It is 8:30 on a cold, windy Monday morning in February. The cheery voices of children and parents can be heard echoing in the hallway. As the teachers open the "cubbie room" door (the room adjacent to the main classroom) the children race to their cubbies, stow their coats, hats, and boots, bid their parents a quick goodbye, and dash into the classroom.

"Connie, look what I brought today!" exclaims Matthew as he holds up the most recent edition of the National Geographic.

"I can see you are very excited about that. I wonder why?" responds Connie as she bends down to look at the magazine with him.

"This is all about Will Steeger and Antarctica" Matthew points out as he holds up a picture of the Transantarctic Team.

"How exciting. Do you have a plan for it?" Questions Connie.

"I want to show it to everyone at meeting time!" he says walking into the classroom with Connie.

"Good idea. You choose the picture you would like to show the children." Connie is pleased, though not surprised, that he has become so involved in the current unit of study in Antarctica.

The other children have already begun activities in the classroom. Seth is at the art table making yet another book about animals to add to his growing collection, Theo and Jamie are building complex vehicles with the Legos, Hannah and Beth are playing the penguin lotto game, and Sarah is rapidly assembling the new 40 piece floor puzzle. An energetic hum pervades the classroom as the 16 children, two teachers, and one graduate intern intermingle and pursue a host of activities.

At 9:05 the children assemble on the red rug and the morning meeting commences. As the meeting proceeds, the children ponder such problems as what Will Steeger and his crew should take on their transantarctic journey, and how 16 children can share four scooters in the gym equitably. Their ideas demonstrate an extraordinary level of thought, their language development is astonishing, their enthusiasm for problem solving is infectious, and their delight in one another is endearing.

This vignette is from the Hollingworth Preschool and these children are 3 ½ years old.

The Hollingworth Preschool at Teachers College, Columbia University was founded by Professors James Borland and Heidi Jacobs to meet the special educational needs of intellectually precocious children. The establishment of the program was guided by their belief that such children often do not have their needs met in a traditional nursery school program. Indeed, the Leta Hollingworth Center for the Study and Education of the Gifted at Teachers College had received numerous telephone calls from concerned parents across the country who described preschool programs that were failing to nurture the development of their precocious children. Therefore, in September of 1983, when the Hollingworth Preschool opened its doors, the most immediate need for a program designed to provide an optimal early childhood program for those children, whose atypical cognitive abilities required a differentiated educational setting, was fulfilled. While the Hollingworth Preschool continues to meet this goal, it has also emerged as a model early childhood program for precocious children.

The mission of the Hollingworth Preschool is to provide an optimal match between the needs of the population it serves and a responsive early childhood program. When this match is created, each child not only grows intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically, but also develops a love of learning and positive attitudes toward school. Perhaps Josh (4 years, 3 months) put it most succinctly when he spontaneously compared Hollingworth to his previous school. "At my old school," said Josh, "we sang songs and played. But at Hollingworth, we sing songs, play, learn new things, and think!" This "singing, playing, thinking, and learning" is the lifelong legacy that the preschool offers the children.

The goals of the preschool encompass the nurturance of the whole child. This is not an "academic hothouse." The goal is not to create "superbabies." Rather, the developmentally appropriate child-centered curriculum is designed to nurture the unique potential of each child. The faculty is not bound by preconceived conventions. Instead, the teachers observe keenly, and respond appropriately. The charge of educating the young children entrusted to the Hollingworth Preschool is a challenging task that is met with seriousness and enthusiasm.

Screening and Identification: Who are the "Hollingworth Kids"?
The identification of precocious preschoolers is a challenging task undertaken in an endeavor to ensure appropriate educational placements. At Hollingworth, the purpose of the identification process is not to speculate about the child's "potential giftedness." (When referring to children as young as 3- or 4-years old, we doubt that the label "gifted" has any meaning at all.) The identification process has three essential components: 1) An extensive parent questionnaire requesting comprehensive information about the child's development substantiated by specific examples of emerging or mastered behaviors; 2) an observation of the child participating in a short teacher-directed concept attainment task as well as engaging in self-selected activities in the preschool classroom; and 3) a formal assessment (the Stanford-Binet Form L-M or the Stan-ford-Binet: Fourth Edition depending on the age of the child) carried out by an independent testing agency.

