Chapter Four

Gifted and Talented Students

-------------------------------

Introduction:
All students require opportunities to learn, grow, and be challenged
to strive for excellence. Students with exceptional talents and learning
potential have needs that require specific knowledge and attention. With
careful nurturing and appropriate education, gifted students have the
potential to make a unique contribution to their communities and the
world.
The terms gifted and talented can be a source of confusion. There
are explanations of how they differ but no widely accepted one. For this
reason the term “gifted” will be used throughout this document.
There are many misconceptions (some false and some half-truths)
about gifted students. Six of the more common appear below:
1. Gifted students are high achievers.
It is true that some gifted students are high achievers but not all are.
One of the biggest issues today in both gifted and regular education is
underachievement (McCoach & Siegle, 2003). Often the reasons are
complex and have more to do with issues outside of school such as stress,
instability, family situations and societal values. Nonetheless, the power
of the school to turn this around can be very significant.
2. All children/people are gifted
Although all students are unique, have a valuable contribution to
make, have relative areas of strengths and deserve an education that
allows them to reach their potential (whatever that may be), not all
students are gifted.

3. Gifted students will do fine with or without special programming.

Some gifted students will do fine in spite of an unchallenging school
experience. This is particularly true if their parents provide enriching
activities outside of school. However, some turn off, never develop good
work habits and motivation, and for all intents and purposes their
giftedness “dies”.
4. Gifted students come from advantaged homes.

1
 Some gifted students, and many of those who are identified as such,
do come from advantaged homes but there are many gifted students from
less advantaged backgrounds who do not stand out as gifted.
5. Co-operative learning or other forms of group work are an effective
way to meet the needs of gifted students.
The advantages of co-operative learning are well documented and
while it is important for all students to learn to work with others of
differing abilities, heterogeneous, co-operative learning should be used
cautiously and carefully with gifted students. Often such experiences
provide no intellectual challenge; the gifted student does a unequal,
or sometimes no, work; and the total experience is negative.
6. Gifted students have trouble getting along with peers.
Generally speaking this is not the case. Often gifted students are
leaders, both in and out of school, and throughout their lives. The
exception may be those who are “profoundly gifted” and may have little
in common with age mates in terms of interests.
DEFINITIONS
Thirty and more years ago when “giftedness” was defined by an IQ
score, a school district simply set an arbitrary score (usually in the 130
range) and a student either did or did not “make the cut”. Although it is
no longer accepted today in academic circles, it is still used by many
school districts, no doubt, because it is simple and not entirely without
merit.
Now that the concept is generally more broadly conceived than
before, there is no single accepted definition of giftedness.
Correspondingly, there is no dearth of definitions either!
Although a high IQ may have fallen out of favor as a measure to
define giftedness, the fact remains that, if a student has a very high IQ, it
is significant indicator, indeed the single most important one, of a
student's academic potential. It is not meaningless or trivial. Congruently,
if a student scores highly on an IQ test, but performs at an average or
below average level academically, this warrants further investigation.
Common definitions in use today are presented below:
Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally
qualified people, who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of
high performance. These are children who require differentiated
educational programs and /or services beyond those normally provided by
the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self
and society. Children capable of high performance include those with

2
demonstrated achievement and /or potential ability in any of the
following areas, singly or in combination:
 general intellectual ability
 specific academic aptitude
 creative or productive thinking
 leadership ability
 visual and performance arts
 psychomotor ability (later removed in 1997)
 Another omnibus definition is that of Tannenbaum (2003) who
states that:
“Giftedness in children denotes their potential for becoming critically
acclaimed performers or exemplary producers of ideas in spheres of
activity that enhance the moral, physical, emotional, social, intellectual,
or aesthetic life of humanity”.
Giftedness is an interaction among three basic clusters of human
traits: above average ability, high levels of task commitment, and high
levels of creativity. Gifted children either possess or are capable of
developing these traits and applying them to any valuable area of human
performance.
Most teachers, indeed even people outside the field of education, are
familiar with Howard Gardner‟s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
(Gardner, 1983, 1993, 1999). Gardner believes that each of these have
a neurological basis; have a unique set of core operations; each has its
own symbol system, for example, language, numerals, musical
notation; while some are correlated with others (math and music),
most have low correlations. The intelligences are as follows:
1. Linguistic - Ability to learn and use language effectively
2. Logical-mathematical - Skill at mathematics, numerical patterns and
logical reasoning
3. Spatial - the ability to think in pictures, to perceive the visual world
accurately, and recreate (or alter) it in the mind or on paper
4. Musical - the ability to understand and create music
5. Bodily-kinesthetic - the ability to use one's body in a skilled way, for
self-expression or toward a goal
6. Interpersonal - an ability to perceive and understand other individuals
- their moods, desires, and motivations
7. Intrapersonal - an understanding of one's own emotions
8. Naturalistic – the ability to recognize and classify various elements of
nature, or to create something that is valued in one or more cultures

