Gifted and Talented Report

Underachievement

Sometimes teachers approach me about students who they feel are not meeting their potential. We know they have the ability but their engagement in class, completion of work or performance in class and assessments does not seem to match this ability.

The reasons for underachievement are complex. Is it just laziness as some parents might think? Usually no!  The reasons for underachievement are numerous – boredom, underlying learning or behavioural disorders, family or friendship issues, social/emotional issues, health and wellbeing issues. There is no quick diagnosis or fix. 

When I do hear about such students the Instructional Specialist and I meet with the student to interview them about how they are feeling in class, their interests and passions, how they like to learn or their learning dispositions and a general chat about anything that might be blocking the achievement.

We use the work of Ruth Phillips to start the conversation around underachievement with the students and their teachers and families.

Dr Ruth Phillips in her presentation for SCS states:

“Key internal factors associated with underachievement in gifted students include:

• low intrinsic motivation and self-regulation, whereby individuals lack the ability to focus and manage themselves in a way that is conducive to high achievement (Dai, Moon, & Feldhusen, 1998; McCoach & Siegle, 2003a; Midgley, Kaplan, & Middleton, 2001; Ruban & McCoach, 2005; Weiner, 1992);
• a low valuation of school-related goals (McCall, Evahn, & Kratzer, 1992; McCoach & Siegle, 2003a);
• low academic self-perception (McCoach & Siegle, 2003a; Ruban & McCoach, 2005);

• negative attitudes toward school and teachers (McCoach & Siegle, 2003a; Ritchotte et al.,2014);
• lack of belief in their academic skills (Schunk, 1995; Supplee, 1990; Whitmore, 1980);

• low self-efficacy (Pajares, 1996a; McCoach & Siegle, 2003a). Self-efficacy is related to achievement across all levels of ability (Bandura, 2001; Collins, 1982; Martin & Steinbeck, 2017);
• underachievement, particularly amongst the intellectually gifted, is related to self-regulation (Baker et al., 1998; McCoach & Siegle, 2003a; Siegle et al., 2017); and
• Social connection and the need to ‘fit in’ are also reported influences on underachievement (Adams-Byers, Whitsell, & Moon, 2004a; Chan, 2003a; Gross, 1989; Jung et al., 2012).”

Underachievement is indeed complex!

Please be assured any interviews with identified students are focussed on what we can do as a team to support your daughter. 

If you require more information please contact me at the College or speak to your daughter’s teachers.

Debating

Congratulations to the 11A team (Natalie Broom, Charlotte O’Brien and Zara Chand) who made it through to the quarter final debating round. Although they were not the winning team, their performance was outstanding. The debate was highly sophisticated and it was a very narrow victory to the Negative team.  We will see them back next year as Year 12 debaters, rich from the experience.

Legacy Public Speaking

We wish Sophia Saoud and Alissa Tosh all the best in the Legacy Public Speaking Competition being held via zoom on 2nd August. The competition consists of a prepared speech as well as an impromptu speech – not an easy task at all!

Good luck girls!

Thriving Minds Conference

12 students attended the Thriving Minds conference this week, held at Ascham College. 

The day consisted of a session on quantum mechanics and the debate around Schrodinger’s Cat as a thought experiment- how can the cat be both alive and dead? There was also a community of inquiry and plenary on the arguments proposed by Australian philosopher Peter Singer on the ethics of eating meat. The girls were then treated like university students and listened to keynote speaker Julie Arliss on the questions of justice, truth and beauty. Julie Arliss is a professor at Oxford University and flew out especially for this conference. The girls were captivated and were able to make strong connections to all the subject areas they study at school. The final activity was a debate on the topic “Is free will an illusion?”. This was a very rigorous debate with strong arguments and counter arguments that left us all wondering if we actually have any control over our lives. The girls are to be commended on their level of engagement and high levels of participation – they were certainly a credit to MSCW.

This article on College life meets The Archbishop’s Charter for Catholic Schools – Charter #2, #6 & #8