Research & Advocacy

By following the academic progress and careers of its members, SET's staff studies talent development and evaluates the effectiveness of various educational strategies and interventions in meeting the individual needs of exceptional youths. We hope to better understand the needs of highly able students and to identify effective ways for such individuals to meet those needs.

Current projects include studies of:  demographic trends of SET qualifiers over time, parenting styles and achievement motivation, stress among high school students, factors that affect career decision-making among college students, and SET students who are twice-exceptional. We are also working on locating SET alumni for a follow-up study of our oldest alumni who are now well-established in their careers. 

SET’s staff also disseminates its research findings and counseling model through presentations at national and international conferences including the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), the American Educational Research Association, the American Counseling Association, the European Council for High Ability, and the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, as well as state and local conferences. The staff have been active as volunteers in professional associations, and they engage in numerous activities as advocates for services for gifted students. Dr. Brody serves on the Maryland State Advisory Board for Gifted and Talented Children.

Selected publications about SET or its members include:

• Brody, L. E. (2009). The Johns Hopkins Talent Search Model for Identifying and Developing Exceptional Mathematical and Verbal Abilities. In L.V. Shavinia (ed.), International Handbook on Giftedness. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
• Brody, L. E. (2009). Personalized programs for talent development: The Johns Hopkins model for meeting individualized needs. In B. MacFarlane & T. Stambaugh (Eds.), Leading change in gifted education (pp. 93-105). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
• Brody, L. E. (2007). Counseling highly gifted students to utilize supplemental educational opportunities: Using the SET model. In J. L. VanTassel-Baska (Ed.), Serving gifted learners beyond the traditional classroom (pp. 123-143). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
• Muratori, M. C., Stanley, J. C., Gross, M.U.M., Ng, L., Tao, T., Ng, J., & Tao, B. (2006). Insights from SMPYs Greatest Former Child Prodigies: Drs. Terence (Terry) Tao and Lehnard (Lenny) Ng Reflect on their Talent Development.  Gifted Child Quarterly, 50(4), 307-324.
• Brody, L. E. (2005).  The Study of Exceptional Talent. High Ability Studies, 16(1), 87-96.
• Brody, L. E. (2004).  Meeting the diverse needs of gifted students through individualized educational plans.  In D. Boothe & J. C. Stanley (Eds.), In the eye of the beholder: Cultural and disciplinary perspectives in giftedness. San Antonio, TX: Prufrock Press.
• Brody, L. E., & Mills, C. J. (2004).  Linking assessment and diagnosis to intervention for gifted students with learning disabilities. In T. Newman and R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), Students with both gifts and learning disabilities. New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
• Lupkowski-Shoplik, A., Benbow, C., Assouline, S. & Brody, L. E. (2003). Talent Searches: Meeting the Needs of Academically Talented Youth. In N. Colangelo & G. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of Gifted Education. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
• Brody, L. E., & Mills, C. J. (1997).  Gifted children with learning disabilities: A review of the issues. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30, 282-296.
• Brody, L. E., & Blackburn, C. C. (1996). Nurturing exceptional talent: SET as a legacy of SMPY.  In C. P. Benbow & D. Lubinski (Eds.), Intellectual talent: Psychometric and social issues.  Baltimore:  Johns Hopkins Press.
• Brody, L. E. (1995). The talent searches: Counseling and mentoring activities. In Talent Development III, Great Potential Press, Inc.
• Blackburn, C. C., & Brody, L. E. (1994). Family background characteristics of students who reason extremely well mathematically and/or verbally.  In N. Colangelo, S. G. Assouline, & D. L. Ambroson (Eds.), Talent development II  (pp. 439-444).  Columbus, OH: Ohio Psychology Publishing Co.
• Kolitch, E. R. & Brody, L. E. (1992).  Mathematics acceleration of highly talented students:  An evaluation. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36 (2), 78-86.
• Brody, L. E., Assouline, S. G., & Stanley, J. C. (1990). Five years of early entrants: Predicting successful achievement in college. Gifted Child Quarterly, 34, 138-142.
• Stanley, J. C. (1989). A look back at education non-acceleration, an international tragedy. Gifted Child Quarterly, 12 (4), 60-61.
• Brody, L. E., Lupkowski, A. E., & Stanley, J. C. (1988). Early entrance to college: A study of academic and social adjustment during freshman year. College and University, 63 (4), 347-359.
• Stanley, J. C. (1988).  Some characteristics of SMPY’s “700-800 on SAT-M befire age 13 group”: Youths who reason extremely well mathematically. Gifted Child Quarterly, 32 (1), 205-209.
• Brody, L. E., & Benbow, C. P. (1986). Social and emotional adjustment of adolescents extremely talented in verbal or mathematical reasoning. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 15, 1-18.
• Stanley, J. C., & Benbow, C. P. (1981-2). Using the SAT to find intellectually talented seventh graders. College Board Review, No. 122, 3-7, 26-27.

Additional publications by SET’s staff are included in CTY’s Research Bibliography. 

See also publications by the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth at Vanderbilt University for follow-up studies of students who qualified for SET in the early 1980s. Among these are:

• Lubinski, D., Webb, R. M., Morelock, M. J., & Benbow, C. P. (2001). Top 1 in 10,000: A 10-year follow-up of the profoundly gifted (PDF). Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 718-729.
• Lubinski, D., Benbow, C. P., Webb, R. M., & Bleske-Rechek, A. (2006). Tracking exceptional human capital over two decades. Psychological Science, 17, 194-199.
• Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2006). Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth after 35 years: Uncovering antecedents for the development of math-science expertise (PDF). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 316-345.