3
 Gardner‟s MI theory has been widely accepted by educators,
probably because it “makes sense” and is consistent with people‟s
experience in their personal interactions, both in and outside of school.
An interesting phenomenon, relative to the gifted (especially the
highly gifted) is important. While lower ability students tend to be low in
all mental abilities, high ability students are not as likely to be uniformly
high. The higher the ability, the more likely this is to so. Thus, Einstein,
while a great mathematician, was not a playwright; nor was Shakespeare
a great scientist.
Whether abilities exist independently or not, schools will never be
able to address their development equally or adequately. Indeed we
struggle sometimes with just the first two. What schools can do, though,
is expose students to others, create awareness and appreciation and play
an advocacy role for students with particular talents in areas such as fine
arts, or athletic ability.
 A final definition of giftedness is the possession and use of untrained
and spontaneously expressed natural abilities, in at least one ability
domain, to a degree that places an individual in at least the top 10
percent of age peers. He identifies 4 domains representing giftedness:
intellectual, creative, socio-affective and sensorimotor.
Characteristics:
There are many qualities that may characterize gifted learners but
two are key. One is intelligence. Simply put, gifted students learn more
quickly than their peers. The second one is concentration, which may be
seen in both the emotional and cognitive realms.
In recent years, research has been widely used to help in
understanding the intensity dimension of giftedness. Gifted students are
proper to display these intensities in five areas:
1. Psychomotor-energetic, often physically active and may have difficulty
unwinding at bed time.
2. Sensual-great sensitivity to input from all five senses; also
encompasses aesthetic awareness.
3. Imagination-vivid and detailed imagination; often “thinks in pictures;”
strong reaction to dreams.
4. Intellectual-loves academic challenges, learning new things; intensely
curious.
5. Emotional-responds to virtually all emotions in an intense manner,
which can also make the student subject to depression.

4
Summary of Categories of Giftedness and
Corresponding Observable Student Characteristics
Categories of Observable Student Characteristics
Giftedness
General • Unusually advanced vocabulary for age
Intellectual Ability • Large storehouse of information about a
variety of topics
• Quick mastery and recall of factual
information
• Rapid insight into cause-effect
relationships
• Makes valid generalizations about events,
people, and things.
• Keen and alert observer
• Great deal of independent reading
• Readily sees logical and common sense
answers

5
 Specific • Demonstrates inordinate strengths in a
Academic Aptitude given area
• Able to grasp underlying principles in the
talent area
• Persistent in talent area and motivated
internally
• Prefers to work independently
• Can relate to older students in the talent
area
Creative or • Displays unusual curiosity about many
Productive Thinking things.
• Generates a large number of ideas and/or
solutions to problems.
• Uninhibited in expressions of opinion.
• High risk taker.
• Demonstrates intellectual playfulness.
• Displays a keen sense of humour and
perceives humour in unlikely situations.
• Sensitive to beauty.
• Nonconforming.
• Criticizes constructively

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 Leadership Ability • Carries out responsibility well
• Demonstrates self-confidence
• Is well liked by classmates
• Expresses ideas well
• Adapts readily to new situations
• Enjoys being around other people
• Tends to dominate others
• Participates in most social activities at
school
• May excel in athletic activities
Visual and Performing Visual:
Arts Ability • Enjoys art activities
• Displays interest in other students‟ art
work
• Elaborates on ideas from other people
• Tries a variety of media
• Is critical of own work
Performing Arts
Music:
• Sustains interest in music
• Readily remembers melodies
• Displays keen awareness and identification
of a variety of sounds heard at a given
moment
• Perceives fine discriminations in musical
tone
• Plays a musical instrument
Drama:
• Volunteers to participate in classroom skits
and plays
• Tells stories or renders accounts of
experiences
• Uses appropriate gestures and formal
expressions to communicate feelings and
thoughts
• Handles body with ease and poise
• Holds the attention of a group when
speaking
• Creates original plays or plays from stories

Kinesthetic Ability • Demonstrates good control of body

7
 movements
• Has excellent eye-hand coordination
• Manipulates objects and puzzles with ease
• Able, with ease, to complete complex
mazes and word searches
• Learns new gross motor activities readily
• Has good sense of rhythm

