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Critical Analysis - Highly Able Students (Ofsted - 2013 The Most Able…
Critical Analysis -
Highly Able Students
SUTTON TRUST
G&T - Flawed term - It is the root of the problem!
History of term - morphed from intelligence to Gifted to Gifted and Talented
Lack of clarity has led to discrepancies in identification and in provision - some issues are/were.
Led to disproportionate provision being made with SEN dominating.
Ignoring certain groups - eg. economic less privileged, ethnicity, EAL,
Some school reporting 100% on the philosophical basis that all humans have gifts and talents.
Different approaches to identification
guidelines said 5 to 10%
Testing - varied thresholds.
problem = different school intakes make this a false measure.
They recommended identification at 11 years (KS2) with top 10% or 5%.
Exceptionally able - = top 2%
Teacher nominations..
Some schools were already selective - Grammars --- they had very high number...
It has ensured a checkered history and has a great deal of emotional baggage.
Psychologist can interprete gifted as `natural' and talent as 'developed'
TOO BROAD a TERM
Provision made by schools
Setting
Streaming
accelerated learning
(Check Ofsted 2013)
extension studies
out of school activities
master classes
competitions
visits
History of G&T
present - funding now in with mainstream
concerns as meagre provisiom for G&T
SOLUTION WAS THREE FOLD
Clarification
G&T has not been easy to implement with any accuracy
we need clarification as to
what is top performance in what fields.
Exceptional performance is already provided for - football, music, drama...
Jettison the term and replace with Highly able
those capable of excellence
equals the top 10% via national tests
this has problems - EAL or new to English Education
Singapore and South Korea use the top 1%...
ISSUE OF IDENTIFICATION
unlikely to be a mean of identification that will satisfy everyone.
Accountablility
presently school are accountable through
a. exam results, b. ofsted.
floor targets and averages - value added.
Problem - resources are pumped into boarderline
Recommend accountability in Eng, Maths and Science
Reform
Exam systems that last for 4 years - 14 to 18
in combination with a 14 year old exam!
specialist schools-
Do we have Highly able provision and then an exceptionally able provision? The only difference seems to be the level of performance with 10 to 5% being quoted against that of top 2%...
In terms of a national cohort in England, this would translate into 6000 pupils...
Scottish Network for Highly Able Pupils - Sutherland and Stack
Problem - complex and challenging for parents, teachers and support staff
Identification
Fully meeting the needs
Terms - naming - problematic
More Able
if one pupil is more able, then by logical there exist a less able... not a useful dycotomy.
What are they more able at?
More able than whom?
Gift
Innate
Require no effort on the part of the learner
Levitin 2006 - master through 10,000 hours
Highly Able is chosen - definition
Those who are working, or have the potential to work, ahead of their age peers.
Includes those who are highly able across the curriculum and those who are highly able in one or more areas.
IDENTIFCATION
Assess current knowledge, skills and attainment - and rate of progress.
look for certain behaviours associated with high ability, or underachievement
gather information for others - pupils themselves, parents, peers and other teachers.
Be careful - some of these factor require high level of language, and do not take into account achievements outside of school.
Pupils abilities manifest themselves in different ways, at diff times and in diff contexts.
Therefore we need a holistic profile including their educational, emotional, social and psychological needs!
Freeman 1998 - Sports Approach
Provide a range of opportunities
identification is a continuous and fluid process
use multiple criteria for inclusion
adopt increasing sharp criteria at subsequent learning stages
gather evidence in variety of settings
present student abilties as profiles, not statistics.
recognise that ability to demonstarte skills and show aptitudes may be affected by culture, gender and atiitudes.
Be aware of:
Underachievement
deliberate attempt to underperform because it is not socially acceptable to exceed peers.
under-representation
eg. EAL - students don't show their ability because of this barrier.
boredom
students get bored of repetitive tasks...
Exceptionally able
these also need to be catered for!!!!!!!!!
The process is born of building a shared vision among staff.
step by step cyclical process - vision, provision, identification, provision, and so on...
plus subject specific lists taken from over government websites.
Ofsted - 2013 The Most Able Students
Critical of underachievement of pupil who at 11 years old had acheieved highest leveles (5) and yet by 16 years numbers had dwindled to 35%
Clear statement made about selective schools---
interesting stat - 3million attend non-selective compared to 160,000 selective.
and this then relates to university entrance - which in turn targets issues of social mobility and class!
why do so many of our brightest students in non-selective secondary schools, fail to achieve their potential compared to students from selective and independent schools.
Cricism of MIxed Abilty grouping
The term SEN should be a relevant to the most able as it is to those with learning difficulties.
Need to vercome cultural, economic, social barriers for some families.
Identification of More Able = Level 5 in NC tests. Low bar?
Broad criticisms
Lesson observations suggest only 20% of lessons catered for the needs of More Able
40% of school showed that these students weren't making progress.
and some schools the teachers did not know who the most able students were.