While this information is extensive, many caveats are kept in mind when considering each component. The formal assessment, for example, offers valuable information concerning a child's potential if the subtest and composite score are high. In this instance, early identification of precocity is aided. However, uneven performances among subtests that result in low test scores are not unusual. Typically, such a score is not an accurate assessment of the child's ability. On one occasion a little boy (2 years, 6 months) had a Stanford-Binet Form L-M score of 107. At this age, this same child also read fluently and exhibited an extraordinary vocabulary. He entered the Hollingworth program at the age of 3. Two years later, his test score was in the 99th percentile. This scenario has repeated itself many times.

The ability of the parents to communicate the desired information requested by the questionnaire varies. Some parents are persuasively articulate, while others provide only the most minimal details. Therefore, the questionnaires are read for content by professionals who have expertise in child development. Follow-up interviews are carried out if further information is required.

The on-site observations also present a special challenge as some children, even with the parent present, are simply reluctant to participate in new situations. Others are immediately gregarious. Damien (2 years, 6 months) refused to talk or engage in any activities during the entire observation. He was invited back and again was nonparticipatory. Half way through the second visit, the observer left Damien in the room with this mother. As the observer then stood out of his view, he proceeded to build an elaborate structure out of the attribute blocks while naming the trapezoid and hexagon blocks. At the other extreme was Maria (2 years, 8 months), who spoke nonstop throughout the observation, participated in each activity with enthusiasm, and at one point, when she was unable to solve the problem, immediately turned to the child next to her and said "Your turn!" At the conclusion of the observation session, Maria deliberately "forgot" her scarf in the classroom. Delighted, she returned to the classroom with her mother, quickly located her scarf, and again surveyed "all of the lovely things for the children." Both children were accepted into the program.

Since the factual knowledge the children bring to the observation is extremely diverse, emphasis throughout the observation is placed on the child's processing skills, problem solving ability, and task commitment. For example, Serena (3 years, 2 months) was participating in the concept attainment task. She appeared to understand the concept, but could not count to five and did not know her colors. Further, she demonstrated the ability to acquire and apply new information. The observers were baffled by this gap in her development. Later, however, the parent questionnaire revealed that the family did not own a television and that the parents chose not to teach her these "facts." Serena also became a member of the Hollingworth Preschool.

Extensive investigation accompanies the identification process. Once the information is gathered, it is then reviewed and analyzed by the child study team (members of the preschool faculty) who employ a case study approach. The decision about each child's placement is made on an individual basis. Information is not weighted according to a matrix, nor is there a cutoff score for the test. Rather, places are offered to those children who exhibit the greatest need for the program.

The importance of the child study team cannot be overstated. This team of professionals relies on both their collective understanding of the needs of young children and the characteristics of those children who require a program such as Hollingworth's. These team members, using Elliot Eisner's concept of connoisseurship, analyze and interpret the collected information in light of their professional expertise and knowledge. The desired result is an appropriate placement decision for each applicant.

Given this extensive screening process, who are the "Hollingworth Kids?" Simply put, they are children who demonstrate behaviors one would not expect to observe in 3- and 4-year-old children. For example, Elizabeth spins tales about magical lands, has created her own solar system, and has acquired a storehouse of technical information about space; Alisha reads fluently and can quote passages from many of the stories she has read; Danny is an expert on mythology and creates astonishing costume designs; Joel sees mathematical relationships and patterns that include an understanding of prime numbers, geometric patterns, and square roots; Eric is a masterful builder with blocks who has created replications of the Manhattan skyline; and Nina can effortlessly put together jigsaw puzzles of over 60 pieces.

While the children may manifest precocity in one or more areas, their development is uneven. These same children may function in age appropriate ways in other domains. The teachers notice, for example, that their ideas often outstrip the fine motor development necessary to execute those ideas. It becomes a constant challenge to develop methods for the children to express their ideas while at the same time alleviating the frustration they feel at their own relative "shortcomings!"

