English Teaching: Practice and Critique
A critical analysis of how differentiation can promote the full inclusion of three gifted and talented students in a mixed ability, Year 9 studying Macbeth
Volume 4 Number 2 September 2005
Liz Bellamy (The Perse School)
In this article I seek to explore the ways in which different forms of
differentiation can promote the inclusion of gifted and talented
students in the classroom. Macbeth, the text being studied by this
particular class, was the set text for the Standard Attainment Tests
(SATs). This article discusses briefly the inherent problems involved
in identifying gifted students and the difficulties they encounter in
the classroom, before considering the forms of differentiation which
might be employed in a lesson. The research attempted to promote the
inclusion of the gifted girls, firstly by differentiating “by task” and
then “by outcome”, utilising drama as a novel activity with which to
stimulate interest and engagement with the task. The girls involved in
the study were asked to complete questionnaires which evaluated the
enjoyment, interest and the degree of challenge encountered for each
task. They also completed a questionnaire about their general attitude
to English and participated in a semi-structure interview, based on
their answers to these questions. The outcomes of this research
highlight the layers of differentiation which become apparent through
classroom practices, but which are not necessarily definable for the
purposes of a lesson plan. It also draws attention to some of the ways
these can be used, potentially to ensure gifted students are actively
and emotionally involved and included in lessons.