Category 5: Evaluation

The term "evaluation" means measuring the progress of students, by programme directors, teachers or students themselves, to assess whether the aims or goals have been met (Davis and Rimm, 2004). Evaluation is one of the basic components of any

curriculum and plays a pivotal role in determining what learners learn and also plays a central role in deciding what teachers teach and how they teach (Agrawal,

2004:361). The quantitative data from the analysis of the ST and the questionnaire responses from gifted students showed that there are not enough opportunities for

students to evaluate their own work in the current 6th grade curriculum (sections 5.2.2 and 5.2.3). These findings illustrated that the majority of the evaluation elements in both units (5 and 6) are focused on the lowest level of Bloom‟s taxonomy, which is remembering (around 75%). The second level is applying, which accounts for around 25% of the evaluation material in the units. There are no evaluation questions in either unit that meet the other levels of Bloom‟s Taxonomy (applying, analysing, and

creating).

These findings reflect the need to improve the level of evaluation in the ST. Evaluation should be based on two factors. First, it should consider the learning objectives. Second, it should be built to reflect the achievement of the learning process outcome (Tomlinson, 2009).

In this study, the gifted students expect that the PEP should give them opportunities to evaluate their learning processes and outcomes (section 5.4.3). In addition, they think that the PEP should provide them with opportunities to participate in evaluating the textbook content and activities (section 5.4.3). Davis and Rimm (2004) and (Tomlinson, 2009) reported that an effective programme should have mechanisms for on-going evaluation of programme processes and outcomes. Arsheed et al. (2003) found that students were not given enough opportunities to become involved in the evaluation of the science curriculum in Saudi Arabia. The findings in the present study suggest that the PEP should give gifted students more opportunities to participate in evaluating the programme and their learning processes, as recommended by Davis and Rimm (2004) and Watts and Jesus (2007).

6.7 Summary

This chapter has discussed the most important findings of the study which will help to identify the basic elements that should be included when building the PEP for gifted students in light of the needs of these students and the views of teachers and supervisors.

A number of problems and obstacles related to the ST have emerged from the data. One of the most important factors is not giving enough opportunity for learners to express their opinions and share their views with others (peers or teachers). It is hoped that the PEP will help give students adequate opportunities to increase their self- confidence and participation with others, and to suggest new topics. According to the

views of teachers, the goals should be planned and formulated very carefully, which should help to develop the learning outcomes and increase positive attitudes to science.

The discussion in the current study also showed that the PEP should be built to further develop positive attitudes to science among gifted students. Furthermore, the learning objectives of the PEP should not only be designed in light of the general goals of the education system in Saudi Arabia, but also based on the individual needs and interests of gifted students, such as levels of thinking, key skills, and elements of challenge. In addition, the PEP should provide gifted students with more freedom to express their opinions on any subjects in science, and should also provide flexibility to choose topics according to their abilities and skills.

Another important factor is the crucial need to develop certain types of skills and abilities, especially in the field of science and technology, as we are living in a new era of communication and expanding information. It is hoped that the PEP will help to provide adequate opportunities to increase all basic thinking skills, including higher levels of thinking, for all students - gifted or not. This will help to overcome the failure of the ST to develop and meet gifted students‟ needs. According to the views of

teachers, the ST does not pay special attention to the diversity of learners or address individual needs. Thus, the PEP will provide appropriate materials to bridge the gap between the ST and the different needs of gifted students. Moreover, science teachers should have opportunities to provide more training programmes to meet these needs of gifted students, in such areas as scientific and personal skills (section 5.8.5).

The quantitative data showed that the majority of gifted students in this study would like to have more content knowledge in the PEP. The gifted students also hoped for improved activities to meet their need for advanced content in the PEP. Moreover, the findings showed that the PEP should include content containing activities that come from real life and the interests of gifted students, thus providing opportunities to solve real problems that they might face during daily life, or in the future. In addition, this study showed that gifted students need more challenge to stimulate them to learn. This finding suggests that contents and activities in the PEP should be designed on the basis of increasing the element of challenge in the presentation of scientific materials. Furthermore, the findings from gifted students, teachers and supervisors demand that the PEP should provide opportunities to use advanced technology and resources in teaching and learning, as well as more active teaching methods.

The PEP should provide opportunities for gifted students to think deeply and use higher orders of thinking such as analysing, evaluating, and creating. The contents and activities in the PEP should be built to: provide awareness about environmental

knowledge, students‟ real lives and their environment, provide opportunities to use advanced technology and resources, allow gifted students to do more experimental activities and lab work, and help them to learn in groups.

Finally, the evaluation elements of the PEP should provide opportunities to evaluate students‟ learning and progress in light of the unit objectives. The evaluation questions in the PEP should focus on all levels of thinking, and not just on the lowest levels.