg-ular intervals, they compiled their les-son ideas and shared them with col-leagues. Results from careful analysisof the logs indicated that middleschool and high school teachers aver-aged approximately one plannedthinking skills lesson per week in aspecific course. Thus, in the middleschool, where students are clusteredby grade level for their academicclasses, each student had three to fouropportunities a week to engage inthinking skills activities. In the highschool, where individual student
"The [TalentsUnlimited] programemphasizes specificstrategies that helpclassroom teachersintegrate practice inthinking skills withthe academic contentof the disciplinesthey teach."
Vita. 1988
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An Overview of Talents Unlimited'
Edmund L. Barbieri
In 1927, C. Spearman proposed that intelligence is essentially defined by a general
or "g" factor that permeatesperformance on all tasks of intelligence. L L.Thurstone,
who broke away from Spear man's "g" theory,hypothesized that the intellect is made
up of a number of diverse "primary mental abilities." Using factor analysis, he
proposed that intelligence comprises roughly seven abilities: verbal comprehension,
verbal fluency, number, spacial visualization, memory,reasoning, and perceptual
speed. Continuing in Thurstone'stradition, J. P. Guilford developed his three-dimen-
sional "structure of the intellect."Guilford at first posited 120 mental factors and
more recently increasedthese factors to 150.
Calvin Taylor, working with Thurstone, completed his dissertation, Fluency in
Writing, in 1947. His was the first factoranalytic study to go beyond answer
sheet-only responses.He introduced two new factors: ideational fluency and
expressional fluency. Later Taylor isolated nearly 40 verbal communication abilities.
Unlike Guilford, Taylor shied away from complexityand looked for a simpler
model of intelligence. Taylor chose to focus on five major abilities, or talents, in
addition to academic ability. The five talentsproductivethinking, communica-
tion, forecasting,decision making, and planningare
viewed as vehicles to assist
students in using knowledge (i.e., academic talent) to create new solutions to
problems.In 1971, Taylor's theories were put into practice by a group of teachers headed by
Carol Schlicter in the Mobile (Alabama) County Public Schools. The Talents
Unlimited prcisram wasdeveloped in Mobile with funds from the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ERA) and fleid-tested from June 1971-June 1974. The
project was nationally validated and is now one of the most widely disseminated
programs within the US. Government's NationalDiffusion Network. The Talents
Unlimited national headquarters is located in Mobile, now under the direction of
Deborah Hobbs. -
Talents. Unlimited proponents believe that by nurturing students' abilities in the
five Talent areas, their academic proficiencies will improve along with chances for
future success. Brief explanations of the Talents follow:
1. Productive thinking is the ability to generate many, varied, and unusual ideas
and ther. si add on to those ideas to improve them.
2. Communication is the to convey needs, feelings, and ideas effectively to
others. The related skills of cornmulication are: description, companson, empathy,
nonverbal communication, and the networking of ideas.
3. forecasting is looking into the future to predict things that might happen or
looking into the past to consider what might have happened. Forecasting involves
predicting both cause and effect relationships.
4. Decision making is a factor in everyone's life. Somedecisions are of a
split-second nature, while others are long range. Four steps are helpful in training
students to make good decisions:Have them think of many possible
things they could do.
Ask them to think more carefully about each of these things.
Let them choose one.Have them give many, varied reasons for their choices.
5. Effective planning involves:deciding what is going to be planned,
listing all the resources needed,
telling, in order, the steps taken tocomplete the plan,
describing any problems that might come up during implementation.
Currently, there are over 20,000 trained Talents teachers in the 1,500 adoption
cities throughout 49 states. Additional adoption sites can be found in Canada,
Mexico, Columbia, Greece, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Egypt. Over a million
students have had Talents teaching for at least one year, and there are approximately
80 nationally certified Talents trainers.
. 4.
Edmund L. Barbieri is Principal, Westover Elementary Magnet School," 412
Stillwater Ave., Stamford, CT 06902, and an adjunct professor at Sacred Heart
University, Bridgeport, Connecticut,where he teaches a course called Talents
Unlimited. For further information about the program, write to Edmund L. Barbieri or
to Talents Unlimited, 1107 Arlington St., Mobile, AL 36605.
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schedules vary widely, the frequencyand regularity of planned thinkingskills activities also varied widely. Forboth middle school and high schoolteachers, however, integrating think-ing skills into the'curriculum fosteredbetter student performance.
Pre- and post-test scores of middleand high school students on the Crite-rion Referenced Tests of Talents t 19- )yielded statistically significant iii-creases on 11 of the 14 comparisons.These results document the substan-tial impact of the Talents Unlimitedprogram on improving: higherorderthinking,slcills among .middle schooland high school students.
Success in Secondary. SchoolsAfter more than a decade of st.:. .!SS atthe elementary levek,Talents Unlim-ited is proving: itselfwithe secondarylevel-asAvelL SuocessfuLimplemensa-tion of the model-in-school districts inLas Cruces, Benton.. and Vestavia Hillsnow offers convincing . evidence thatdevelopment of thinking skills can becombined with academic contentacross the secondary curriculom.0
&fern.,"
Criterion &Aniseed Tests of Talents. Mo-bile. Ma: Mobile County Public schools.1974.
Schlichter. Carol U 'Talents Unlimited: AnInservice Education Model for TeachingThinking Skills." Gytecl Cbild Quarterly30, 3 (1980 119-123.
Taylor. Calvin W. "Questioning and Creat-ing: A Model for Curriculum Reform.-
12°2""621-23. °Iavatiteaebari°r I.Yours/. Bonnie, and Margaret Wyszkowski.
Talents Unlimited for Secondary Claz-rooms. Las Cruces. New Mexico, PublicSchools. 1984.
Carol L Sdthcbser. is Chair. Program inGifted/Talented and Professor of SpecialEducation. The University of Alalxuria. P 0Box 2592, Tuscakxssa, AL 35487-2592.Deborah Hobbs is Director. Talents Un.limited. Mobile C.ouruy Public schools,1107 Arlington Si, Mobile. AL Wks
Dooakt Crissopies Assistant AcademicVice President and Professor of SpecialEducation, The University of Alabama. P 0.Box 2592, Tuscaloosa Al. 35487-2592.
EDUCATIONAL LEADULNi car
A Model Project
Help Students BecomeActive 'Thinkers (It's never too early to start!)
By Or. Carol L. Schlichter
As a classroom teacher of manyyears. I share an observation about
children that is supported both by soundresearch and common sense: there aredifferent ways in which youngsters aresmart. For example. some youngstersexhibit the traditional school smarts, i.e..they absorb and retain information andcan give it back easily when asked.Other youngsters show their specialskills when Mere s a troublesome prob-lem to be solved. or when a new andcreative idea is needed for a situation;and some youngsters are absorbed in
wondering ateut the wriat ifs (e.g., whatmight happen if there were no domesti-cated animals?). Still other childrenshow smarts in using language to com-municate ideas and feelings in variedand interesting ways, in making deci-sions, and In organizing projects.
