by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Jun 6, 2015 | Creativity, Gifted Students, Higher-order Thinking, Questioning, Teacher Effectiveness
Always the beautiful answerwho asks a more beautiful question. – E. E. Cummings While higher-order thinking processes are effective for all learners, research in the education of gifted students shows that the power of inquiry is crucial for promoting their learning (VanTassel-Baska & Brown, 2007). Effective questioning as a deliberate strategy enhances gifted learners’ thinking, provides the means for exploring novel possibilities and meaning making, and challenges them to learn about their world in more rich and complex ways (VanTassel-Baska, 2014). The abilities and attributes of gifted learners, outlined below, indicate that they understand the potent appeal of questioning that challenges their thinking: Highly inquisitive and curious (Clark, 2013; Renzulli et al., 2002; Rotigel, 2003) Abstract and conceptual thinkers (Feldhusen, 1986; VanTassel-Baska, 1989) Outstanding ability to solve problems in diverse ways (Clark, 2013; Kanevsky et al., 1994) An unusual capacity to integrate and synthesise information or skills (Kanevsky et al., 1994) Greater metacognitive ability (Barfurth et al., 2009; Davis et al., 2011). Thus, asking thoughtful, rigorous questions is critical to engage gifted learners and elevate their thinking. There are many useful questioning models such as Guilford’s Model (1967), Maker Model (1982), Williams Model (1986) and Paul’s Reasoning Model (1992). I shall discuss three questioning frameworks below that range from hierarchical to more divergent approaches for engaging gifted learners: revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, three levels of feedback (Hattie, 2012), and “Describe/Disrupt the Territory” framework (Dyer et al., 2011). The revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (Anderson et al., 2000) uses a hierarchical approach and is commonly used for framing questions from lower to higher-order levels. Gifted learners should be challenged with higher-order questions and learning tasks. Refer to Table 1 which contains a few suggested action...
by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Feb 8, 2015 | Creativity, Gifted Students
One must still have creative chaos in oneselfto be able to give birth to a dancing star.– Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher (1844-1900) Synectics has been described by its creator, William J. J. Gordon, as “the joining together of different and apparently irrelevant elements” (Gordon, 1961, p.5). The term Synectics, from the Greek “syn” and “ektos”, refers to the fusion of diverse ideas (Nolan, 2003, p. 25). The process of Synectics is a “metaphor/analogy-based technique for bringing different elements together in a search for new ideas or solutions” (Starko, 2010, p. 151). This creative connection-making process has been used by businesses and research organisations, and has been the inspiration behind the ideas for Pringles potato chips, magnesium-impregnated bandages, disposable nappies, the space-saver Kleenex box, and a host of other innovations. Working with gifted learners, I found this strategy to be very effective because the students relished the potent power of bringing contraries together to conjure new meanings. The basic processes of Synectics are “making the strange familiar” and “making the familiar strange” (Prince, 1968, p. 4). Although inventors most often engage in “making the familiar strange”, students benefit more from “making the strange familiar” (Gordon, 1973, p. 11). These two processes are facilitated through the creation of various types of analogies. Here are the steps for using Synectics to foster creative mindsets: Step 1: Students explore the given situation, task, or problem. They create direct analogies, select one, and explore it in greater depth. Direct analogies are the simplest types of comparison in which similarities between two ideas are examined. In a direct analogy, individuals look for parallels between one idea, object or situation,...
by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Jan 2, 2015 | Gifted Students, Teacher Effectiveness
A great teacher affects eternity:she/he can never tell where her/his influence stops.~ Adapted from Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams, 1907 Gifted students are the lighthouses for their teachers in the classroom. As beacons of light, they shine brightly in the learning landscape. When the teachers engage with their students in an ongoing and authentic dialogue, the little Zen masters give honest and open feedback, and light the paths that their teachers traverse. Engaging with student voice is necessary “if we are to realise the democratic, pedagogical, and social aims of education in the twenty first century” (Mockler & Groundwater-Smith, 2015, p. 5). I believe that teachers, school leaders, and system leaders need to engage gifted students in inquiry and school transformation as pedagogical partners. Let me commence this year’s reflections with student voice. One of my past students, Nathan Wong, a highly gifted Year 12 English student – whom I taught at James Ruse Agricultural High School, a selective co-educational school in Sydney – had shared his musings into what makes a truly great teacher. I reproduce Nathan’s article here – initially published in the newsletter, Gifted Learning, that I used to produce for the school community. I hope you enjoy reading this gifted thinker’s perceptive insights. *** What truly makes a ‘gifted and talented’ student? What are the defining qualities of such successful learners? How do they achieve so highly? These are age-old questions which the education profession continues to contemplate. But from a student’s perspective, there is perhaps a more important not-so-old (pun intended!) question to be considered. What are the qualities that truly make a great teacher, indeed, a ‘gifted and talented’ teacher? What do students today really...
