[English] Hit: Gifted Students in the Classroom

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Hi all

Thanks indeed to the people on the Qld 'Gifted' mailing list,
Gifted at discussions.eq.edu.au, whom responded to this question:

> I have to give a presentation to staff next week on 'Meeting the
> needs of the gifted in the classroom'. I've only got 10 minutes
> do you have any brief set of principles that you could share? 

Replies from the Gifted mailing list (in order of receipt):

[1]--

My principles are:

1. identify, acknowledge, support and respect your gifted students 
(several studies talk about teacher expectations, attitudes eg Vialle, 
Hewton). If no standardised testing, try Sayler's checklists, and use 
Whitmore to identify underachieving gifted

2. pretest - don't teach material that's known already (Deslaurier study 
Canada: 2/3 of students knew half the work before it was scheduled to be 
taught; top students knew 90% or thereabouts)

2. teach new material quickly with only as many repetitions as necessary 
for mastery of the basics

3. focus on higher order critical and creative thinking skills, problem 
finding and solving

4. set up options and opportunities to show potential in a range of 
disciplines or fields

5. encourage practice to mastery of advanced material - content and skills

6. don't accept mediocrity - gifted students are usually underachievers. 
Communicate your high expectations positively

7. don't call it gifted education if it's enrichment that all/most 
students could do. Use Passow (could, would, should) as a guide to 
determining whether curriculum is appropriate for gifted students.

8. differentiate as much as possible - use Maker: modify for depth and 
complexity in content, process, product, environment. Also Braggett's 
seven categories

9. set up clusters, ability grouping where possible

10. challenge them as much as possible - keep them excited and on their 
toes

11. accelerate students as much as possible using various of the 
strategies - see list at http://nationdeceived.org/ (A Nation Deceived)

12. locate mentors for gifted students in their special interest areas

13. negotiate contracts, formulate Individualised Education Plans for 
the highly gifted

14. use positive aspects of humour

15. remember gifted students still need teaching. Be that great teacher 
they'll remember. Don't send them to the library or expect them to work 
in isolation

16. get some training in gifted education - you owe it to the 10% who 
need it. Some good sites to explore for general information are:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/
http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/
http://www.nagc.org/
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/

17. buy one good text eg. Karen Rogers Re-Forming Gifted Education 
(brilliant)

I'd better stop now!

Cheers
Judith

PS: Not a simple task - there are many hours of PD involved in 
explaining and training just on my suggestions alone. Best wishes and 
good luck to your friend. I seriously doubt the school's commitment if 
10 minutes is the time allocation!
--

[2]--
The professional development packages by GERRIC - accessible at
http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/publications_resources/prof
iles/gifted_education_professional_development_package.htm  -
may be of help.

In particular, Module Five. 'Curriculum Differentiation for Gifted 
Students' offers advice on meeting the needs of the gifted in mixed ability
classrooms.

Otherwise Hoagies http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/educators.htm  is always an
excellent source for advice on all things gifted.

Kris
--

[3]--

I did a quick presentation for the local branch of the QAGTC recently on
this topic. It isn't as specific as Judith's - more of an overview, really,
but I can send you the powerpoint (nine slides - 56 kb) if you want.

Keep well
Ross

Ross Harvey
Principal
Kimberley Park State Primary School
--

[4]--

Ross Harvey has given permission for his Gifted Education PowerPoint
presentations to be added to the Gifted Education Learning Place website
at www.learningplace.com.au/en/g&t . The presentations can be found
under the drop down menu, on the left hand side of the screen,
Professional Learning, then Professional Development.

If anyone has a presentation they would like to share on this site
please email it to me, Thanks.

Kath. 
Kathleen Teasdale | Principal Education Officer
Curriculum Division | Department of Education, Training and the Arts
Floor 9 | Education House | 30 Mary Street | Brisbane Qld 4000
--

[5]--

Thanks to Ross for sharing - much appreciated. I liked the Framework 
presentation.

On the "Teaching Gifted Children" presentation I would like to discuss 
the definition on Slide 2 -

"Gifted children are those who do things a little earlier, a little 
faster, a little better and probably a little differently from most 
other children."