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8
 Chapter Five

Teaching strategies for learners with special educational

needs
--------------------------------------------
Introduction
Every learner is unique and has his/her own learning style that is
affected by his/her personality factors. Learning style or individual
preferences in child‟s learning result from his/her dominant
(main)intelligence: visual learners prefer using pictures and reading;
auditory learners like listening to explanations and reading aloud;
kinesthetic learners need physical activity to help them learn;
interpersonal (making relations with others)learners are sociable and
eager to use language for communication; intrapersonal learners are
quiet and reflective and learn by listening and observing. Teacher‟s task
is to provide a variety in the activities as carefully structured
input and practice opportunities, catering for (providing what is
needed) different learning styles.
However, when teaching a child with SEN, knowing his/her learning
style is not enough to secure his/her successful learning in classroom.
Teacher should also consider child‟s abilities and his learning difficulties,
like short concentration span and slower learning pace (speed) that may
easily demotivate the child in learning a foreign language. Teacher can
help the child by letting him/her practice a particular language structure
by repeating it as many times as needed (in well-structured exercise),
being very patient and not interrupting the child, but encouraging
him/her, praising his/her effort and building the child‟s confidence.
Instead of correcting the child, teacher should „model‟ the correct form,
or allow the child to „shadow‟ (to follow) the recorded text.
Mapping (planning) the effectiveness of different approaches and
strategies employed to respond to the full range of children‟s special
educational needs is a complex task because the field is broad, covering a
range of educational needs across all phases of education. This scoping
study drew upon national and international publications, including
reviews of research findings, individual research reports and professional
guidance for teachers. One of the key factors we considered was the
extent to which the review should be led by literature that refers to
categories of impairment in the field of SEN. It was decided to adopt the
„areas of need‟ as defined in the SEN. Code of Practice as a feasible
means of grouping the literature under a manageable number of headings.
9
This strategy would include all pupils having some form of SEN as well
as being generally understood by parents, practitioners and policy-
makers.
The areas of needs are
 Communication and Interaction
 Cognition and Learning
 Behavioral, Emotional and Social Development
 Sensory and/or Physical
Successful inclusive practice also depends on the following
factors
 Applying appropriate teaching methodology.
 Using appropriate teaching material.
 Having extra time for individual work with the child.
 Acquiring specific knowledge, skills and experience in dealing with
diversity in class.
 Adapting the curriculum.
 Drawing up individual learning plan for each child with SEN
(Inclusive Education and Classroom Practices, Summary Report,
2003).
Teachers should try to apply strategies that will help meet the needs
of children with SEN and reduce learning difficulties as well as
behaviour, social or emotional problems. Demotivated pupils with
behaviour problems are the biggest challenge of primary classes.
Research shows that there are effective practices that can be used in
inclusive settings. They can also be regarded as effective teaching
practices in inclusive classes. These involve:
Co-operative teaching: involves cooperation of teacher with colleagues,
like class teacher, school principal, inclusion specialist, health therapist,
and with parents, all belonging to a team responsible for the
child‟s development. They collaborate in solving particular problems
related to the child‟s development. In some countries (like Finland) there
is a teaching assistant who helps children with SEN and supports teachers
in the classroom.
Co-operative learning: all children benefit from cooperative learning,
teamwork and peer tutoring, both cognitively and affectively (socially
and emotionally). Positive interdependence in cooperative learning
allows each group member to contribute with own strength to the final
11
outcome of the learning activity. Child with SEN can learn from his peers
and follow their performance as a model.
Heterogeneous (mixed- varied) grouping: it is very effective in classes
with big diversity of children‟s abilities and supports cooperative
learning. Children with SEN develop cognitive and social skills, while
other members of the group learn to accept and respect the child with
SEN. However, in language teaching, it is sometimes more useful to
make homogeneous (same- similar) groups, some of them consisting of
children who experience similar learning difficulties, so that teacher can
give them extra help. In such cases, teachers should give differentiated
tasks to particular groups, making them challenging enough for
particular abilities.
Individual Educational Plan (IEP): It is a pedagogical and
development plan drawn up for each child with SEN by adapting the
curriculum in conformity with the child‟s abilities and needs. New
learning objectives are identified on the basis of child‟s performance in
classes. These objectives should not be too difficult to discourage the
child, but they should not be too easy, either, as the child needs to be
challenged to learn new skills. The plan comprises all information
necessary to follow the child‟s progress, and teacher draws it up in
cooperation with other members of the team responsible for the child‟s
inclusion. Parents play a very important role in supporting the child‟s
development in many ways, one of them being active participation in the
team preparing individual educational plan for the child.
Roles and Responsibilities
The Class Teacher
The class teacher communicates with the parents regarding the
decision to initiate the Classroom Support process. Good practice would
suggest that the class teacher will generally act as coordinator throughout
the problem solving process in consultation with the pupil and his/her
parents. The class teacher may also seek advice from the learning
support/resource teacher in the school and will keep the principal
informed. He or she should maintain a record of relevant information
which will be used should more detailed problem solving be required at
School Support level.
Supporting Teachers
The role of the learning support/resource teacher (and/or other
supporting teachers, where available) is to provide advice and resources
to the class teacher which will assist him/her in the assessment process

11
and in the development of classroom and, where appropriate, home based
interventions for the pupil.

