Glossary


Able		A general term for someone showing above average achievement.


Acceleration / Faster		Where a pupil continues to follow the standard curriculum, but progresses at a faster rate than other children in the same year group. This may involve completing work for a higher year group. (At its most extreme, this may involve working with a different year group.)

Advanced Learning Centres		Enrichment programmes for Primary age children.

Barrier to learning		Anything which prevents a child from achieving their full potential.

Bloom’s Taxonomy of Thinking Skills		Categorises thought processes into Synthesis, Evaluation, Analysis, Application, Comprehension, Knowledge. Synthesis, Evaluation and Analysis are known as higher order thinking skills

BME		Black Minority Ethnic

Brain Gym		Kinaesthetic exercises designed to enhance brain activity and concentration

CFBT Education Trust		Leading the National Programme for Gifted and Talented Education – re-launched as Young Gifted and Talented from September 2007.

Challenge		Where an individual has to strive for success. The level of challenge, in any context may be varied, by altering: the pace, questions, amount of independence, task, imposing limitations, recording method, etc. The level of appropriate challenge varies between individuals.

Challenge Award		A self evaluation tool produced by NACE. Accreditation available.

Characteristic Checklists		List of characteristics / behaviours, which gifted or talented children may exhibit. Lists may be different for different subject areas.

Cognitive ability		The ability to think and understand.

Cognitive ability tests (CATs)		Cognitive Ability Tests. An identification method, which does not rely on current attainment.

Community-based opportunities		Out of school opportunities, to develop talent. May be local or national clubs, classes or schemes. May also include internet sites. Ideally, schools will alert their gifted & talented children and their parents to appropriate opportunities.

CQS		Classroom Quality Standards. DCSF quality standards for class based provision for G&T

Creativity		The ability to think and approach a problem in an original or flexible way. May be applied to any subject area.

Curriculum compacting		The normal curriculum is followed, but completed in less time. This then leaves time for another style of provision.

Day a week school		A NACE initiative. Pupils attend the school for one day every week for enrichment and extension. They cover the statutory curriculum over 4 days in their own school. Athena EAZ is piloting this from September 2008.

De Bono (Edward)		Theory of the 6 thinking hats and the PMI.

DME		Dual Multiple Exceptionality. Pupils who may have 2 or more distinct areas of strength or weakness

Differentiation		A general term used to describe the whole range of strategies, which can be used to ensure that children’s needs are met appropriately. (Not just high achievers.)

Early achievers		Children who achieve in advance of their year group.

Early entry		When a pupil is entered for an exam before the usual age of entry. See Fast Tracking.

EiC		Excellence in Cities (EiC) was the government initiative to raise standards in inner city and rural areas.

Emotional Intelligence		The wider range of qualities which enable people to excel – self-awareness, impulse control, persistence, empathy, etc. (Daniel Goleman - Emotional Intelligence: Does it count more than IQ?)

Enrichment / broader		Where pupils with particular skills or abilities are given the opportunity to take part in an activity which is matched to their specific needs – both in purpose and nature. This may involve exploring areas of learning that other pupils do not cover. It may take place in or out of the normal classroom environment.

Enrichment days		Where a whole day is given over to enrichment activities.

Excellence Clusters		Groups of Primary and Secondary schools in rural areas who were part of the Excellence in Cities initiative.

Extension / Deeper		Using higher order thinking skills to develop a deeper understanding of a subject.

Eyre, Deborah		Well known British academic who promotes high quality provision for G&T.

Fast Tracking		Any system which enables pupils to take qualifications earlier than other children in their year group.

Fisher, Robert		He sees the following key qualities as ‘providing opportunities for intellectual growth’: awareness, perseverance, risk-taking, sensitivity, curiosity, imagination, fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration.

Flow		The state of mind reached, when expectations are matched to the level necessary in order to provide appropriate challenge. (Csikszentmihalyi).

Gagné		Developed a Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent. 5-domain theory.

Gardner, Howard		Developed the theory of 8 possible domains of Intelligence: (Multiple Intelligences): linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal/ intrapersonal, naturalistic. (Naturalistic is a later 8th addition)

GIFT		An organisation, which provides curriculum extension courses.

Gifted child		DCSF definition Children with high achievement or potential for high achievement in mainstream academic subjects. Approximately 5-10% in each school.

Goleman, Daniel		See emotional intelligence (above).

Higher Order Thinking		Taken from Bloom’s taxonomy, higher order thinking includes Synthesis, Evaluation and Analysis.

