Developing Gifted And Talented Students In Mathematic

A Gifted and Talented child is defined as one with the ability or potential to develop to a level significantly ahead of their year group (DirectGov, 2012). Gifted learners classify those with an ability in academic subjects such as Maths or Science while Talented learners are those with skills in the arts and sports.

The government initially made provision for this elite group, setting up a national scheme called The National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth which began in 2002 (Guardian). This was later succeeded by The Young and Gifted Learner Academy in 2007. The academy, designed to ensure that the brightest pupils reached their full potential, offered workshops and summer schools for students as well as training for teachers so that they were able to better identify and equip students (The Telegraph, January 2010). The government however decided to redirect its funding to provide for pupils from a deprived background and to improve social mobility hence the scheme was completely scrapped in 2010. Another nationwide scheme is yet to be developed to support these able students

The Department of Education's framework is that gifted and talented students' needs are met individually and holistically to allow each student to reach their maximum potential (Department for Education, 2011). This is solely dependent on the schools however realistically, this is not being practiced and many students feel their views are not taken into consideration when planning tasks to meet their interests (Ofsted, 2009). Most schools have a feeble and ineffective policy geared at helping their pupils and although they are aware of the importance of encouraging gifted and talented students, this has not been a priority when planning lessons. In some cases parents and/or students are not aware that they are considered gifted and talented by their school.

Evidently not having governmental support in terms of funding and a structured policy on catering for more able students in their schools has left teachers with little direction on how best to identify and enrich these pupils. The politics of supporting of these students have also detracted from meeting their needs (Guardian, 2010). In mathematics education, to be gifted in mathematics is to have the ability to learn and understand mathematical ideas with ease, have higher levels of thinking and a persevering attitude in finding solutions to problems (Alderbrook School, 2012). Such students constantly ask questions and have a curious nature towards concepts in mathematics. A national framework for teachers to challenge these pupils is very vague and although the national curriculum sets out a scheme of learning for higher set students in the key stages, there is not a clear demarcation for those that surpass at that level. Teachers must therefore rely on other resources and include extension work in their lesson plans to challenge such pupils.

The resources readily available for gifted students include a large online database of research type questions. One such website is enrich which provides challenging questions for each key stage level, offering both teacher and student resources. These do not only meet the needs of the more able but also challenges all other students to push themselves. This is a useful tool for teachers when considering how to extend learning for a gifted child on a particular topic area. However unless incorporated within the lesson, students from a disadvantaged backgrounds may not have internet to access these resources at home.

The most widely known activities that stretch these students are the Primary and UKMT Maths Challenges for key stage 1-2 and key stages 3-4 respectably. These challenges are individual and team based with the highest achievers becoming part of the British Mathematical Olympiad and further going on to represent the UK in the International Mathematical Olympiad. This gives students an opportunity to take their knowledge of mathematics a step further.

Although a worthwhile activity for the student, the learning of mathematics is continuous and sitting a challenge may not be enough to develop the pupil. Also as needs must be met individually, some students may not learn best or feel they are reaching their potential. It may be construed as the school trying to raise their status in the teaching of mathematics rather than encouraging the student to reach their full potential. Some gifted students may also under perform when placed in a stressful situation such as a test or exam as they have a high expectation of themselves. For a student to keep this level of attentiveness with their curiosity in mathematics requires constant engagement and persistently being pushed.

Schools also pride in allowing their top performing students to sit exams in mathematics a year or two earlier. The success rate of this method however is questionable as not all students sitting the exam earlier perform as well as they would or are expected to. This may be different should they have taken it at the right time. This does not only cost the school more money in re-entering the child for the exam to improve their grade but it may knock their confidence.

There are also many independent sites which have a tailor made programs to stimulate gifted pupils however they require a registration fee. What the previous government scheme did was to reach students in state schools who may not be able to afford and a private school education however scrapping the scheme has brought about a set of challenges where schools or parents cannot provide adequately for the gifted youths as in this instance.

The focus group carried out in an all girl's school revealed the lag attitude towards engaging these pupils. Students mentioned that there was little to keep them stimulated. Although they had textbooks to work from they did not feel motivated to further their learning by that alone. They lacked a lateral perspective on the learning of mathematics also which can develop their interests in the subject area. Some had sat the Maths Challenge before and were not impressed with their results but did appreciate the experience.

