Books
and Articles about the DISCOVER Projects
Griffiths, S. (1997).
The comparative validity of assessments
based on different theories for the purpose
of identifying gifted ethnic minority students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
The University of Arizona, Tucson.
Profiles of 33 Mexican American kindergarten
students assessed using DISCOVER, WISC-III or
WPPSI, and Raven Progressive Matrices were analyzed
to gather information on the relationships among
sub-parts of the assessments.
The author found that each of the three
assessments fit the theory on which it was based,
that they measured different abilities, and
that the DISCOVER assessment seemed to be a
more valid measure for the purpose of identifying
Mexican-American students as gifted.
Maker, C. J. (1992). Intelligence and creativity
in multiple intelligences:
Identification and development.
In this article, the activities initially designed
to assess problem solving in multiple intelligences
in young children (grades K-2) are described.
Also included are some of the behaviors observed
in children who seem to be effective problem
solvers. The activities have been revised and
modified since publication of this article based
on research on their use.
Maker, C. J. (1993). Creativity, intelligence,
and problem-solving: A definition and design
for cross-cultural research and measurement
related to giftedness. Gifted Education International, 9(2), 68-77.
This article contains an explanation of the
theory underlying the DISCOVER projects: the
relationship between creativity, intelligence,
problem solving, and the multiple intelligences
theory of Howard Gardner. It also contains a
description of the research design used to structure
a series of studies testing the theory and a
summary of the most important results of these
studies.
Maker, C. J. (1994). Authentic assessment of
problem solving and giftedness in secondary
school
Beginning with a discussion of authentic assessment
and problem solving, the author then describes
how others can develop authentic assessments
of problem-solving in secondary school students.
The DISCOVER assessment process (both its development
and its current form) is described, along with
suggestions for validation procedures.
Maker, C. J., Nielson, A. B., and Rogers, J.
A. (1994). Giftedness, diversity, and problem-solving:
Multiple intelligences and diversity in educational
settings. Teaching
Exceptional Children, 27(1), 4-19.
Written for practitioners, especially teachers,
this article provides an overview of the philosophy
and implementation of the DISCOVER assessment,
curriculum, and teaching approach. With specific
examples of student responses, teaching activities,
and photographs of children to supplement the
text, it provides an introduction to all phases
of the project. Teachers, parents, and administrators
who have implemented the DISCOVER approach write
about their experiences from their own perspectives,
and these are included along with the general
text written by the developers of DISCOVER.
Maker, C. J. (1995). Lessons learned from the
children. Understanding
Our Gifted, 8(1), 1, 8-13.
The author describes four students from diverse
cultural, linguistic, and economic backgrounds
and the strengths of each that she has observed.
She concludes each description by identifying
the important the lessons she has learned through
her interactions with each child.
Maker, C. J. (1996). Identification of gifted
minority students: A national problem, needed
changes and a promising solution. Gifted
Child Quarterly, 40(1), 41-50.
The serious national problem of under representation
of culturally diverse groups in programs for
gifted students is addressed. Old and new paradigms,
including changing conceptions of giftedness
based on a new paradigm, are described. A new
assessment process, consistent with the new
paradigm, is presented, along with suggestions
for validating and refining this assessment
in ways that are consistent with its underlying
thought system (paradigm).
Nielson, A. B. (1994). Traditional identification:
Elitist, racist, sexist? New evidence.
CAG
Communicator:
The Journal of the California Association
for the Gifted, 24(3), 18-19, 26-31.
The linguistic, cultural, and economic
biases inherent in Lewis Terman’s often quoted
studies of giftedness are explained in this
article, and their effects on IQ testing of
diverse populations are outlined. Characteristics
of families of children identified as gifted
using traditional IQ testing are compared with
families of children identified using an assessment
process (DISCOVER) designed to measure problem
solving in multiple intelligences.
Maker, C. J., Rogers, J. A., Nielson, A. B.,
and Bauerle, P. (1996). Multiple Intelligences,
problem solving,
This article is a report on a pilot study of
the effectiveness of the DISCOVER approach to
curriculum design and teaching strategies when
used in regular (homogeneous) classrooms with
young children from culturally diverse backgrounds.