Identification		Strategies for identification of G&T pupils include: test results, diagnostic assessment of work, characteristic checklists, class observations (in normal or specially provided lessons), nomination, (by teacher, parent, peers or self). Use of a variety of approaches will help prevent pupils from slipping through the identification ‘net’.

IDP		Individual Development Plan. This is the equivalent of an IEP for exceptionally gifted or talented pupils. Not legislatively-based. Should, however, be shared with parents to ensure maximum effectiveness.

Independent Learning		Opportunities provided for children to work independently. This may take place within a variety of learning contexts and doesn’t necessarily mean there is no guidance or structure at all.

IQ tests		Assessments which aim to measure intelligence and which give a score against a national average. Score of 85-115 is considered average . 2% of the population have a score of 130+

IQS		Institutional Quality Standards. DCSF quality standards for whole school development of G&T

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LAC		Looked After Children

LAQS		Local Authority Quality Standards. DCSF quality standards for Local Authority work in G&T

Leading teachers for Gifted and Talented		National Strategy leaders for G&T in each school or group of schools

Like-minded peers		Pupils of similar ability, social development stage, interests. Opportunities should be provided for all pupils to work with like-minded peers.

Maslow		Hierarchy of Human Needs. Provides us with a model for catering for the holistic needs of the gifted and talented.

Masterclass		A class specifically for high achievers to study at an advanced level.

Metacognition		The understanding of how learning takes place.

Mind maps		Drawings which show the links which can aid understanding and memory.

Motivation		Can be raised through providing opportunities for challenge, knowledge and fun.

Multiple Intelligences		Intelligences can be in a variety of forms. They are not restricted to purely intellective. (eg: Gardner, Sternberg)

NACE		The National Association for Able Children in Education. They produce the Challenge Award self evaluation tool and accreditation. (See National Links page.)

NAGC		The National Association for Gifted Children. (See National Links page.)

National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth		Managed the government initiative for promoting high quality provision for G&T pupils 2002-2007.

Nomination		Where a pupil is identified as being gifted or talented. This method may include a variety of methods: gut feeling, standard of class work, assessment results, characteristic checklists, etc. Nomination may be by class teachers, other teachers, parents, peers, the child him/her self.

Nutshells		Short on-line CPD activities. Produced by NAGTY. Now available from the YGT library: http://ygt.dcsf.gov.uk/Library.aspx

NQS		National Quality Standards. The umbrella term for IQS, CQS and LAQS.

Oxford Brookes		Provides CPD in G&T

Pedagogy		The approach to teaching

PIPAR		Primary Innovation Project Action Research: 14 schools from across the country were involved in action research to develop provision for gifted and talented pupils. Project base – Oxford Brookes.

Provision		May be through class differentiation, enrichment, extension, acceleration, out of school opportunities, clubs, IDPs’, withdrawal from class, etc.

PSPC		Primary Strategy Practitioner Consultants are school based practitioners who support Birmingham Local Authority in leading developments in G&T provision.

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Reflection		Time needs to be given for reflection, in order to stimulate metacognition, and to refine and develop outcomes.

Regional Gateway		The local group that supports development of G&T provision and provides enrichment activities. (West Midlands Gifted and Talented Partnership - WMGTP).

Renzulli		Developed a three-ring model of giftedness, which includes: task commitment, creativity, above average ability.

Responsible Teacher (RT)		The coordinating teacher in a primary school who is responsible for “championing the cause of gifted and talented children” (an Excellence in Cities term).

Scaffolding		Where a pupil is shown how to do something new and then tries it for him/herself. This can be a useful tool for identification.

Setting		Where children are ability grouped across a year group or more than one year group. There is still a need to differentiate when this approach is used.

Sternberg		Triarchic theory of intelligence: he states three areas: analytic, creative and practical.

Summer Schools		Courses which take place during the summer holidays.

Talented pupil		DCSF definition Children with high achievement, or potential for high achievement, in a sport or creative art.

Tannenbaum		He described four categories of talents: Scarcity, Surplus, Quota, Anomalous.

TASC		Thinking Actively in a Social Context. A problem-solving framework with selected tools for effective thinking. (Wallace and Adams)

Underachiever		A child who is not achieving his / her potential.

VAK		Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic. Most people have a preferred learning style. They learn best by watching, listening or doing. Good lessons incorporate elements of each, so that every pupil can access the given curriculum.

Vygotsky		Developed the concept of the zone of proximal development: the distance between the actual development as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance. From this was developed the idea of scaffolding learning.

WMGTP		West Midlands Gifted and talented Partnership (see Regional Gateway above). A group of LA G&T advisers who work collaboratively as a region. (