GE in Practice at the Secondary Level

Based on current practices, the following strategies and follow-ups are deemed essential for effective implementation of GE in secondary schools.

 Acknowledging and sharing of the need for gifted education amongst all staff within the school.

- The rationale and goals of school-based gifted education are explained to all staff through various means such as professional development programmes, sharing from GE experts and fellow teachers from other schools.

- This is to establish consensus among all staff about the importance and need for school-based provision for gifted or more able students so as to prepare them for subsequent implementation of GE programmes.

 Setting up a designated Gifted Education Team (GET)

- A designated team can plan holistically the school-wide provision and co-ordinate the implementation and further development.

- Headed by a senior and experienced staff member (e.g. a GE Manager or Co-ordinator), the GET can involve the curriculum leaders, KLA co-ordinators and student guidance personnel to ensure comprehensive coverage of provision.

- The GET should be responsible for formulating the school-based GE policy;

steering and monitoring the implementation of the policy; evaluating the various tasks and programmes prescribed in the policy; and advising school management on further development or the implementation of new initiatives.

- The GET plans strategically different professional development programmes to equip teachers for the provision of school-based gifted education.

- The GET engages different stakeholders (e.g. the parents) in different relevant aspects of the school-based gifted education.

 Formulating a school-based GE policy

- A school-based GE policy fosters the development of a common language and consensus among teachers on how to cater for gifted students holistically in the long run.

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 Establishing a talent pool: rationale and practice

- A talent pool is a group of selected students ready to be nominated to attend Levels 2 and 3 gifted programmes.

- These students are selected based on certain criteria covering their intellectual ability, creativity, commitment to tasks and achievement.

- According to Renzulli and Gaesser (2015), there are three important considerations before schools attempt to form a talent pool of gifted students:

 Professional development to enhance teachers’ understanding of the characteristics of gifted students and the identification tools;

 Decision on the size of the talent pool in view of the availability of resources; and

 The types of programme that can be offered to those students in the pool.

 Planning for holistic curriculum development

− To plan school-based provision holistically, both the vertical dimension (i.e.

from Level 1 to Levels 2 and 3) and the horizontal dimension (i.e. from generic to domain-specific) of programme development should be taken into consideration, and so should the changing school/societal needs or the focal points of the ongoing renewal of the school curriculum. For example, IT in education, STEM education and values education are essential elements to be included for the comprehensive development of school-based GE programmes.

− The vertical dimension

 Level 1 provision – Differentiation in the regular classroom

High quality differentiation in Level 1 provision can address the diverse needs of students in the regular classroom in regard to the learning and For an example of a school-based GE policy and the key elements it

comprises, please visit the following website:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/gifted/secg/Link-2.pdf

For the eight tips for building a school-based talent pool, please visit the following website:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/

major-level-of-edu/gifted/secg/Link-3.pdf

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teaching environment, process and the products of learning in different ways.

- Level 2 provision – Pull-out programmes for gifted students

Pull-out programmes should serve as the extension or enrichment of the regular classroom learning for gifted or higher ability students.

For the guiding principles and examples of differentiation in the regular classroom, please visit the following website:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/gifted/secg/Link-4.pdf

For more examples of curriculum differentiation in different KLAs, please visit the following website:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/

major-level-of-edu/gifted/secg/Link-5.pdf

For the resources of gifted programmes at level 2, please visit the following website:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/gifted/resources_and_support/l_and_t/index.html

Equalizer

Dr Carol Tomlinson, one of the leading scholars of gifted education, suggested that teachers not only have to consider the students’ ability when designing differentiated learning activities and assignments but also their learning style and readiness. She has developed a graphic tool called

“Equalizer” which comprises eight dimensions describing the activities and assignments. These dimensions may vary from concrete to abstract, slow to fast, simple to complex, basic to transformational, single faceted to multifaceted, small leaps to great leaps, more structured to more open, less independent to more independent. Please refer to the book How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms (2nd edition) for more information about the Equalizer.

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- Level 3 provision – Off-school enrichment

Enrichment programmes offered by professional bodies/universities/ non-governmental organisations including the HKAGE serve to provide opportunities for more advanced learning to further stretch the gifted students with promising performance in Level 2 programmes.

- Level 1, 2 or 3 only serves as a particular entry point for school-based GE provision. It is not necessary for schools to start from Level 1, and then proceed to Levels 2 and 3.

− The horizontal dimension

Teachers need to support gifted students in mastering different generic skills in regular classroom learning or pull-out programmes so that they can employ the skills to pursue excellence in disciplinary and transdisciplinary studies in order to enhance learning effectiveness in different domains.

 Affective education for gifted students

- Generally, gifted students tend to demonstrate a number of common affective characteristics which include hyper-sensitivity to views and comments, exhibition of perfectionism and concerns of ethics of the world around them.

Addressing their affective needs would have great impact on their adjustment to the school environment, career and life planning as well as time-management.