This concept. that different peoplehave different ways of dealing with infor-
mation, and the idea that we as teach-ers can use individual strengths orsmarts to help youngsters learn SKIDSand concepts in the school cuMcukxn,is not my original idea. A major tenet of
John Dewey's (1910) progressive edu-cation plan was that youngsters shouldbe problem solvers. Plaget's extensivework on defining the stages of intellec-tual development focused on the Impor-
tance of children's interaction with ideas
and materials (Maier, 1985). CatonTaylor (1968) was one of the leaders Indefining the multi,* talent theory. Hunt
(Pines, 1979) emphasized that cognitivedevelopment does not come lust fromexposure to stimulating erMronrnentsrattier, the child must be allowed tocope and to interact with the environ-ment Torrance (Torrance & Myers.1973) has iong advocated the iMpOr.tance of student invotvement and actionIn the development of creative and Criti-
cal thirildng Odds.
Or Schebnief d PrOlOSSOf of Soausi Et:waitron.The unerensey 01 Alabama. univanaly, AL.
Talents UnlImitod ProtectI had the special opportunity to directthe Talents Unlimited protect in Mobile.Alabama, where the multiple talent thery was put to the test in thirty-sevenclassrooms. What we found in threeyears of research was Mat teachers canearn to identify and develop six kinds oftalents or strengths of young cruldren ofwidely varying ability, (See Suggestedactivities later in this article.) Just asCalvin Taylor predicted, nearly 90% ofthese students experienced success inat !east one of six areas of abilities.
Critical FactorsIn Improving Thinking Skills
While the goal of developing activeearners has been accepted eagerly bymost educators, the process by whichstudents' thinking skills can be enhanc-ed has been a subject of some debate.Recent research suggests that efforts toimprove students' thinking skills must at-tend to several factors: 1) identifying%medically the skills we wish to teech2) provide direct and systematic class-room instruction in how to use theseskills 3) devise and impiement developmental curricula that integrate theteaching of selected thinking dolls withvarious content areas (Beyer, 1984).
Talents Unlimited ModelFor Teaching Thinidng SWIG
A thinking skills model wriich has electivety addressed these factors is provlbed by the Talents Unlimited prOOect, oneof the innovative educational programsfunded through USOE (Educational Prtagrams That Waif, 1978). Talents Unlimi-ted is an instructional model for helpingteachers identify and develop multiplethinking skills or talents in youngsters, in-cluding talents in productive thinking,forecasting, communication, PionninCl,and decision making, as well as the aca-demic talent. See Table 1 for a desert.lion of thinking skill clusters and specific
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operational definitions of the skill corn00nentS comprising eacn cluster.
This protect represents a nignly ettective researcnbased implementation ofthe multiple talent approach to teaching,defined by Calvin W. Taylor (1968) andbased on work by J. P. Guilford (1956)regarding me nature of human intelIFgence. The success of the Talents Un-limited program in identifying anacoin; individual student thinking abilitiesresulted in the validation of the projectand its memoersnip in the National Dif-fusion Network as a developer-demon-strator =Oct.
Classroorh strategies tor implement-ing thinking skills instruction were de-veloped and tested. These strategiesreflect much of what we know from re-search on the kinds of behaviors teach-ers use that seem to enriance studentlearning (Costa. 1981). Specifically,teachers are trained in the following in-structional skills: 1) giving directions orasking questions which contain specif-ic cues for the cognitive tasks the Stu-dent is to perform (see Tablet) 2) pro-viding time for students to respond3) acceptingirewarding students' ideasand building upon their ideas 4) model-ing tne thinking skills tor students.
Instructional ActivitiesFor Teaching Thinking Skills
Integration of thinking skills instructionInto all content areas is a critical factorin the Talents Unlimited model. Student$vary not only in their preference for, andskill r _sing various thinking operations.but r nor Interest in various abjectmatter. The actMties presented as ex-amples in this ante were developedand used by teachers of primary-agestudents as a part of Me regular class-room Instructional program Numerousother exarryies are contained in theTalent Activity packet (1974).
Forecasting: How Could It Have Hap.genet??
*any yearSIK e 4AMUARY ,965
'sea trier.. etc.). give airections for se-lecting the best solution by considering/discussing such criteria questions as:Would this realty work? Would it be safe?Would it cost too much? Could peoplestill enjoy the animals? As students de-cide on tne Pest solution, neip them de-fend their cnoice with reasons based ontheir answers to the criteria Questions.Student Response: Problem- solving ishigh level thinking so be sure to providesufficient time (and be tolerant of si-lence) so students can generate theirown solutions. To make this kind of actiy-rty more realistic to students. ask the zoomanager or a docent to meet and talkwith students when they visit the zoo toshare solutions they have used/are us-ing to deal with this problem. As stu-dents snare and compare their own solutions with the zoo workers, they cangain insight about solving problems inthe real world Of work.
Planning: A No-Sweets PartySubject Matter Contexr. Unit on dentalhealth; students have developed con-cepts about nutrition and care of theteeth. The following activity serves as aCulminating experience to the unit.Teacher Talk: "Let's use what we havelearned about dental health to plan aparty that will please our dentists andalso be loads of funa AO-sweets party)I'll record on the board the four parts ofthe plan as you tell me your ideas: 1) de-scribe the kind of no-sweets party wewill have 2) ilst all the things we will needfor this party 3) tell the steps, In order,that we will have to take to get ready forthe party 4) Identify some problems wemight have with our plan; then, we'll tryto improve our pian."Student Response: The best results withthis planning activity have developedwhen students have been encouragedto put their plan Into action and carry outthe party (with invitations to dentists In-cluded)). The "proof of the pudding" inplanning efforts Is how well the planworked. The teacher snould engage stu-dents In a follow-up discussion In whichthey talk about and compare the Deft),plan with the actual events.
Productive Thinking: A Sign of HonorSubject Matter Context: Social studiesunit, "The Native American"; studentshave had learning experiences whichhelped them understand how NativeAmerican tribes used different andunusual ways of indicating the achieve-ments of their tribe members (e.g., theuse of an eagle feather as a headdressto Indicate deeds of bravery and leader-ship). Students may also be shown a pic-ture of a Seminole woman wearingmany strands of colored beads (sOme-times as much as 25 pounds of beads I)
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wnicri indicated acts of v-rtue or otherachievements.Teacher Talk: "In the next few minutes.I want you to think like a Native Amer-ican and draw or write all the different,unusual ways your tribe could show theaccomplishments of its people. You willneed to see everyday things in nature innew and different ways. You may wantthe boys and girls of your tribe to showtheir achievements through somethingspecial they do to their home or theirclothing. Think of really unusual thingsyou could do to show special honors."Student Response: While Students mayinitially tend to give responses which fallinto the category of jewelry or head-dress, with patience and encouragemerit they can be guided into suchresponses as: paintings on shelter de-picting accomplishments; carvings ortotems In front of homes; special privi-leges; special hair fashions, etc.
Communication: How Did They GetSuch Names?