The Principal
The principal‟s role is to note, in line with the schools SEN policy,
the fact that a Classroom support process is being put in place.
Other Professionals
Other professionals such as Educational Psychologists, Speech and
Language Therapists, Visiting Teachers etc. may be involved indirectly,
offering consultation or advice in relation to appropriate approaches for
pupils presenting with early difficulties. In addition, work on the
development of whole school policies, practices and initiatives to support
all pupils with special educational needs in partnership with NEPS, DES
staff and other outside agencies can support interventions at this stage.
Effective Teaching Strategies for Special Education
Children with Special educational needs pose a vast range of
challenges to educators looking for effective teaching strategies for the
special education classroom. These suggestions should come in handy for
teachers working with special educational needs students.
Working with Short Attention Spans:
 Set clear expectations for all students.
 Break assignments into smaller pieces to work on in short time
periods.
 Space breaks between assignments; so, students can refocus on their
tasks.
 Share ideas with parents so they can help with homework.
 Carry out every day routines consistently.
 Develop a reward system for good behavior, completing work on time
and participating in class.
 Use visual and auditory reminders to change from one activity to the
next. This may need to be done several times before the change is
made. An egg timer is a good auditory tool that indicates a signal to
begin or end an activity.

Managing Constant (continuous) Change

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 The science behind teaching special education students is not cut-
and-dried. The strategies that teachers develop for their classrooms are
not permanent, and must be accessible and flexible so that they can
change. This strategy enables teachers to teach every student.
 Design teaching aids and lessons that are flexible.
 Add creativity to lessons and homework.
 Develop easy-to-use monitoring tools that are needs-based.
 Design lesson plans that can be modified to fit each student.
 Develop a set of resources and interventions that work.
Effective Teaching
Being an effective teacher requires many tools, most of which are
chosen through trial and error. Many resources are available to help
teachers planning lessons, manage classroom environments, and develop
high-quality instruction for students with special needs. Effective
teaching strategies include:
 Use a multiple-scenario approach to developing lesson plans.
 Monitor and verify student responses to lessons.
 Evaluate and adapt lessons as necessary.
 Use peers to review lesson plans and to develop ideas that might be
applicable.
 Develop and maintain a pool of mentors.
 Keep a list of resources for teaching, lesson plans and professional
development.
 Set a professional development plan for yourself and track your goals.
 Develop or implement a system that allows for easy and
comprehensive data collection to help monitor and adapt lessons.
 Gather some tricks of the trade from fellow teachers, including those
who do not teach special education.
Conclusion
The overall conclusion is that questions about whether there is
separate special education pedagogy are unhelpful given the current
policy context, and that the more important agenda is about how to
develop a pedagogy that is inclusive of all learners. This considers how
the strategies identified from the review as having the potential to raise
achievement might be usefully organized in a typology that could be used
to create a multi-method response to teaching pupils with special
educational needs. A second phase of this research program should
involve systematic, long-term development work across a range of sites
and settings, which also allows for the examination of the impact of the

13
innovations upon achievement. Such research is necessary to advance
knowledge about teaching and learning, and to understand how
combinations of teaching approaches might be used in different contexts
and for different purposes.
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14
 Chapter Six
How to Create an Inclusive Classroom:
Tips for Teachers
--------------------------------------
1- Define clear minimum standards for behaviour:
Every child in your class should be absolutely clear about what the
minimum, basic acceptable levels of behaviour are. These should be rules
that are thought of and agreed by both you and your class. Once agreed,
why not ask children to sign a class contract to make sure they understand
that the class rules are everyone's responsibility to follow. You might
even like to let children be involved in creating a class rules display.
Keep these short and simple, so everyone can understand them. Try
to make these rules not about learning, specifically, but about ensuring
everyone feels safe and respected.
Examples of rules you might agree on are:
• Be kind
• Keep your hands and feet to yourself
• Use kind words at all times
• Always respect the property of others
• Everyone has the right to feel safe and respected
• Everyone has the right to express themselves and be listened to
2- Enforce rules consistently, with proportionate consequences:
Just as you must make the basic class rules absolutely clear and
understood, you must also agree on consequences when those class rules
are ignored.
These consequences must be proportionate and consistently applied.
Remember: the rules for behaviour are the minimum of what is
acceptable in your classroom, so try to be consistent with consequences
when they are broken.
If you are aware of disruption in your class, the first port of call is to
look at your own teaching. Ask yourself „is this lesson inclusive and
engaging for all children?‟ there may be a way of adapting your teaching
to avoid such disruption.

