Ideas for
classroom provision
In order to provide effectively within the classroom, teachers and
departments need to recognise that different students have different
needs. The more able student often appreciates different teaching
methods as they quite likely to have different preferred learning styles
to their peers. This presents a need to regularly review teaching
techniques used, and to use a wide variety of resources and types of
activity in order to allow all students the best chance of learning to
their potential. In general, the effective provision within the
classroom will be possible if there is:
· Planned differentiation for the more able students.
· Recognition that extension is a natural progression from the core
rather than something to do if a student finishes early.
· Use of historical vocabulary.
· A willingness to discuss controversial and ethical issues.
· Use of a variety of Challenging texts.
· Pace and rigor to lessons.
· Extension of thought by questioning.
· Expectation for students to be critical of their own work.
· Facilities for the students to control monitor and contribute
regularly to their own learning.
Teaching gifted and talented students, even when all of these
prerequisites are in place, still though requires some changes to
'traditional' teaching methods. Research such as that of Delcourt, Loyd,
Cornell, and Goldberg suggests that the best form of provision is that
where there is a 'pull-out' or withdrawal system in place. This,
clearly, will be impractical in many schools due to limited resources.
To address this problem both an ideal and alternative, more practical
approach, to teaching and differentiating for the gifted historian are
outlined below.
