Examining Perceptions of Challenge and Choice in Classrooms: The Relationship Between Teachers and Their Students and Comparisons Between Gifted Students and Other Students

Abstract

In this study we investigated the relationship between what teachers report they do in their classrooms and their students' perceptions of classroom activities with respect to the dimensions of challenge and choice. Students and teachers in elementary school classrooms 91 classrooms) were analyzed separately front those in middle schools classrooms (n = 64 classrooms). No relationship existed between what teachers reported they do and what students perceived is done at the elementary or middle school levels concerning the dimension of challenge. Further, concerning choice, a slight positive correlation existed for elementary students and their teachers, whereas. no such relationship existed at the middle school level. These findings suggest that what teachers report may not be what students actually experience in the classroom. Additionally, differences among perceptions of challenge and choice of gifted students in magnet schools, gifted students in regular schools, and other students in regular schools were investigated. Regardmig challenge, magnet school gifted students reported significantly more challenge than their gifted and other peers at the middle school level, whereas no such differences existed at the elementary level. No meaningful difference existed among the groups on the dimension of choice at either the elementary or middle school levels.

Devil in the detail: using a pupil questionnaire survey in an evaluation of out-of-school classes for gifted and talented children

“…This approach paid regard to children's views about their education (Department for Education and Skills 2004), drew on the experiences of those most closely involved in the learning processes of the centres, and acknowledged the kind of gap identified by Gentry, Rizza and Owen (2002) between perceptions of pupils and their teachers about educational activity. Nevertheless I had to recognise that the research agenda was my own, designed and interpreted 'in terms of adult discourses about children's development' (Woodhead and Faulkner 2000, 12).…”

Design of educational and ICT conditions to integrate differences in learning: Contextual learning theory and a first transformation step in early education

“…According to Kreijns, Kirschner, and Jochems (2003), the social collaboration in small groups requires specific didactic support to result in positive group processes and outcomes (also see Crook, 1998). Gentry, Rizza, and Owen (2002) investigated the perceptions of challenge and choice for teachers versus students, on the one hand, and ordinary versus gifted students, on the other hand. With respect to their perceptions of challenge, no relations were detected between what teachers report and students report during elementary or high school.…”

Promoting kindergarten children’s creativity in the classroom environment in Jordan

“…A growing body of research studies has demonstrated the essential role of schools in the development of imaginative and creative impetus among children, and reported that classroom environment either plays an essential role in the growth of creative ability among children or inhibits it (Alencar, 1993;Cropley, 1994;Csikszentmihalyi, 1997;Fleith, 2000;Fleith, Renzulli, & Westberg, 2002;Gentry, Rizza, & Owen, 2002;Runco & Albert, 1990;Sternberg & Lubart, 1999;Tan, 2001).…”