15
3- Deal with children who misbehave in a sensitive way:
You know how we said not to write the name of the child who kept
calling out on the board? That's because it is an insensitive way of dealing
with an issue, which visibly singles out a child in front of everyone. If
you write a child's name down on a piece of paper, they know they have
misbehaved. They also have the opportunity to stop, and amend their
behaviour without further consequence.
If you write the name of a child who misbehaves on the board -
visible to everyone- why would they choose to change their behaviour?
Their name will remain up there, for all to see, regardless of whether they
start to behave better, or not. It's humiliating – not inclusive, especially
for children who regularly struggle with some of the basic rules (e.g.
those with attention deficit disorders).
4- Create opportunities to listen to all children:
This is especially important when resolving conflicts between
children in your class. Allow time for the children involved to fully
explain how they believe the incident arose, as well as what has upset
them and why.
Create opportunities day-to-day, during normal lessons and learning,
for children to be listened to as well. This helps them engage with the
learning and feel included in it.
Listen to all children's thoughts in the creation of additional
classroom rules (beyond the minimum, basic ones we talked about
before).
5-Develop a 'scaffolded' approach to learning:
What is 'scaffolding' in terms of teaching and learning? We could
write an entire book about scaffolding, but in the simplest terms,
scaffolding means giving support so that all pupils can access the same
learning.
Scaffolding is absolutely key to creating an inclusive learning
environment. You want all of the children in your class to be accessing
the same information during a lesson (even if you slightly differentiate
your resources and activities). Instead of activities that are entirely
different to those you had planned for the rest of the class, why not plan
activities with the same objectives and outcomes but scaffolding the
activities to suit the children's needs.
The same goes for behaviour. For some children, following rules set
out for the whole class can be tricky. For example, making a child with
ADHD sit for a long period of time is near impossible, and therefore the

16
expectation that all children sit on the carpet and listen for periods of time
might not be an inclusive approach for that child. If you looked at the
starting line of a race, where one child was in a wheelchair, that wouldn‟t
be a fair race. It is the same for those children with behavioural
difficulties. To be inclusive is to adapt your approach to behaviour in the
same way you would differentiate learning.
6-Be aware of the specific needs of every child in your class:
For a truly inclusive classroom, it's not enough just to know which
of your children have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
(SEND). You should know which, if any, of your children are on Free
School Meals (FSM), which are caregivers, which are in foster care,
which have English as an Additional Language (EAL) and which children
are from the particularly vulnerable Roma or traveller communities.
Knowing this will help you consider every aspect of your
classroom, and how you make it inclusive, safe and purposeful.
7-Provide support that benefits ALL children in your class:
Some inclusion strategies are so universally beneficial for all
students, that they are worth doing in every classroom! For example,
many children with dyslexic traits struggle to read pure black text on a
pure white background. Simply changing the colors you use on your
slides, avoiding black on white, can help not only children with a dyslexia
diagnosis, but all children.
What if you have children with mild dyslexic traits that are unlikely
to be diagnosed? Changing your slides will help them, too!
Changing the colours of your slides to ones that are less high-
contrast makes them less tiring to view and read, too: better for everyone
– you included!
This is just one example of an inclusive change that benefits all
children, but there are many, many others.
8-Create a calm, purposeful learning environment:
This is another big one which promotes inclusion for all in your
classroom. We all need calm in order to learn. But creating a calm
environment in class is a tricky thing to master.
Ensure you clearly define when group discussion or working is
required and acceptable, and when it is not.
A calm environment is inclusive for many of your children,
regardless of whether they have a special need for it or not.
9-Clearly display timetables and key information:

17
 This is one of those little changes you can make which helps
everyone, and makes all children feel included.
Some children with dyslexic and dyspraxic traits struggle with
organization, as do some with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Clearly displaying timetables (visual timetables are great, especially for
younger learners) helps them, and all your children, feel involved in the
school day.
With a clearly displayed timetable, children can look ahead to their
favorite or least favorite activities, and mentally prepare accordingly: they
may think to themselves 'How will I show everyone how good I am at
History later on?' or 'How will I cope with PE today?' Sharing the
timetable for all to see includes children and empowers them.
The same is true for key vocabulary, facts or concepts relating to
what you're currently learning in class. Stick this information up for all to
see on display boards. This helps remind children of prior learning, and to
answer questions or tackle tricky tasks.
10-Use pre-assessment to inform your planning:
You might be thinking to yourself: 'What has this got to do with
inclusion?' Well, again, this is about engaging children and making them
feel like they have a say in their own learning.
Don't just assume what your children already know or don't know
when you're planning a new topic; ask them! That way you'll identify
areas which children are curious to learn more about, and avoid going
over very familiar learning.
Pre-assessing children's prior knowledge, and interests around a
subject, in this way shows them that they have been listened to, and
included in their own learning. It's a powerful tool for inclusion in the
classroom.
11-Let children choose how to show what they have learned:
Inclusion works by finding the best way to ensure all children can
access the learning, and have the opportunity to achieve. Setting exactly
the same task for all children may not help you to achieve that,
particularly when it comes to assessing learning.
When you get to the end of the topic, it might be tempting to assess
children's learning with a written test. Don't do this (at least not every
time, anyway)! Instead, offer children a choice of ways of presenting
what they have learned. For example, at the end of a topic about the
Arctic, give children the choice of showing their learning by:
• Writing a blog

