In times of change learners inherit
the earth; while the learned find
themselves beautifully equipped to
deal with a world that no longer
exists.
Eric Hoffer
Gifted and Talented
Challenge in the Classroom
Aims
• To stimulate thinking around the role,
nature and features of ‘classroom
challenge,’ with particular reference to
‘G&T’
• To look at methods of creating challenge in
the classroom
What is challenge?
Challenge Definitions
• Wikipedia – A general term referring to
things that are imbued with a sense of
difficulty and victory
• Concise English Dictionary - An invitation
to a contest of any kind.
• Amy ‘11’ – “Something tough. Not cheap
meat tough – does your ‘ead in tough.”
Why do we need challenge?
Outstanding
(1)
Teaching is at least good and much is
outstanding, with the result that the pupils
are making exceptional progress. It is
highly effective in inspiring pupils and
ensuring that they learn extremely well.
Excellent subject knowledge is applied
consistently to challenge and inspire pupils.
Resources including new technology, make a
marked contribution to the quality of learning,
as does the precisely targeted support
provided by other adults. Teachers and other
adults are acutely aware of their pupils’
capabilities and of their prior learning and
understanding, and plan very effectively to
build on these. Dialogue between teachers,
and other adults and pupils is consistently of a
very high quality. Teachers systematically and
effectively check pupils’ understanding
throughout lessons, anticipating where they
may need to intervene and doing so with
striking impact on the quality of learning.
Outstanding quality of pupils’
learning & their progress
The pupils acquire knowledge, develop understanding and
learn and practise skills exceptionally well. Pupils
demonstrate excellent concentration and are rarely off task,
even in extended periods without direction from an adult.
They have developed resilience when tackling challenging
activities in a range of subjects. Their keenness and
commitment to succeed in all aspects of school life and ability
to grasp opportunities to extend and improve their learning
are exceptional. Progress is at least good in each key stage,
key subjects and for different groups and is exemplary in
some.
p.14 The OfSTED Evaluation Schedule for Schools.
School pupils are being "spoon-fed"
to pass exams instead of being
encouraged to develop knowledge
and understanding. As a result, they
arrive at university expecting to be
told the answers.
Daily Telegraph Feb 2006
Students given material presented in
harder-to-read fonts (e.g. 12-point
Comic Sans MS or Bodoni MT, 75%
greyscale) recalled 14% more than
those given material presented in
easy-to-read fonts (16-point Arial pure
black).
(Princeton University researchers, publishing their 2010
findings in Cognition)
G&T ‘Types’ - exercise
From the list of ‘G&T Types’ identified on
the next two slides, select two who are
most likely to seek out and devour
challenges, and two who are most likely to
resist or even refuse challenges.
Justify your choices to a neighbour.
“G&T Types” – Greta Bennett
1. The Avid Learner, but devoid of ideas
2. The Divergent Thinker
3. The Non-Writer, but verbally cute
4. The One Subject Specialist
5. The All Rounder (rare)
6. The Success Hunter (never fails)
7. The Perfectionist (limited, beautiful output)
“Types” cont.
8. The ‘Problem’
9. The ‘No Draft Copy’ specialist
10. The Dreamer (often learning
something else while listening to you)
11. The Artist/Artiste
12. The Class Fool/Cartoonist
13. The Organiser
14. The Quiet One
“… G&T students can become
conservative learners, afraid to try new
things in case their G&T status is put in
jeopardy. Their confidence is brittle and
they can be thrown by failure. Many of
them don’t like unusual, difficult
challenges, situations where there are
no right and wrong answers, or
situations of uncertainty and change
where they don’t yet know how to be
successful.”
Guy Claxton (G&T Update, May 2005)
‘You never really lose until you
quit trying.’
Mike Ditka ("Iron Mike", a former American
football NFL player, television commentator,
and coach )
‘You may be disappointed if you
fail, but you are doomed if you
don't try.’
Beverly Sills (1929 – 2007) (American
Musician)
Research on Curriculum and
Teaching (David Hopkins)
There are a number of well-developed models of teaching
and curriculum that generate substantially higher levels
of student learning than does normative practice.
• Importantly, the most effective models of teaching are
also models of learning that increase the intellectual
capacity of all students.
• These models achieve their power through the thorough
integration of teaching strategy with curriculum content and
assessment for learning principles.
• The most effective curricular teaching patterns induce
students to construct knowledge - to inquire into subject
areas intensively. The result is to increase student capacity
to learn and work smarter.
Constructivism:
“Knowledge isn’t something we
acquire, it’s something we
produce.”
Children have to be educated,
but they have also to be left to
educate themselves.
Ernest Dimnet
Bromley LA and Oxford Brookes University (2008) asked
identified ‘G&T’ pupils what actually helped their learning.
