Gifted Children and Tests

This was written by Catherine Riordan. It appears without permission on another website, incorrectly attributed to another author.

Free Spirit Publishing

At #gtie last week we discussed Gifted Children and Tests. Not only did we have participants from Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Cork, we had our faithful supporters from the US; Toby from Oklahoma and Lisa from Pittsburgh. Amongst our number, there were parents of both primary and secondary school students, a homeschooler, teachers and an educational psychologist. So, a wide range of experience!

Here is a brief summary of what came up, with a few extra links:

The problems that gifted children may encounter in tests:

• Poor concentration, not finishing.
• Test anxiety: Gifted Children Scared of Tests
• Perfectionism: Helping Gifted Students Cope With Perfectionism
• I think there's a fear of being exposed as a fraud if they don't excel
• Big issue with current 'high stakes' tests is that they are mostly 'scribble down all the knowledge you can’ type tests rather than ‘apply the knowledge and solve problems’ type test.
• If kids find tests easy when young, they may never learn study skills. When things get harder later, self-doubt is introduced. They need challenge from the outset.

Then we moved on to the types of tests done:

• I favour the International Baccalaureate over others like the Leaving Certificate  because of the Continuous Assessment component and the real world experience.
• I wish we could base tests on real-world issues and problems. Use take-home format and give time to reflect.
• More standardised testing is a concern. Once the minimum standard reached, the box is ticked, "everyone" is happy and gifted kids left unstretched.
• Parents should watch for this in school in Ireland now - more standardised testing coming down the line. (In primary and secondary. NCCA report on standardised testing at second level)
• I hope this won't mean more teaching-to-the-test, but my hopes aren't too high!
• It will because as ever, standardised tests will be used to judge teachers, not the students sitting them- Cracked!! (Standardised Testing and Its Victims)
• Testing is black and white answers that give a final number; assessment is more subtle but has more subjectivity in it.
• Testing versus assessment

How do we help children cope with the expectation of tests?

• In my children's primary schools neither they, nor we, were told in advance when the standarised tests would be, no hype.
• True, I think they didn't want the mammies getting hyper more than the kids though!
• I think it depends on the child. DD1 needs reminding to prepare. DD2 needs to be told 'it's only a test'. (DD means dear/darling daughter)
• A shift of focus from praising children for being clever to praising their effort and hard work.
• Definitely praise is a must - self esteem can be a problem but how to stress a test is important,  to do his best, without making him feel pressured?
• Praising effort and results while not praising the individual is pretty tough but can be done with good results.
• Helping children cope with studies

Now we moved on to more philosphical matters!

• Information on Assessment for Learning (AfL) from the UK.
• Common Core Standards from the US.
• Common Core has an interesting by-line-'preparing America's STUDENTS for college and career' rather than PEOPLE for living.
• A kid is so much more than his/her exam results.
• They are important but if we make exams a zero-sum game - it just freaks kids out.
• Testing can tell a kid they have failed - not why. We need to help them understand why: Kids Fail Less When They Know Failure Is Part Of Learning, Study Finds
• All of these standardized tests reduce students (and now/in future) teachers and schools to a number. NOT humanitarian.
• Some kids have talents that aren't measured by exams but may become central to later life success. Need to see big picture.
• Exactly, who says we have to measure it all at 15 or 18 anyway? We can't possibly, nor should we want to.
• It's very wrong that we tell kids they are failures at the age of 18 just because they didn't do well in a state exam.
• Taylor's Multiple-Talent Model

Finally: Education should make a child feel competent; testing can undermine that.

The Junior Cert Reform Glass is Half-Full!

The current Junior Certificate was introduced in 1989 with the first exams in 1992. It replaced the Intermediate Certificate and was heralded as being a much more modern qualification. In the interim it has become a content-heavy “Leaving Cert Lite” with parents, students and teachers alike extolling its virtues as being “good practise for the points race”. Reform is therefore welcome and overdue if we are to address issues of curriculum overload, rote-learning and outdated ways of assessment in our education system.

Many of the proposals in our submission to the NCCA review have found a place in the final plan and we are pleasantly surprised at some of the elements proposed. From a “gifted” perspective there is much to be applauded and welcomed. Children learn in so many different ways and this document recognises that all children should get the opportunity to show what they can do within the exam system and outside of it. Of particular interest are the short courses which give students welcome scope to follow their talents and strengths. Many children already take part in activities both in and outside school from sports to music to computers to theatre. Lots of them shine in this their chosen environment. It is a very positive thing that their commitment to participation in a wide range of activities can be recognised and rewarded.

The new system may have much to commend it, but it also raises many questions. How will teachers respond? Will they think it will merely increases their workload? How will they feel about assessing their own students, long a hot-button issue for the teachers unions? Will some subjects fade into obscurity if they are not examination subjects? What implication does the new Junior Cycle have for Transition Year? What will happen to the Leaving Cert if students are examined differently for Junior Cert? Will it have the desired effect on Literacy and Numeracy, and the infamous Pisa study? And the biggest one of all; is this merely a dumbing down, no child gets ahead, minimum achievement proposition?