18
• Creating a poster or info-graphic
• Making a slideshow presentation
• Recording a short information film or radio programme
Of course, you'll need to provide sufficient resources and support,
plus encourage children to choose a way of showing their learning which
plays to their own strengths.
Giving children a choice empowers them. It's inclusive, because it
creates equal opportunities to show learning and progress in a way that a
standard test (which many children struggle with) may not.
12-Don't compare the progress of one child to another personal
progress is key:
The final, and possibly most important strategy for an inclusive
environment that benefits all students: don't compare them to one another.
Learning is not a competition. It is a never-ending process, a journey.
For some children with additional needs, the comparison between
themselves and others in their class can feel as stark, and as
disheartening. Don't do this. What's the point, anyway? How can
comparing the attainment of one learner to another possibly help either of
them? Instead, focus entirely on children's personal progress, and
encourage them to do the same. Ask: 'Can you do even better than you
did last time?', 'What do you want to focus on that you found tricky the
last time we looked at this?', or 'What's changed from when we started
learning about this, to now?'.
Lastly: sometimes children just won't make progress with
something. This can be crushing for any child, but particularly for those
with special needs, who are more likely to have experienced
disappointments like this – over and over again. But you can make them
feel included in the learning process, and capable of achieving, even if
they haven't this time.
Even if a child hasn't made progress, they can identify ways in
which they want to. Teach children that identifying their own
shortcomings or areas for improvement is learning. By doing so, they are
still actively engaging with the learning and including themselves in it.

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19
21
 Chapter Seven
What is innovation in education and why it’s important?
-----------------------------
As teachers, our goal is to educate students. Educated students are
then able to advance their education further – to get whatever degree or
certification they need – to eventually succeed in a career that they find
rewarding and give back to their community.

One of the key challenges employers face today is that their

employees are struggling to meet the challenges of ever-changing skills
requirements. In fact, a Gartner skills gaps analysis found that 64%
of managers don‟t believe their employees can keep pace with the
evolving skills needed while 70% of employees don‟t believe they have
mastered the skills needed for the job they have.
What does the skills gap have to do with innovation in
education? Well, let‟s first unpack what innovation in education even
means.
What is Innovation in Education?
Innovation is one of those words we like to throw around whenever
possible. To innovate means to make changes or do something a new
way. To innovate does not require you to invent. Baked into
innovation are creativity and adaptability.
Innovation in education isn‟t a specific term with fixed definitions.
The spirit of innovation education is an openness to looking with fresh
eyes at problems and to address them in different, new ways. It is a
recognition that we don‟t have all the answers and are open to new
approaches to improve such as methods of knowledge transfer with
innovative teaching strategies.
Innovation in education can be:
 Recognizing that students are better served by a flipped
classroom where they watch lectures at home and complete
assignments in the classroom.
 Introducing more technology in the classroom to create a blended
classroom where students experience technology as they would in
the real world.
 Providing greater ways to facilitate clearer and better
communication between school districts‟ parents with powerful
video tools.
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 Innovation in education comes from identifying problems,
watching and learning from others, to develop new methods to address
these problems, and iterating on them when these experiments don‟t
necessarily give the results you need.
Why is Innovation Important in Education?
It is nearly impossible to predict or keep pace with the rate of
change in today‟s workplace. Accepting that, we can then agree
that perhaps more important than the knowledge we have is the ability to
adapt and evolve.
How can we teach a student to adapt? Well, in most industries, the
catalyst of change is innovation. There are always improvements to
be made. Innovation education helps prepare students for a dynamic
workplace by providing them opportunities to develop skills such as
creativity, adaptability, and resilience.
As educators, we can influence innovation in education to improve
student outcomes from a purely academic standpoint as well
as to develop those soft skills that students need to succeed in life. We
can also introduce more and more technology that students will need to
be comfortable with overtime.
What are Examples of Innovation in Education?
Innovation in education can come in many forms. Remember, it is
not just introducing new technology into the classroom. It can be a new
method of teaching for a specific project or topic.
 Project-Based Learning (PBL) – Help students identify a real-
world problem and develop a solution for it. Introduce a PBL-unit
as part of a larger lesson where students can exercise their creative
thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration with other students.
 Blended Learning – Blending learning combines online learning
with traditional classroom learning. Students must become
comfortable with online tools and using the internet to contribute to
their learning. A blended learning approach gives students the
ability to discover how best to use tools that they will rely heavily
on in their professional lives.
 Ed-Tech – Educational technology (ed-tech) typically refers to any
software, application or service developed to enhance education.
We must be careful not to go too far into the deep-
end but introducing technology in the classroom is important.
Innovative classroom technologies often mirror the innovations
outside of education. So, the more students engage with

