Education and self-regulation of learning for gifted pupils: Systemic design and development.

Gifted pupils differ from their age-mates with respect to development potential, actual competencies, self-regulatory capabilities, and learning styles in one or more domains of competence. The question is how to design and develop education that fits and further supports such characteristics and competencies of gifted pupils. Analysis of various types of educational interventions for gifted pupils reflects positive cognitive or intellectual effects and differentiated social comparison or group-related effects on these pupils. Systemic preventive combination of such interventions could make these more effective and sustainable. The systemic design is characterised by three conditional dimensions: differentiation of learning materials and procedures, integration by and use of ICT support, and strategies to improve development and learning. The relationships to diagnostic, instructional, managerial, and systemic learning aspects are expressed in guidelines to develop or transform education. The guidelines imply the facilitation of learning arrangements that provide flexible self-regulation for gifted pupils. A three-year pilot in Dutch nursery and primary school is conducted to develop and implement the design in collaboration with teachers. The results constitute prototypes of structured competence domains and supportive software. These support the screening of entry characteristics of all four-year old pupils and assignment of adequate play and learning processes and activities throughout the school career. Gifted and other pupils are supported to work at their actual achievement or competency levels since their start in nursery school, in self-regulated learning arrangements either in or out of class. Each pupil can choose other pupils to collaborate with in small groups, at self-chosen tasks or activities, while being coached by the teacher. Formative evaluation of the school development process shows that the systemic prevention guidelines seem to improve learning and social progress of gifted pupils, including their self-regulation. Further development and implementation steps are discussed.

La superdotació als centres d'educació infantil i primària dels Serveis Territorials d'Educació de Girona: creences dels professionals de l'educació, mestres i Equips d'Assessorament i Orientació Psicopedagògica (EAP), sobre la detecció d'aquests alumnes i les mesures d'intervenció educativa

En aquesta tesi es fa una valoració dels elements que incideixen en les creences dels mestres d'educació infantil i primària i dels professionals dels EAP respecte la detecció dels alumnes amb altes capacitats i les principals mesures d'intervenció educativa. Els instruments utilitzats són els propis de les metodologies naturalistes i quasi experimentals. L'anàlisi de resultats obtinguts llarg de tres cursos escolars recull les creences dels mestres i EAP a partir de diferents fonts d'informació: entrevistes, descripció de casos, anàlisi de dades, valoració de normativa i dos qüestionaris, un per a mestres i l'altre per a EAP. Els resultats posen en evidència una molt baixa detecció, insuficiència de regulació legal, eines de diagnòstic febles, dispersió documental i falta de formació. Es detecten contradiccions entre les creences i les pràctiques. Finalment es proposa una redefinició del concepte Altes Capacitats-superdotació des dels àmbits de l'eficàcia, del perfil i del rendiment escolar.

Supporting gifted and talented pupils in the secondary school.

Este recurso ayuda a los profesores a identificar a los escolares superdotados y talentosos que pueden tener en sus aulas de secundaria, a resolver su bajo rendimiento, a desarrollar estrategias de enseñanza y estilos de aprendizaje diferentes y elaborar un plan de estudios a medida para satisfacer las necesidades individuales de estos alumnos. Incluye estudios de casos para destacar el potencial de los estudiantes y mostrar lo que puede lograrse.

Teaching gifted and talented pupils in the primary school : a practical guide.

Recurso que muestra a los profesores qué hacer ante los alumnos superdotados de un aula inclusiva de primaria donde, generalmente, son limitados el tiempo y los recursos. Ayuda a diseñar actividades que incluyan a todos los estudiantes de la clase y que además puedan atender una serie de habilidades. El recurso contiene secciones sobre: La creación de un ambiente de trabajo que ayude a progresar a los alumnos más capaces; variar la forma de preguntar a los alumnos; pensar en las inteligencias múltiples y maneras de desarrollarlas; permitir a los alumnos la elección de algunas opciones en las actividades que realizan; asesoramiento sobre cómo ejecutar proyectos de investigación de toda la clase. Incluye glosario de términos clave y material fotocopiable.

