The Developmental Progression of a
Highly Precocious Child Writer
The purpose of this project is to document and analyze the writing development of an exceptional child writer whose precocity, evident since age 5, is demonstrated by his prodigious output and his complex and sophisticated writing about multifaceted topics. Given that prodigies are rare and precocity before age 6 is extremely unusual, a very young precocious child writer is considered truly exceptional. Even Jackson's (2000) developmental model of precocious behaviors only depicts literary precocity as emerging in the 7 - 12 year-old period.
The research data are comprised of the child's written productions as well as the child's verbal feedback collected via ongoing researcher-child conversations regarding his writing and writing processes. Interviews with his parents regarding developmental milestones, his emergent writing, their involvement in his writing, and factors that influence his writing are conducted on a regular basis. Classroom observation and teacher interviews are an additional source of data.
The findings of this longitudinal study will add to the limited body of knowledge on precocious child writers. It may also provide valuable information on the development of children who are highly gifted and the educational programs that are best suited to their needs.
Contact:
Dr. Kathryn NoelUniversity of Western Ontario
Faculty of Education
Phone: 519-661-2111 ext. 88622
Email: knoel@uwo.ca
© 2009 The Centre for Inclusive Education, UWO