Comparing the learning of maths between the UK and USA, American schools have a less structured maths program which allows for creativity in how the subject is taught (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2012). Students do sit maths challenges similarly to the UK however these are more wide spread and appeal to each individually gifted child. While some test are under a limited time constraint or requires a quick hand on the buzzer, others take on a slower pace as students are given one month to complete the challenge using all resources available to them. This example shows how students' different ways of learning are provided for how a holistic take on the subject allows students to apply it to real life situations but also bring an enjoyment to the learning of mathematics. Adopting such a strategy in the UK will better ensure that individual needs are met and may even engage students more as their interests are being effectively offered to them.

Again students from the focus group felt the need to take mathematics out of the classroom. They wanted to see how what they learnt applied to the real world using physical equipment. Not only will this strengthen their mathematical knowledge but also incorporate aspects of science also, allowing them to think abstractly.

The policies or lack thereof that govern provisions that are meant to be made for Gifted and Talented children have dampened the core reasons for supporting them which is to enrich their learning and allow them to reach their maximum potential. Also not having teachers equipped to offer these services runs the risk of many gifted kids being undiscovered. Ofsted discovered in their survey that putting measures in place to push students benefited the whole school as it challenged students working at the average level. This is a more effective way of raising the school status as it takes on a holistic view in teaching children and rather than come across as biased all students will feel included and be motivated to do better.

In developing the individual holistically, teachers must not only consider the gift in maths the student has but also how well it is communicated. Gifted students can at times be very driven that they are unable to work in groups or discuss and share their ideas with others. Some may also lack the confidence to speak in a large group and may shy away from asking questions (Carol Bainbridge). Teachers must be able to identify these characters amongst their students and find way to help them improve on these areas also so that they leave school a more rounded individual, having benefitted from being effectively catered for.

The frame work has been left to the teachers who may not have the experience to be able to meet the needs of these students. The Government however recently launched an initiative this month where they have set out a new set of polices to ensure that the needs of more able students are taken into consideration. These policies set out to make available Level 6 National Curriculum tests for Year 6 pupils in English reading, English writing and mathematics, introduce a new set of teaching standards, with clear expectations on the need to support and challenge high-ability pupils. Also the national curriculum will be simplified so it sets out only the essential knowledge all children should attain at each level, while creating time and space for schools to develop deeper and more stimulating educational opportunities (Department for Education, 2011)

For a gifted math student, they will benefit from having a trained professional working with them to help them reach their full potential and also a teacher who is aware on how to develop their maths lessons to gauge the interests of more able pupils. The focus group highlighted the concerns of one group in one school. Many schools may also be in this position and it will require the consensus of the senior members of the school board to see an impact being made in the lives of these kids as they develop their logical minds. Although ample resources are available, these need to be structured and included in the national curriculum so that all teachers are aware of how best to develop their more able students and extend their understanding of the topics and concepts in maths. With the government not having an extensively thought-out policy in governing the identifying, teaching and developing of gifted and talented students, many teachers feel out of their depth and have no guidance as to how to develop their maths students. Methods initially in place such as maths challenge and sitting exams earlier seem to benefit the school more and rather leave students still unsatisfied, unchallenged and de-motivated. The purpose education serves is multifaceted yet most schools place importance on being high achieving schools that they neglect the other needs the pupil that must be met and those that suffer most are the gifted as they are overlooked because of their ability to successfully complete all set work.

A Gifted and Talented child must be engaged by the age of 14 otherwise they may lose an interest in learning.(Guardian, 2010) Teachers also need to be trained to be able to effectively discover and raise the next maths scholar, astrologist, engineer for their next phase of education. It is not enough just sitting tests and exams but gifted and talented must experience maths hands on, in a work environment, be solving a real life intricate mathematical problem or by being around similar able students. With the new action the government is taking in changing the curriculum and setting teaching standards to cater for the needs of gifted students, hopefully this will also increase the effectiveness of teaching gifted and talented students and also supporting them to reach their full potential.