KS3 IMPACT! G&T Identifying G&T students A whole-school approach Strategies that work

KS3 IMPACT! Identifying / Diagnosing Gifted & Talented students Entitlement v Elitism

T: Art Music Sport G: Other subjects ? DfES 5-10% of students Grow your own definition teachersstudents

Which of these should we use to define students who are gifted and talented? NC tests (eg KS2, KS3) Diagnostic tests (Midyis, CATs) Classroom observation Teacher recommendation Checklists of general ingredients Peer / parental recommendation

So how can we spot our gifted and talented students? What are the key signals? Conformist Diligent Adult-friendly Smart presentation Socially adept Leadership qualities Mustn’t grumble Enjoys problem-solving Sense of humour Non-Conformist Non-completer Avoids extension tedium Uncommunicative, surly, challenging, unnerving Scruffy presentation detached, even disruptive Loner or rebel Scornful Dark humour

KS3 IMPACT! 1.How do you know what you are especially good at? 2.Is everyone able to show their best and be proud of it? 3.Do some people pretend they are not clever at something? 4.What sort of things make you think hardest?Of all the ways the teacher gets you to learn about things which do you enjoy the most? 5.Of all the ways the teacher gets you to learn about things, which do you enjoy least? 6.Do you find it easy to get on with the tasks you’ve been set? 7.Do you have targets which really challenge you? Ask the students

Of all the ways the teacher gets you to learn about things which do you enjoy the most? Activities – not writing, nothing intimidating. More discussion, needs to be variety (maths now = all from books) Biology = copy from board – don’t even read it VAKi in French to analyse own learning If teachers drone on = some of us don’t have the attention span Unfairness about time given to complete coursework ie some = meet deadlines. Others = 3 months late so have extra 3 months to work on it Too many tests in short space of time Would help if different subject teachers could talk to each other so we do not get all coursework assignments at the same time.

Of all the ways the teacher gets you to learn about things, which do you enjoy least? Vague questions that you don’t know what it means I think we should be setted for English because it could be more challenging too long on one piece of work would be helpful, disruptive people were in difficult group Humanities – go round and round in circles because don’t have specialist teachers. Spend time trying to manage behaviour

So what should we be aiming to provide for G&T students? And what NOT provide?

NOT More of the same Extra handouts FOFO projects BUT Experimentation Metacognition Modelled learning Open questions Detours and tangents Humour Wonder Creativity Resilience ‘Flow’ thinking

So what could you do next? Do things Create the climate for things to happen History A gifted or talented student may:  Work with a high degree of independence  Use a variety of sources to obtain information  Question the validity of sources/ideas  Utilise specialised vocabulary  high level of empathy  perceptive level of questioning  transfer previous knowledge  link topics with other subjects  be able to group philosophical concepts In delivery the teacher may:  allow students to select their own sources of information  promote paired work  role-play  allow them to produce materials for other students’ use (e.g. a wordsearch, audio tape, video etc.)  interview ‘experts’ (eg other members of the department) in order to gain information  promote different methods of recording information  promote higher order skills by asking open questions, e.g. Henry VIII – a good or bad influence on the religion of the country?  Limit the time they have available for a task

Hammer out your school’s definition of G&T, giving a broad view of ability, downplaying innateness, emphasising inclusiveness, emotional literacy, resilience. Involve staff in this process 1

The G&T coordinator should coordinate, not DO everything. S/he should also be a key evaluater 2

Keep it simple: 3 (or less) things that some people will try to do in their lessons. Build a critical mass. Roll the project out sequentially using allies 3

Do whole-school stuff (masterclasses, conferences, thinking skills workshops, trips). But expect in-lesson impact too, and know how you will evaluate it 4

Involve students and parents and experts. Give control. Do less! 5

KS3 IMPACT! G&T Identifying G&T students A whole-school approach Strategies that work

KS3 IMPACT! 1.How do you know what you are especially good at? 2.Is everyone able to show their best and be proud of it? 3.Do some people pretend they are not clever at something? 4.What sort of things make you think hardest?Of all the ways the teacher gets you to learn about things which do you enjoy the most? 5.Of all the ways the teacher gets you to learn about things, which do you enjoy least? 6.Do you find it easy to get on with the tasks you’ve been set? 7.Do you have targets which really challenge you? Ask the students

KS3 IMPACT! Learns quickly Enjoys problem solving Inquisitive Good vocabulary Creative/inventive Intense concentration Independent Sense of humour

KS3 IMPACT! A liking for independent learning Open–ended tasks Scaffolding of more complex tasks Exploration Opportunities to develop leadership skills Stretching source material Collaboration with peers Advanced thinking e.g. Bloom’s top three Catering for different learning style metacognitive strategies opportunities for self and peer evaluation

KS3 IMPACT! Some starting points Discuss definition/identification – to raise staff awareness/ give colleagues the opportunity to explore ideas/address preconceptions Involve colleagues in the development of your school policy Look at pupil groupings and opportunities for flexibility Begin to review schemes of work in the light of, for example, Bloom, to focus on building in more challenge – target processes rather than content Audit reading/source materials for challenge – eg using the Basic Skills Agency’s SMOG test [ get your able readers to do this] Find examples of good practice – share them with colleagues and extrapolate principles Exploit outside experts and opportunities Set up a working group in school Involve parents

KS3 IMPACT! Within the Key Stage 3 Strategy Collect evidence of prior attainment Look for opportunities for clustering of objectives Set challenging learning objectives Negotiate learning objectives Share assessment criteria Offer challenging models of subject expertise Create opportunities for peer and self-evaluation

KS3 IMPACT! Activities to develop self-assessment: Peer marking against student-created agreed criteria Peer evaluation against given criteria ‘Expert journalist’/’subject expert’ paired interviews for plenary Students generate keywords to encompass learning points In groups, students develop questions for class revision of key learning points Students rank learning points in order of importance and justify Students generate list of other applications Learning journals Lesson/topic concept maps, mindmaps, flowcharts, display posters

KS3 IMPACT!