INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED: EFFECTS OF ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF GIFTED LEARNERS
Author(s): Erasmos Charamba ,Kufakunesu Zano
J. Ponte - Sep 2024 - Volume 80 - Issue 9
doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2024.9.5
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Abstract:
The state of science education remains a thorny issue especially when coming to gifted learners. In the majority of classes gifted learners are given the same quantity and quality of academic work as their non-gifted classmates. In worse scenarios, gifted learners are left to look after themselves when they are through with the day’s work, or even asked to help their non-gifted mates. This might be due to the teacher’s unpreparedness in catering for this group of learners. The teacher’s primary responsibility in the class, should be to design and implement instruction that helps all learners learn useful academic, social, vocational, and personal skills through use of varied methods and activities. A study was carried out to establish the impact of enrichment programs on the performance of gifted science learners. The researcher chose forty gifted science learners from three high schools and randomly drew them into two groups- experimental and control. The forty gifted science learners wrote a pre-test after which the twenty in the experimental group were given enrichment. The two groups then wrote the same post-test under examination conditions to assess their performance and establish the impact of the enrichment given. The process was repeated but with a different topic and learners’ marks were compared. All twenty learners in the experimental group performed better than those who were in the control group, confirming the need and effect of enrichment programs on gifted science learners.
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