Gifted and Talented How to cater for them

More able Gifted and Talented is no longer deemed an appropriate title for this group of students. We now call them the more able. The more able, as you can imagine, are a larger group of students with a wider range in ability.

No easy ride Catering for this group of students is hard work. They need: Independence Freedom Innovation Challenge Support Constructive criticism Bored in 18 out of 20 lessons: ‘If the work is boring, then I just colour in my planner’

What is differentiation? Enrichment – applying skills and understanding to a range of problems, bringing subjects together. Vertical extension – tasks increasing in demand/depth. Acceleration – working on more demanding courses than most would for the year group.  Horizontal extension – more of the same.

Our downfalls Teacher Talk The talk ratio of teacher to student is usually 70:30, ideally this should be reversed. Research…shows that teachers need to pay attention to the amount and type of talking they do, and to evaluate its effectiveness in the light of their pedagogical objectives. (Nunan 1991: 198) Teacher talk should not occupy the major proportion of a class hour; otherwise you are probably not giving students enough opportunity to talk. (Brown 2001: 99) Reliance We must not rely on our more able students to ‘teach/help’ others. This is alright sometimes but we must remember they need stretch and challenge not more of the same and doing our job for us.

So, what is the impact of G&T on teaching? If we choose not to acknowledge G&T in our classroom its impact can be detrimental on behaviour, attitude towards learning and grades. If we choose to embrace and differentiate for G&T the impact will be engaged, motivated and independent learners, achieving their full potential.

Our resources Blooms Taxonomy PLTS Thinking hats Sharing good practice – over to Jane Student led learning Acceleration Enrichment Extension

Class watch excerpt to identify techniques of Higher Order Questioning.

Encourage Higher Order Thinking

Planning for More Able

Action Research Ideas Nature Vs. Nurture The affect of a ‘label’ on outcomes The 6 types of Gifted and Talented Learner – who learns best?

Scenario You have a year 9 class tomorrow, in which there are 5 gifted and talented students. Two of these students are gifted and talented in your subject area, one is county identified in the top 5% of the county and the remaining two are gifted and talented in other subjects. Furthermore, one of the students that is gifted and talented in your subject area has an SpLD.