Curriculum: What Do You Do with the Children?
The Hollingworth Preschool child-centered curriculum is an outgrowth of the work of the Leta Hollingworth Center for the Study and Education of the Gifted at Teachers College. The goal is not to accelerate the children or push them through the elementary school curriculum before they enter kindergarten. The preschool is concerned with five major goals: 1) to provide a warm, caring, responsive environment that fosters a sense of security, acceptance, and belonging; 2) to provide children with a conceptual knowledge of the world around them that can serve as a foundation for further understanding; 3) to facilitate the development of higher-thinking skills necessary to become critical thinkers and problem solvers; 4) to further the development of the children's social interaction skills; and 5) to encourage the growth of the children's physical development and coordination.

Embracing an interdisciplinary approach, a balance between child-selected and child-designed activities, and teacher-developed and teacher-guided activities is woven throughout the day. This combination affords each child the opportunity to explore individual interests while gaining exposure to a wider variety of ideas. The link between these two elements is evident as the children incorporate new knowledge and skills throughout their play activities and the teachers integrate the children's interests into the units of study.

All curricular decisions are guided by the data collected during careful observations of the children. The data include the children's interests, talents, and levels of development in each domain. These observations aid the teachers in developing meaningful responses to the children's play, selecting appropriate interdisciplinary themes, and facilitating problem solving activities.

Play: The Key to It All
Play is an essential part of the Hollingworth Preschool day. It is a valuable activity during which the preschoolers interact socially and select activities spontaneously. At first glance, the rich classroom environment, complete with a block corner, a sand table, a water table, a loft, a housekeeping area, art supplies, painting easels, small manipulatives, puzzles, games, books, and a music center, resembles a typical early childhood classroom. Yet, as the children's play is observed, it becomes evident that in this environment, the children engage in sophisticated dramatic and constructive play, pursue areas of interest, and engage in problem solving tasks both collaboratively and independently. The children themselves are the active participants who shape the complexities of the environment.

The shaping of the environment is evident as the preschoolers' modification of conventional preschool materials renders the activities more complex. Parallel painting becomes a cooperative endeavor as the children paint portraits of one another. The "housekeeping area" becomes a castle for King Arthur and his knights as they host a medieval joust or the continent of Africa where a safari ride is carried out. The art area becomes a studio that gives rise to a watercolor entitled Starry Starry Night on Sesame Street. The block area becomes a construction site as the builders replicate the skyline of Manhattan. The board games become challenges governed by a strict interpretation of the rules. The sand table becomes an underground tunnel that guides Ping back to China.

These descriptions underscore the importance of the typical play areas for precocious preschoolers. The success of the centers, however, depends on the expertise of the teachers who are facilitating the children's play. Hollingworth teachers do not lead the children's play, nor do they select or direct the children's activities. The teachers do, however, observe classroom interactions and behaviors, respond to the children's actions, guide conflict resolution, engage in child-initiated play, modify the environment, and provide necessary materials.

Interdisciplinary Units of Study:Teacher-Child Adventures
Interdisciplinary units are pursued throughout the school year. The selection of a theme is guided by the interests of the children and the richness of the content. Special attention is given to topics which lend themselves to an in-depth exploration, foster problem solving, and are not likely to be repeated during the primary school years.

Once a theme has been introduced, the teachers and the children generate activities that encompass a wide array of disciplines. One example of this approach is a recent study of the continent of Antarctica. This unit evolved when the teachers noted the Antarctic books and toy penguins several of the children brought to school. A unit on structuring environments for exotic animals, culminating with a trip to the Central Park Zoo, revealed that penguins were a passion for many of the children. Interest was further heightened when it was learned that an international team would be crossing the homeland of the penguins (Antarctica) using sled dogs as their only means of travel. This element of adventure, combined with the mysterious appeal of a huge expanse of ice and snow, and the irresistible attraction of seven varieties of penguins, made Antarctica a timely exploration not to be missed.

This unit integrated both the teacher-guided and child-developed activities discussed earlier. The teachers actively engaged the preschoolers as they considered the continual challenges confronting the transantarctic team. For example, the children packed cardboard "dog sleds" with the provisions they deemed necessary for the team's survival. Pretend adventures occurred when the children became sled dogs and tested the adeptness of their packing. The children traced the weekly progression of the team on a huge map of Antarctica that covered one wall of the classroom.