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 technologies in the classroom, the better prepared they will be to
engage with and through technology in the workplace.
How to Adopt Innovation with EdTech Platforms?
As we mentioned above, innovation education does not have to
mean introducing technology into the classroom. However, educational
technology certainly has its role in innovation in education.
Sometimes edtech facilitates innovation in education by making possible
what wasn‟t possible before. Think about how schools were able to
maintain any sort of continuity during the pandemic. Schools and
teachers innovated by offering new methods of knowledge transfer.
Most of us will first mention learning management
systems (LMS‟s) when we think of educational technology. Learning
management systems are often the centerpiece of a school‟s educational
technology. But, let‟s face it, unless you are an IT Administrator
or tasked specifically with onboarding a new LMS, you‟re not going to be
introducing a learning management system into your classroom (TBH,
you wouldn‟t need to).
So, let‟s consider some innovative educational technology that you
could introduce into the classroom:
 Feedback assessment tools – Feedback is critical both for students
to receive and to give. It can help teachers gauge understanding in
real time and get a pulse check of the class. Feedback assessment
tools (polling, surveys, forms, knowledge check) are also
incredibly easy to bring into the class. We even use them today
by having students raise their hands and count their responses.
Feedback assessment tools provide a fun way for students to
leverage technology in the class. Additionally, it can save teachers
time by aggregating the data and saving responses to review later.
 Video conferencing and virtual classrooms – Though millions of
teachers and students have become newly minted virtual
classroom professionals over the last couple of years, virtual
schools and virtual academies have utilized powerful virtual
classroom platforms as their primary point of face-to-face
instruction for years. Virtual classrooms are video conferencing
platforms built with specific tools for learning. Conduct virtual
classes or provide options for students to collaborate
virtually. Students and teachers alike need to become more
comfortable on video.
 Video projects – Our students are digital natives. They are also
video creators. Whether they are on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram,

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 or Snap you can be sure that students know their way around video.
Leverage their passion by bringing video into their projects. Assign
projects for student collaborators to create a video around specific
topics. Not only will they exercise their creativity, but they‟ll also
sharpen their communication skills as they work together.
Kaltura Virtual Classroom as an Example to Education Innovation
Kaltura virtual classroom has been designed and built for education
and training. Teachers can conduct interactive, face-to-face classes that
actively engage remote students. Teachers are not simply connecting
face-to-face to lecture passive students. The platform provides tools that
allow teachers to introduce innovation in education.
 Real-time polling – Teachers can use a live polling tool to pulse
check students. Of course, they can ask students on video to raise
their hands or click a hand raise button, but even better is a polling
tool to gauge measurable feedback. With preset polling options,
teachers can launch a poll with a click. Students then select their
reply and teachers see real time aggregate results as well as what
each student replied.
 Quizzing – Sometimes polling isn‟t enough. We need to gauge a
deeper understanding in real time and use that information to
inform the rest of the lesson. Create quizzes with different question
types for students to complete in the class. Teachers can give the
quiz and see real-time results. The results are also available to
review after class. With this information, teachers can be more
confident that students are understanding the material presented
or move to reinforce items now – in class – rather than finding out
later.
 Interactive whiteboards and file annotations – We want students
actively participating in their learning. What better way to
encourage that than with an interactive whiteboard. A whiteboard
is a great space for students to share their ideas, collaborate, and
brainstorm.
 Video in the classroom – Video is incredibly powerful at
explaining complex topics in digestible ways. Kaltura virtual
classroom provides opportunities for teachers to leverage their own
video library as well as video sources like YouTube in the class to
drive home their lesson plan. When teaching, we have to make
things dynamic and interesting. We cannot shy away from
producing multimedia experiences such as utilizing presentations,
images, whiteboards, and, of course, video.

