What works well in your own classroom Tessa Ford

Improving gifted and talented education Five workshops for Senior Management 1:Hearts and minds: what do we believe about G&T education? 2:G&T practice in our school: where are we now? 3:Exploring what works: Quality First teaching 4:Leading improvement in G&T provision 5:Small steps to change: planning improvement in G&T education 5?uc%20=%20force_uj

Improving gifted and talented education Four workshops for Leading Teachers 1:Your teaching and learning role – exploring what works in your classroom 2:Your teaching and learning role – working with colleagues in school 3:Your leadership and management role – school- wide self-evaluation and action planning 4:Your leadership and management role – widening opportunities 1

Workshop Objectives: To explore:  the characteristics of effective G&T provision in the classroom  some of the characteristics of effective learners and some of the barriers to learning  Quality First teaching and “Excellence for All”

Starter activity  What are the key features of good, high- challenge lessons for gifted and talented learners?  Would any of these be unsuitable approaches for other learners?

Activity 1: What does quality G&T provision look like? Use Classroom Quality Standards (CQS) layer 1 to reflect on: What are the key features of a good, high-challenge lesson for gifted and talented learners? Where are you most confident? Where are you least confident? Use CQS layer 2 to reflect on: Is there evidence of impact linked to areas identified as ‘most confident’? Which areas do you need to develop?

Characteristics of a Successful learner?

Activity 2: Understanding learners’ needs 1Review the list of characteristics for gifted and talented pupils in school and RAG rate each one (red, amber or green) 2Compare your thoughts with another member of the group and discuss similarities and differences. Identify: –Which characteristics are your pupils most confident in? –Where are the main barriers?

Activity 3: Quality First teaching Key Principles Schools need to implement a clear, consistent and shared understanding of Quality First teaching (QFT) QFT is central to effective mainstreaming of gifted and talented (G&T) provision All teachers are accountable for the quality of teaching in their lessons. They have a responsibility to ensure that barriers to academic achievement and longer term success of their pupils are identified and reduced through a whole-school focus on QFT

Key Characteristics of QFT Highly focused lesson design with sharp objectives High demands of pupil involvement and engagement with their learning High levels of interaction for all pupils Appropriate use of teacher questioning, modelling and explanation An emphasis on learning through dialogue, with regular opportunities for pupils to talk both individually and in groups An expectation that pupils will accept responsibility for their own learning and work independently Regular use of encouragement and authentic praise to engage and motivate pupils E4A page 21