COMPARISON OF LEARNING AND STUDY STRATEGIES OF GIFTED AND AVERAGE-ABILITY JUNIOR-HIGH STUDENTS

Not enough is known about whether the learning and study strategies of gifted students are adequate or how they compare to average-ability l earners. Therefore, two studies were conducted to determine if gifted and average-ability junior high students differed in learning and stud y strategies. Results of study One revealed several differences betwee n gifted (n = 80) and average-ability (n = 61) seventh, eighth, and ni nth graders on the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory. Anxiety em erged as the variable that discriminated most between the groups with the average-ability students having more anxiety. Study Two replicated study one with ninth graders (99 gifted, 98 average-ability) taking t he newer Learning and Study Strategies Inventory-High School Version a nd all students drawn from school settings. There were fewer differenc es between the two groups but significant differences did result on so me of the same subtests as in Study One with anxiety again emerging as the most powerful discriminator. There were also gender differences i n the second study with girls scoring higher than boys in motivation, study aids, and self-testing. Even with the differences between the ab ility groups, gifted students did not score above the mean on many sub tests and it is recommended that both groups need explicit instruction in learning and study strategies.