Subject Matter Context- Social studiesunit, "The Native American." The timingfor this Activity might be keyed to stu-dents' natural curiosity about the namesIndians used for themselves (e.g., LittleSky Bear, Blg Deer, Alligator Stand Up).In preparation for the main task, leadstudents in a discussion of what thesenames could have been derived from,i.e., a physical characteristic, an aspectof the person's personality, etc. Illustratewith an example such as the followingone for Alligator Stand Up: he was asmean/strong as an alligator (personality);mien he stood up he was as tall as analligator Is long (size); he had sharppointed teeth like an alligator (specialphysical feature).Teacher Talk: "Pretend that you are tobe made an honOrary member of a Na-tive American tribe and will be allowedto choose your Native American name.In preparation for naming yourself, thinkof yourself In me several different wayslisted below. Record all the differentcomparisons you made about yourselfon the worksheet."
Comparing Myself to Special ThingsIn Special Ways
(worksheets)I am as brave asI am the size ofI am as strong asI am as friendly asI am as skillful asI am as clever asI lOck like
Student Response: After students makemany, different comparisons on theworksheet, they put some of the Ideastogether and create their Indian names.Sharing Indian names with class mem-
31
hers involves a clear explanation of thename based on individual comparisons.
Productive Thinking: TwosSubject Matter Context: Math. numeralconcepts: share John Drinicwater'spoem, "Twos" which names a variety ofthings (some ordinary aria some surpris-ing) which come in twoseyes, arms.legs, luggage straps. collar studs. andpigeon's eggs! As part of tne warm-upprocess. have students use productivethinking to add to mis list of things thatcome in twos.Teacher Talk: "Now I want you to dosome more productive thinking, this timeabout the numeral three. We are goingto go on a search for all the varied ariaunusual things that come in sets ofthree. Start your search in our class-room and around our play area (stu-dents may name a three-drawer filingcabinet, a threesectioned window, athree-speed record player, threewheeled toy, three-seater swing set).Add any Other ideas for things that comein threes even if you cannot see themhere (e.g., triple-scoop ice cream cone.wheels on a tricycle). After the classhas collaborated on a list of things thatcome In threes, focus individual effortwith a final instruction: "Now, try to finda set Of threes that no one else in ourClaSe would think of and draw your unu-sual Idea Of something that comes inthrees on a piece of drawing paper."Student Response: Students are not only gathering examples for learning a nu-meral concept; they are developing ob-servation skills and experiencing bothCooperative effort (Oontributing to theClan list) and individual effort (findingand drawing an idea no one else wouldthink of).
Decision Making: Yes, Yes, Yes!
Subject Matter Context: The academiccontext for this activity is found in Luciaand James L Hymes' poem, "My Favor-Its Word", which begins: "There is onewordMy favorite The very, verybest. It isn't No or maybe. It's Yes. Yes,Yee, Yes, YESI" After me poem is sharedand discussed, using whatever lan-guage experiences are appropriate forthe students, the teacher can focus ona decision making activity.Teacher Talk: "Use your decision makIng Skills to decide on the thing youwould most like to have someone say"yes" about to you. First. let's think ofthings together we would like to near"yes" about. I'll record your ideas asyou give them to me (teacher mightmake simple rebus pictures on chalk-board). Now, think carefully about each"yes" Idea so you can decide on meone you like best. Ask yourself these
*art), Mull CO JANuAlav 'oes
Matter Context Science unit.Piants and Annuls of Wig. Long
Ago". StuidentS nave 100(80 at picturesof dinosaurs and diScuSsed basic intr.mation atout size. Habitats. oenoiwnicn dinosaurs lived. etc The conceptof extinct nas been developedreaCrer ra,k S.,:ncsaurs died out sic .vy as rings woun0 :r em cnanged Even.nougn no one knows exactly wnat nap
oened to these longago animals. wecan use our forecasting skill to makesome guesses. Predict many, vanedthings that could have caused dinosaursto Demme extinctStudent Response. Students are en-couraged to excaore widely tne oossciirties for tne extinction of dinosaursSome of tine resoonses may includecnarges. perhaps over a great period of
Table I
Deo:notion of ths 1Suitibie Tart Model
Talent Areas Definition San Caroxnenta
ProductiveThinking
DecisionMaking
Planning
Forecasting
Communication
Academia:
To generate many. var-ied and unusual clotsor soluto-is and to eCcfoetas to the ideas to rriDrove or more Ownmore interesting:
To wen,. weep. makefinal ludgments. and Cle-Ism a clecieen of fiemarry alternatives toMoon
To design a irons tortrOOmenting an Me bydaubing what is to beow*. denuryng the re-sources needed. outirytag a emusnce d Mosto take. aril cdroortingCombs orcOlerrs n Orcon.
To mote a variety ofprole:tow spout theveal*, causes and/oreffects of various~omens.To use and MOM.cart woo and nonviartpal forms of cixteruni-cation 10 swede pass.feeoga aria niece IDWoe-
To dewite a ban atmamma), wow edlaabout a to or rueinna.gh acouselon ofrearms= and am-Dam
Thirw 01 MANY bleu,Mink of VARIEDcaws: trunk ofUNUSUAL oast: ADOTO your cos to macsthem better.
TN* of many. vane*tarps you =AO do.ALTERNATIVES: harkmore caretuty aCcutwon altemetims. CRI-TERIA cnocee one es-timative that you three best. DECISION: givemany vaned roasOns toryour choice. REASONS.
Tel WHAT you are goingto flan so ecnoOne useate know what yots pro-tect It WI al of theVATERALS AND EQUIP -MENT you vdt need foryour protect tee. inorder. all of the STEPSNEEDED to caromthe protect tel tnemany, vaned PROB-LEMS thel.could keeoyou from carcieurg theprotect
iAaire merry, maidPREDICTIONS about a
Give many. vane SIN-GLE WORDS TO DE-EiCRIBE SOMETHING.gra many, vaned SiN-3.EWORDS TO DE.SCRIBE FEELING&think of irony, vanedI'MtNOS THAT AREALIKE P1 A SPECIALAMY. let others knowtol YOU UNDER-STAND HOW THEYFEEL; moo a networkof bees wag friary,verso CCMPLETETHOUGHTS; lea yourkesiliga, MOSS. andneed* WITHOUT US/N3WORD&
91111ecrairenta varyfrom grace to grace.
32
time, to which dinosaurs could not be-come adapted. such as changes in tern-Derature or humidity. diminishing of foodsources. Increase in number of preda-tors. or a combination of factors Manystudent oredictions can be discussed inlight of oresent knowleOge but evenhighly soecutative predictions snouid oeacceotec and discussed in erns ofnewly developing scientific Knowledgeand tednnidueS tor uncovering newideas
Forecasting. Dinosaurs Today?SuOrect Matter Context. This activitycould be used as a follow-up to the earlier forecasting activity. -How Could lit
Have Happened.'" or could be usedalone to stimulate stuaents' imaginativethinking about a hypothetical situationThe teachers should read aloud the firstfew pages of if The Dinosaurs CameBack by Bernard Most (Harcourt BraceJovanovich, 1978) before giving avectons for student predictions.Teacher Talk: 'You just heard nowsomeone else used his forecasting skillto predict some things that could nap-Pen if dinosaurs lived on earth tccaywant you to use your forecasting Skilland predict many. varied other thingsthat might riacoen it dinosaurs iivea neretoday."Student Response. Students might tellOr draw their predictions. Their respouses are likely to reflect both highlyimaginative possibilities and predictionswhich demonstrate scientific conceptsthey are developing. After students haveshared their predictions, the rest of thestory may be read.
