A 在国际上,“天赋异禀”最常通过在一般智力测验,即智商测验中的得分来界定。即分数高于某个选定的分界点,通常在大约前2%至5%。儿童的教育环境会提高智商分数以及智力被应用的方式。例如,当儿童的智商分数与家庭教育情况进行比较时,人们会发现一种非常密切的正相关(Freeman,2010)。通过测量所报告的同父母间的言语交流、阅读数量和家庭活动等方面,儿童的智商分数越高,尤其是达到智商130以上的时候,他们得到教育保障的质量越好。由于智力测验受到儿童已学习内容的绝对影响,他们一定程度上是对基于年龄常模的当前成就进行测量;也就是说,在测评范围内,儿童已经学会多好地运用知识和技巧。比如,词汇方面的测试依赖于听到过那些词。但是智商测验既不能识别学习和思维过程,也无法预测创造力。
AInternationally, 'giftedness' is most frequently determined by a score on a general intelligence test, known as an IQ test, which is above a chosen cut-off point, usually at around the top 2-5%. Children's educational environment contributes to the IQ score and the way intelligence is used. For example, a very close positive relationship was found when children's IQ scores were compared with their home educational provision (Freeman, 2010). The higher the children's IQ scores, especially over IQ 130, the better the quality of their educational backup, measured in terms of reported verbal interactions with parents, number of books and activities in their home etc. Because IQ tests are decidedly influenced by what the child has learned, they are to some extent measures of current achievement based on age-norms; that is, how well the children have learned to manipulate their knowledge and know-how within the terms of the test. The vocabulary aspect, for example, is dependent on having heard those words. But IQ tests can neither identify the processes of learning and thinking nor predict creativity.
B 没有恰当的帮助,很难成就优秀。为了在任一领域达到非常高的水准,高能力的儿童需要学习方法,这包括用来学习的材料和专注有挑战的指导,以及对他们追逐梦想的鼓励。智力较高的儿童和能力一般或是年龄更大的儿童的思维方式看上去存在着质的差异,对后者而言老师进行的外部调节一般会补偿缺少的内部调节。为了达到最有效的自我调节,可以帮助所有儿童确定他们自己的学习方式,即元认知,包括规划、监督、评估的策略以及选择学什么。情绪意识同样是元认知的一部分,因此应当帮助儿童意识到自己对即将学习的内容的感受,例如感到好奇或自信。
C 人们发现相比低成就者,高成就者更频繁且有效地使用自我调节的学习策略,并且更能够转换这些策略来处理不熟悉的任务。这在一些儿童身上发生的比例如此之高以至于他们在某些领域显得很有天赋。纵览对高能力儿童思维过程的研究,Shore和Kanevsky(1993)简要地说明了教师的问题:“如果他们(有天赋者)仅是更迅速地思考,那么我们只需要教得更快。如果他们只是不怎么犯错误,那么我们可以缩短练习。”但是很显然事情并非完全如此;需要对学习方法和教学方法作出调整,以考虑到个体多种多样的思维方式。
BExcellence does not emerge without appropriate help. To reach an exceptionally high standard in any area very able children need the means to learn, which includes material to work with and focused challenging tuition – and the encouragement to follow their dream. There appears to be a qualitative difference in the way the intellectually highly able think, compared with more average-ability or older pupils, for whom external regulation by the teacher often compensates for lack of internal regulation. To be at their most effective in their self-regulation, all children can be helped to identify their own ways of learning – metacognition – which will include strategies of planning, monitoring, evaluation, and choice of what to learn. Emotional awareness is also part of metacognition, so children should be helped to be aware of their feelings around the area to be learned, feelings of curiosity or confidence, for example.