For the resources of gifted programmes at level 3, please visit the following website:

http://edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/gifted/resources_and_support/competitions/index.html

For some authentic examples that illustrate the different entry points for school-based GE provision, please visit the following website:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/gifted/secg/Link-7.pdf

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- To address the affective needs of gifted students, schools should give due attention to the nurturing of the seven priority values and attitudes (i.e.

perseverance, respect for others, responsibility, national identity, commitment, integrity and care for others) as well as other qualities such as self-esteem and empathy, in their vision and mission, school policy, and design of the school curriculum including life-wide learning activities.

- For more information on the affective characteristics, reasons for underachievement of gifted students and possible intervention strategies, please refer to the booklet Addressing the Emotional and Behavioural Problems of Gifted Students in Regular Classroom (資優生情意輔導攻略) (Chinese version only) published by the Gifted Education Section of the EDB.

The booklet is available at:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/tc/curriculum-development/

major-level-of-edu/gifted/resources_and_support/ge_resource_bank/

files/affectiveEdu/AE_SurvivalKit.pdf

 STEM education for gifted students

- Hong Kong students have long been performing well in international studies, assessments and competitions in sciences, technology and mathematics domains. Schools should therefore build on the strengths and provide necessary support to students with good potential in these areas.

- Gifted students generally enjoy taking up challenges and tackling authentic problems of the world. Promoting STEM education can provide the essential platform and necessary opportunities for gifted students to strengthen their ability to integrate and apply knowledge and skills across different subject disciplines through solving daily life problems with practical solutions and innovative designs.

- STEM education also promotes entrepreneurial spirit amongst students.

Many gifted students are also creative, and can apply their talents, advanced knowledge and skills to design innovative products that can be of commercial value. With support from relevant professional bodies, the commercial sector or even the government, these products can be patented and the gifted students can become young entrepreneurs.

- For more information on STEM education for gifted students, please visit the following website:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/gifted/resources_and_support/l_and_t/gs_st/index.html

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 Nurturing a global vision amongst gifted students

- Developing a global vision means removing the physical, geographical, socio-cultural, religious and political barriers, and resulting in collaboration and sharing of ideas.

- Nurturing global vision amongst gifted students helps them understand more about the complex world around them and facilitates them to develop global network to acquire cross-cultural experiences. They can develop their talents and become more ready to contribute to the well-being of mankind.

- Schools can make use of the activities suggested below to help students develop their global vision:

 Make use of the school assembly to enrich students’ understanding of the world (e.g. a talk on the Belt and Road Initiative).

 Use daily news as a basis for discussing key issues (e.g. the impact of economic recession in the US on the economy of Hong Kong and other countries).

 Organise inter-class debates to provide opportunities for students to reflect on heated issues (e.g. humans cause global warming).

 Make use of the community resources to engage students in reflection of local, regional or global issues (e.g. inviting Oxfam to give a talk on poverty).

 Career and life planning education for gifted students

- It is believed that gifted students usually encounter problems in career and life planning due to multipotentiality and early emergence.

 Gifted students generally possess abilities and interests in many areas.

The vast choices among areas of interests, career aspirations and goals may overwhelm them leading to an inability to make and maintain decisions (Chan, 1999).

 Because of advanced intellectual development, gifted students may have an extremely focused career interest from a very early age and will formulate a career goal very early in life and pursue it through a long educational route. This may influence the development of a well-rounded world-view and lead to a generalisation about the world of work (Stewart, 1999).

- In order to help gifted students cope with problems that may arise from multipotentiality and early emergence, timely counselling services should be provided. Otherwise, these students may encounter frustration and unnecessary adjustment problems which may affect the proper development of their intellectual ability.

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 Evaluation of school-based GE provision

- Close and continuous monitoring of the implementation of school-based GE will inform all stakeholders of what needs to be done to ensure the provision is on the right track.

- When conducting evaluation and review, attention should be paid to the following areas:

 Identifying any barriers in the current school policies and infrastructures that hinder the effective implementation of GE provision;

 Reviewing the consistency in the use of terminology associated with giftedness within the school and within the community, as well as agreeing on methods for screening, registering and monitoring the progress of students;

 Reassessing the requirements for in-service teacher training;

 Revisiting the curriculum design, the assessment modes and the pedagogy to ensure GE elements are incorporated into different levels of provision and students’ performance is evaluated from a multidimensional perspective, rather than only through pencil and paper tests;

 Profiling students to measure progress and keeping records to monitor the progress of the gifted students identified;

 Updating regularly a directory of local expertise and resources, which may assist gifted children, their teachers and parents; and

 Using the SSET to review the current state of development and identify the areas for improvement.

For some strategies to handle multipotentiality and early emergence, please visit the following website:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/gifted/secg/Link-8.pdf

For the success criteria for implementing GE in schools, please visit the following website:

http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/gifted/secg/Link-9.pdf