Consideration of Antarctica's unique geography and inhabitants was also introduced. When the preschoolers speculated about the length of time it would take for more than a mile of ice to accumulate, Jeremy hypothesized that the ice had been "piling up since the time of the dinosaurs."

Penguins, of course, were a favorite topic. A teacher-made game show called Name the Penguin introduced the seven kinds of penguins according to their distinctive markings. A lotto game of the same name was a favorite activity.

As the children became more familiar with the continent and followed the travels of the team, they were able to discuss with heartfelt conviction the issues which the Transantarctic Expedition hoped to draw to the attention of the world. Should Antarctica be opened up for development and possible exploitation, or should it remain a neutral territory where scientists from different countries may continue to work side-by-side? (The fate of Antarctica is to be decided in 1991 by the review of an international treaty. One can only hope that those in power will agree with the Hollingworth kids that the continent should be "left alone and belong to all of us.")

Collaboration between the teachers and the children is evident throughout the activities described above. Some of the children spontaneously and independently take the units beyond the established curriculum. Mark, for example, became fascinated with the expedition team members. He investigated their native countries and indicated each member's homeland on the world map. Drew led some of his classmates in the creation of a board game entitled "Crossing Antarctica." Other members of the class experimented with the various ways to represent the dominant colors of Antarctica, the blue sky and the white ice. Their brush paintings, marble painting, and collages transformed the classroom into a wonderland of snow and ice.

Once a unit of study has been completed, the integration of the topic continues to pervade the children's play, conversations, and level of awareness. This became most evident several months after the conclusion of the Antarctica unit. Aaron noted that a caption under a photograph in the Columbia magazine had misidentified the species of the penguin. The class wrote a letter to the editor pointing out the mistake. The editor graciously invited the children to bring a picture of the correct penguin to the magazine's office. The correction was printed in a later issue and the children were credited with identifying the error. This learning experience convinced the children that they were capable problem solvers who could indeed effect change!

Problem Solving: A Skill for Life
Problem solving strategies are integrated throughout the units of study. Indeed, problem solving pervades every component of the school day. In the classroom, a problem is viewed as a challenge to be embraced with enthusiasm. From their earliest days in the classroom the children are actively involved in solving the daily problems that they encounter. The power of their words become evident as they work with the teachers to process the typical social conflicts and problems that arise. They become amazingly proficient negotiators who generate multiple solutions. In time, the children internalize effective problem solving strategies which they use frequently and spontaneously. They have been called upon to offer solutions for gaining entry to the gym when the keys were lost, developing a more efficient cleanup time, and establishing consequences for unacceptable behaviors. Life is full of problems. The Hollingworth environment cultivates capable problem solvers who respond enthusiastically to challenges without becoming defeated by the difficulties encountered.

Additional Benefits: How Are Others Helped by the Hollingworth Program?
Parent Involvement: What Do the Parents Need?
Like all preschools, one of Hollingworth's goals is to forge a strong positive link between home and school. Formal parent-teacher conferences are held during the fifth week of school. At that time, the parents and teachers begin an ongoing dialogue about the child and establish meaningful goals for the child's preschool experience. As mentioned earlier, although the development of these children is at times uneven and unpredictable, this communication and collaboration results in happy, capable, and self-assured children who love school and learning and think that life is just great!

While the home-school partnership is a typical component of all good preschool programs, parents of very bright young children often have specific issues that are not addressed through traditional early childhood practices. These parents are faced with atypical developmental concerns very early in their children's lives:

The parent of a child who reads fluently expresses concern regarding what might happen in kindergarten; a socially precocious child causes the father to wonder how to respond to his daughter's friendship patterns; the mother of a child who developed his own elaborate number system questions her ability to nurture this talent; and an artistically advanced child who draws astonishingly accurate portraits of zoo animals causes his father to consider the advisability of introducing exploratory art classes. The Hollingworth faculty responds to these kinds of concerns in a knowledgeable and supportive manner.

