Commentary on the Chapter by Gilah Leder, “Looking for Gold: Catering for Mathematically Gifted Students Within and Beyond ZDM”

Abstract

Gilah Leder thoroughly reviews, within the constraints imposed by the structure of this volume, what seems to be a very rich but not fully institutionalized area of research enterprise. An important (and, probably, inevitable) decision about the reviewing strategy was “[not to attempt] to provide a unique definition of mathematically gifted students or its pseudonyms, [but to accept] the diversity of definitions used in different publications… at face value” (Leder, this volume, p. 390). As a result, the review includes publications that, generally speaking, are concerned with supporting or characterizing those students who seem to be insufficiently challenged by a regular mathematical curriculum or show at least above-average achievements when studying mathematics in different educational settings. In fact, the chapter invites the reader to critically consider whether such a broad population can be referred to as “mathematically gifted students” and, more importantly, whether results of numerous studies utilizing the term “mathematically gifted students” or its pseudonyms can be perceived as a body of accumulated knowledge or as “tantalizing allusions to the needs and development of mathematically gifted students” (Leder, this volume, p. 403).