I know it was included in the previous Queensland policy but I still 
wonder who said this as I don't think it is useful. It's not current, or 
helpful in identifying the top 10% (or 5% if you prefer). It sounds to 
me like it would apply to 40% of the school population at least?

What do others think? Does anyone have a definition that is more 
'definitive'? If you can share please provide a reference.

I have read many over the years since Marland (Tannenbaum, the German 
Munich Model, Renzulli, Gagne, Colombus Group, 1993 Qld policy, EQ 
Framework, etc). My own personal definition is overly simplistic I know: 
"Gifted children have high ability"!

Cheers
Judith
--

[6]--

Dear Judith,

The definition you have isssue with is very broad, but I find that it isn't
a bad way to begin the focus for teachers who will readily identify
students who 'can't', and to respond to their needs, but are less inclined
to differentiate for students who 'can', because they feel that their
learning needs are being met by current classroom provision.

When there is a dissonance between what is happening in the classroom, and
what the teacher feels should be happening, that's when pedagogical change
begins to take place. Many teachers still don't know where to start
looking, or if they do, automatically identify the 'conforming
performers', who learn the way they are being taught!

I haven't had time to look at Ross' presentation yet, but I thought that
your list of points was great!

Best Wishes,
Lyne Megarrity
Hermit Park State School,
Townsville
--

[7]--

Hi Everyone,

I do like your definiton Judith- such simplicity but it captures the
essence!

i like to keep in mind (particularly because as teeachers we are talking
about children), the concept from Gagne that potential to achieve highly
qulaifies as giftedness, rather than limiting ourselves to only thinking
about those who are already achieving. 

Another aspect that its worth keeping in mind is that the top 10% is quite
a few children- many teachers only think that the term can apply to a tiny
%  perhaps 1 or 2% or less than this, and so don't think that any
modifications need to be made for the rest of that highly able group.

Cheers
Frances
--

[8]--

I guess to avoid alienating the unconverted it's useful to go in softly 
with a gentle statement. But at some stage we need to talk in stronger 
terms and quantify the concept as well.

Personally I've been around so long now that I've become a hard liner 
because we still don't know who's gifted. There's no defensible 
identification strategy widely implemented. No funding of significance 
to make any great difference unfortunately.

Judith
--

[9]--

For me the best aspect of Gagne is the delineation of the factors 
affecting whether you develop and use your giftedness or not. I think 
the gifted vs talent issue is a matter of semantics and personally it 
doesn't grab me at all. Especially when we don't pay as much attention 
to Tannenbaum and the Germans who did very similar explications of 
giftedness at the same time. Who was first I can't tell. All I can say 
is I'm glad Queensland isn't following the other states who only 
recognise Gagne. I hope that means we appreciate diversity and value 
different perspectives and acknowledge that many scholars have produced 
worthwhile models of giftedness.

There's been criticism in the British press over the 10% notion, 
reporting that teachers say it's too high and includes too many rather 
ordinary students! I couldn't help thinking are the top 10% ordinary or 
is it the curriculum and pedagogy that's less than exciting? So they're 
moving to 5%. I talked to Gagne about percentages and he said he's moved 
from 15% to 10% but that was some time ago.

In Queensland 10% equals 80 000 students. Across Australia, 400 000. As 
Frances says, not a low incidence special needs group at all!

Judith
--

[9]--

Hi All,

May I just say how much I enjoy reading this list, and how much I enjoy
Judith's down-to-earth views.

Her clear sight and long experience make her worth "listening" to. I agree
- how long do we have to have the "softly, softly" approach to giftedness
as though it is somehow distasteful to have it? It is about time it was
included in all pre-teaching courses as a normal part of the diversity of
children. It is about time that catering for these children was a NORMAL
part of the school curriculum and not an "add-on", or a luxury that we get
to when we can (since they look after themselves, these kids, anyway,
don't they?).

Yes, I know we have the Framework, I know we have the Gifted and Talented
Action Plan - both steps in the right direction - but it would be good if
all schools were resourced and supported with extra staff to cater to our
top 10% or 80,000 kids across the state.
 
Christina
--

[10]--

Hi,

I am a mum to an extremely gifted 5 year old boy. He was age equivelent to
8 years and 10 months when he was assessed at 4 years and 3 months. After
a hard and uninterested fight through the dept of eduacation for early
school entry last year, we just decided to wait until this year.

