Teaching mathematics to gifted learners in Lithuanian basic school : the analysis of the situation and prospects

Conceptual provisions on the education of gifted children formed in Lithuania, and the position of the Ministry of Education regarding gifted children is positive. There is an active search of gifted children through Olympiads, and exceptionally gifted child education projects are being implemented. There are no standardized student achievement tests. The country lacks education specialists and the professional competence of teachers to identify and develop children gifted in mathematics is insufficient. The teacher's role in the education of talented children is not defined. To contribute to the development of the assessment instrument of gifted children, the authors took the initiative to analyze the data bases of the country's national learner achievement tests of 2005-2008 that were carried out according to the order of the Ministry of Education and Science. Assuming that in Lithuania there are about 15 percent of children gifted in mathematics and applying the (IRT) two parameters method, the authors identified gifted children in three age groups (sixth, eighth and tenth grades) as well as mathematical tasks suitable for their identification. The selected tasks and descriptors developed on their basis can be used for the development of standardized tests. The analysis of mathematics marks of children talented in mathematics and children's views on their skills are valuable in the development of other standardized methodologies for identifying gifted children and analyzing information about the gifted learner's relationship with the environmentVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŠvietimo akademijaŠvietimo plėtotės centras, janina.dargyte@spc.smm.l