Gifted & Talented:

report of school working group

 

 

Contents:

  1. Definition: What is a Gifted and Talented Pupil?
  2. How to identify your Gifted and Talented  pupils.
  3. How to devise strategies to support your Gifted and Talented pupils
  4. Resources

 

 

 

 1. Definition: What is a Gifted and Talented Pupil?

Who exactly are Gifted pupils?

Who exactly are Talented pupils?

Remember the terms are not necessarily interchangeable

This brief definition may help you in your area.

 

There are many definitions of gifted and talented. This guidance builds on the work of Excellence in Cities (EiC),which identifies:

§         'gifted' learners as those who have abilities in one or more subjects in the statutory school curriculum other than art and design, music and PE;

§         'talented' learners as those who have abilities in art and design, music, PE, or performing arts such as dance and drama.

 This guidance uses the phrase 'gifted and talented' to describe all learners with gifts and talents. 

EiC targets gifted and talented work at the top 5 to 10 per cent of pupils in any school, regardless of the overall ability profile of pupils 

The EiC definition relates to the national curriculum and to pupils of compulsory school age.

 

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 2. How to identify your Gifted and Talented  pupils.

 

As a first step you need to decide who is Gifted and or Talented in your area. We would suggest using the following guidelines to identify a discrete group, perhaps initially in one year group only.

 

a) General characteristics:

The gifted and talented are a diverse group and their range of attainment will be varied. Some do well in statutory national curriculum tests, world-class tests or national qualifications. However, being gifted and talented covers much more than the ability to succeed in tests and examinations. For example, gifted and talented learners may demonstrate leadership qualities, high-level practical skills or a capacity for creative thought. 

It is important to recognise that not all gifted and talented learners are obvious achievers. Many actually underachieve -- their potential is masked by factors such as frustration, low self-esteem, lack of challenge, or low teacher/parent expectations. Others underachieve because they have learning disabilities that obscure or eclipse their gifts or talents. To enable these children and young people to fulfil their potential, it is vital to give everyone the opportunity to excel.

 Gifted and talented children and young people are likely to:

 
  •  

think quickly and accurately;
  •  

work systematically;
  •  

generate creative working solutions;
  •  

work flexibly, processing unfamiliar information and applying knowledge, experience and insight to unfamiliar situations;
  •  

communicate their thoughts and ideas well;
  •  

be determined, diligent and interested in uncovering patterns;
  •  

achieve, or show potential, in a wide range of contexts;
  •  

be particularly creative;
  •  

show great sensitivity or empathy;
  •  

demonstrate particular physical dexterity or skill;
  •  

make sound judgements;
  •  

be outstanding leaders or team members;
  •  

be fascinated by, or passionate about, a particular subject or aspect of the curriculum;
  •  

demonstrate high levels of attainment across a range of subjects within a particular subject, or aspects of work.

 

NB:

However, checklists of this kind should be used with caution. Gifted and Talented young people do not necessarily fit these expectations. However good the quality and scope of provision, there may reasonably be the expectation that the potential of some young people remains unlocked or untapped. The presence of such individuals and groups should always be anticipated. This will be particularly the case for Gifted and Talented learners who also have one or more learning disabilities. 

Gifts and talents are often overlooked or go unrecognised when they lie outside the standard curriculum (for example in less common or popular areas of sport, or in certain aspects of dance and music).

b) Subject Specific characteristics

These are available in detail for the following areas on the national Curriculum Gifted and Talented site for the following subjects:

English D&T History A&D
Mathematics   ICT Geography Music
Science   RE PE
MFL      

 c) Specific identification of individual pupils

 There are four important elements to the identification process

  1. The use of tests
  2. Parent feedback
  3. Pupil feedback
  4. Teacher identification

 In more detail these are: 

  1. The Use of Tests
    Objective test results can be useful in identifying gifted and talented pupils, although the results need to be used carefully. A 'high' mark, for example, can indicate that a particular pupil is 'gifted' or 'talented' but a low mark would not necessarily imply that a pupil was not 'gifted' or 'talented.' Pupils can under perform in tests, particularly those who are under-achieving and disaffected.

