1. Gifted and Talented (G&T) UK
Professor Deborah Eyre
September 2010

2. Three broad G&T paradigms. Where is England?
Unique individual
Micro level
Cohort paradigm
Programmatical
Start with G&T as a topic. In my work in looking at G&T over the last 50 years or so I came to the conclusion that it was useful and valid to group the range of approaches into 3 broad paradigms. Different paradigms have been prominent at different historical times but they also reflect a linear process in understanding. People coming the field usually start with paradigm 1 assumptions. Underpinned by certain beliefs.
Intellectual capital
Macro level
Diversity of arenas for
success
Professor Deborah Eyre
Professor Deborah Eyre

3. Unique individual – child genius
Micro level
Unique education pathway for special person
Education system of little importance
Professor Deborah Eyre
Professor Deborah Eyre

4. Cohort Paradigm
Common characteristics of this group and differences from others
Common learning needs
Educational programmes for the gifted cohort
Programmes separate from normal schooling: different in terms of concepts and content covered, skills developed and learning attitudes nurtured.
Professor Deborah Eyre
Professor Deborah Eyre

5. Intellectual Capital Paradigm
Macro (system) level
Giftedness = those reaching high levels of performance
Development significantly influenced by environmental and personality characteristics so can be nurtured
Advanced performance in a specific field as well as more generally (not g)
Education provision primarily domain specific and integrated
Professor Deborah Eyre
Professor Deborah Eyre

6. Professor Deborah Eyre
Eyre’s English Model
Professor Deborah Eyre

7. Education in England
24,000 schools: 3,000 secondary (11-18) 21,000 primary (4-11)
6% of students educated in private schools 94% in state schools
National framework for schooling, delivered regionally
Regional Local Authorities (LAs) responsible for how their school perform
Individual schools governed by School Governors = Local voluntary representatives + Principal
Schools autonomous, allocated overall funding by formula. Deploy it as they wish: can recruit own staff, organise as they chose etc but must meet performance outcomes.
School performance judged on student achievement levels
Want to go back a stage now and set that in context before talking in more detail

8. Education in England (2)
National curriculum - 8 subject areas
National assessment for students at ages 7,11,16,18 years in English, Maths, Science
Frequent and robust cycle of inspection of schools (OfSTED),
School league tables based on student performance at aged 11 and 16 publically available
Schools contextual value-added data matching school socio-economic profile against comparable schools
Intervention in inverse proportion to success.
Lends itself very well to paradigm 3
Data rich system which provides public information about schools and student performance so… knowledgeable parents and sharp focus on the educational aspects that the system measures.

9. ‘Excellence in Schools’ Government White Paper October 1997
Gifted education became government policy
Significant date! Because prior to that we had had some people doing very interesting work in UK but it was enthusiasts in limited pockets and not across the whole country and in all schools.

10. Why is gifted important for a country to nurture giftedness and creativity?
Today’s students are tomorrows social, intellectual, economic and cultural leaders
Work on overall school improvement suggests that a focus on the gifted can help a school raise overall standards
Effective education systems should meet the needs of all pupils, including the gifted
To do nothing will ensure that disadvantaged children with the potential to excel underachieve
Why the change. Lobbying by enthusiasts plus recognition of the links to ‘high level skills – economic agenda’ and school improvement – raising overall standards

11. Reasons to focus on a high performing education system
“Education is an essential foundation for personal, social and economic success in a globalised economy. The capacity to succeed in today’s global knowledge economy depends at least partly on being able to make a high level of skills available to a large number of citizens.”
Cross-Border Higher Education and Development
(OECD) JANUARY 2008

12. Professor Deborah Eyre
Policy tensions
Universal services
In-school
Out- of- school
Targeted provision for marginalised groups
Professor Deborah Eyre

13. Disadvantaged a priority Out-of –school enrichment valued
The Policy Approach
Disadvantaged a priority
Out-of –school enrichment valued
In all
schools
The interests in the last slide shaped the policy approach

14. Professor Deborah Eyre
Eyre’s English Model
I created the model for the government and led the implementation of the policy at national level. NB This approach is deliberately designed as a set of principles not a set of tasks as needed to be to be flexible enough to meet multiple contexts in UK. Now it si used in many countries and localised to meet their particular system requirements
Professor Deborah Eyre

15. Professor Deborah Eyre Professor Deborah Eyre
A key feature is that we make it simple for schools to understand and get them to focus on the things they can improve or change rather than on what they cannot.
Professor Deborah Eyre
Professor Deborah Eyre

16. Outliers: The story of success
“The emerging picture from such articles is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert. It seems it take the brain this long to assimilate all it needs to know for true mastery.”
Daniel Levitin 2006
“Outliers in a particular field reached their lofty status through a combination of ability, opportunity and utterly arbitrary advantage.”
Gladwell (2008)
Persistence and practice are important

17. Giftedness and creativity can be nurtured ….
Teaching for
A. C. P.
content
teaching style
belief
Support from parents
at home
in support of school
belief in child
Commitment from child
hard work
not giving up
self-belief
Don’t know who will turn out to be gifted and in what but travel in hope and aim high for all.