Decision Making: Trouble At the ZooSubject Matter Context Social studies/science content related to a Plannedfield trip to a local zoo. This activitywould be preceded by many actmttes/experiences related to animals whichchildren will be viewing at the zoo. Partof tliOse aCtAntoeS would focus on theproper care .and feeding of animals incaptivity. The teacher will need to pre-pare a large sign rat says "PLEASEDON'T FEED THE ANIMALS."Teacher Tait Stow/read the sign tostudents and. explain. "The workers atmany zoos have a special problem.Signs lice this are all over the zoo butsome people keeo on feeding the and
and sometimes the animals getsick. Use your decision making skillsand think of some different thongs thezoo workers could do to get people toslop feeding the animals." When stu-dents have generated several alterna-tives (e.g.. 03n't sell any food on zoogrounds. give tickets/fines to peoplewho feed animas. put up fenceS so CleoOle can't get close enough to animals to
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istL,C*mL ACTIVE li-IINKERSContinue° ttOrn page 40
questions: Would I realty want someoneto say "yes" about this? Would this"yes" make me happy? Would this"yes" make others happy? Would this"yes" help me in some way? Choosethe one "yes" idea you like best and beready to tell many, varied reasons whyyOu chose it.Student Response: All responses will beoral. You may choose to structure thesharing process by asking students togive their decisions and reasons usingthis framework: The beSt "yes" idea forme isbecausebecausebecauseWhen young students falter on the rea-sons, the leacher should assist by re-minding them of the questions aboveand helping them turn their answers tothe questions into reasons (e.g., it a stu-dent says he chose a particular "yes"idea and answers "yes" to your probe,"Would this make you happy?" thenhelp him phrase the reason "becausethat would make me happy."
Communication: A Closer LookSubject Matter Context: Science unit,"Living Things Grow and Change"; oneof the Skills in this unit is learning to ob-serve specimens with simple tools, suchas a magnifying glass. Each student isgiven a similar leaf specimen from thesame plant.Teacher Talk: "I want you to look closelyat your leaf specimen and tell me many,varied single words you could use to de-scribe it. Use all of your senses to ob-serve this leaf. Look for the specialthings about this leaf and give me singlewords to describe the leaf. I will writeyour describing words on the board."Following a period of response in whichstudents give a variety of describingwords, hand out magnifying glasses andcontinue the communication activitywith these directions: "Now, look at yourleaf under the magnifying glass andnotice new things about your specimen.Glom me some words that describe thisleaf that are different from the words inyour first list." Follow the observation pe-riod with a discussion of the differencesbetween observing something with thenaked eye and obseniav it with magnifi-cation. Then, lead students to use theirlists of words to develop two short para-graphs or a poem that explains how aleaf looks when you see it only with youreye and how it looks when magnified.Student Response: This describing andwriting exercise is another approach toa language experience which can helpyoung students clarify the skill of closer-
yahoo anti use the scientific tool ofmagnification.
Planning: Nestle's-OUIK!Subject Matter Context.' Science unit."Solids, Liquids, and Gases": this activitywas developed specifically for helpingstudents understand that some solidscan be completely dissolved into liquids.Just prior to the main task. the teacherdisplays an ad for Nestle's Ouik choco-late drink mix and encourages studentsto share their experiences in mixing thepowder in their milk.Teacher Talk: "You have been describ-ing how you have made chocolate milkby mixing Nestle's Ouik in your milk. Milkis a liquid and Nestle's Ouik powder is asolid. If you mix the Nestle's Ouik in milk,then the solid becomes part of the liquid.We can demonstrate this change by using our planning skills. We will draw (ortell) the parts of our plan for mixing a sol-id and liquid as we answer these fourplanning questions: 1) WHAT are we go-ing to make? 2) What THINGS will weneed? 3) What STEPS will be taken tomake the drink? 4) What PROBLEMSmight we have with our plan?"Student Response: If students drawtheir plans, a planning booklet made of a12" x 18' piece of drawing paperwould be suitable. Each page of thebooklet should be labeled as shownbelow
swiNGs ileleraSs
tor Sae.
An essential part of developing young-sters' planning skills is in putting the planinto action. A follow-up discussion canbe used to guide even the youngest stu-dents in evaluating how well their plansworked.
It's never too early to start helpingkids learn thinking skills. With your guid-ance, this pow project will take young-sters beyond the academic realm intoskills that will be theirs for a lifetime. +
ReferencesBeyer. B. K. (1984). Improving Mini um buss-mot,-
cal approaches. Phi Deo Kadpen, 65(8). 556561,Costa. A L (1981). Teaching for intelligent behavior
Eclucatonel Lescemmo, 39(1). 29-33.Noway. I (19181 Democracy and ectcation. New
York: Macmatan. Educational programs that wom(5th ed.) (19781 Wasrungton. OC: unites StatesOffice ot Education.
Gu4dfOrd...1- R. (1958). Structure of intellect. Psycho-/woos( BueelM. 53. 267-293.
Mater, H. W. (19851 Three mares of creed °siva>meet. WM York: Harper & R.
Pines. M. (September. 1979). A head sten in the nurs-ery. Psychology Today, 13(4). 56-68.
Talent eatery recast (2nd ea) (1974). Mobile. AL:Habib County Rubric Scram.
Twee, C. W. (Demeter. 19614 Se talent developersas woo As fulomod011 dispensers. Today's Edu-cation. 6769.
Torrence. E. P.. 6 Myers, R. E. (1973). Creche earn-ing and teachmg. New York: Oaks mew 6 Co.
3 3BEST C PY AVM BLE
Juried Review of Talents Model
SOURCE OF JURIED REVIEW:Center for Creative Learning (Treffinger, Cross, Feldhusen, et al.)Handbook for Productive Thinking Volume I: Foundation. Criteria,and Reviews, Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company,1994.
TALENTS UNLIMITED
AUTHORSNational TalentsUnlimited Staff
DATE OF PUBLICATION1993
GRADE LEVELKindergarten grade 6
PUBLISHER AND ADDRESSTALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.Mobile County Public Schools109 South Cedar StreetMobile, AL 36602
ISBN NUMBERMaterials are copyrighted
COSTSTNT manual $ 55.00TAP lesson plans $ 50.00CRT packet $100.00
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++MATERIAL PROVIDED:
The updated Talents Activity Packet (TAP) is a single volume of sample exemplary K-6th gradelessons plans which model integration of the Talents skills throughout the curriculum. A batteryof Criterion Referenced Tests (CRT's) is available for formal research and testing of the Talentsskills.
MANUAL OR TEACHER'S MATERIAL:
Professional staff development is required by Talents Unlimited before teachers may obtain theinstructional materials. The Talents Unlimited initial training workshop and the Teacher inTraining (TNT) manual provide the participant with theory and rationale of the model and a basicunderstanding of each of the Talents specific skill components. They also include techniquesto implement the creative and critical thinking strategies within the regular curriculum, and a setof 50 model lesson plans.
