Stylistic Preference of Scientifically Gifted Students

Ki-Soon Han

doi:10.4236/ce.2017.812135

Abstract

This study aims to show how scientifically gifted students think in terms of Thinking Style Inventory based on Sternberg’s theory of mental self-government. Two hundred and fifty-six middle school students who enrolled in a gifted education program participated in this study. Results indicated that scientifically gifted students prefer legislative, liberal, judicial thinking styles, in comparison to general students, known to be related to creative and critical thinking rather than executive and conventional styles. Implications for gifted education based on the findings are discussed.

Highlights

Many psychologists and educators have attributed students’ successes and failures in academic achievement mainly to individual differences in abilities, and scholars have recently started to examine other factors that affect students’ learning outcomes
This study aims to show how scientifically gifted students think in terms of Thinking Style Inventory based on Sternberg’s theory of mental self-government
Results indicated that scientifically gifted students prefer legislative, liberal, judicial thinking styles, in comparison to general students, known to be related to creative and critical thinking rather than executive and conventional styles

Summary

Introduction

Many psychologists and educators have attributed students’ successes and failures in academic achievement mainly to individual differences in abilities, and scholars have recently started to examine other factors that affect students’ learning outcomes. Sternberg (1999) pointed out that one cannot fully understand intellectual abilities unless one knows about thinking styles which are how individuals apply them in adapting to the demands of the environment. Introducing the notion of thinking styles, Sternberg expanded people’s notion from “what people can do” to “what people prefer to do”—how they capitalize on the abilities they have. Sternberg and Grigorenko (1993) indicated that gifted students can be most successful if they pursue tasks that match their abilities and styles. Introducing the notion of thinking styles, Sternberg expanded people’s notion from “what people can do” to “what people prefer to do”—how they capitalize on the abilities they have. Sternberg and Grigorenko (1993) indicated that gifted students can be most successful if they pursue tasks that match their abilities and styles.

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Results