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Grandma Moses and Matthew's Burden: Exploring the Dynamics of Talent

This article delves into the fascinating stories of Grandma Moses, a renowned naive painter, and Matthew's burden, the obligation that comes with talent. It examines the definition, development, and factors associated with talent, as well as the timing and population distribution of talent. Additionally, it explores the concept of talent scouts and challenges traditional notions of talent by considering species-specific talents and the case of "savants."

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Grandma Moses and Matthew's Burden: Exploring the Dynamics of Talent

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  1. Grandma Moses and Matthew’s burden Grandma Moses (1860-1961; Anna Mary Robertson) discovered her talent for painting in her seventies and became America’s most famous naive painter... Matthew’s burden: the gift of a talent brings with it the obligation to put the talent to work A developmental look on talent Paul van Geert University of Groningen the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  2. introduction 1

  3. definition of talent • dictionary definition (Merriam Webster) • 1 a : any of several ancient units of weight b : a unit of value equal to the value of a talent of gold or silver • 2 archaic : a characteristic feature, aptitude, or disposition of a person or animal • 3 : the natural endowments of a person • 4 a : a special often creative or artistic aptitude b : general intelligence or mental power : ABILITY • 5 : a person of talent or a group of persons of talent in a field or activity the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  4. elements of the colloquial definition • innate • it is a potential that should lead to excellent performance • it shows itself in early signs • talent is rare, few people have it • talent is specific (math, science, arts, sports, ...) the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  5. development of talent • in particular in the field of mathematics and science • in young children • how can it be explained? • how can it be stimulated • to achieve higher levels • in more people • a broad, long-term view in order to understand the possibilities in young children the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  6. Facts (?) about talent 2

  7. basic statements 1/2 • the straw man: talent as a fixed, life-span-stable property of a person • talent is a dynamic and developmental phenomenon • talent is the ability that answers an affordance of the world • new affordances create new talents, e.g. computers, written language • historical changes in expert level the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  8. an overview of facts about talent • facts regarding the population • factors associated with talent • factors determining the development of talent • developmental facts • facts about timing the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  9. facts about the population • in the population, talent follows a skewed distribution • does talent have a skewed distribution, or does the expert performance have a skewed distribution? the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  10. factors associated with talent • Genetic/biological components • talent consists of many independent components • multiplicative or emergenic model (Simonton) • specific personality factors, especially in creativity • highly unequal profiles within and between persons • example “idiot savant” • the same talent can be based on very different profiles in different people • actual practice and support the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  11. factors determining the development of talent • self-related • strong drive and motivation / self-efficacy • high assimilation, i.e. growth rate • environment-related • support • role modeling and mentoring • teaching technology • process-related • importance of time and effort investment • strongly self-scaffolded nature the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  12. developmental facts • nature of the talent changes across age • e.g. math talent in young children vs. adults • nature of the components that affect talent development change with age • stimulating mathematical talent in gifted young children versus stimulating talent in gifted mathematics students the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  13. timing issues • many different pathways • Pathways strongly nonlinear • late sudden onset is possible • growth and decline • temporary regressions (e.g. the 4th grade slump) • early versus later emergence • there are early (child prodigies) as well as late bloomers • child prodigies especially in mathematics, music and chess • scientific talent often a delayed onset • (early) markers of talent? • variable timing of “coming out” moment definition of talent: Talent is superior performance and superior learning potential/creativity relative to the person’s learning history in the talent domain or in relevant history-appropriate sub-domains talent scouts: is there anything to scout? If so, when? And how? the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  14. Talent turned upside down 3

  15. talent turned upside down • talents that everyone has got • species-specific talents that emerge at an early age: language, social cognition, ... • the opposite of talent • impairment, disability, handicap • one talent among many handicaps: the case of “savants” the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  16. species-specific talents but: the talent and creativity are means-to-an-end, namely to master the ability in question it is likely that they are of a different kind than the talents we focus on today ... • are shared by almost all people • emerge relatively effortlessly and often at an early age • examples: social understanding, language, basic logic and cognition • early logic and the development of understanding (original ideas in toddlers) • linguistic talent and creativity in early language acquisition the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  17. boosting performance in the little-talented Is there anything to learn from this? • children with mental or behavioral handicaps • role of adequate preparation and structuring of the learning/teaching environment • monitor the learning environment to focus children on the learning • high level of individualized scaffolding • difficulty of breaking dynamically stable patterns the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  18. A dynamic model of talent growth 4