by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Oct 7, 2014 | Gifted Students
Positive parent-child relationships form an important background for academic motivation. Letting the children know that their parents think school is important and providing recognition for their effort and successes can motivate learning. Brown (2009), Martin (2003), Rimm (2007), and Siegle (2013) offer the following advice for instilling academic motivation among children: Encourage positive family relationships and responsibility Provide reasonable structure to help children become independent and responsible. Teach the child to be responsible at home by assigning chores and maintaining expectations for proper behaviour. Self-discipline at home can transfer to school-related learning. Take time to engage in fun-filled activities with the child individually and as a family. Have regular conversations with your child and provide time to listen to his or her interests and concerns. Praise the child for both trying hard and for being successful (Brown, 2009). Model the importance of learning Plan family activities that encourage learning, such as visits to the library, museums and parks. Let the child know that learning is important and is one of the key purposes of school. Let the child see that the parents read books, newspapers, and magazines. Talk about what they read. Talk with the child about school and show an interest in what goes on at school (Brown, 2009). Teach habits that encourage learning Have a set routine for schoolwork. The child should know when he or she is expected to work on schoolwork each day. Set up a place to study when the child has the needed supplies and as much quiet as necessary. Help the child learn to manage time. Make sure the child finishes schoolwork at...
by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Sep 22, 2014 | Gifted Students
“The pursuit of excellence is not a skill, it is an attitude.” – Manoj Chandra Handa Perfectionism has often been misunderstood as a good quality to possess. It is not. What is good is the pursuit of excellence which is something quite different. Delisle and Galbraith (2002) make a clear distinction between the two concepts. Perfectionism means that you can never “fail”, you always need approval, and if you come in second, you are a loser! The pursuit of excellence means taking risks, trying new things, growing, changing – and sometimes not succeeding. Jim Delisle and Judy Galbraith in their book, “When gifted kids don’t have all the answers”, point out that perfectionism can take a heavy toll on a student’s self-esteem, relationships, creativity, health, and capacity to enjoy life. As perfectionism is not possible, and yet that is what some students want—and that they won’t be satisfied with anything less—it is a recipe for disappointment. Delisle and Galbraith (2002) affirm that gifted people of all ages are especially prone to perfectionism. This may be rooted in the awareness of producing the best quality and nothing else. Once they see how something “ought to be done” (ought to sound, ought to look), they may naturally want to do it that way. And they may overwhelm themselves (and others) in the process. This is why gifted students need support to persist despite their constant awareness of “failure”. Many of problems students have with high expectations are reinforced by the environment, particularly if they have had a string of early successes. Ruth Duskin Fieldman, a former “Quiz Kid” (in Delisle & Galbraith, 2002, p....
by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Aug 18, 2014 | Gifted Students
“There is not enough darkness in the world to extinguish the light of one small candle.” – Spanish proverb Motivation is now widely seen as a key to learning. The affective domain of Bloom’s taxonomy is considered to be as important to successful schooling as the cognitive domain. What is motivation? The term, motivation, is usually associated with words such as desire, enthusiasm, ambition, interest, commitment, inspiration, drive and “hunger”. In psychological terms, motivation is usually defined as some sort of internal state or condition which serves to activate, arouse, energise or direct behaviour and to give it impetus, direction and focus. Contemporary frameworks and theories of motivation tend to be ingrained in the cognitive perspective. Schunk, Pintrich, and Meece (2008), for example, define motivation as “the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained (p. 4). This definition implies that motivation includes choosing some goals and not others, commencing work toward a goal, and persevering in the pursuit of that goal. Studies have found that gifted students appear to be more intrinsic in their motivation for engaging in academic pursuits than other students (Csikszentmihalyi, Rathunde, & Whalen, 1993; Gottfried & Gottfried, 1996; Olszewski-Kubilius, Kulieke, & Krasney, 1988; Feldhusen, Dai, & Clinkenbeard, 2000). Motivation – the inner candle – is central to learning because its presence can lead to persistence, enthusiasm, commitment, perseverance and risk taking by the student. Lack of motivation can lead to – and be fuelled by – fear of failure, low self-esteem and low self-expectations, creating a vicious downward cycle. Teacher Influence Teachers’ instructional practices affect student motivation. The tasks teachers choose, the types of assessments they give,...
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