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  Breakout rooms – Remote and distance education typically
ignored peer engagement, but as educators, we know that peer
engagement is critical to any student‟s success in the classroom.
Kaltura virtual classroom breakout rooms provide awesome ways
for teachers to host directed breakout room experiences. Students
can engage one another safely around content provided directly by
the teacher with a single click of a button. Encourage branching
scenarios, role play, and group projects in breakout rooms.
The future of education innovation
Very often we find ourselves in a time and place where the status
quo is the goal. We may be coasting with enough success in the
classroom that there isn‟t much appetite to shake things up. For better or
worse, that isn‟t the current landscape and not one we can expect to return
to anytime soon.
Innovation in the classroom has been unleashed. School districts
have quickly realized that they‟re behind and will look to not only
catch up but surpass their innovation deficits. Innovation in
education trends of 2022 are going to continue and accelerate what we‟ve
already seen throughout 2020 and 2021.
We can expect to see much more investments in personalized
learning, greater acceptance of blended and hybrid learning, a build-up of
asynchronous learning modules to promote independent study, and more
brave innovators embracing artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual
reality in the classroom.
Embracing innovation in education promotes critical thinking, a
sense of adventure, and an openness to adapt that will serve our students
in the classroom. It will provide them with the necessary tools to tackle
the challenges of their future workplace and give them the confidence and
skills to continue to adapt.
What Are Soft Skills?
DEFINITION
Soft skills are non-technical skills that relate to how you work.
Examples are having the ability to manage your time effectively, being
able to compromise and resolve conflicts, and your overall work ethic.
Soft skills can affect how you interact with colleagues, solve problems,
and manage your work and are important for your success. While many
of these skills can develop over time as you gain job experience, some
companies offer training programs to help employees strengthen their soft
skills.

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  Soft skills are non-technical skills that impact your performance in
the workplace.
 You likely already have soft skills from your school and work
experience.
 You can also develop soft skills at work, school, and volunteer
activities, as well as by participating in training programs and
classes.
 Include your soft skills in your resume and cover letter.
 Demonstrate your soft skills during job interviews.
How Soft Skills Work
Soft skills relate to how you work. Soft skills include
interpersonal (people), communication, and listening skills, as well as
time management, problem-solving, leadership, and empathy, among
others.1 They are among the top skills employers seek in candidates they
hire because soft skills are important for just about every job.
Hiring managers typically look for job candidates with soft
skills because they make someone more successful in the
workplace.2 Someone can be excellent with technical, job-specific skills,
but if they can't manage their time or work within a team, they may not
be successful in the workplace.
Soft skills are also important for the success of most employers.
After all, nearly every job requires employees to engage with others in
some way.1
Another reason hiring managers and employers look for applicants
with soft skills is that soft skills are transferable skills that can be used
regardless of the person's job. This makes job candidates with soft skills
very adaptable and flexible employees.
Soft skills are also known as interpersonal skills, essential skills, and
non-cognitive skills.3
Jobs Where Soft Skills Matter Most
Soft skills are particularly important in customer-based jobs because
these employees are in direct contact with customers. It takes several soft
skills to be able to listen to customers and provide them with helpful and
polite service. Jobs in retail, hospitality, or customer service, for example,
rely on strong soft skills, as do public-facing roles in education and
healthcare.

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Examples of Soft Skills
Soft skills include personal attributes, personality traits, and
communication abilities needed for success on the job. Soft skills
characterize how a person interacts in his or her relationships with others.
Soft skills include:
 Adaptability
 Communication
 Compromise
 Creative thinking
 Leadership
 Listening
 Work ethic
 Teamwork
 Time management
 Motivation
 Problem-solving
 Conflict resolution
 Negotiation
How to Get Soft Skills
Unlike hard skills that are learned, soft skills are similar to emotions
or insights that allow people to “read” others. These are much harder to
learn, at least in a traditional classroom. They are also much harder to
measure and evaluate.
Job Training Programs
Some job training programs cover soft skills. They may discuss soft
skills so job seekers know what they are and the importance of
highlighting them on their resumes. There are also free online courses
that can help you improve your soft skills.
On-the-Job Training
If you've been working for a while, chances are you've already
developed some soft skills. For example, if you've worked in retail,
you've worked in a team environment. If you've helped unhappy
customers find a resolution, you've used conflict resolution and problem-
solving skills.

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Education and Volunteering
If you're new to work, think of other activities you've done, either
through school or on a volunteer basis. Chances are you've had to
communicate, adapt to changes, and solve problems.
You can also reflect on the soft skills you need to develop. For
example, instead of just discussing problems with your manager, suggest
solutions to those problems. If you see a colleague struggling, offer to
pitch in. If there's a process that could improve your workplace, suggest
it.
Note
Employers typically don't directly ask if you have soft skills.
Instead, they present situations and ask what you would do to assess
whether you have soft skills.
Why are soft skills important?
Soft skills are important because they help you work well with
others. Communication skills, teamwork, and adaptability enable you to
connect with co-workers, express your ideas, receive feedback, and
achieve consensus.
How can I improve my soft skills?
You can learn new soft skills or improve your existing skill set
through online classes, leadership training, and mentorship programs.
You can also build your people skills simply by identifying your growth
areas and setting goals to improve. For example, if you know you need to
learn better listening skills, you can start by listening carefully to what
co-workers say and asking for clarification when you need it.

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