18. Professor Deborah Eyre
Eyre’s English Model
A quick look at each aspect of the model. If we go back to what schools have to do you will not be surprised to learn that we issue guidance and provide training on all aspects of. As I don’t have time to cover all aspects I will just restrict myself to a Classroom
Professor Deborah Eyre

19. Professor Deborah Eyre
'In considering provision for the most able it is important that a school looks first at its practice for all pupils …provision cannot be bolted on to ineffective practice.'
Eyre (1997)
Professor Deborah Eyre

20. Developing Complementary Provision

21. Every teacher a teacher of the gifted
“Teachers who are enthusiastic, well organised and confident in their ability to deliver the curriculum.
They are also intellectuals with a deep understanding of their subject and an interest in exploring the topics on the syllabus even beyond the requirements of the examination.
They encourage their pupils to formulate and express their own opinions and to take intellectual risks.”
Eyre, 2009
Professor Deborah Eyre

22. Creating the conditions for nurturing giftedness and creativity
General ethos of high achievement
Agreed school-wide, policy or approach
Curriculum on offer must include advanced requirements
Rewards systems must recognise and reward high performance
Assessment arrangements for learning and of learning
Pupil grouping/setting/banding
Classroom teaching and learning tecniques
Special needs arrangements
Monitoring processes
Resource allocation for special events
Professional development opportunities for teachers
Co-ordination of pull-out programmes
Co-ordination of out of school programmes

23. Professor Deborah Eyre
Advanced cognitive
behaviour:
What is it and
how do we nurture it?
Could atlk at length about all of this but going to just take a look at the most important of all
Professor Deborah Eyre

24. What does success look like?
advanced learners
…who win places in world-class universities and make a leading contribution
future leaders
…who are responsible and confident, improving things around them
entrepreneurs
..who are creative, innovative
and well placed to enjoy future success
Professor Deborah Eyre

25. Knowledge & Understanding
subject-specific advanced skills
subject-specific advanced knowledge and concepts
big ideas/controversies and influential people
Professor Deborah Eyre
Professor Deborah Eyre

26. Values, Attitudes and Attributes
Inquiring
Enterprising,
Creative
Resilient
Risk-taking
Problem solver
Intellectually confident
Open-minded
Personally confident
Good citizenship
Persistent
Community minded
Mastery focused
Collaborative and competitive
Prone to generalisation
Tolerant of complexity and ambiguity
Professor Deborah Eyre
Professor Deborah Eyre

27. Skills Critical thinking skills Creative thinking skills
Personal skills
Self-reflection and self-regulation
Communication skills - dialogue debate, listening
Strategy flexibility
Metacognition – transfer of knowledge to new contexts
Strategy planning
Hypothesis
Research skills
Independent learning skills
Originality of thinking,
Editing skills -attention to detail
Critical path analysis
Professor Deborah Eyre
Professor Deborah Eyre

28. Professor Deborah Eyre
Intellectualising
Learning
Professor Deborah Eyre

29. Towards Advanced Cognitive Performance
advanced 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 people with high levels of expertise in relation to existing level
Keep it simple

30. What constitutes good provision?
Enhancing the core educational offer by adding:
Breadth
Depth
Pace

31. Golden rules for nurturing giftedness
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

32. Each school must …
1. Have a G&T policy document that outlines what it does and how. This should link to national policy guidelines
2. Have identified a cohort of G&T students that reflects their school profile (including multiple exceptional) but also continue to seek new talent
3. Provide differentiated classroom provision in all classes and all subject
4. Provide advanced courses and curriculum
5. Provide enrichment classes and use out-of – school enrichment courses
6. Track and monitor the progress of its students and use assessment for learning techniques to help students become independent
7. Monitor the effectiveness of their G&T approach and justify to inspectors

33. G&T education in England: A school-wide approach
Led from the top by the school Principal/Headteacher
Is focused on provision of advanced learning opportunities not identifying ‘extraordinary’ children
Student-centered approach
Starts in the classroom but also uses enrichment
Emphasises the role of the student and their parents
Is co-ordinated by a G&T specialist who both supports teachers and measures impact on students
Is captured in a whole-school approach to creating and rewarding excellence
Includes a special interest in unlocking giftedness is disadvantaged and Special Needs students
Focuses on removing barriers to success
If we go back to what schools have to do you will not be surprised to learn that we issue guidance and provide training on all aspects of. As I don’t have time to cover all aspects I will just restrict myself to a 2 areas. 1) Classroom

34. What’s different about this
Doesn’t make premature assumptions about who will do well. It is open-minded and optimistic for all
Recognises the need to optimise that which can be changed through education rather than focus on that which cannot
Has universally high expectations and focuses on removing barriers to success not pathways
Gives significance to the role the student in co-constructing their education
Recognises the crucial roles of high quality learning opportunities and of tutoring or support
Values achievement in many cognitive domains rather than the few traditional ones
Eyre’s English Model, 2007

35. Are you saying every child is gifted?
We are not saying that every student can be gifted, but we are saying that if you take this approach every student will do as well as they can, and some will reach the high levels of performance we call gifted.

36. Professor Deborah Eyre Professor Deborah Eyre