Some schools have found it useful to use ability based tests such as NFER Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs). These tests aim to measure verbal, quantative and non-verbal reasoning skills. The information can be used alongside Key Stage test results and teacher assessments. Whilst testing does have a role to play in the identification of gifted and talented pupils it should usually only ever be one element in a wider identification process.

  1. Parent Feedback
    It can sometimes happen that pupils develop interests and hobbies outside of school which teachers are not aware of. In some cases the development of such hobbies and interests can be an indicator that a particular pupil may well be gifted and talented. A pupil might develop an interest in local history and thereby develop sophisticated skills of historical investigation and research. Communicating with parents to find out about pupils' interests and experiences outside of school can therefore provide important information to help identify gifted and talented pupils.
  1. Pupil Feedback
    Allowing pupils the opportunity to contribute observations about their own strengths and weaknesses, and also those of their peer group, can be an effective way of involving them in the identification process. It can also provide useful insights which can help in the identification of underachieving gifted and talented pupils.
  1. Teacher identification
    Teachers have an important part to play in the identification of gifted and talented pupils, because a class teacher or subject teacher is usually particularly well placed to identify those pupils who are gifted and talented in relation to their peer group.

Teachers often have a shrewd idea about the relative strengths and abilities of many of their pupils, but research has shown that 'quieter' pupils, or those who do not so readily manifest their abilities, are sometimes less likely to be identified as gifted and talented.

 

For a good examples of identification, underachievement and inclusion, see
 
 
 
 
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3. How to devise strategies to support your Gifted and Talented pupils
 This is the key page!!!! 
 
Now you have your cohort of pupils, what to do?
  
a) You need to produce the equivalent of an IEP for each of your cohort to identify the  
    specific gifts/talents to develop. Does a pattern develop that lends itself to a particular
    strategy?
 
b) Appoint a member of department to mentor the cohort.
 
    We also recommend that a single school member of staff
              oversee these IEP’s and monitor overload/pressure on the cohort of          
                      pupils as well as staff.
              To advise departments
              to inform staff of external G & T courses for students
              to oversee staff INSET
              liaise with Educational Support/middle management/SMT
 
    At this stage the mentor would liaise with this member of staff.
 
c) Is your strategy going to be in existing teaching time or in an extra period of time?
d) What staffing/timing/resources do you have available? Liaise with the member of staff in
    overall charge.
e) What teaching/learning strategies can you now use in this time?
     Guidance on Teaching has ideas on each of their subject specific pages, but these are    
     limited and probably no more than what many departments do at the moment. Of more   
     value are their case studies on http://www.nc.uk.net/gt/general/07_case_studies.htm
 
    An excellent and imaginative place to start is the Excellence in Cities
    ( http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/excellence/policies/GiftedAndTalented/?template=downld&dwnld_id=2252)
    list of case studies of Gifted and Talented case studies. This is practical, honest as regards
    real problems/successes. It is extensive, specific and subject focussed (It can be  slow to
    load though….)
 
5. Involve parents. Tell them what you intend and plan to enlist their support.
 
6. Liaise with the member of staff in overall charge.

 

 

 The Hertfordshire Learning Grid suggests the following be considered at this stage:

 

Meeting the curriculum needs of gifted and talented pupils

Gifted and talented pupils have a range of needs, some of which are curriculum orientated and some of which are 'personal and social'. It is important to keep these distinct needs in mind when devising appropriate provision for gifted and talented pupils, as any programme which meets one set of needs at the expense of the other will probably not be conducive to the pupil's overall holistic development. It is neither appropriate nor desirable that programmes for the gifted and talented should develop them in minor aspects at the expense of ensuring their full human development.

There are three main types of curriculum provision for gifted and talented pupils.

Enrichment
Enrichment is used as a distinct teaching and learning strategy when there is planned intervention on behalf of a pupil or pupils, in order to broaden their knowledge and understanding beyond the usual parameters of a subject or topic.

