Book

Gifted?

The Shift to Enrichment, Challenge and Equity

‘Gifted and talented’ is a zombie. It is dead, but still walking around. There are new labels to stratify students— ‘more able’, ‘significantly able’, ‘high aptitude learners’. New labels do not equal new thinking. The concept of ‘gifted’ is still stubbornly embedded in our educational structures, with its legacy of social immobility, racism, and sexism. Students can be ‘more able’ when they have more financial resources, more access, more visibility, or more cultural acceptance. There are pervasive narratives that educators should prioritise extension for some students and not others. We can dispel the myth that pitching lessons judiciously to the ‘middle ability’, and then differentiating up and down is effective.

This book explores how we can provide every student with rigorous challenge. Challenge-for-all is an inclusive approach to teaching, whereby every student is invited, and given the tools, to reach a place of mastery. This can be through project-based learning, Harkness round-tables, oracy, adaptive teaching, inclusive enrichment programs, dynamic classroom strategies and a schoolwide mission for equity. Educators can embed powerful knowledge into the curriculum, reimagine teaching to the top, and stretch learners through personalised and responsive instruction. The shift to enrichment, challenge and equity creates magnificent possibilities. The message to all students is: you belong here.

Testimonials

This is an important book, different to anything I have ever read before, and one I can highly and wholeheartedly recommend to anyone in education who believes every child deserves to succeed and thrive.

Kate Jones

Author of Love to Teach, Retrieval Practice and Breaking Glass Ceilings

"Gifted? The Shift to Enrichment, Challenge and Equity" isn't just another piece of academic dribble; it's a heartfelt manifesto for true inclusivity in our schools. As someone deeply invested in educational equity, I found this book resonating with the very principles I hold dear. It offers a critical yet hopeful examination of how we can stretch all minds, not just the ones we've pre-labelled as 'gifted.'

This book is a clarion call to dismantle barriers and cultivate a landscape where every student can soar. If you, like me, believe in nurturing every child's potential and are seeking actionable insights to make this a reality, this book is essential. It's a potent reminder that enrichment isn't a privilege for the few but a right for all.

Leisa Grace Wilson

Editorial Director Teach Middle East and Schoolfinder.ae

This book is an eye-opening read, dispelling the myths of ‘gifted and talented’ that have been circulating schools for far too long. Morgan flips this idea of an elite few being ‘gifted’ and instead advocates for a ‘challenge for all’ approach, allowing children of all backgrounds to have a level playing field in a truly inclusive learning environment.

This evidence-based book will provide you with the essential pedagogy to begin building opportunities in the classroom that truly embrace inclusivity. Let’s stop putting that lid on education, which creates a systemic bias towards those who should be successful, and instead provide a system where all can achieve.

Cat Chowdhary

Author of So…What Does an Outstanding Teacher Do?

Buy the Book

Available to pre-order now on Amazon.co.uk