R, Grade 7. I would like to explain my image. First, the diamond and platinum rings in the background represent my passion for expensive jewelry. Second, the complex algebra problem and the picture of quasar star geometry represent my passion for mathematics and advancing my skill in it in my free time. Third, the item that looks marginally like a book and says “TANKS” is representing my immense liking towards writing non-fiction pieces. Fourth, and finally, the picture in the lower right-hand corner of Leo Tolstoy’s famous War and Peace represents my huge will to read. However, feel free to interpret the image as you wish.

Marion Porath

The Child as Psychologist: Children’s Understanding of Exceptional Learning Abilities

“Children's perceptions of teaching and learning and the social dimensions of school are noticeably absent in educational research, particularly those of children with ability profiles that are significantly developmentally advanced but, at the same time, highly variable.  Familiar norms do not apply to these children.  Growth rates and degree of asynchrony in their academic and social developmental profiles are significantly different from those of typically developing children. Teaching needs to be based on children’s understanding of the learning process as active and conscious participants.”

Porath’s research focuses on children whose development is advanced but nonetheless considerably variable across academic and social domains and children who have both advanced capabilities and learning disabilities. Children’s perspectives on their patterns of development in reading, writing, and mathematics, and their own and others' roles and responsibilities in school are emphasized.  Interview and observational data, children’s representations of themselves as learners, and children’s responses to school-based social scenarios combine to give a picture of student perspectives on their education.