ABSTRACT
This chapter presents unique characteristics of gifted students as problem solvers and shows how PBL units can be adapted to extend their potential. Gifted children are uniquely suited to developing a large knowledge base, one of the bridges to expertise. The ability to absorb facts is one of the most frequently cited characteristics of gifted children. Gifted students give evidence of conceptual and abstract reasoning at an earlier age than their age-mates. Problem-based learning provides the kind of complex learning environment that is well suited to developing expertise. The complex learning environment is created through the combined impact of the structural components of PBL: the ill-structured problem, the student as stakeholder, the self-directed learner, and the teacher as coach. Gifted students also appreciate complexity and realize that ethical discussions presenting one perspective as right are often too simplistic.
