An interview with C. June Maker

In this interview, questions were asked about various aspects of education for gifted and talented students, with a focus on Maker's life, reasons for being in the field, research, and ideas about paradigm shifts needed for the 21st Century context. She grew up on a farm in rural Kentucky with a father who was creative and a mother who was a teacher who loved words. Her own joy of creating was a strong influence on her desire to enable more people, especially students, to experience the joy of creating! Other areas of research included developing assessments of creative problem solving in different talent areas, leading to her current emphasis on the need for changing our thinking about how we serve gifted and talented students. Another important area of research has been on a teaching approach called Real Engagement in Active Problem Solving (REAPS) based on the talent development principles in her first books on curricula for gifted students. Working with teams of educators around the world, she has found the model to be effective with students of all ability levels and a practical way to develop the 21st Century skills of creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. It also has been effective in development of the rich, diverse knowledge structures needed for creativity. Finally, she reflects on the differences in passive versus active, creative thinking during the aging process.