I posted these snippets on Facebook during the conference, but a few people have asked about them, so I am reposting them here over the next few days, along with a little more detail for some comments.
Reflecting forward
Abraham Lincoln suggested “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Jim Watters in his Eminent Australian Address suggests this could be extended now to “The best way to create the future is to predict it.”
Jim reflected on where gifted education has traveled over the last 10 years and offered some insights into the future, for the period of the next 10 years, drawing on research changing views in the world and the field of gifted education, the media and Future Studies.
Jim suggests we need to ‘lay some predictions in the sand‘ and follow them to fruition, so they happen, rather than just seeing what unfolds.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is not just about transposing of letters. Anne Jackson from Kids Like Us, a Nor For Profit Group, gave a really interesting presentation reinforcing the need to have a history of accommodations in place in order to get the disability recognized with extra time or special provisions (for example a scribe) in TEE exams.
She explained that dyslexia is a neurological, life long condition and it arises from a chromosomal mutation. There is a strong family link, often most evident in male relatives (including uncles). Dyslexia is a spectrum disorder ranging from mild to severe and Twice Exceptional (2E) kids are more prone to depression and anxiety especially during adolescence as a result of the frustration of the condition.
Signs that ‘nothing is working’, when gifted children in particular are not achieving with adequate instruction (i.e. what is sufficient for others to learn) is cause for alarm. While most gifted children will learn to manage to a degree and most will learn to read, some do not and these children may not have their gifts recognized either. Often the difficulties are most evident in high school where the demand increases and the work load in terms of reading and writing increases. Gifted children are often able to mask their difficulties to a degree until the demand increases.
Snippets from Carolyn CallahanDownload the slides from Carolyn's presentations
"If we always do what we have always done, we will always get what we have always got."
"As responsible educators we have an obligation to evaluate the programs we implement."
"We must make sure changes we make are good for the child. Put the child at the centre of the decision making, not the convenience of the administration."
"Differentiation is different to a program for gifted, and it is not sufficient on its own."
"Appropriate education fulfils a democratic ethic – not to make everyone the same but to offer equal opportunity to develop and show their gifts."
"Treat them as they are and they will stay as they are. Treat them as they ought to be or could be and they will become what they ought to be or could be."
Updated profiles of the Gifted from Betts and Neihart
These profiles were updated in 2010 to reflect the changes in knowledge over the last 20 years. Much more is known about 2E children in particular, but it is also apparent that the Underground Gifted Child encompasses minority and disadvantaged students not just predominantly girls.
Find Maureen Neihart’s presentation slides here
Questioning Preschoolers
Rosalind Walsh presented on her research indicating the way we question preschoolers has a significant impact on the complexity of their responses (and may communicate our expectations of them in subtle ways) . The Williams Model is a useful tool for differentiating questioning BUT it needs preparation. You probably cant develop questions ‘on the run’ while reading a story using Williams. Which means differentiation for early childhood (as at any point), requires planning.
No comments:
Post a Comment