SPECIFIC THINKING SKILLS:
The Talents Unlimited materials focus on productive thinking (ideating), decision making(evaluating), planning (organizing), forecasting (predicting causes and effects), communication(writing, speaking, acting), and academics (setting a knowledge base for all activities).
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SPECIFIC MODEL OR RATIONALE STATED:
The multiple-talents approach to thinking was defined by Calvin Taylor and islinked with J. P. Guilford's research on the nature of intelligence.
SUBJECT MATTER CORRELATES:
The strategies provided correlate with all subject areas.
RESEARCH / EVALUATION DATA OR RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS:
Research on Talents Unlimited from the initial research (1971-1974) to the mostrecent formal documentation (1990) is available upon request from the nationaloffice in Mobile, Alabama. Additionally, Thinking Smart: A Primer for TalentsUnlimited (1993) edited by Carol Schlicter, the original research director, isavailable through Creative Press.
NARRATIVE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS:
Talents Unlimited is a teaching/learning model for thinking skills instruction.The program represents a classroom-level, research-based implementation of themultiple - talents approach to teaching. The model features four major com-ponents: 1) a description of specific skill components in the talents programs ofproductive thinking, decision making, planning, forecasting, and communi-cation; 2) model instructional activities which demonstrate the function of thisteaching method in enhancing academic learning; 3) an in-service trainingprogram to assist teachers who will be working with this program, as a tool fornurturing students' many thinking abilities; and 4) an evaluation system forassessing the students' development in the area of thinking skills. Students ofany ability level have benefitted from lessons based on this model, and theprogram has been used successfully across the curriculum with all grade levelsthrough high school.
Taylor has recently identified three additional talent areas: implementing,human relations, and discerning opportunities.
Currently, curriculum materials based on Talents Unlimited are being developedand fieldtested for use at the secondary level.
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Materials or Program Ratings Summary Sheet
Title: Talents UnlimitedAuthors: National Talents Unlimited Staff
Not Present PresentOr Not Applicable
1. Sound Theoretical Foundation
2. Balancing Appropriate Training and Ease of Use
3. Responsive to Individual Differences
4. Curriculum Relevance andCurriculum "Stretching"
5. Sound Principles of Instructional Design
6. Structure and Organization
7. Scope and Sequence
8. Social and Cultural Appropriateness
9. Concern for Metacognitive Skills
10. Appropriate Modeling of Applications
11. Responds to Student Interestsand Motivations
12. Active Involvement andExperiential Learning
13. Appropriate Assessment Resources
14. Supported by Research and Evaluation
15. Format and Usefulness
214
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"Talents Dovetail" FlyersEndorsing the Compatibility of Talents with
Other Instructional Innovations
THE TALENTS DOVETAIL: AUTHENTIC
ASSESSMENT
dovetail: to fit skillfully to form a whole
The Talents Unlimited critical and creative thinking skills model empowers studentsto implement a cycle of thought processes which aid in conducting academic investigation,integrating knowledge, and addressing tasks in real world contexts. As the student addressesa meaningful task either individually or in a group, the educator can gather authenticevidence of student accomplishment. Students can greatly impact their efficiency andeffectiveness with these types of assessment tasks when able to confidently apply the Talentsprocesses to addressing such problems. Therefore, classroom instruction can effectivelyutilize Talents to provide a structure for student inquiry and problem solving.
"Talents Unlimited activities" and" authentic assessment activities are both unobtnisiveti,ongoing, individualized,. open-ended, representative of real classroom activities,, a directmeasurement. of desired performance, tied to the curriculum, and considered: orthwhile byteachers and student& I -have seen a' noticeable improvement in the use of authenticassessment in Talents classroom& Talents trained teachers do .a better job of utilizingauthentic assessment because they continually infuse a variety of 'learning activities in allareas of the curriculu and have.an: open, inviting environment conducive to effective useof authentic assessment Students' use of the Communication, Decision Making andPlanning talents provide tools to- make authentic assessment tasks an effective measure ofstudent learning."
Dr.: Mary: E. Keithley;: Director of Gifted: EduestioniCerricultmr;Greene County Educational Servite Center; Yellow Spring,s, OH
"In authentic assessment, we match how we test with how we teach. While workingwith third graders on a design technology project, the reality of authentic assessment as anon-going process that helps emphasize what students know rather than a series of tests thathelp identify what they do not know became very evident. After showing the students ahanging ornament whose arms and legs move when you pull the string emeath, I askedthe children to construct one of their own using the concepts and principles they had learnedduring their simple machines unit. Immediately, the children began a Planning lesson: whatwill we need, how will we put it together, what if something doesn't work... and that ledthem right into a decision making lesson: what are the many things we could do, whatquestions will we want to ask... These students demonstrated their knowledge and skills in
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a meaningful way using Talents Unlimited and authentic assessment in the same lesson. Thisis a wonderful project for children to include in their portfolios: problem-solving skills,communication strengths, critical and creative thinking abilities, teamwork - all in muchdemand in the workplace."
- Martha Libersky; School District of Bloomer; Bloomer, WI
"Talents Unlimited can be used to assess students' academic talents in lieu of thetraditional paper and pencil testing of students' knowledge. Although Communicationbehavior #5 easily comes to mind, other talents can also be used to assess studentunderstanding of the content the teacher is. teaching: Usually authentic assessment is projectoriented and includes a measurement tool.
The use of Talents for authentic assessment can be as simple as primary teachers usingProductive Thinking transformations to check for understanding of number concepts. JeanSchmitt asked her first graders to transform the number eight and them to, draw eight"things"to go with the transformation. One student transformed the eight into a horse and surroundedit with eight horseflies. A fifth grade teacher, Chanda Harms, after teaching quotation marksasked her students to transform a set of quotation marks. The assessment came-when-thestudentS were to write a sentence about their transformation, using quotation marks correctly.These_two examples are very simple, but students are applying their AcademiU Talent andstrengthening it through creativity.
When students are doing demonstrationsasa part of:their academic assessment thePlanning talent comes to, mind. The student's individual plan, could be part of themeasurement tools along with the project the student demonstrated: The Decision Makingtalent can be used in the academic areas of science, geography; social studies, or literatureas part of the measurement tool to assess understanding. After. a study of how and why- aregion was settled, students could. be given, an imaginary map: and use Decision Makingtalent to choose where theywould start a settlement and why they chose:the location theydid, bearing in mind the criteria questions focusing on_ theneeds of a successful settlement.
Critical and creative thinking skills need to-be a vital part of the curriculum if we areto prepare students for the What better way to show- .the= importance and real-lifeaspects of thinking skills than to incorporate Talents and authentic assessments."
- Coleen Ehresmann; McIariley School; Watertown, SD'
For more information contact: Brenda J. Haskew, National Project DirectorTALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.109 S. Cedar Street ; Mobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060 FAX (334) 433-8364
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THE TALENTS DOVETAIL: CATHOLIC
EDUCATION
dovetail: to fit skillfully to form a whole
The philosophy and approach of the Talents Unlimited critical and creative thinking skillsmodel are very compatible with those of Catholic education.