Transition of pupils from Key Stage 2 to 3 deemed gifted and talented in mathematics: an initial study

In this article Geoff Tennant and Dave Harries report on the early stages of a research project looking to examine the transition from Key Stage (KS) 2 to 3 of children deemed Gifted and Talented (G&T) in mathematics. An examination of relevant literature points towards variation in definition of key terms and underlying rationale for activities. Preliminary fieldwork points towards a lack of meaningful communication between schools, with primary school teachers in particular left to themselves to decide how to work with children deemed G&T. Some pointers for action are given, along with ideas for future research and a request for colleagues interested in working with us to get in touch.

Meeting the needs of your most able pupils : history.

Recurso para todos los profesores de historia que trabajan con alumnos de las etapas clave tres y cuatro (Key Stage 3 and 4). Su objetivo general es proporcionar un instrumento práctico que los jefes de departamento, coordinadores y profesores de niños superdotados y con talento pueden utilizar para desarrollar un planteamiento coherente para ayudar a sus alumnos más capaces. Ofrece una guía específica sobre: el reconocimiento de la alta capacidad y potencial, la planificación, la diferenciación y la ampliación / enriquecimiento de la historia, apoyo para los alumnos más capaces con necesidades educativas especiales (dislexia, TDAH, trastornos sensoriales); registro y evaluación; actividades fuera del aula (visitas, concursos, escuelas de verano, clases magistrales, enlaces con universidades, empresas y otras organizaciones). Contiene apéndices con recursos en línea que incluyen: planificación de lecciones y ejemplos de actividades; procedimientos departamentales y programas de acción; estrategias de identificación.

Meeting the needs of your most able pupils : science.

Recurso para todos los profesores de ciencias que trabajan con alumnos de las etapas clave tres y cuatro (Key Stage 3 and 4). Su objetivo es proporcionar un instrumento práctico que, los jefes de departamento, coordinadores y profesores de niños superdotados y con talento, pueden utilizar para desarrollar un planteamiento coherente para ayudar a sus alumnos más capaces. Ofrece una guía específica sobre: el reconocimiento de la alta capacidad y el potencial, la planificación, la diferenciación y la ampliación / enriquecimiento de la ciencia, apoyo para los alumnos más capaces con necesidades educativas especiales (dislexia, TDAH, trastornos sensoriales); registro y evaluación; actividades fuera del aula (visitas, concursos, escuelas de verano, clases magistrales, enlaces con universidades, empresas y otras organizaciones). Contiene apéndices con recursos en línea que incluyen: planificación de lecciones y ejemplos de actividades; procedimientos departamentales y programas de acción; y estrategias de identificación.

Meeting the needs of your most able pupils : physical education and sport.

Para los profesores de secundaria, los jefes de departamentos, coordinadores y asesores, el manual incluye: el reconocimiento de alta capacidad e inteligencias múltiples; planificación, diferenciación y extensión y enriquecimiento; habilidades del profesor para preguntar; apoyo a los alumnos más capaces con dificultades de aprendizaje; tarea; registro y evaluación; más allá del aula (visitas, residenciales, competiciones, cursos de verano, clases magistrales, enlaces con otras instituciones). Cuenta con apéndices y un CD con contactos útiles y recursos, planes de lecciones, hojas de enlace para los asistentes de enseñanza, actividades para la tarea y las hojas de control.

Differential ability and attainment in language and arithmetic of Dutch primary school pupils.

