Faculty of Education - Theses

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Exploring classrooms that support the growth of top-quartile students

Berry, Amy Elizabeth ( 2015)

The issue of under-performance or flat-lining of high potential students has received increasing attention. While differentiation is often seen as the key to supporting these students within mixed ability classrooms, there is evidence it is not widely practised by teachers. This research explores the practices and perceptions of teachers whose classes had achieved growth across all student achievement levels, in order to identify factors that may have contributed to the academic growth of top-quartile students. A case study design was used to collect qualitative data from focus group discussions and fieldwork. A grounded theory approach to analysis focused on understanding the perceptions and practices of these teachers. The conceptual categories that emerged describe an approach to teaching that focuses on the holistic development of individual learners and extends the concept of scaffolding to motivation and self-regulated learning as well as cognitive development.