Hollingworth parents have a wealth of resources available to them. Each member of the faculty has extensive experience enabling him or her to respond to the diverse needs of the parents. In addition to numerous telephone conversations and conferences, the preschool provides The Elizabeth Conely Michel Memorial Seminars focusing on issues concerning appropriate education. Such forums encourage the parents to raise questions and to broaden their own knowledge base.

Perhaps the most important component of the parents' involvement is the sense of community that is established among the parents themselves. Through this informal support network, they delight in the growth of their children and gain the ongoing confidence to act as advocates for their children.

Service to the College and the Community: What Happens Beyond the Preschool?
The Hollingworth Preschool is located on the campus of Teachers College, Columbia University, the world's largest graduate school of education. Although the primary mission of the preschool is to provide an optimal early childhood program for the children, services such as leadership training for graduate students, outreach programs to the community and hosting professional visits are also vital components of the program.

The preschool hosts a number of graduate interns who are pursuing degrees at Teachers College. The preschool offers these students the opportunity to develop curricula, refine teacher-child interactions, and acquire observational skills under the mentorship of the preschool faculty. These practical "hands-on" experiences enrich the graduate students' academic pursuits by allowing them to translate theory into practice.

The result of such internships is a cadre of professionals who implement the skills acquired at Hollingworth into other programs. A notable example is the inclusion of Hollingworth interns in Project Synergy, a federally funded project designed to identify and serve potentially gifted kindergarten children from lower socio-economic, minority populations. The field work in the preschool has enabled these teachers to make a valuable contribution to this essential project. It is this kind of leadership training that has a far reaching and long lasting impact on the practice of the field.

In addition to leadership training, the preschool faculty offers outreach programs that include staff development opportunities for fellow educators. The faculty shares curricular methods and instructional strategies, aiding teachers in program development.

This collaboration may be as simple as a teacher or educator observing at Hollingworth or as intensive as the 3-year collaboration which the school has had with a New York State-funded preschool program in the New York City Public Schools. These ongoing educational opportunities enrich both the Hollingworth program and the participating programs.

Each year, Hollingworth opens its doors to a number of visitors from schools and universities around the world. Educators from England, Japan, the Republic of China, Australia, Germany, India, Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Israel, and the United States have observed in the classroom. These visitors are keenly interested in every aspect of the program, observing in the classroom and engaging in discussions with the preschool faculty after school hours. As a model program, the preschool believes that such sharing enhances the educational programs of children far beyond the Hollingworth classroom.

Research: What Are the Unanswered Questions?
Research on precocious preschoolers is scarce. Therefore, the preschool, invites both its own faculty and members of the Teachers College community to engage in studies incorporating the Hollingworth population. In the past, research topics have included mathematics readiness, problem solving, free play, and social problem solving. Current areas of interest among the preschool faculty include friendship patterns, gender differences, and the characteristics and development of the teachers.

Perhaps the most exciting prospect is undertaking a longitudinal study of this population. Currently, files are being assembled to facilitate the first round of data collection. While this study will be broad in scope, the impact of the early childhood experience at Hollingworth will be examined.

The Hollingworth Preschool is a special place. It is a place where children thrive and educational innovation is the rule. It is a place where the professionals are thoughtful, reflective, gifted, and caring teachers who find their positions interesting, challenging, and satisfying. It is a place where the curriculum responds to the children and the children engage with delight and enthusiasm. It is a place that lets children know that what they think and say is of great importance and interest. It is a place where humor abounds and laughter, singing, and play weave through every hour. It is a place where friendships formed for the first time last far beyond the preschool years. It is a place where children, from time to time, emphatically state "I don't want to turn five. I don't want to go to kindergarten. I want to stay at Hollingworth forever!" While Hollingworth is not a place where the children can stay forever, the love of learning, the enthusiasm for school, and the friendships they acquire while at Hollingworth are theirs to keep for a lifetime.

Permission Statement

Permission to reprint this article has been granted to the Davidson Institute for Talent Development by Prufrock Press.

This article is provided as a service of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people under 18. To learn more about the Davidson Institute’s programs, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org.