Nurturing Gifted Students from all Backgrounds+ #78
+Gifted Summer Program International- July 2023
“By that part of our plan which prescribes the selection of the youths of genius from among the classes of the poor, we hope to avail the state of those talents which nature has sown as liberally among the poor as the rich, but which perish without use, if not sought for and cultivated.” -Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia
Hi, this is the GenWise team– we bring out this newsletter to help parents and educators to complement the work of formal schools and associated systems. We can help our children thrive in these complex times only by exchanging ideas and insights and working together.
We are also a founder-member of the Gifted India Network– if you are interested in issues related to gifted education and talent development, an easy way to keep updated about talks, programs and resources is to join the Gifted India Network telegram channel (https://t.me/GiftedIndia).
In this week’s post, we share the learning from the highly rewarding experience of having 10 gifted girl students from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) at our 3-week Gifted Summer Program at the MAHE campus in Manipal. This initiative was a partnership between Godrej Foundation, Avanti Fellows and GenWise.
Background
Around September 2021, Educational Initiatives (Ei), leaders in assessment and talent identification and GenWise came together to form the Gifted India Network. At that time, Ei connected us to Godrej Foundation who had been evaluating various options to make an impact in the education space for a couple of years, and had zeroed in on 2 areas- Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, and Gifted Education (identifying and nurturing gifted students). When we started discussions with Godrej Foundation, Godrej had already partnered with Avanti Fellows to support ‘Centres of Excellence’ at 3 JNVs. These Centres of Excellence provide coaching for IIT-JEE and NEET for the most academically advanced students in JNVs at grade 11-12 level.
Godrej and Avanti, both had a desire to start working with these gifted students from an earlier age, and also to enrich the students’ learning beyond the scope of these competitive exams. Ideas for this were discussed with GenWise over a few months, culminating in a joint visit to the Centre of Excellence at JNV Chandigarh in January 2023. Interacting with the students and the 3 of us meeting in person led to some clarity on approaches that could be tried out. It was then decided to pilot the participation of a few gifted students from JNVs at GenWise’s Gifted Summer Program in May 2023. From past gifted programs, it was known that these have a strong positive impact on the students, but it was not clear how mixing students from very different backgrounds (urban/ rural, different socio-economic backgrounds) would work. While there had been past programs where students were mixed, their experiences and the impact on them had not been studied systematically. It was decided that we would systematically monitor a few important parameters and this small study would inform our strategy on working with gifted students from similar backgrounds going forward.
Avanti Fellows already had a girls leadership program going on and were working with the JNVs in Karnataka- it was therefore decided that about 10 gifted girl students from these JNVs would be identified for this pilot.
Learning from the May 2023 Gifted Program
Ten gifted girl students from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across Karnataka were part of a 3-week Gifted Residential Program in May 2023 at the MAHE Campus, Manipal. The camp had close to 100 students from different parts of the country with diverse backgrounds. The girls were exuberant with joy with not just what, but how they had learned. They had
-Grown in confidence
-Widened their horizons
-Started discovering new things about themselves
-Become more collaborative
While the girls were bright and were expected to do well, it was not obvious at the start of the program that all would go well. Whether they would express themselves freely and engage fully in the program, and integrate socially was a matter of concern. Many of them were not as comfortable with ‘urban elite’ English spoken by the other students. At the start of the program, discussions about food and hair, or the selection of t-shirts, had made the girls aware that they came from a different background.
The hope was that their academic talent and passion for learning put them on an equal footing with the other students, at least in the classroom… and confidence in other areas could be built on this stepping stone. The girls were selected through a rigorous process- 180 toppers from 10 schools wrote a test and only 14 were selected. Further, the nature of the courses gave no advantage to ‘bookish’ students- after all topics like Forensic Science, Graph Theory (Math), Soft Robotics, Economics and Public Policy are not taught at school- at least the way GenWise mentors teach it.
What made the program a success for these students, and what led to this transformation? This post explores the transformation process through the voices of the students-
1) Confidence is a prerequisite for achievement. Being able to express yourself leads to confidence, and confidence helps you express yourself better.
2) Expression flowers when ‘everything is not a competition’ and your views are heard and respected.
3) Expressing yourself is not just about speaking up, but trying different things, going out of your comfort zone…. because now it’s playful and creative… it’s not always about winning or ‘exploiting your talents’.
4) Expression leads to exploration, and exploration leads to discovering oneself. The camp allowed students to explore many things and discover new facets of themselves because there was a ‘large buffet’ of wholesome activities.
5) As you discover yourself, it becomes a collaborative experience… 1+1= 100 becomes a lived experience because you can ‘win with others’, unlike cracking exams where you win or lose..
Confidence is a prerequisite for achievement. Being able to express yourself leads to confidence, and confidence helps you express yourself better.
Nireeksha speaks about how she started expressing herself and developed confidence- developing both the courage to express her views and the consideration for others’ views.
