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The Anatomy of High Expectations. What do High Expectations for able learners look like?

The Anatomy of High Expectations

(Einstein’s Brain!) Gifted and Talented provision: a total philosophy. One of my core beliefs as a teacher: G&T is a total philosophy of teaching and learning.

Gifted and Talented provision: a total philosophy

At both a pedagogical and strategic leadership level, I’d argue that cracking the issue of ‘G&T’ provision is the key to success – in the classroom and across the whole school. In fact, I think that if the profession could really properly address meeting the needs of the most able students in any setting, the whole system would be transformed. When I was involved in setting up Alexandra Park School in Haringey (@APSchool) as Deputy Head in 1999, the ‘Success for All’ slogan was a powerful driver. The Goldilocks Bowl. The importance of hard work Man on the moon In September 1962, John F Kennedy promised America that they’d be a manned lunar landing before the end of the decade.

The Goldilocks Bowl

He said: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade…not because [it is] easy but because [it is] hard, because that goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win”. Throughout history, humankind has sought challenge because it is the measure of the best of our energies and skills. By challenging ourselves, we have evolved. The Anatomy of High Expectations. Education Week. Assessment is one of education's new four-letter words, but it shouldn't be, because it's not assessment's fault that some adults misuse it.

Education Week

Assessment is supposed to guide learning. It creates a dynamic where teachers and students can work together to progress their own understanding of a subject or topic. Assessment should be about authentic growth. Testing in the U.S. is very different from assessment. I know that sounds absurd but tests have more finality here. When it comes to assessing student learning, most educators know about Bloom's Taxonomy. Interestingly enough, Bloom himself has been quoted as saying that his handbook is "one of the most widely cited yet least read books in American education". Bloom’s Taxonomy and Task Design.

ENGLAND RANKS 26TH OUT OF 34 OECD COUNTRIES FOR HIGHLY ABLE. England’s teenagers are just over half as likely to reach the highest levels in maths in international tests as students from other developed nations finds a major review of the support for highly able children.

ENGLAND RANKS 26TH OUT OF 34 OECD COUNTRIES FOR HIGHLY ABLE

England ranks 26th out of the 34 OECD countries when compared in terms of the proportion of highest achieving children in maths tests at age 15 according to the Sutton Trust research. The few high performing pupils in the England come mostly from independent and some from grammar schools, with “almost no pupils” achieving top levels from non-selective state schools warns the report.

In England only 1.7% of children reached the highest level in maths compared with 7.8% in Switzerland and 5.8% in Belgium (8.7% in Flanders), and an average of 3.1 % across all OECD countries. 11_44_11. Gt_tl_presentation. Untitled. Differentiating_plenaries. Classroom%20techniques%20to%20stretch%20the%20more%20able%20students. How to stretch and challenge your students. There are two ways to interpret the phrase “stretch and challenge”.

How to stretch and challenge your students

On the one hand, it relates to whole-class teaching and the importance of stretching and challenging every pupil’s thinking. On the other, it relates to individuals and the importance of pushing the ­thinking of the most able pupils. Both interpretations are equally valid and essential components of great teaching. Stretching and challenging all pupils As teachers, we know it is not enough for our pupils to coast through lessons, picking up the minimum they need to get by. Planning When creating your lessons, ask yourself if the content is sufficiently demanding. Ideally, you should be aiming for material that is just beyond the point pupils have already reached – something just at the edge of their capabilities. To judge whether your content is sufficiently challenging, elicit information from your pupils. Do not be averse to plunging your ­pupils into the realms of uncertainty from time to time. 1. 2. 3.

Evaluation. Strategies for stretching your most able students. Fulham Cross Girls School is in a relatively affluent area but as is the case in west London boroughs, there is a significant divide between rich and poor.

Strategies for stretching your most able students

Local schools often have high numbers of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, and we have 85 per cent of students with English as an additional language. But that’s not to say we are struggling; we have been Ofsted outstanding since 2008 and 70 per cent of our students achieve five or more GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths. Before Fulham Cross, I was a middle leader who wanted to have more of a whole-school impact, so I applied for the Future Leaders headship development programme and as a result joined Fulham Cross’s senior leadership team in September 2012. In consultation with the head of school, I began looking at areas for improvement, and spotted that the number of students getting A and A*s had decreased over three consecutive years. Making waves My work began with a whole-school approach. Differentiation: Making the most of mixed ability. It is regarded as one of the most important parts of teachers’ work and has been referred to in a variety of ways, from mixed-ability teaching to personalised learning.

Differentiation: Making the most of mixed ability

But the teaching approach now most widely referred to as “differentiation” can still be a difficult one for teachers to grasp. In his bestselling teacher-training manual, Teaching Today: a practical guide, Geoff Petty describes it as “the process by which differences between learners are accommodated so that all students in a group have the best possible chance of learning”. Peter Anstee, an English teacher and author of the Differentiation Pocketbook, says that it is about adapting teaching and learning styles to suit the whole class, groups or individuals. Strategies for stretching your most able students.