Integrating mathematical abilities and creativity in the assessment of mathematical giftedness

Abstract

This study aims to examine the structure of the relationship between intelligence and mathematical giftedness and build a comprehensive model to describe this relationship and the nature of mathematical giftedness. This study also purports to clarify the structure of components of mathematical ability. The third objective is to examine whether students who were identified by two different instruments—(a) mathematical ability and creativity instrument and (b) intelligence instrument—have statistically significant differences across the components of mathematical ability. That is, we want to investigate if variance in identification may be explained by variance in mathematical abilities exhibited by these individuals. To achieve these goals, this study proposes a new domain-specific identification instrument for the assessment of mathematical giftedness, assessing mathematical abilities and creativity. The study was conducted among 359 4th, 5th and 6th grade elementary school students in Cyprus, using two instruments measuring mathematical ability and mathematical creativity and fluid intelligence. The results revealed that mathematical giftedness can be described in terms of mathematical ability and mathematical creativity. Moreover, the analysis illustrated that intelligence is a predictor of mathematical giftedness. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that different groups of students are identified by each type of testing; that is, through the mathematical instrument and the intelligence instrument. This variance may be explained by performance in specific categories of tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)