Are Giftedness and Creativity Synonyms in Mathematics?

Abstract

At the K-12 level one assumes that mathematically gifted students identified by out-of-level testing are also creative in their work. In professional mathematics, “creative” mathematicians constitute a very small subset within the field. At this level, mathematical giftedness does not necessarily imply mathematical creativity but the converse is certainly true. In the domain of mathematics, are the words creativity and giftedness synonyms? In this article, the constructs of mathematical creativity and mathematical giftedness are developed via a synthesis and analysis of the general literature on creativity and giftedness. The notions of creativity and giftedness at the K-12 and professional levels are compared and contrasted to develop principles and models that theoretically “maximize” the compatibility of these constructs. The relevance of these models is discussed with practical considerations for the classroom. The paper also significantly extends ideas presented by Usiskin (2000).