  19. external factors yesterday talent performance today external factors today talent performance tomorrow external factors tomorrow talent performance t-d-a-t external factors t-d-a-t components of a dynamic systems model • development: explaining after by before • dynamic system • state variable(s) • e.g. the level of a talent and/or its constituents • dynamic law or evolution law • what is the nature of the system’s change? • iterative function xt+1 = f (xt) Iterative process talent performance yesterday the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  20. Experience-dependent growth(1/3) • components • adaptation rate • resources • both internal and external • experiences • randomly varying effects that can be positive as well as negative • talent • high adaptation rate, positively biased experiences, high resource level the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  21. Experience-dependent growth(2/3) the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  22. Experience-dependent growth (3/3) • Model explains among others: • the skewed population distribution • excellence is – among others – a matter of chance • variability of individual trajectories • stability of excellence (if resources are stable) • best possibilities for talent development if starting point and resource level match the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  23. Support-Competition-Condition dynamics (1/3) • the multiplicative model (Simonton) • talent has a multi-component structure • all components are necessary • components have their own growth pattern • implies a condition dynamics • growth in one component is necessary for the onset of growth in an other component the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  24. Support-Competition-Condition dynamics (2/3) • supportive relationships among components • one has a positive effect on the growth of another, and vice versa • e.g. curiosity and numerical skill • evidence of positive effects of cross-training • competitive relationships among components • what if components serve different talents? • spatial imagination and art/math • limited time-resource causes competition the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  25. Support-Competition-Condition dynamics (3/3) • support-competition-condition dynamics explains • variable onsets of talent • skewed distribution (but see growth dynamics) • cross-training and enrichment effects • decline and temporary regressions the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  26. Scaffolding dynamics (1/2) • role of practice and support in talent • not just any practice • scaffold = level of support that causes best possible learning • external scaffolding by a tutor • external scaffolding by materials, books, computers • internal or self-scaffolding the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  27. Scaffolding dynamics (2/2) • dynamics of scaffolding • growth rate of the learner • optimal learner-scaffold distance • adaptation of scaffold level in answer to student’s progress • explains • matching problem (finding a correct match between talent and support) • superior effect of coaching and teaching • sub-optimal patterns (self-sustaining underachievement) the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  28. Historical dynamics of talent • new generations of experts create new technologies for teaching (expert coaches) • better skill- and expert technology • if you want to stand on the shoulders of giants, how do you get there anyway? • see early language development and Motherese the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  29. Dynamics of interests, appraisals and emotions • talent is characterized by • having fun in prolonged practice • strong motivation to engage in talent-domain activities • presence of knowledge building goals instead of performance goals • self-serving appraisal cycles • to what extent is external appraisal necessary for talent development? the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  30. How to proceed? 4

  31. Assessing talent • Signals/indicators of talent • superior performance and learning potential • relative to the person’s learning history • in the talent domain or in relevant history-appropriate sub-domains • difficulties • very different timing of “early” signs • matching problem: providing an assessment condition in which talent can manifest itself the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  32. Stimulating talent • Talent is characterized by a strong internal dynamics • tends to “create” its own external support • profits extensively from support, coaching, ... • difficulties • matching problem: providing stimulating conditions in which talent can manifest itself • especially in the early phases of the talent: what is the right form of scaffolding? • providing rich, interactive learning environments • high level of implicit scaffolding • that is talent-domain-specific • with a very broad bandwidth (e.g. high upper level) the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  33. And in view of tomorrow’s elections …. An interesting initiative • www.bereslim.nl • stimulating development from 2-6 yrs by means of learning-skills-oriented computer games • giving feedback to parents/educators about the child’s individual development in these games • collecting scientific evidence regarding the individual pathways of learning and effects of the games • providing a platform for researchers the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

  34. publications • www.vangeert.nl • Van Geert & Steenbeek, 2005 • Van geert & Steenbeek, 2006 the dynamics of talent - amsterdam 6 3 2006

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