It contains a short description of the DISCOVER
assessment, a description of the curriculum
and teaching strategies developed to build upon
student strengths and interests, an explanation
of the pilot study, and the impact of the teacher
classified as a “high implementer” on the students’
growth in problem solving in spatial, logical-mathematical
and linguistic intelligences.
Maker, C. J. and King, M. A. (1996). Nurturing
giftedness in young children.
Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.
In the first part of this book, the authors
describe three real classrooms in which teachers
are consistently nurturing the giftedness of
young children, especially the six who are described.
In the second part, the principles of
developmentally appropriate practice are explained
and examples of how they apply to the nurturing
of children with diverse abilities are provided.
Maker, C. J., and Nielson, A. G. (1996).
Curriculum
development and teaching strategies for gifted
Using a definition of giftedness based on the
Multiple Intelligences theory of Howard Gardner,
the authors explain and give many practical
examples for designing and implementing curriculum
to meet the needs of gifted students in regular
classrooms and in special programs.
The principles are explained in chapters
on learning environment, content, process, and
product, and examples of daily planning, unit
development, and school or district-wide curriculum
sequencing are provided.
Maker, C. J. (1997). DISCOVER Problem Solving Assessment,
Quest, 8(1), 3, 5, 7, 9.
After a brief description of the DISCOVER assessment,
Maker presents a review of research on its development,
reliability, and validity for its two intended
purposes: identifying the strengths of all students
in a classroom and identifying students who
are gifted in a way that is equitable across
gender, language, economic, and cultural groups.
Lori, A. A. (1997). Storytelling and personal
traits: Investigating the relationship between
children’s
The relationship between storytelling ability
and interpersonal and intrapersonal traits in
Bahraini students is reported in this article.
The DISCOVER assessment results were analyzed,
and problem-solving behaviors were correlated.
Significant relationships were found
between students’ storytelling and their personal
traits. Additional statistical analysis revealed
that 3rd graders were better storytellers
than 4th graders. Based on these
results, the author recommended educational
practices to enhance students’ linguistic and
communicative competencies.
Rogers, J. A. (1998). Refocusing the lens: Using observation
to assess and identify gifted learners. Gifted
Education International, 12(3), 129-144.
Rogers presents a clear view of how the parts
of the DISCOVER assessment are connected to
each other and to the underlying theoretical
frameworks. She integrates many practical examples
showing students’ responses, and makes the article
come alive.
This article is ‘required reading” for
everyone who wants to understand the assessment.
Please note, however, that changes have been
made in the assessment process since the article
was written.
Sarouphim, K. M. (1999). DISCOVER: A promising
alternative assessment for the identification
of gifted minorities. Gifted
Child Quarterly. 43(4), pp. 244-251.
In this review, the author describes the DISCOVER
assessment and reviews preliminary studies on
its reliability and validity.
She concludes that the DISCOVER assessment
seems to be a promising alternative technique
through which the problem of under representation
of gifted minorities in programs for the gifted
might be reduced. However, educators using the
DISCOVER assessment for identification purposes
must make sure that a good match exists between
the assessment and the type of gifted program
in which students will be placed.
Sarouphim, K. M. (1999). Discovering multiple
intelligences through a performance-based assessment:
The purpose of this study was to investigate
the consistency between performance-based DISCOVER
assessment results and two independent ratings
(teacher, observer) in appraising students’
multiple intelligences through specific activities.
The three accounts showed similar results strengths
and weaknesses in spatial, logical-mathematical,
and linguistic intelligences.
However, specific tasks should be designed
to appraise bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal,
and intrapersonal intelligences to increase
the effectiveness and credibility of assessment
of students’ abilities throughout the whole
spectrum of intelligences.
Sarouphim, K. M. (2000).
Internal structure of DISCOVER:
A performance-based assessment.
Journal for the Education of the Gifted,
23(3), 314-327.
A sample of 257 Navajo the Mexican-American
students from kindergarten, fourth, and fifth
grades were participants in an analysis of the
extent to which the DISCOVER behavior checklist
and rating process fits the theory on which
it is based.
The author found low and non-significant
correlations between ratings on activities assessing
different intelligences and moderate relationships
between activities designed to measure the same
intelligences.
She also found no gender biases in the
identification of boys and girls as gifted,
and concluded that more research on validity
is needed.