1) Catholic education is student centered. The Talents model is based on theassumption that each student has abilities or talents in a variety of areas.Guided practice in the use of the Talents thought processes (ProductiveThinking, Communication, Forecasting, Decision Making, and Planning) canenhance each student's potential and help him/her to appreciate the talents ofothers.
2) Catholic education is academically challenging. The Talents processes aremotivating and help students reach the highest levels of thinking to enhanceand motivate student learning in any content area.
3) Catholic education seeks to prepare students to contribute toward a world ofjustice and peace. With deliberate practice, these thought processes areinternalized by students and empower them to address real-world situations.
"Because the Talents Unlimited process model for classroom instruction respects therange of student learning styles within a classroom setting, teachers are able to challenge allstudents to use and develop higher level thinking skills. While Catholic schools teachers in
the Archdiocese began using. the Talents model over 20 years ago and individual teacherscontinued to use the ideas and activities, a strong system-wide support was not maintained.With the 90's, we saw a renewed emphasis on 'hands-on' activity, recognition of diverselearning styles, and problem, solving strategies. Administrators at local schools and theArchdiocese saw the need and decided to plan for increased use and systematic support forthe Talents model in-our classrooms. Continued inservice and across the curriculumapplication has strengthened the curriculum and allowed students to be successful ThroughProductive Thinking, Planning, Decision Making Forecasting, and Communication studentsand administrators gain skills not only for the classroom but for life."
- Sister Joyce Ann Hertzig, OP., Curriculum Coordinator;
Archdiocese of Monde; Mobile. AL
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"Through Talents we are able to model and provide unique opportunities for childrento understand their own contributions that enrich the communities of classroom, school, andparish in which they live.
Children are challenged to use their creative and critical thinking skills and takeresponsibility for their own learning. In addition, they are encouraged to develop a socialconscience that takes the teachings of Jesus into the world to make a difference for good."
- Jane Welling, Principal, and Katie Gregg; St. Mary School; Cincinnati, OH
"When teachers began implementing the Talents Unlimited model, they found newstrategies that help students not only to maximize potential by also to feel good aboutthemselves. Children who had avoided active participation began to respond freely andenthusiastically. Students began to experience more fully the joys of learning and thinking.Teachers have become very creative at integrating Talents lessons into their curriculumbecause the words, It's time for a Talents lesson,' cause a transformation in their students.Their eyes light up, they sit up straight, and they are raring to go."
- Janet Solomon; Pope John Paul II School; Paterson, NJ
"The Gospel requires me to look for and affirm the good in every human being withwhom I live and work. In my work environment at Holy Family Catholic School, TalentsUnlimited has given: me a positive and effective way to recognize the beauty and uniqueindividuality of each of my students and fellow faculty members. Alertness to the talents ineach person allows me to see each one more clearly, as :I believe Jesus would see that person.
Talents Unlimited is easily infused into an existing curriculum. Whether there is aneed to be a problem solver or to work though the steps of writing, Talents provides a broadspectrum of tools for students to become successful contributors to a world ever in need ofcompetent people of solid moral character."
- Maureen nentek; Holy Family School; St. Petersburg, FL
For more information contact: Brenda J. HaskewNational Project Director
TALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.109 South Cedar StreetMobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060
FAX (334) 433-8364
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THE TALENTS DOVETAIL: INTEGRATED
LEARNING
dovetail: to flt skillfully to form a whole
Integrated learning provides connections among academic curriculum areas so thatstudents can better understand content as well as the application that the learning has toeveryday life. Instruction revolves around questions, problems, or themes which serve tocapture student interest. Talents Unlimited facilitates this investigation by teaching a thoughtprocess structure, related to real world application, needed for effective student inquiry.Therefore, students learn the HOW of inquiry lending confidence as students investigatethe WHAT of the question, problem, or theme.
"As a Language Arts/L iteratme teacher, I could teach in a 'sterile' environmentparsing sentences and reading the 'classics'. However, over the course of many years injunior high, my students and I have found that integration with the Social Studies or Scienceteachers is more interesting.
At the beginning, integration was often easier said than done. We often heardcomplaints that the topics we selected were 'boring' or impossible to research. More oftenwe heard that we teachers gave contradictory directions or had different expectations..
Then several of us were trained in Talents, and gradually we realized the studentswere whining less frequently. We've identified several pluses that have resulted fromTalent-izing our integration& We now have a common vocabulary which enables us tocommunicate clearly with eadt other, as well as the students. Our 'teacher talk' is crisp andconcise, thus easier to follow. Most importantly, our students have taken responsibility fortheir learning by generating topics of personal interest, making well thought out decisions,and planning effectively. Successful integrations for our junior high students also reappositive emotional and behavioral benefits."
- Julie banish; Lisbon Central School; Lisbon, CT
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"Two of the goals of thematic teaching are to integrate knowledge among subjectareas and to reinforce learning in one subject area by using it in another. Talents Unlimitedis the perfect vehicle for doing this. Whether the unifying theme is concrete such as 'TheFarm' or abstract such as 'Change', Talents can be used effectively to teach content andtheme.
The Farm
Use your Productive Thinking talent to think of many, varied, and unusual sources of food.(Social Studies and Science)
Use your Communication talent behavior #2 to give many, varied, single words to describea wheat farmer' s feelings as s/he watches grasshoppers eat his or her crop. (Language Arts)Use your Decision Making talent to decide whether or not you would like to be a farmer.(Social Studies, Science, and the affective domain)
What if hail destroyed the entire U.S. apple crop? Use your Forecasting talent behavior #2to make predictions about the effects of such an event. (Science, Health, Math, Economics.Geography)
Use your Planning talent to plan the building of a model farm. (Art)
A first grade teacher doing a unit on the farm reported that her children were playing`farm' at recess. 'One of the students had taken the leadership role and was telling the otherchildren where the barn was to be and who was to be the cow and so forth,' the teacher said.`One little girl piped up to him, 'Just wait a minute, Ben. I have a Planning talent, too!'They then proceeded to plan the building of a farm together.'
- Donna Brinkmeyer, Boeblingen, Germany
For more information contact Brenda J. HaskewNational Project Director
TALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.109 South Cedar StreetMobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060FAX (334) 690-8364
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THE TALENTS DOVETAIL: LEARNING
THROUGH LITERATURE
dovetail: to fit skillfully to form a whole
The Talents Unlimited model provides a structure to help teachers guide students inthe application of the critical and creative thinking needed to achieve the vital componentsof literacy: fluency and responsibility in the communicative arts. Through the use of thevarious talent areas, students gain insight into literature while internalizing the Talentsthought processes. This metacognition allows students to independently apply these criticaland creative thinking skills to future learning experiences.
The use of the Talents processes helps to create a bridge between the students' reallife experiences and the characters and situations they encounter in literature. This opens awindow for student understanding and appreciation for the diverse ethnic, cultural, andeconomic perspectives present in the class. This real world connection with Talentsenhances student understanding of literature, increases student motivation, and expandsstudent appreciation of reading.
