Biographical Methods in Gifted Education

Biography is one method of investigating giftedness. By studying the lives of eminent adults, researchers can look for childhood indicators of talent, trace the development of talent in specific individuals over the course of the life span, or examine multiple biographies in content domains to uncover patterns of achievement for writers, scientists, artists, musicians, and political leaders. Biography in gifted education is used in three ways. First, multiple biographies or biographical materials are studied through historiometry, the use of statistics to analyze eminence and achievement. Second, individual case studies can be conducted on a single subject of a biography. Third, the use of biography in the curriculum for high-ability learners has been incorporated into several instructional and curricular models in gifted education.