Course Details
Supporting the very able child
Able children make up 10 to 15 percent of the school population in the United Kingdom, but many mainstream schools are not meeting the specific needs of these talented children. Low teacher expectation, a lack of expertise on the part of educators and ineffective management of provision are all contributing factors. The result is that 'gifted' children often become bored with the education they’re offered. This leads to underachievement by the children and, in some cases, to displays of disruptive behaviour.
The course aims to support school staff in reaching definitions of what is meant by 'gifted', 'talented' and 'able'. It will enable you to consider ways of identifying such pupils. You’ll also have the opportunity to consider effective strategies that can be used with them. You’ll be asked to examine the broader issues relating to these pupils
As you work through the course, you will:
- consider your own and other definitions of gifted, talented and able pupils
- reflect on these definitions
- study various ways by which these pupils can be identified
- look at approaches to improve school provision for very able pupils
- research, discuss and trial classroom strategies for supporting them
- analyse some of the wider issues about very able pupils
Author Biography
Meet the course author:
Roger Hurn is an educationalist with over 35 years' experience working with children and schools. He first became interested in helping gifted and talented pupils to realise their potential when his own child was found to belong in this category. This personal perspective has given him an understanding of the challenges faced by very bright children and their parents in an education system that has only recently begun to accept that the talented and gifted have special needs. Throughout his career, Roger has attempted to promote the idea that these pupils are entitled to receive appropriate educational programmes beyond those typically provided in most mainstream classrooms.