"Imagine this classroom scene: the list on the chalkboard gets longer and more explicitas students excitedly use Communication talent behavior #3 to add- their own descriptiveimages to the simile sentence stem, The night was as black as_ ' . Activities such asthis one, related to a story's; setting, demonstrate how linldng learning: with literature comeseasily when using the Talents Unlimited. OVA&
Opportunities to effectively use the critical' and creative Talents= processes abound illliterature. Previewing and building background for a new piece of literature are strategiesessential for better reading comprehension. The Productive Thinking talent area caneffectively awaken students"- prior knowledge of a topic. Characters' actions, and feelingscan be described through the Commimication talent As a story plot develops, the causes andeffects of certain events can be explored and examined through the r.cinponents of theForecasting talent. While they walk the story line, students can use L Making todecide whether they agree with the choice made. by a character, or, on the other hand, if- theywould choose a different ending, paving the way for writing.
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The understanding of literature selections can be strengthened as students use thevarious talent areas to create poems, songs, skits, or any of the other student-generatedresponses to their reading. As comprehension strategies are modeled in literature activitiesusing Talents, the thinking skill strategies are also reinforced. Talents Unlimited is a dynamicand effective interface between literature and learners."
- Maureen. Zientek; Holy Family School; St. Petersburg, FL
For more information contact: Brenda J. Haskew, National Project DirectorTALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.109 S. Cedar Street ; Mobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060 FAX (334) 433-8364
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THE TALENTS DOVETAIL: MULTI -AGE /
NON- GRADED
CLASSROOMSdovetail: to fit skillfully to form a whole
Talents Unlimited is a critical and creative thinking skills model which allowsstudents to draw upon their knowledge and experiences to understand academiccurriculum. Talents activities are not age or grade specific. A Talents teacher in a multi-
age or non-graded classroom would design a Talents lesson to address a particularacademic content and concept. The students use the particular thought process designated
to respond to that activity from their various levels of knowledge and experience. Ayoung student with limited language facility could experience success in addressing theactivity at one level of sophistication. An older student with a greater variety of academicand.life experience, would respond to the same activity from another level ofsophistication and insight. Both, however, are successful and learn from one another's
perspectives.
"Teachers in multi-age and/or non-graded classrooms, especially those with a`focus' such as gifted and talented or special needs, deal with a very diverse populationwhich has homogeneous needs. Talents lessons produce terrific results while providing
structure and encouraging self-control and self-direction. Eric Quinn, a teacher at LisbonCentral School, phrased it best. (when he) likened Talents to the handle of a ratchet that:has different socket attachments to fit a variety of bolt heads that handle is basic to
many sizes."- Sandy Fide li; Lisbon Central School; Lisbon. CT
"As a teacher in a primary Continuous Progress pod of multi-age classes in rural
Florida, I find the Talents Unlimited model very effective in encouraging students to
construct meaning by helping students make connections between their knowledge,
experiences, a do the academic curriculum. Talents lessons lend themselves easily to
meet the individual needs of a heterogeneous group. Each lesson is enri-hed by the
perspective the five year old as well as the eight year old. The outcom each lesson is
as unique as the children themselves.
When School Board members have visited our school, they have been impressed
by the creative thinking demonstrated by these young primary students. I he been told
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that my Talents lessons have been a topic of positive discussion at a School Boardmeeting after one such visit.
Students grow in self-confidence and academic strength when they use the Talentsthought processes. They realize that they are winners when given the opportunity toutilize their individuartalents to perform an academic task. Never underestimate thepower of the Talents model!"
- Jane Wenzel; San Antonio Elementary; Dade City, FL
For more information contact: Brenda J. HaskewNational Project DirectorTALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.109 South Cedar StreetMobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060FAX (334) 433-8364
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THE TALENTS DOVETAIL: PROCESS
WRITING
dovetail: to fit skillfully to form a whole
The process writing approach views writing as a recursive process involving morethan just the finished product. Students are involved in choosing their own topics, definingtheir purpose and audience, drafting and redrafting stories based on feedback from otherstudents, and publishing their writing in some form.
The Talents Unlimited critical and creative thinking skills model can assist studentsin all phases of the writing process. The divergent thought processes (Productive Thinking,Communication, Forecasting, Decision Making, and Planning talents) assist primarily in thepre-writing, composing, and publishing stages. As teachers guide students through theseparts of the writing process, students use Talents to generate ideas as well as the language,both descriptive and figurative, to capture these ideas in writing. The Academic talentfacilitates the more generally convergent steps of editing and revising. Students becomeaware of and control their thought processes as they become proficient writers.
"I can no longer imagine teaching integrated Language Arts literature, writing,listening, speaking, viewing, syntax, etc.) With out Talents.
Talents is especially useful in the writing process. The writing process steps areclarified and focused through the use of Talents terminology. Talents meets the needs of adiverse student population and gives them strategies that add depth and texture to theirwriting in a variety of genut.i.
Our Language Arts department has placed so much emphasis on using Talents as anintegral part of theyniting process that many of our students use it automatically. So muchso, that we weren't too surprised to see our eighth grade students using Productive Thinking,Communication behavior #3, or Planning during the pre-writing time the. ConnecticutMastery Test recommends students use before beginning the writing sa...vle portion of the
test"- Julie Impish; Lisbon Central School: Lisboa, CT
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"Process writing is based on the construct that good writing is, in large measure, goodthinking. Talents Unlimited is a thinking skills program. The links between the two arenatural.
One second grade teacher uses the Productive Thinking and Communication talentswith her students to generate lists of words. She, then, keeps these lists posted around herclassroom. It's amazing,' she says, 'how often the children go to these lists to find wordsfor their writing. They especially use the lists of feelings words (generated usingCommunication behavior #2) and our list of alternatives to the word 'said' (generated usingProductive Thinking). Their vocabulary is just exploding!'
By teaching the individual skills necessary to be successful in process writing, theteacher increases the odds for success and eases his/her own work load. Students who knowand can independently apply these skills are much more autonomous and in charge of theirown learning, leaving the teacher more time to conference with and coach students."
- Donna Brinkmeyer, Boeblingen, Germany
For more information contact Brenda J. HaskewNational Project DirectorTALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.109 South Cedar StreetMobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060FAX (334) 690-8364
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THE TALENTS DOVETAIL: SCHOOL
RESTRUCTURING
dovetail: to fit skillfully to form a whole
Talents Unlimited is a critical and creative thought process model which identifies andaddresses thinking skills in practical ways which are applicable to the world of work. Thisteaching/learning program enables teachers to develop and weave high level thinkingactivities into the fabric of student learning Students learn about these thought processes asthey apply them into their content area investigation and problem solving.
A Talents-trained faculty possesses a common language and process structure to addressproblem solving in their "world of work" restructuring efforts.
