Strategies and limitations
There are several strategies that are often used by experienced teachers to allow hidden talents to surface. One strategy is the use of Socratic questioning as this would allow the students to share their knowledge and passion with others. Communication would also allow the students to share their views and explore knowledge on other levels, such as the integration, differentiation and application of concepts in real life.
One obstacle faced by both students and teachers is the constraint of time. In having an in-depth conversation on a particular topic with a gifted student during curriculum time, the teacher would have to carry out differentiated instruction and meet the learning needs of all the students in the class; in meeting the student outside of curriculum time, logistical arrangements would have to be made so that exploration of knowledge can be facilitated by both the hardware and software of teaching and learning.
Another strategy is the adoption of pull-out programmes such as the Math Olympic class. In running such pull-out programmes, it would be ideal to have them taught by the same subject teachers but as manpower resources in schools are often limited, the classes are often outsourced to external vendors. This would translate to a reduction in class size to complete a specified course in a particular subject and often not meeting the needs of the identified students.
One strategy adopted by a school is acceleration for the students. For example, a student in a primary school may join a class in an affiliated secondary school for a specific subject; the teachers would meet regularly to discuss about the progress of the student. In accelerating students, one common problem is the difficulty in working within the constraints of the time-tabling of classes so as to accommodate the academic and social needs of the students and the workload and stresses of the teachers.
In Singapore where there is an examination-orientated culture, especially with the high-stakes national examinations; there is not much time allocated to study a topic in sufficient depth as there is too much content to be covered in a short span of time. Thought processes are intertwined with what is being thought about – the surface structure and deep structure of a problem. There is a need to have domain specific knowledge in order to arrive at the deep structure of a problem. There should also be repeated exposure to one type of problem or various perspectives of the same type of problem as a transfer of knowledge occurs when there is familiarity with a problem’s deep structure.
One obstacle faced by both students and teachers is the constraint of time. In having an in-depth conversation on a particular topic with a gifted student during curriculum time, the teacher would have to carry out differentiated instruction and meet the learning needs of all the students in the class; in meeting the student outside of curriculum time, logistical arrangements would have to be made so that exploration of knowledge can be facilitated by both the hardware and software of teaching and learning.
Another strategy is the adoption of pull-out programmes such as the Math Olympic class. In running such pull-out programmes, it would be ideal to have them taught by the same subject teachers but as manpower resources in schools are often limited, the classes are often outsourced to external vendors. This would translate to a reduction in class size to complete a specified course in a particular subject and often not meeting the needs of the identified students.
One strategy adopted by a school is acceleration for the students. For example, a student in a primary school may join a class in an affiliated secondary school for a specific subject; the teachers would meet regularly to discuss about the progress of the student. In accelerating students, one common problem is the difficulty in working within the constraints of the time-tabling of classes so as to accommodate the academic and social needs of the students and the workload and stresses of the teachers.
In Singapore where there is an examination-orientated culture, especially with the high-stakes national examinations; there is not much time allocated to study a topic in sufficient depth as there is too much content to be covered in a short span of time. Thought processes are intertwined with what is being thought about – the surface structure and deep structure of a problem. There is a need to have domain specific knowledge in order to arrive at the deep structure of a problem. There should also be repeated exposure to one type of problem or various perspectives of the same type of problem as a transfer of knowledge occurs when there is familiarity with a problem’s deep structure.
