The Munich Model of Giftedness

School concepts like "Mastery Learning" and integrated schools, trying to promote performance and at the same time increasing educational opportunities, have after extensive testing proved to be unsuccessful in Germany.

Kurt A. Heller

The Munich Model of Giftedness by Kurt A. Heller, Christopher Perleth and Ernst A. Hany uses a multifactorial approach to explain giftedness and the development of it.

The model is based on four interdependent multifactorial dimensions: talent factors (relatively independent), resulting performance areas, personality factors, and environmental factors; the latter two moderating the transition from talent (gifts) to performance.

Munich Model of Giftedness

In the Munich model the talent factors contain the following seven abilities:

intellectual abilities,
creative abilities,
social competence,
practical intelligence,
artistic abilities,
musicality,
and psycho-motoric skills.

The eight performance areas are:

mathematics,
natural sciences,
technology,
computer science, chess,
arts (music, painting),
languages,
athletics, sports,
and social relationship.

Important noncognitive personality characteristics moderated by the talent factors and moderating talent and performance are:

coping with stress,
achievement motivation,
learning and working strategies,
control expectations,
hope for success versus fear of failure,
thirst for knowledge,
and self-concept.

Important environmental conditions moderated by the talent factors and moderating talent and performance are:

family climate,
number of siblings and sibling position,
parental educational level,
home environmental stimulation,
demands and performance made at home,
familiar learning environment,
classroom climate,
quality of instruction,
differentiated learning and instruction,
educational style,
social reactions to success and failure,
and critical life events.

Further Information

Identification of gifted and talented students (PDF, 315 KByte) by Kurt A. Heller in Psychology Science

Sources

Sternberg, Robert J. & Davidson, Janet E.: Conceptions of Giftedness - Second Edition; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2005, p. 147-170

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Matthias Giger, April 2006 (Update: 16-12-2007)
www.gigers.com