Professor Deborah Eyre
University of Warwick
Curriculum based gifted
education: The English Model
Why Gifted Education?
 Effective education systems
should meet the needs of all
pupils, including the most able
 Today’s gifted pupils are
tomorrows social, intellectual,
economic and cultural leaders
.
 Work on school improvement
suggests that a focus on the gifted
can help a school raise overall
standards
Three-tier Implementation Mode and our Target Students
Student Category
Mode
Level Three:
Off-site
support
Level Two:
School-based
pullout
programmes
Level One:
School-based
whole-class
approach
Exceptionally gifted students
Exceptionally gifted students
Students with special talents/
outstanding academic results
Students with special talents/
outstanding academic results
All students
General
Enrichment
Students with outstanding
performance
Students
with domains
outstanding
in specific
performance
In specific domains
Students with outstanding
performance
in academic subjects
Curriculum Content
Specialized
(Subject/Domain)
What is the English Model Looking
to Achieve?
• High performance and achievement
• Development of expertise
• Social, moral and emotional development,
including persistence, high aspirations,
confidence and collaboration
A Whole School Approach to
Gifted Education
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General rationale
Objectives: What the school aims to provide
through gifted education
Overall school approach
Teaching and Learning approaches,
School-wide opportunities
Beyond the school
Expertise development
 Knowledge, skills and concepts
 Domain valued behaviours (eg thinking like a ….)
 Intellectual playfulness (eg breaking the domain rules)
 Self-regulation and self-direction
 Discussion, debate and argument around key ideas
 Exposure to those with high levels of expertise in
relation to existing level
How is expertise developed?
Enhancing the core educational offer by adding:
 Breadth
 Depth
 Pace
Creating challenge in the primary
classroom
Background
theory
higher order
thinking
critical
thinking
reflective
practice
expert
practice
Strategies tool kit eg
Lesson
structure
concept
mapping
learning
objectives
hot seating
lesson
structure
bright ideas
time
task setting
thinking hats
questionning
plan/do/review
Adapted from Wilson, H (2003)
DO:
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think carefully about the purpose of the task
encourage children to suggest ways to extend their work
make sure extension conforms to the principles of good provision
try to make it manageable and interesting
include extension in your short - term planning sheets
make sure you have suitable resources
Don’t:
• make extension just more practice of the same concept
• make extension extra to normal class work
• make extension tasks include excessive writing
• use extension as away to occupy those who work quickly
Creating Challenging Tasks
 Work from a difficult text or use a variety of text
 Enquiry based learning using a plan/do/review approach
 Record in an unusual way using eg using graphics
 Use role play to enable students to act as experts
 Create tasks that require investigation, problem solving, decision
making
 Provide choice in how to handle content (or multiple pathways)
 Design tasks with no single correct answer
 Introduce technical language and advanced ideas
 Start with an answer and ask them to set the questions
 Use Bloom's top three: analysis, evaluation, synthesis
 Time restricted or word limited activities
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
1. Knowledge
What happened in the story?
What did Goldilocks do in the Bear's home?
2. Comprehension
Why did it happen that way?
Why did Goldilocks like the little Bear's bed best?
3. Application
What would you have done?
What would have happened if Goldilocks had
come to your house?
4. Analysis
Which parts did you like best?
Which parts could not be true?
5. Evaluation
What did you think of the story?
Was Goldilocks good or bad? Why?
6. Synthesis
Can you think of a different ending?
Create you own Goldilocks story
Golden rules for gifted education
Create a classroom climate that supports the development of high
achievement - risk taking, high flying
Approach lessons as part of apprenticeship in a subject not just learning
to the knowledge and skills needed to pass the exam - a community of
learners
Focus on the needs of individuals, make use of their strengths and
recognise their weaknesses - empowered learners
Design tasks that ensure intellectual challenge - higher order thinking
Focus on high quality teacher/pupil interaction with both teacher and
pupils playing a range of roles - questioning, explaining, challenging
4 types of children to find …..
 Precocious ability - outperforming others of similar age
 Potential to climb higher than others - keeping pace with
top set but will go on to achieve more highly than others
 Highly conceptual, moderate skills - begins to show
ability when the curriculum becomes more conceptual
 Able underachievers - potentially able but underachieving
…. and how to spot ability through
provision
 Particularly in early years, children who are interested in an area
and actively seek to pursue it, enjoying it for its own sake (playful)
 Pupils who appear to master the rules of a domain easily and
can transfer their insights to new problems (precision)
 Pupils who observe their own behaviour and hence utilise a
greater variety of learning strategies than others (self regulation)
 Pupils who exhibit any of the characteristics above plus a
tendency towards non-conformity in the given domain (originality)
Gifted Education
Traditional Models
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Exclusive
Identification led
Ability theory
Bolt-on to general education
Single programme
‘Either or’ provision
Concern of few teachers
Provision for individuals
The English Model
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Inclusive
Opportunity led
Expertise theory
Aspect of general education
Multiple elements
Complementary provision
Concern of all teachers
System provision