Rowman & Littlefield Publishers On Human Potential: Nurturing Talents and Cultivating Expertise

According to experts in educational measurement, current and past performance remains the best single predictor of future performance. This book seeks to maximize individual and institutional efforts to support students optimal development, specifically their talents. The Talent Record introduced a common language, cataloging, and recording levels of talent achieved thus far on a Talent Profile page. Communicating accomplishments in a common language across talent fields unites the ever-changing team of individuals associated with a child's development and advances meaningful educational practice. Review In On Human Potential Kay, an independent scholar and instructional strategist, encourages teachers and administrators to rethink the ways they work with students, who have a diverse range of talents, in the classroom. She calls for the development of a common language for recording talents so that plans can be put in place for students to be best supported in reaching their potential. Through the use of case studies and charts to illustrate her findings, Kay discusses ways to identify students who demonstrate advanced behaviors in various domains, including traditional academic disciplines like math and science, as well as in the arts and in psychomotor skills. She emphasizes the importance of having teachers and mentors support students as they pursue their various talents. Administrators, teachers, and parents will appreciate the sample lists of resources for programs to support talented students. This text is highly recommended for administrators, pre-service and practicing teachers, and parents to help them rethink the ways different talents are identified and supported in schools. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals.--CHOICE Although our society desperately needs to inspire a new generation of problem-solvers, creators, and innovators, much talent goes undeveloped in many classrooms. In this vitally important book, Sandra Kay offers insight into the talent development process and provides a roadmap for teachers and others to ensure that each student's capabilities are recognized and developed to their fullest potential. Teachers and parents everywhere, as well as school administrators, counselors, and educational policymakers, should not miss it!--Linda Brody, EdD, director, Study of Exceptional Talent; director, Diagnostic and Counseling Center, Center for Talented Youth, Johns Hopkins University As a student of Dr. Sandra Kay, I remember how moving and unusual it felt to have a teacher focus on understanding and encouraging the potential in my little self. For me, this included her generously reading and responding to endless pages of my early creative writing that I would type in my basement and vulnerably deliver to her desk. Now, many years later, as a parent grappling with how to guide my own child toward opportunities that match her interests and abilities, Dr. Kay's wisdom on identifying and building expertise, and her Talent Record as a tool, offer a blueprint for moving forward.--Dorian Block, senior staff associate and director, Exceeding Expectations project, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Every classroom K-12 is an opportunity to discover and develop talent. There is potential in children and it is our obligation as educators to understand how this potential can be nourished and guided. While developing expertise is complex, it follows patterns and Sandra Kay helps us understand these patterns. Through her experience, knowledge, and caring for students and teachers, she challenges us to accept this wonderful obligation to guide students from potential to expertise.--Nicholas Colangelo, PhD, dean and director emeritus, college of education, University of Iowa, Belin - Blank Center for Gifted Education, Nicholas Colangelo On Human Potential: Nurturing Talents and Cultivating Expertise repres