Evaluation of College Level Coursework for the Gifted Adolescents: An Investigation of Epistemological Stance, Knowledge Gain and Generalization

Abstract

The investigation evaluated the proximal and distal effects of an innovative course of study, a college level Introductory Psychology course which was offered to precocious adolescents in a three-week summer session at the Talent Identification Program at Duke University. More specific purposes of the study were to assess level of mastery of the content of the course, retention over time, ability to generalize this content and use it to interpret psychological issues, noncognitive impacts of the course on students' orientation toward psychology and its influence on the students' future plans. The design of the study involved immediate post-course assessments and follow-up assessments at points at six months and 1.5 years remote in time. The same measures were obtained from similar students who did not take the course. Results demonstrated that knowledge gain from course participation was substantial and long-lived. There was a dramatic effect on the quality of the students' understanding and their ability to generalize and apply psychological concepts to real world situations. Although there was loss of factual content over time, level of understanding and ability to generalize and apply material remained relatively constant. There was a slight shift in the students' outlook on psychology as a discipline. Students just completing the course were quite “humanistic” in their outlook. After a six month period their orientation had moved toward the “scientific” pole. In addition, large proportions of students reported that the course had affected their educational plans (50.0%) and career plans (36.7%). This study suggests a model of evaluation for educational programs. By focusing on several factors potentially affected by education we can better understand the full effects of tailored interventions on participants. Such information can serve as a guide to developing more focused and effective educational efforts.