The development of a programme of identification, new teaching methods and a chain oriented approach to prevent underachievement of gifted and talented Erasmus Project

Project Title

The development of a programme of identification, new teaching methods and a chain oriented approach to prevent underachievement of gifted and talented

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education

Project Summary

Recent research shows that underachievement is an immense problem in education. Some figures:
-25% of all students in secondary education are regularly bored from teaching material they find too easy; from the top 20% of the class even 56% are often bored (Intomart Research 2014)
-15–20% of students perform below level in primary education; 1/3 of (mildly) gifted are involved (Report Dutch National Council of Education (Onderwijsraad) 2011).
-only 5% of the pupils in the Netherlands achieve the highest level in international comparison – the Czech Republic and Slovenia are 4%, in Belgium 10%, England 18% and Singapore 43% (TIMSS 2011)

Causes for lagging of the talents are (Segers&Hoogeveen 2012):
1. Talent is not sufficiently stimulated and rewarded.
2. Limited flexibility in curriculums and room for talent
3. Teachers and school leadership are not enough equipped

This gave rise to formulate the following problem definition:
How can talented be encouraged to use their talents during their school career to prevent underachievement and early school leaving and what is needed in the context of cooperation between educational sectors and other stakeholders, the skills of teachers and teaching materials?

General objective of the Talent Education program
Development of a sustainable and structural approach which supports top talent in further development of their talent and thus preventing underachievement or dropouts.

As a result the partners chose the following objectives from the Erasmusplus program:
1. Improving range of lessons
2. Strengthening the skills of the teachers.
3. Improving cooperation in and around education.

Target groups of the project are talented preschooler, school pupils in primary and secondary education and their teachers. Schools and regional or local authorities are also part of the target group.

The strategy of the project is
1) to focus on the role of teachers
2) to choose some “strategic elements” in the chain of education in which a new approach could be effective and have impact on all education. The consortium chooses for:
a. identification and adaptive approach at a very early stage (2 – 6 years);
b. education metacognitive skills in primary education
c. Design Thinking (DT)in primary and secondary education
d. differentiation in the classroom based on a personalised approach in secondary education. In all “elements” basic expertise is already available and can be transferred, but is not yet adapted to each form of education nor widely spread.
3) to develop new education in practice: PLC’s of teachers in all subjects, coaching on the job, pilots in classrooms, exchange of students of all ages to apply the method of DT and to cooperate with their teachers in a living laboratory.
4) to gather all developed methods and tools in a Toolkit for Teachers which is available for all teachers and could be applied in practice immediately.
The partnership consists in 18 partners: Kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, universities in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and the Netherlands. The coordinator is the Samenwerkingsverband Passend Onderwijs VO in Leiden, founding organisation of the Leiden Approach for Talent Development (Leidse Aanpak)

Results and impact
Many schools and organisations, teachers (141), students (292), schoolmasters, educators and scientists (35) participated in the project. Teachers say to be better equipped to challenge their students, students indicate to be challenged and motivated to deeper learning by using the new methods and are delighted to have more space for learning.
In all four educational lines of the program (Practical Differentiation, Design Thinking, Metacognitive Skills and Challenging Young Children) manuals, tools for identification of talent and lesson-plans have been developed and good practices described. These are the results of the collaborative work of teachers in PLC’s and the exchange programs of students. All tools are available in the online Talent Education Toolkit for Teachers .
A scientific study has been published on the implementation of metacognitive skills in 15 Czech, Slovenian and Dutch schools. It shows significant improvement in the skills of students. Reports on achievements in Czech educational competitions and in Dutch national tests support this conclusion. Another report presents the Impact and Self-evaluation Methodology of the Talent Education project, which contributes highly to sustainable learning effects.
A scientific article about the chain oriented system approach of talent education in Leiden shows that the TE project functioned as a “flywheel” in the evolution of the Leiden Approach to a wider and more inclusive approach. The LA could serve as a prototype of chain-oriented talent education in Europe. All educational sectors cooperate in talent development which provokes many opportunities for transfer and sharing knowledge, for creating a very strong local learning environment.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 449870 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stichting Samenwerkingsverband Passend Onderwijs VO 2801 & Country: NL

Project Partners

• ZVIS – zavod za vzgojo in izobrazevanje starsev Ljubljana
• Stredisko volneho casu RADOVANEK, Pallova 52/19, Vychodni Predmesti, 301 00 Plzen
• Zakladni skola a Materska skola Holoubkov, okres Rokycany, prispevkova organizace
• The Upper-Secondary School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Technical Gymnasium Ljubljana
• JIHOMORAVSKE CENTRUM PRO MEZINARODNI MOBILITU, ZAJMOVE SDRUZENI PRAVNICKYCH OSOB*JCMM THE SOUTH MORAVIANCENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY
• Stichting Openbaar Primair en Speciaal Onderwijs Leiden
• Osnovna sola Jozeta Moskrica