A Model of Mathematical Giftedness: Integrating Natural, Creative, and Mathematical Abilities

The present study aims to examine the structure and relationships among the components of mathematical giftedness and to identify groups of students that differ across these components. The proposed model is innovative in terms of integrating natural/cognitive, creative, and mathematical abilities leading to a new conceptualization of mathematical giftedness. In our view, mathematical giftedness consists of mathematical ability and mathematical creativity, whereas natural/cognitive abilities predict mathematical giftedness. To verify our model, data were collected from 239 elementary school students through four instruments. Data analysis verified the structure of the model, indicating that mathematical ability contributes more than mathematical creativity to the construct of mathematical giftedness. Furthermore, the natural/cognitive abilities (fluid intelligence and working memory) predict mathematical giftedness. Three different groups of students were identified, which reflect three distinct levels of performance, namely, low-,average-, and high-ability students. Among the high-ability students a group of 9-year-olds was identified as gifted.