Background. In pre-school and primary education pupils differ in many abilities and competences (‘giftedness’). Yet mainstream educational practice seems rather homogeneous in providing age-based or grade-class subject matter approaches. Aims. To clarify whether pupils scoring initially at high ability level do develop and attain differently at school with respect to language and arithmetic compared with pupils displaying other initial ability levels. To investigate whether specific individual, family or educational variables co-vary with the attainment of these different types of pupils in school. Samples. Data from the large-scale PRIMA cohort study including a total of 8258 grade 2 and 4 pupils from 438 primary schools in The Netherlands. Methods. Secondary analyses were carried out to construct gain scores for both language and arithmetic proficiency and a number of behavioural, attitudinal, family and educational characteristics. The pupils were grouped into different ability categories (highly able; able; above average; average and below). Further analyses used Pearson correlations and analyses of variance both between and within ability categories. Cross-validation was done by introducing a cohort of younger pupils in pre-school and grouping both cohorts into decile groups based on initial ability in language and arithmetic. Results. Highly able pupils generally decreased in attainment in both language and arithmetic, whereas pupils in average and below average groups improved their language and arithmetic scores. Only with highly able pupils were some educational characteristics correlated with the pupils’ development in achievement, behaviour and attitudes. Conclusions. Pre-school and primary education should better match pupils’ differences in abilities and competences from their start in pre-school to improve their functioning, learning processes and outcomes. Recommendations for educational improvement strategies are presented in closing.

Mental rotation processes in mathematically gifted boys: An fMRI investigation

The functional brain organisation of mathematically gifted adolescents may be different from those of average mathematical ability. In this study we used fMRI to examine the neural circuitry that mediates the performance of mathematically gifted boys and average ability controls while engaged in mental rotation. Eight math gifted male adolescents and five average ability male adolescents were presented 18 control and 18 mental rotation trials in two separate blocks. Participants selected one of four test stimuli to match the target stimulus by pressing one of four fibreoptic buttons. The control task required a simple 'best match' for the target stimulus. EPI scans were acquired on a 3-T MR scanner and a fixed effects statistical analysis (SPM99) was used to identify areas of significant activation in the rotation tasks, for the two groups. The results indicate that during mental rotation both groups activate the parietal lobes bilaterally, though to different levels. Moreover, the math gifted are uniformly bilateral in their pattern of activation, and engage some anterior regions not found in those of average ability. These regions include bilateral prefrontal cortex and the right anterior cingulate, which may serve to heighten concentration, and to optimise the pre-planning of purposeful actions.

Mathematically gifted male adolescents activate a unique brain network during mental rotation

Mental rotation involves the creation and manipulation of internal images, with the later being particularly useful cognitive capacities when applied to high-level mathematical thinking and reasoning. Many neuroimaging studies have demonstrated mental rotation to be mediated primarily by the parietal lobes, particularly on the right side. Here, we use fMRI to show for the first time that when performing 3-dimensional mental rotations, mathematically gifted male adolescents engage a qualitatively different brain network than those of average math ability, one that involves bilateral activation of the parietal lobes and frontal cortex, along with heightened activation of the anterior cingulate. Reliance on the processing characteristics of this uniquely bilateral system and the interplay of these anterior/posterior regions may be contributors to their mathematical precocity.

Gifted: the monolingualism of corporate social responsibility

Acts of Corporate Social Responsibility are more often than not portrayed as success-story narratives. A quasi-ethnographic study in Senegal shatters the underlying assumptions of these accounts. First a computer donation from a Northern country is described with all the usual incidents and related vocabulary. Later, during a visit to a Senegalese rubbish dump, the story starts to falter, as countless questions arise about what is actually going on there, and how we can know and represent it (both as a portrayal and as a voice). A tipping point in an interview serves to reveal the ambiguities of the position adopted and the difficulties of expressing oneself in a different language. The CSR language is described as a kind of monolingualism, which employs a particular vocabulary and grammar for what is said or thought. This is the monolingualism of the other. Some of the implications of this monolingualism are examined, and this leads to the conclusion that there is a need to take measures with regard to the CSR language and that more than one language is needed to speak about CSR.

Additive adaptive thinking in 1st and 2nd grades pupils

This paper is part of the Project “Adaptive thinking and flexible computation: Critical issues”. It discusses what is meant by adaptive thinking and presents the results of individual interviews with four pupils. The main goal of the study is to understand pupils’ reasoning when solving numerical tasks involving additive situations, and identify features associated with adaptive thinking. The results show that, in the case of first grade pupils, the semantic aspects of the problem are involved in its resolution and the pupils’ performance appears to be related to the development of number sense. The 2nd grade pupils seem to see the quantitative difference as an invariant numerical relationship.