They highlighted tasks and experiences which …
• are open ended
• stretch the imagination
• provide the chance of group work, debate,
roleplay, making different types of presentations
• provide voluntary extension work
• are varied and do not require repetition of an
already acquired skill
• involve more challenging resources
OfSTED Guidance on G&T Practice in Schools
(December 2009)
In the best schools surveyed:
“… the needs of gifted and talented pupils were
being met alongside those of all pupils. The
schools which focused on progress for all
pupils were more likely to plan lessons that
challenged their gifted and talented pupils.”
“Once differences of class and ability are
accounted for children did better if they
had lofty goals. Even if a child is poor or
less able, having high career ambitions at
the time they leave primary school means
they are significantly more likely to have a
professional job, though not necessarily
the one they predicted.”
(14,000 11-year-olds born in 1958, Centre for Longitudinal
Studies, Institute of Education, 2007)
‘I don’t think of myself as a poor
deprived ghetto girl who made
good. I think of myself as
somebody who from an early
age knew I was responsible for
myself, and I had to make
good.’
Oprah Winfrey b. 1954
How do we create challenge?
Questioning
Questions should be designed to draw out
from pupils what they know and might
know, as well as to encourage them to
question their own thinking.
‘He who is afraid to ask is ashamed of
learning’ Danish Proverb
Higher Order
Evaluation
• Do you agree that ….?
• Which is the most important …?
• What criteria would you use to assess …?
Verbs: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose, compare, defend,
estimate, judge, predict, rate, score, select, support, value, evaluate.
Synthesis
• What would you predict/infer from …?
• What might happen if you combined …?
• Which solutions would you suggest for …?
Verbs: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design,
develop, formulate, manage, organise, plan, prepare, propose, set
up, write.
Analysis
• What are the parts or features of …?
• How does …. compare/contrast with …?
• What evidence can you list for …?
Verbs: analyse, appraise, calculate, categorise, compare, contrast,
criticise, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment,
question, test.
Lower Order
Application
• How is … an example of …?
• How is … related to …?
• Why is … significant?
Verbs: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatise, employ, illustrate,
interpret, operate, practise, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write
Comprehension
• How could you write eighteen percent numerically?
• What was the moral of the story?
• What does ‘Je m’appelle Caroline’ mean?
Verbs: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate,
locate, recognise, report, restate, review.
Knowledge
• What is a …?
• When did … happen?
• Where are the …?
Verbs: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorise, name, order,
recognise, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce, state.
CRAVE Questions
Clarification
Reason
Assumptions
Viewpoints
Effects
Questions about Questions
C – Clarification
Basic ‘tell me more’ questions that invite pupils
to ‘go deeper’.
• Why are you saying that?
• What exactly does this mean?
• How does this relate to what we have been
talking about?
• What do we already know about this?
• Can you give me an example?
• Are you saying … or …?
• Can you rephrase that, please?
R - Reasons
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Checking that reasons given by pupils actually
do support the conclusions they are drawing.
Can you give me an example of that?
Are these reasons good enough?
How might it be refuted?
How can I be sure of what you are saying?
Why is … happening?
What evidence is there to support what you are
saying?
On what authority are you basing your
argument?
A - Assumptions
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Asking pupils to think about the presuppositions
and unquestioned beliefs upon which they are
founding their arguments.
What are you taking for granted?
Are you assuming that …?
Please explain why/how …?
How can you verify or disprove that assumption?
What would happen if …?
Do you agree or disagree with …?
Aren’t you thinking that …?
V - Viewpoints
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Most arguments are given from particular
viewpoints. Seek alternatives from your pupils.
What alternative ways of looking at this are
there?
Why is … necessary?
Who benefits from this?
Why is it better than …?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of …?
How are … and … similar?
How could you look at this in another way?
E - Effects
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Arguments and ideas may have logical
implications and consequences that can be
forecast. These questions invite pupils to
consider the possible effects or consequences of
ideas or actions.
What would happen then?
Doesn’t it follow that …?
What are the consequences of that assumption?
How does … affect …?
How does … fit with what we learnt before?
Are you suggesting that …?
What is the best …? Why?
Questions
•
•
•
•
•
•
Questions about questions (metacognition).
These questions are designed to ask the pupils
to reflect on the relative merits of their questions.
How effective was your question?
Which of your questions turned out to be the
most useful?
What was the point of asking that question?
What does that mean?
Can you improve any of your/my questions?
What would you do to improve your questions in
the future?
Tasks
• Give pupils a choice of tasks at different
levels and allow them to choose either
their starting point or which task to
complete.
Teaching
• Give pupils different topics to learn and
teach the rest of the group (this could be
done across groups).
‘Whether you think you can or
you can’t you’re right!’
Henry Ford (1863 – 1947)
‘There are no impossible
dreams, just our limited
perception of what is possible.’
Beth Mende Conny (creator of the Art of
Schmooze series of books and workshops)