Provides comprehensive coverage of what we know about creativity and innovation. Authors include the top experts on creativity, including authors from around the world and both academics and practitioners. Written for undergraduate and graduate students, with an emphasis on practical information that students can use to promote creativity and innovation in themselves and others. Inclusion of "Hot Topics," concise, to-the-point treatments of important topics that can be quickly read and understood by students.

Provides comprehensive coverage of what we know about creativity and innovation. Authors include the top experts on creativity, including authors from around the world and both academics and practitioners. Written for undergraduate and graduate students, with an emphasis on practical information that students can use to promote creativity and innovation in themselves and others. Inclusion of "Hot Topics," concise, to-the-point treatments of important topics that can be quickly read and understood by students.

The fields of gifted education and talent development have numerous theories and conceptions for how to identify and serve students. This book helps introduce and apply these ideas to help reflect theory in practice. Each chapter introduces readers to a different theory by providing definitions of key concepts, explaining the fundamental conceptual/theoretical approach, and concluding with advice on how the conception can be put into practice. Suggestions for further reading are also provided. Some chapters are based on theories that have been around for decades, and some have been developed more recently. But all chapters focus on helping empower readers to understand and take action without having to reinvent the wheel.

In Excellence Gaps in Education, Jonathan A. Plucker and Scott J. Peters shine a spotlight on "excellence gaps"-the achievement gaps among subgroups of students performing at the highest levels of achievement. Much of the focus of recent education reform has been on closing gaps in achievement between students from different racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic backgrounds by bringing all students up to minimum levels of proficiency. Yet issues related to excellence gaps have been largely absent from discussions about how to improve our schools and communities. Plucker and Peters argue that these significant gaps reflect the existence of a persistent talent underclass in the United States among African American, Hispanic, Native American, and poor students, resulting in an incalculable loss of potential among our fastest growing populations. Drawing on the latest research and a wide range of national and international data, the authors outline the scope of the problem and make the case that excellence gaps should be targeted for elimination. They identify promising interventions for talent development already underway in schools and provide a detailed review of potential strategies, including universal screening, flexible grouping, targeted programs, and psychosocial interventions. Excellence Gaps in Education has the potential for changing our national conversation about equity and excellence and bringing fresh attention to the needs of high-potential students from underrepresented backgrounds.