Enrichment will usually occur through the use of additional resources or learning opportunities, it may consist of classroom exercises or be a more opened ended project type piece of work. Some schools use separate enrichment resources in order to enrich each lesson for gifted and talented pupils, whilst other schools prefer to allow gifted and talented pupils to pull slightly ahead in the curriculum and then spend more extended pieces of time such as a lesson or two working with the enrichment materials.

 

Extension
Extension is used for gifted and talented pupils when they are encouraged to use higher order thinking skills, work practices and response skills than might normally be expected from pupils of their age.

Perhaps one of the most popular ways in which extension is used in the classroom is through the use of thinking skills. Using schemes such as Bloom's taxonomy gifted and talented pupils can be encouraged to access materials and focus on teaching and learning tasks which require higher order skills. Alternative approaches will see gifted and talented pupils challenged through the use of greater degrees of independent and self directed learning.

 

Acceleration
Acceleration is used as a distinct teaching and learning strategy when a pupil is moved to work with older pupils, or when the work of older pupils is taken and used in a class of younger pupils.

Although acceleration can work well with some pupils it does not suit all pupils, particularly not those who are still developing basic social skills. Generally it is helpful to work through strategies of enrichment and extension before accelerating a pupil and where acceleration is to be used it is important to liaise with other colleagues and schools that the pupil might transfer to so that a seamless approach can be ensured.

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4. Resources:

 

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Appendix 1 :example of the type of details provided on the national Curriculum Gifted and Talented site  for subject specific characteristics

Pupils who are gifted in English are likely to show some or all of the following characteristics.

Creative flair

*

writing or talking in imaginative and coherent ways

*

elaborating on and organising content to an extent that is exceptional for their age

 

Stamina and perseverance

*

using any suitable opportunities to produce work that is substantial and obviously the product of sustained, well-directed effort

 

Communicative skills

*

involving and keeping the attention of an audience by exploiting the dramatic or humorous potential of ideas or situations in imaginative ways

*

taking a guiding role in helping a group to achieve its shared goals, while showing sensitivity to the participation of others

*

writing with a flair for metaphorical or poetic expression

*

grasping the essence of particular styles and adapting them to their own purposes

*

expressing ideas succinctly and elegantly, in ways that reflect an appreciation of the knowledge and interests of specific audiences

*

using ICT to research ideas and create new text

 

Ability to take on demanding tasks

*

researching, comparing and synthesising information from a range of different sources, including ICT

*

engaging seriously and creatively with moral and social themes expressed in literature

 

Arguing and reasoning

*

creating and sustaining accounts and reasoned arguments at a relatively abstract or hypothetical level, in both spoken and written language

*

grasping the essence of any content and reorganising it in ways that are logical and offer new syntheses or insights

*

justifying opinions convincingly, using questions and other forms of enquiry to elicit information and taking up or challenging others' points of view

 

Awareness of language

*

understanding the nature of language and showing a special awareness of features such as rhyme, intonation or accent in spoken language, and the grammatical organisation of written texts

*

showing an interest and enthusiasm for language study, including an awareness of the relationship between the sounds and words of different languages that are not apparent to most of their peers.

Some pupils who are gifted in English may generally perform at levels of literacy or oral skills that are notably advanced for their age group. For example, the attainments in English of some 7-, 11- and 14-year-olds may be best described by aspects of national curriculum levels 4, 6 and 8 respectively. Other pupils may have unusual abilities in specific areas -- such as poetry, drama, or their understanding of the nature and structure of language -- while being unexceptional in the rest of their English work. In these cases, it may be hard to relate pupils' ability to level descriptions.

It is vital to have a whole-school perspective in order to recognise how exceptional ability in English is revealed through other subjects. At key stages 3 and 4 in particular, when pupils' learning becomes increasingly specialised, it is important to make and review holistic judgements of pupils' attainments across different areas of the curriculum.

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