The jury is out for now, it will probably take a few years to see the results, but I believe that good schools have nothing to fear from the changes. It will finally show parents what the “league tables” don’t. Schools have been telling us for years that a fairer way to judge the education provided by individual schools would be to consider all activities, sports, co-curricular, learning support measures and exemplary school leadership in addition to academics. This is an opportunity to show us exactly that. It will tell us which schools have strong effective leadership. It will separate good teachers from poor ones. It will show us how good school management produces real results. It will showcase innovative, inclusive and imaginative schools. It will identify those schools which genuinely support all types of learners, including those with difficulties and those who are boxed in by the current exam system.

There was a recent article in The Irish Times about a school in County Limerick which in the space of a few years turned itself around from being on the brink of closure to being one of the most desired schools in the locality. It did this through innovative leadership and a strong vision of what they wanted to achieve. This school should be the inspiration for all schools and teachers who look on this new Junior Cert as a negative development. Coláiste Chiaráin was at rock-bottom and used the same resources available to every other school to create a learning environment second to none. They didn’t see the glass as half-empty, they looked to fill it to the brim. I’m guessing they won’t see the new Junior Cert as anything other than an opportunity. I hope other schools can do likewise.

The responses so far have been mixed, but a central theme has been funding. Some teachers of my acquaintance want to know where the money for their training will come from. They say that without huge investment this will never work. I am starting to wonder if that's a prediction or a threat. We have had enough negativity in Ireland in the last few years. It is time to change the way we view the challenges ahead. Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, looking for flaws in every new development with our typical Irish Peig Sayers-like keening why don’t we seek out the positives and make them work? The can-do approach which is the hallmark of the most admired entrepreneurs and innovators in Ireland and throughout the world should be to the forefront of our minds as we head into this new Junior Cycle. Enough complaining, let's get on with ensuring that our children have a first-class learning experience. My glass is half-full, how is yours looking?

Creative Flow and Gifted Children

“Flow is the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.” 

When the concept of creativity comes up for discussion, it is never long before Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's theory of flow comes up. A Hungarian-American psychologist, he has devoted his career to the study of human happiness. He has shown that, regardless of culture or station in life, there is one thing which makes us all happy; being in a state of flow. So, what does this mean? It means experiencing some or all of the following:

1. Being completely involved in what we are doing…focused, concentrated.

2. A sense of ecstasy, meaning the feeling of being outside everyday reality. 

3. Great inner clarity…knowing what needs to be done and how well we are doing it. 

4. Knowing that the activity is do-able…that our skills are adequate to the task. 

5. A sense of serenity…no worries about oneself and a feeling of going beyond the boundaries of
     the ego, of being a part of something larger. 

6. Timelessness…thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by in minutes. 

7. Intrinsic motivation…whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.

In a state of flow, one becomes so intensely focused on the task in hand that one ceases to be aware of anything else, even hunger, tiredness or the passage of time. Csikszentmihalyi says that it is the "spontaneous, effortless experience you achieve when you have a close match between a high level of challenge and the skills you need to meet that challenge. The experience is almost addictive and very rewarding."

The centre point of this graph, where the sectors meet, represents average challenge and average skill level. In order for flow to occur, the level of both skill and challenge must be beyond average and the challenge must be at or slightly above the skill level. If the challenge is too little, we feel bored or apathetic. If the challenge is too great, we feel worried or anxious. For a given challenge, the state between anxiety and flow is arousal. From here, to tip into a state of flow, we need to slightly increase our skill level. It is here that most learning occurs. As our skill increases, we also need to gradually increase the challenge accordingly. The further from the centre in each sector, the more intense the experience of that state.

Interestingly, he points out that small children, as they learn to walk and talk etc, spend large amounts of time in a state of flow. They choose their tasks and challenges to suit. As they get older and begin school, the choice of both task and level of challenge is removed and the less time they get to spend in flow.

The level of challenge in a mainstream classroom is set for the average student. In that setting, it may be difficult for a gifted or exceptionally able child to find a challenge to match his/her skill level so that they reach the state of arousal where learning occurs, never mind a state of flow. Without the inherent reward and motivation which that brings, the risk is that they become bored, apathetic underachievers. In their study Talented Teenagers: The Roots of Success and Failure, Csikszentmihalyi and colleagues reached the conclusion that experiencing "flow was the strongest predictor of subjective engagement and how far the student progressed in the school's curriculum."

“the best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. Optimal experience is, therefore, something which we make happen”

We can all get into “the zone” at some level, but to go deep and experience a high level of flow during which we are truly creative in the sense that we produce something new and special, our skill level must be very high. Regardless of any innate potential ability which we may have, research has shown that it is only after about 10,000 hours of dedicated practice that we develop mastery of a skill. This means about 10 years of hard work!

It is my belief that gifted children are born with innate high ability. There is no doubt that these children learn faster and differently than other children. However, in order to keep alive that spark and love of learning, they need challenges appropriate to their exceptional ability. In order to unlock and develop their potential, they need to be given the opportunity to experience flow. Then, just the same as anyone else, they must work and practice to hone their skill. I believe that we can all be creative, but only a few have the potential to be truly exceptional. 

In this video, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discusses Creativity, Fulfillment and Flow:

Further reading: 

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csikszentmihalyi/dp/0060920432

Do Students Care About Learning? A Conversation with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: http://www.learnersedgeinc.com/file/988-1.pdf

Examination of Csikszentmihalyi's Theory of Flow and its Implications in Education: http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/mihaly-csikszentmihalyis-theory-of-flow-1674