Joseph Renzulli (born July 7, 1936) is an American

educational psychologist An educational psychologist is a psychologist whose differentiating functions may include diagnostic and psycho-educational assessment, psychological counseling in educational communities ( students, teachers, parents, and academic authoriti ...

. He is the Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

's Neag School of Education.

Early life

Renzulli graduated with a bachelor's degree from

Rowan University Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents. ...

. He earned a master in education degree from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, and a doctorate from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

Career

Renzulli is the Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor at the University of Connecticut's Neag School of Education, where he also serves as director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. His research has focused on the identification and development of creativity and giftedness in young people and on organizational models and curricular strategies for total school improvement. A focus of his work has been on applying the strategies of gifted education to the improvement of learning for all students. Renzulli developed the three-ring model of giftedness, which promoted a broadened conception of giftedness. He also developed the "Schoolwide Enrichment Model" for developing children's talents in schools. Renzulli is known for his contributions to understanding

giftedness Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to persist as a trait into adult life, wi ...

. He argues that high potential individuals may only turn their asset into talent if their environment encourages it. Renzulli is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and was a consultant to the White House Task Force on Education of the Gifted and Talented. He established the UConn Mentor Connection program for gifted young students and the summer Confratute program at UConn in 1978, which has served thousands of teachers and administrators from around the world.

Selected publications

* Renzulli, J.S. (1978). What Makes Giftedness? Reexamining a Definition. Phi Delta Kappan, 60(3), 180-184, 261. * Renzulli, J.S. (1994). Schools for talent development: A practical plan for total school improvement. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press. * Renzulli, J.S., & Reis, S.M. (1985). The schoolwide enrichment model: A comprehensive plan for educational excellence. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.

References

External links

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Past Winners of Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renzulli, Joseph 1936 births Living people Rowan University alumni Rutgers University alumni Curry School of Education alumni University of Connecticut faculty American cognitive scientists American educational psychologists