Joseph Renzulli is a champion for Gifted Education in the modern era.

As a leader in the field of talent development, enrichment, differentiated instruction and curriculum, and gifted and talented education, Renzulli applies the pedagogy of gifted education teaching strategies to benefit all students in order to support Schoolwide Enrichment.

His pioneering research has focused upon talent identification, talent and creativity development in students, as well as organizational models and curricular strategies for total school improvement.

This is called the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM).

The "Three-Ring Conception" illustrates that gifted behavior is the result of the interaction between three traits: above-average ability, creativity, and task commitment. Renzulli maintains that Giftedness is a dynamic behavior that appears when these three traits work together, often under specific circumstances and in particular fields. Giftedness is not static conceptualization of intelligence or even advanced creativity rather. Renzulli's model requires opportunities for students to apply their abilities in real-world situations. This triad diagram, pictured to the right, is one of the most well-known modern illustrations of the definition of gifted and creative education.

Beyond these earlier conceptualizations, “Operation Houndstooth” is another more recent theory developed by Renzulli that specifically emphasizes the social and emotional development of gifted and creative learners as a needful requisite to human capital and socially constructive behavior in our nation and our world.