34th Annual Student Research Conference
The Accuracy of Gordon Korman’s Portrayals of Gifted Students’ Socioemotional and Cognitive Development in Ungifted and Supergifted
Lydia N. Harms
Dr. Bridget Thomas, Faculty Mentor
Gifted individuals have unique socioemotional and cognitive traits in comparison to their peers. While their cognitive abilities are advanced, their socioemotional development is often equal to or lower than nongifted individuals in their cohort. This asynchronous development can lead to unusual and interesting interactions, which Gordon Korman utilizes to create humor in his books Ungifted and Supergifted. In the first book, the reader follows the story of Donovan, an average student whose only gift is to cause trouble, as he tries to navigate a school for gifted students after accidentally being sent there due to an administrative mistake. The sequel follows the story of his new friend, Noah, an incredibly gifted middle schooler who wants to try going to a “normal” school. Korman wrote his characters based off of gifted people he knew and grew up with in real life. While he is able to, for the most part, accurately depict the gifted experience, some of his portrayals could use improvement.
Keywords: gifted, socioemotional development, cognitive development, Gordon Korman
Topic(s):Education
Psychology
English
Presentation Type: Asynchronous Virtual Oral Presentation
Session: 8-2
Location: https://flipgrid.com/0fdcb13f
Time: 0:00