Anyway, he has started school (prep) this year, and we are both finding it 
quite unenjoyable and i suppose frustrating. The work is completely boring
and poses absolutely no challenges or stimulation to his learning/school 
experience. He complains daily about school due to this ("All we do is
draw... read the same books... Do the same things...) 

At lunch time he plays with kids all who are in older grades, (i suppose
they are more interesting and he is on the same mental level as them), and
when he comes home he completes his cousins homework (reading books and
writing exercises), who is in year 1, with absolute ease, while she
struggles to get through.

So, in explaining all this, how far do i push for further education
opportunities???? 

(I know that most schools dont implement gifted programs until year 2 and 
above.)

Also, how would a parent/school initiate a gifted program within my local
state school? 

Any information or teacher/parent feedback would be absolutely
appreciated. I look forward to your responses.

Sincerely,

Jana Loadsman
Tweed Coast
--

[11]--

Hi Jana,

I just wanted to let you know I know exactly where you're coming from &
all I can say is act quickly. It doesn't take long for a highly gifted
child like your son in an unchallenging school environment to determine
that school is irrelevant to their needs, and the negative impacts from
incorrect placement can take years to overcome. (BTDT!)

Pushing for further educational opportunities doesn't have to be
adversarial. I'd approach your son's classroom teacher & try to schedule a
time where you can discuss your concerns. Does the school know about his
giftedness? Do they know that you were considering early entry as an
option but didn't pursue that route? I know that early entry to Prep is
nigh on impossible unless you transfer from interstate, but did you try
for early entry to Year 1 this year instead of Prep?

If the school hasn't seen your son's assessment results, they need to.
They should be able to do further achievement testing to determine the
best academic placement for him. Given that he's already 5, acceleration
to Year 1 would seem appropriate & that's a common practice in Queensland
for identified gifted children. It may even be that his level of
giftedness is such that Year 2 would be more appropriate. After all, last
year's Year 2's did not have to turn 7 until the end of the year, without
any form of acceleration. Last year, accelerated Year 2's could have been
5 years old for their entire Year 2 year, so for a highly gifted 5 year
old, it's not a ridiculous proposition.

Even without any sort of acceleration, or any "gifted program", his 
classroom teacher should be able to make simple provisions for him if
she/he knows what the issues are and where his strengths lie. He should be
reading appropriate readers / chapter books for example, and it's quite
easy for the teacher to adjust her approach to class topics to allow him
to delve more deeply than the other children. The difficult thing though,
is the sense of isolation he is likely to have if he is the only one like
him in the class, and this could result in underachievement in an effort
to fit in and seem more "normal". This is where acceleration can help,
especially in the early years, as he would be more likely to find a child
who is closer to his cognitive level in a higher grade and can share some
of his interests and ideas. You already mentioned that he seeks out the
older children at play times.

You are embarking upon a long and difficult educational journey!  The 
reality is children like your son come along very rarely and the regular 
system was not created with them in mind. As such, you need to regularly 
assess his needs and whether or not they are being met. Finding the right 
educational fit for him may take several re-shuffles as he moves through
the years, and what works well this year may not be right next year.

Flexibility is the key.

Rarity aside, you are certainly not alone :) There are many great forums 
where you can glean advice and support and share your experiences (ups & 
downs) with other parents of gifted children. QAGTC has a discussion forum 
accessable from their website: www.qagtc.org.au, and there is a good forum 
at the gt-cybersource website: 
http://giftedissues.gt-cybersource.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/ubb/cfrm. For 
information on giftedness and educational advocacy, www.hoagiesgifted.org
is a great place to start, and for info pertaining to acceleration of
gifted children, I suggest reading http://nationdeceived.org/. The
internet is definitely an invaluable resource!

Good luck! Speak to the teacher - the likelihood is the teacher & the
school will sincerely want to provide the best type of education they can 
for your son. Hopefully there is the right support available to them to
ensure that they can make informed decisions, with you, on what that might
be, and have the capacity to implement it.

Long, I know, Sorry!

Regards,
Cassandra
--
[END]

Thanks people!
Stephen Loosley
Registered Teacher