ENCOURAGING MOTIVATION AND OPTIMISM IN NOMINALLY GIFTED STUDENTS BY USING COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Abstract

UDK 373.3:159.928.23-057.874
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 In order to have better understanding of the phenomenon of giftedness, better understanding of the process of identifying gifted students, in this article we attempted to explain and define these terms and relate them to motivation and academic optimism. The article is based upon the process of identifying intellectually gifted students, the ways in which they improve the teaching process, and the impact of this improvement on motivation and academic optimism of other students in the class, focusing upon the gifted students, with the aim to achieve better results in teaching process. The procedure of identification was carried out in accordance with contemporary theories about gifted students with the aim to select a group of students that can be considered intellectually gifted, so that the group can be observed through the process of education during one semester, in order to evaluate how the group responds to increased activities in the class and whether it enhances their motivation and academic optimism. The same way the group of not gifted students was observed in order to compare and analyze the impact of this change upon both the groups.