Confidence Survey Results
9 questions were asked before and after the program to assess confidence- Students report a very high jump on all parameters.
How confident are you to…
work in groups?
set goals with other students and develop plans for the team?
develop new products/projects in collaboration with others?
be in the same class with other very bright students?
communicate your ideas through different media forms?
prepare and present something in the class?
answer questions in front of an audience?
invent or find solutions to your problems?
create something new to express yourself?
Example of change in confidence (rating scale of 1 to 5 from left to right- higher number indicates greater confidence)-
The greater confidence also showed up in their perception of their ability to shape their futures-
Expression flowers when ‘everything is not a competition’ and your views are heard and respected.
Lasya shares how she started speaking out and tried many new things because she was supported emotionally.
Expressing yourself is not just about speaking up, but trying different things, going out of your comfort zone…. because now it’s playful and creative… it’s not always about winning or ‘exploiting your talents’
Jyothsna shares how the ‘past her’ was only interested in the syllabus and not interested in a bird somebody might point to..
Expression leads to exploration, and exploration leads to discovering oneself. The camp allowed students to explore many things and discover new facets of themselves because there was a ‘large buffet’ of wholesome activities.
Jyothsna speaks about classroom activities
Rajeshwari speaks about out-of-classroom activities (football for the 1st time!)
As you discover yourself, it becomes a collaborative experience… 1+1= 100 becomes a lived experience because you can ‘win with others’, unlike cracking exams where you win or lose..
Rajeshwari speaks about how she stopped comparing herself with others and learned to work with others…
When the mind is free- Student Reflection at the end of the Program
Here is what a student shared at the end of the program- about the kinds of boundaries that constrain their growth- being girls, having to be within the bounds of the syllabus, the expectations of parents…
“For one’s performance to be at its highest potential one’s brain should be free. It should not be constrained in some single boundary, or else the thinking capacity may also deteriorate. So in school what happens is- we are constrained and I think that’s the reason why few of us do face difficulty in solving like new questions, like I mean, out-of-the-box questions. So that should not happen- our brain should be free, like Einstein used to say…”
Hear her speak-
Why Gifted Students from all socio-economic sections need to be nurtured
When gifted programs identify and support learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, this provides an escape for families from the orbit of poverty and also enables society to benefit from their talents being realised. See this post in a past edition of our newsletter.
The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) system shows how powerful educational support to students from disadvantaged backgrounds can be, in providing access to top colleges and lucrative careers. JNV students have consistently done well in IIT JEE with the support of organisations like Avanti Fellows and Godrej Foundation.
The scope of gifted programs for students from disadvantaged backgrounds needs to be much broader though and not limited to coaching for entrance exams, as this post highlights.
How can nurturing gifted students from all sections happen at scale though? This is an urgent and important conversation we need to have as a society. Some pointers-
Early and periodic universal screening of giftedness identifies gifted students who need additional support
Resources for providing additional enrichment and appropriate challenge- Curated material that teachers can administer or students can use for self learning are needed.
Teachers need to be trained to understand what giftedness is, to help identify such students and be sensitive to their needs and have a support system to help these students.
Regional Centres with expert mentors and the facilities to offer enrichment programs to students and support to teachers.
Peer groups/ study circles for students to learn with other gifted peers. Online interactions now provide much more opportunity than before.
Investment in operations and facilities for Residential Summer Camps such as the ones GenWise conduct- as nothing can replace the all-round experience such camps provide.
Gifted Summer Program International (Gr. 6-12)- July 2023, MAHE Campus, Manipal
Residential Internship Program- July 13-27 (Gr. 11-12)
The 2-week ‘Residential Internship’ program for students in grade 11 and above, was conducted for the first time in May 2023. This received a very positive response. Students and parents felt that their awareness of different careers and students’ strengths and interests has improved a lot and they are better equipped to make college/ career decisions. All students entering grades 11-12 (or taking a gap year after grade 12) are welcome to participate in this program from July 13-27. Read more about the residential internship program here.
Gifted Summer Programs
The programs are exclusively for gifted students from UAE, and students on the international calendar from India and other countries. Top performers on Ei-ASSET Talent Search (Ei- ATS) are eligible to apply for the program. If you do not have an ATS score, but are interested in the program, please contact us with your ASSET scores. If you haven’t taken ASSET recently, you can take it here.
Gifted Summer Program- Senior- July 6-27 (for students moving to grades 8-10 in 2023)
This program offers different choices- Soft Robotics, Forensic Science, Architecture, Astrophysics and Data Science. While the majority of students attend the entire 3 weeks, there are also some 2-week and 1-week options.
Gifted Summer Program- Junior- July 13-27 (for students moving to grades 6-7 in 2023)
This is a single track where students engage with Science, Math, Media etc., in an authentic way.
UAE Parents– For more details about the above programs, and to register, look at this brochure and visit this page.
India Parents– For more details about the above programs, and to register, look at this brochure and visit this page.