Gifted and Talented Report

Welcome to Week 9!

One of the benefits of the Newman programme is the ongoing tracking of students. I am in regular contact with class teachers of students in the Newman Programme and senior students who are former Newman students. The purpose of this tracking is to get feedback on their social and emotional wellbeing, learning behaviours and engagement, assessment data and to monitor underachievement. This can be followed up and interventions put in place.

What is underachievement?

“Underachievement is usually described as a discrepancy between expected performance (ability or potential) and actual performance (achievement) that cannot be explained by a learning disability or the documented need for any other category of special education services… Underachievement may deprive society of potential innovation…Teachers lament the lack of academic effort, parents agonize over poor grades, and, perhaps worst of all, students do not experience the joy of stretching their minds to accomplish challenging tasks.” 

(Del Siegle et al., 2017, p372)

Joanne Whitmore’s research looked at underperformance and she developed a checklist of behaviours for teachers to observe that could indicate underperformance. It is worth having a look as parents and reflecting on what you witness.

The link can be found here: https://australiangiftedsupport.com/ccmword/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/1352274120.pdf

For Stage 6 former Newman students, I work with class teachers and collect assessment and anecdotal data on their progress- are they on track to meeting their potential? How can we best work with students who are at risk of not getting a result that reflects their potential?

For Stage 4 and 5, I work with teachers and regularly communicate regarding marks, attitudes to learning, organisation skills. Teachers also complete the underachievement tracking sheet so I am kept up to date on students who might not be working to their potential.

Today I met with former Year 11 students who were in Newman and discussed the transition to Stage 6- positives/ negatives/ interesting things. They were also asked to reflect on how being in a Newman class helped them in Stage 6. Their comments were very positive and mature and they definitely saw the benefits of the programme:

• Being in Newman helped us develop critical thinking, complex concepts
• It prepared us for the rigours of senior study and expectations, study skills
• Pushed use to raise the standard of our work
• The extension assessment taught us to take the initiative and be organised
• Made connections with like minded people
• Exposed to similar questions
• Helped us deal with stress
• Had structures in place in class 
• Driven by challenge and reaching for success

It was a very positive experience for the girls to reflect back on their junior years and see that whilst challenging, there were clear highlights.