Do Gifted Students Really Prefer to Work Alone?

Abstract

Gifted students' preference to work alone is widely espoused, but studies vary widely in their explanations. We re-examined this notion in terms of motivation and social constructivism among 247 school-identified gifted and high-achieving and regular-education students in Grades 4 through 12. Survey data assessed learning style, interests, preferred learning conditions, learning-related personality, perceptions of learning support, comments about ideal learning situations, and beliefs about why some children might prefer working alone. Some general preference to working alone was found among gifted students, but this was not strong and it varied based on how the question was posed. Gifted students who felt that their work was appreciated by teachers and fellow students reported the strongest preference to work with others.

Keywords:

• gifted
• group work
• high achieving
• learning preferences
• learning styles
• student beliefs
• support in classrooms
• work alone

Notes

¹Survey items 1–16 were adapted from the Learning Style Inventory (Renzulli & Smith, 1978). Survey items 26–37 were adapted from the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (Piers & Harris, 1996). Survey item 38 was adapted from the Personality and Interest Inventory (Hildreth, 1936).