Specific Issues
fragile transition - P to Sec
teacher not aware of what students had learnt/achieved in Year 6
thus repetition of work
groups that provided no challlenge
irregular checks on progress
too much focus on C/D boarderline
lack of preparation for A-Levels... could we say the same about IB
Praise
determined leadership that wanted to improve standards for all
high expectations
proactive transition with highly able continuing with positive PACE of learing
early identification
curriculum adpated and taiored to their needs
flexible curriculum
challenging and demanding
groups that stretched from the very start
evaluate the group including mixed ability to see if most able are challenged.
mixed ability works IF the work is differentiated well.
streaming had positive impact for higher ability
expert teaching
formative assessment,
purposeful homework
evaluate homework tasks.
look for differentiation that allowed more able to thrive.
open ended...
effective training -
teachers learnt from one and other
tight checks on progress - slippage identified and acted upon.
programmes to support students into university.
activities that would encourage them
good check list of support (pg30)
detailed knowledge of highly able
Effective Provision for Gifted and Talented Students in Secondary Education
2007
Effective Provison
Weakness of provision - TOO EASY and BORED
planning for challenge
Use of probing questions
HOTS not MOTS
Higher order thinking skills vs More of the same
Questions are fundamental to this.
bored by teachers talking!
assessment for learning
High expectations and aspirations - cool to be clever
Curriculum - of problems to be solved - nit a body of knowledge
SOW to include HOTS
independent thinking and open inquiry
discussion and debate
Problem Solving
Social and Emotional Provision
Mentors or peer buddy
Growth Mindset
Genius is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent perspiration
some high achievers have low self esteem because the gap between the self image and their ideal self is too big,
Education for the gifted and talented, as for all young people, should focus on both their intellectual development and their social and emotional needs, and include key aspects of learning such as; social skills, self-awareness, managing feeling and empathy.
MAINTAINING MOTIVATION
suitable tasks - not too easy, or too difficult
student should know the criteria by which their work will be judged
and know what they need to do next to improve
appropriate reinforcement and reward - praise both effort and achievement.
Young people self belief - ability to self review and thus make progressive choices.
know what you have accomplished so far and that it is valued
know that you can cope with what comes next, even if it will require hard work
GROUPING
variety of grouping
important for mixed abiltity on occaision so that interpersonal skills developed.
skills like patience of lesser abilities
bencareful of them becoming the extra support
streaming is suitable... but remember there is a spread of ability within these groups as well.
streaming can provide suitable - enrichment, stimulation, extension and acceleration
BUT
Curriculum Polarisation
where upward movement becomes impossible due to different syllabus being studied.
IDENTIFICATION
thoughtful and sensitive approach, resiting temptation to assume that G&T are school smart and easy to recognise.
Potential + Opportunities/Support + Personal Drive = high achievement
Gifted and Talented talked about - ability to excel academically in one or more subjects - Talented ablitiy to excel in practical skills... leadership also included, artistic performance, sporting performance...
ABILITY TO EXCEL???
Other qualities -
passion for particular subjects/interests
master rules of domain easily and transfer insights into
analyse their own behaviour and thus use a greater range of learning strategies
make connections beteeen past and present learning
demonstrate intellectual curiousity
maturity
engage in debate
produce original and creative responses
Questioning of rules and authority
Well developed sense of humour
Growing sense of self determination, stamina and powers of concentration.
SLIPPING THROUGH THE NET
low scoio.economic groups
Ethic and cultural difference
EAL
Rural schools
Those with SEN
poor attenders, low aspiration/motivation
medical conditions
act as carers in the home
as risk of exclusion or disaffection
travelling families
looked After Children
Mismatch between cognitive ability and basic skills.
Provision needed for them as High Ability may only emerge when the appropriate opportunities are provided.
important to develop personal drive and desire to learn
Teachers - act as talent spotters!
Uncovering people's strengths is important.
beyond the obvious candidates
hints that a student may excel in years to come.
might be due tot barriers above or low confidence
#
FUNDAMENTAL TO THIS...
Affective Assessment for Learning that informs planning
provision of extra stretch ( enrichment, extension and acceleration)
integrated leaning in setting beyond the classroom
"Every teacher needs to know how to recognise and teach the gifted and talented, and to be familiar with techniques for creating high levels if intellectual challenge in the curriculum area.
This is part of a vigorous G&T programme which increases performace across the board, lifting the aspiration of students, teacher and support staff and promoting an environment where working to the very best of one's ability is celebrated.
Whole School Ethos
fair and transparent
open communication with parents
acknowledges full range of abilities
non-discriminatory
EAL
SEN
Ethnicity
flexible
allows new entrants
continuous
Quantitative Data
test, SAT, CATs, GCSE, grades...
Qualitative Data
staff, student, peer and parent/carer nomination
observational
variety of contexts to observe leadership or social excellence.
Rate of Progress
Aims of our work
high achieving
well-rounded
thoughtful learners
ready for challenges and new opportunities.
Also part of equal opportunities agendas
Personalised Learning
Definition Pg 7 All children and young people have the right to receive support and challenge, tailored to their needs, interests and abilities.
Definition
those young people who are achieving, or who have the potential to achieve, at a level significantly beyond the rest of the group in their peer group.
upper end of the ability range
potential to be very able in some areas and also be on the SEN register