"Fight years ago, Sidney City Schools adopted the Talents UnliMited thinking skillsmodel for all students K-12. Ninety-five percent of the certified staff are Talents trained,including most of the administrators. Talents provides a. common language and hasstrengthened our own thinking skills. Four years agm we began our school restructuringprocess with the Deming continuous improvement philosophy. Certified and non-certifiedstaff, as well as students, have been easily trained to use Total Quality Transformationmanagement tools because these tools are simply an application of Talents Unlimitedthinking behaviors.
The Total Quality improvement process is a cycle of Ptan-Do-Study-Act. A problemand its probable cause are identified, an intervention is planned and executed on a smallscale, the results are: studied, and successful interventions are then standardized.bnprovement team members use the Talents processes at every step throughout this cycle.Talents Unlimited has taught our staff members and students to think divergently. Schoolrestructuring using total Quality Transformation is an exciting, practical of our 'unlimited
talents."- Meggan Weaves; Sidney City Schools; Sidney, OH
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"Talents Unlimited and TESA (Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement) areprograms that are complimentary to one another. Lisbon Central School faculty, inparticular, have found the training in both to be beneficial to their students, Pre-K throughGrade 8. Talents and TESA both have, as a basic principle, the concept that a learner's self-esteem is extremely important if we are hoping to facilitate him/her to attain his/her greatestpotential. As educators, it is our desire to offer high and low achievers the same quality ofeducation. It is the objective of Talents and the TESA programs to bolster each student'sindividual strengths while fortifying against areas of weakness, therefore, ultimatelyenhancing self-esteem."
- Sandra Fide Li; Lisbon Central School: Lisbon, CT
For more information contact: Brenda J. HaskewNational Project DirectorTALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.,109 South Cedar StreetMobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060 FAX (334) 690-8364
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THE TALENTS DOVETAIL: TECHNOLOGY
AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
dovetail: to fit skillfully to form a whole
Talents Unlimited and communications technology complement one another to encourageboth students' academic growth and teachers' professional growth. Talents Unlimited is astaff development model which empowers teachers to facilitate student critical and creativethinking. Students use these thought processes to generate, communicate, and analyze ideasas well as to provide a structure for addressing academic problems. Technology andtelecommunications are vehicles for networking students and teachers with one another togather information and conduct a dialogue regarding topics of mutual interest.
In addition to gathering information, a Talents teacher can use telecommunication technologyto provide interaction with other Talents classes thereby expanding the pool of thinking inTalents activities. This interaction allows broader perspective on the academic issue which,in turn, can pique intellectual curiosity and inquiry more effectively than investigation donein isolation.
Talents trained teachers can also act as resources for one another via telecommunicationstechnology as they share Talents activities they have created or ideas and materials whichsupport student inquiry on academic topics. This interchange can inspire the developmentof additional Talents activities as well as a deeper understanding of effective applications ofthe Talents Unlimited processes.
"The pritiary grades in rural settings are not often thought of as hubs oftelecommunications and technology activities, but my third grade class is a prime exampleof how younger students can rise to the challenge of and benefit from technologyopportunities used in conjunction with Talents Unlimited. For example, my students useProductive Thinking to generate many, varied and unusual topics of interest to them. Wethen use those topics in two different ways; 1) 1 search various location ...)n the Internet tofind classroom activities centered around those topics, and 2) ..:rents use theirCommunication #5 talent to formulate research questions centered around their topic ofinterest. They conduct an observation or survey in order to gather data to answer theirresearch question. Then they use their Communication #5 talent again to rTite an e-mailmessage to students at participating sites where those students then corkuuct the same
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research project. Data are exchanged, analyzed and compared at each site.
We participated in an Internet project in which we followed the travels of a mannamed Roger throughout Australia and Japan.. Students were able to read his reports,communicate with other participating schools around the world, and ask questions regardingRoger's travels. We were able to use our Forecasting talent many times during this projectsuch as: 1) Think of many, varied possible effects of having summer vacation at Christmastime, and 2) Think of many, varied causes for a man to want to travel around the world in histruck called 'Bubba'
My class conducted a Montana Survey which gathered original data about the influxof people into Montana. First, we used our Forecasting talent to predict many, variedpossible causes for Montana's recent influx of people. We received information from aroundthe state that helped us understand the population growth in Montana. We showed on a mapwhere the newcomers are coming from and used a table to show the causes for them to cometo Montana, and what percentages are planning to stay.
Using telecommunications and technology in conjunction with Talents Unlimited hasenriched my teaching and my students' learning'
- Suzy FIentie; Lewistown SD. #I; Lewistown, MT
For more information contact: Brenda J. HaskewNational Project DirectorTALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.109 South Cedar StreetMobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060FAX (334) 433-8364
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THE TALENTS DOVETAIL: WHOLE
LANGUAGE
dovetail: to fit skillfully to form a whole
Whole language is a teaching/learning philosophy based on the beliefs that:students construct their knowledge from within,literacy activity should be a natural outgrowth of the interests of the students,reading is creating meaning from text,communication is the main goal of writing,learning to read and write is a social process, andrisk taking is critical to growth in reading and writing.
[Manning, Gary; Manning, Maryann; and Long, Roberta, Reading and Writing in the Middle Grades: AWhole-Language View, Washington, DC: National Education Association (1990), pp.8-9.1
Talents Unlimited provides a critical and creative thought process structure an educator can use to helpstudents draw upon previous knowledge and experiences to understand and apply academic content to newsituations. Talents trained teachers provide a classroom environment which supports and encourages studentsas they risk engaging in the divergent Talents activities. Talents trained students also support and learn fromeach other as they generate relevant responses to meaningful problem solving opportunities.
"Talents Unlimited is an integral part of the Whole Language teaching process in Sidney City Schoolsin grades K-12. Communication enhances vocabulary development without the use of workbook exercises;Forecasting and Decision Making facilitate the development of critical reading skills in all content areas.Students who use their Productive Thinking and Planning Talents regularly, produce high quality narrativeand expository writings.
A recent example can be noted from a sixth grade class. Our students entered a contest sponsored byDelta Airlines and Broderbund Software based on the television game show, AbgtalutratedditCannanSanDiego? Contestants selected a landmark from their local community and wrote an essay describingCarmen's theft of the landmark, and the gumshoes' efforts to track her around the world ands return the stolenitem. One of our students is a regional winner and is now in competition for the grand prize. Sheused herAcademic talent to study local historical landmarks. Then, she used Productive Thinking, Forecasting,Decision Making, and Planning to create the plot of her adventure. Using her Communication talent, sheadded descriptive language -to add interest and suspense. Talents Unlimited thinking behaviors are used dailyin our classrooms and have become valuable additions to our students' learning tool boxes."
- Meggan Weaver; Sidney City Schools; Sir OH
For more information contact: Brenda J. HaskewProject DirectorTALENTS UNLIMITED, Inc.109 South Cedar StreetMobile, AL 36602(334) 690-8060 FAX (334) 433-8364
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Suggested Talents Reading
-/%7P1#$14444ar-47'''.7.1
A Primer of the Talents Unlimited ModelEdited by Carol L. Schlichter & W. F .ass Palmer
Copyright 1993
ISBN 0-936386-64-9
Creative Learning Press, Inc.P. 0. Box 320, Mansfield Center, Connecticut 06250
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59
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60
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