D 但是为了进行自主学习,有天赋的儿童很需要一些来自其教师的支持。相反地,倾向于“过分指导”的教师会减少有天赋儿童的学习自主性。尽管“填鸭式灌输”可以带来极高的考试分数,但这并不总是伴随着之后同样令人印象深刻的生活上的成功。过于依赖老师存在自主性和探索的动机消失的风险。然而,当教师帮助学生们思考自己的学习和思维活动时,他们会增加学生的自我调节。对小孩而言,或许仅仅是“你今天学了什么”这样的简单问题就可以帮助他们认识到自己正在做什么。由于教育的基本目标是将对学习的管控从教师转移至学生,将学生的学习提升为学习技巧就应成为学校经历的主要结果,尤其是对高能力者。有大量新的有帮助的方式,例如儿童发起的学习,同等能力辅导等。人们发现这类活动对于来自教育落后地区的聪明儿童非常有效。
E 但是科学进步并不都是理论方面的,知识对于出色的表现也很关键:对于某一特定领域了解很多人与那些没有了解的人相比会获得更高水平的成就(Elshout,1995)。Simonton(1988)对有创造力的科学家所作的研究使其得出结论:在某一较高水平之上,相比知识技能,如独立性这样的特质似乎在达到最高的专业水平方面作用更大,这是由于需要大量的努力和时间进行学习和练习。一切形式的创造力可以被看做结合了高动机水平的专业技能(Weisberg,1993)。
CHigh achievers have been found to use self-regulatory learning strategies more often and more effectively than lower achievers, and are better able to transfer these strategies to deal with unfamiliar tasks. This happens to such a high degree in some children that they appear to be demonstrating talent in particular areas. Overviewing research on the thinking process of highly able children, (Shore and Kanevsky, 1993) put the instructor's problem succinctly: 'If they [the gifted] merely think more quickly, then we need only teach more quickly. If they merely make fewer errors, then we can shorten the practice'. But of course, this is not entirely the case; adjustments have to be made in methods of learning and teaching, to take account of the many ways individuals think.
F 总之,学习会受到个人和其他重要人员情绪的影响。积极情绪促进学习的创造性而消极情绪会抑制创造力。比如,好奇心是科学进步的重要动力,因为它会促进问题解决的行为,而害怕则会限制好奇心的发展。在Bockacrts(1991)对高智商和高成就儿童学习情绪的评述中,她发现了情绪在控制方面的力量。他们并不仅仅是好奇,而经常有很强的渴望去控制他们的环境,提高他们的学习效率,并增加他们自身的学习资源。
DYet in order to learn by themselves, the gifted do need some support from their teachers. Conversely, teachers who have a tendency to 'overdirect' can diminish their gifted pupils' learning autonomy. Although 'spoon-feeding' can produce extremely high examination results, these are not always followed by equally impressive life successes. Too much dependence on the teacher risks loss of autonomy and motivation to discover. However, when teachers help pupils to reflect on their own learning and thinking activities, they increase their pupils' self-regulation. For a young child, it may be just the simple question 'What have you learned today?' which helps them to recognize what they are doing. Given that a fundamental goal of education is to transfer to control of learning from teachers to pupils, improving pupils' learning to learn techniques should be a major outcome of the school experience, especially for the highly competent. There are quite a number of new methods which can help, such as child-initiated learning, ability-peer tutoring, etc. Such practices have been found to be particularly useful for bright children from deprived areas.
EBut scientific progress is not all theoretical, knowledge is also vital to outstanding performance: individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those who do not (Elshout, 1995). Research with creative scientists by Simonton (1988) brought him to the conclusion that above a certain high level, characteristics such as independence seemed to contribute more to reaching the highest levels of expertise than intellectual skills, due to the great demands of effort and time needed for learning and practice. Creativity in all forms can be seen as expertise mixed with a high level of motivation (Weisberg, 1993).
FTo sum up, learning is affected by emotions of both the individual and significant others. Positive emotions facilitate the creative aspects of learning and negative emotions inhibit it. Fear, for example, can limit the development of curiosity, which is a strong force in scientific advance, because it motivates problem-solving behavior. In Boekaerts' (1991) review of emotion in the learning of very high IQ and highly achieving children, she found emotional forces in harness. They were not only curious, but often had a strong desire to control their environment, improve their learning efficiency, and increase their own learning resources.
Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A-F.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-F in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
A | B | C | D | E | F | |
14.a reference to the influence of the domestic background on the gifted child | ||||||
15.reference to what can be lost if learners are given too much guidance | ||||||
16.a reference to the damaging effects of anxiety | ||||||
17.examples of classroom techniques which favour socially-disadvantaged children |