Gifted education: new motivation thanks to computer science

From pilot project to permanent programme

The foundations for the centre were laid in the spring of 2019. Serena Pedrocchi, an employee at the ETH Zurich Center for Computer Science Education (ABZ), conducted a course for six highly gifted children in the canton of Uri. "Based on this experience, Elizabeta and I developed a concept for gifted education in computer science and applied for the MINT Schweiz grant from the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences," recalls the trained psychologist. It quickly became clear that there was a lot of potential for supporting gifted children in Switzerland, and so the two project leaders founded the Centre for Gifted Education. In addition to Cavar and Pedrocchi, the team includes two other employees as well as Bachelor's, Master's and teaching diploma students from ETH Zurich.

The centre offers courses at three different levels. Course 1 is aimed at seven- to nine-year-olds, Course 2 is for ten- to twelve-year-olds, and Course 3 is aimed at high school students aged 13 to 15. In addition to programming, "Computer Science Unplugged" is an important element of the programme. This part introduces computer science concepts without students having to use a computer. "With cryptography and data security, for example, we show that these topics have existed ever since humans began communicating and writing down information in some form," Pedrocchi explains. With ciphers and coded texts, it’s easy to awaken children’s fascination for the world of computer science. The "unplugged" parts and the programming go hand in hand. "With older children, we follow up on the topic of cryptography by writing an encryption programme," says Cavar.

The Centre for Gifted Education organises its courses together with schools, municipalities and associations throughout Switzerland, so that children can attend the course at their own school. Alternatively, children can take the courses at ETH Zurich. Nelio and Zsófia would have come to Zurich on those six Saturdays if the pandemic had not shifted their course online. "The school pedagogue recommended this course to us because Nelio was not challenged enough and was bored in his mathematics classes," says Nelio's mother, Cornelia Sgro. Zsófia took part in an ABZ programming challenge and was recommended for the course by an ABZ employee.

IQ tests are not the deciding factor

But who determines whether a child is considered gifted or highly gifted? "There are special tests to determine this," Pedrocchi explains. The centre only requires an official test result if the children are registered directly by their parents. In all other cases, the course instructors rely on the assessment of teachers or pedagogues. "We discussed IQ tests intensively at the beginning of the project and then made a conscious decision to only ask for such verification if there is no recommendation from a teacher," says Pedrocchi. Much more important than the test result is for the instructors to be able to maintain the pace and level of teaching required to live up to the promise of the Centre for Gifted Education. "In Course 2 in spring 2020, I taught both tested and untested children and I didn't observe any difference," Cavar says. "They all performed exceptionally well – I was thrilled."

The participating children were also thrilled, including Zsófia and Nelio, neither of whom took a formal IQ test. "I really liked the course, even though I couldn't quite solve the last challenge. You can do a lot with programming, that's what interests me," says Nelio. Zsófia is enthusiastic as well: "I had a lot of fun thinking about the exercises. I still code today when I have time," she says. The children were so motivated that Cavar and her assistants developed a follow-up course especially for them, which took place in autumn 2020. "At the end of the second course, the children coded their own searching and sorting algorithm," says Cavar. "We were very impressed by how diligently these kids worked and how much they were able to accomplish!"

Both Serena Pedrocchi and Elizabeta Cavar find working with gifted children very rewarding. "It's impressive to me how long these children can concentrate," says Pedrocchi, who teaches seven- to nine-year-olds. "I had to remind them to take a break." Cavar became interested in children's development and learning processes because of her own daughters. When working with gifted children, it always surprises her how quickly they pick up new concepts. "I would love to support all children in STEM subjects," she adds. "Science, mathematics, computer science, technology – they’re not just for gifted kids, they’re for everyone!"

Why support gifted children?

Supporting gifted children is just as important as helping children who find learning more difficult. "Gifted children are often not challenged enough in their regular classes," Pedrocchi explains. "This can have various consequences, for example for their behaviour at school."

This was exactly what happened to Nelio, who finds most of the maths exercises at school very easy. "I would just chat with my desk mate all the time," he admits. "We started to notice more and more that Nelio was bored. He didn't like going to school anymore and he came home demotivated," says Cornelia Sgro. "We are grateful that the school saw this and signed him up for the course. The course gave him a boost and he was excited every time. I think it's important to maintain that desire to learn and that curiosity.”

Elizabeta Cavar confirms: "Gifted children are often bored at school, and this has consequences for their motivation. They can even lose interest in learning," she says. "With our courses, we want to show them that there are other opportunities outside of school to learn new, exciting things that challenge them." Zsófia appreciates this. "We've never had computer science like this at school," she says, "but I really want to do something with computer science after I finish school!" Her parents try to encourage her with extracurricular activities whenever possible. "Gifted children need a challenge so they can have a sense of achievement at their level," says Zsófia's mother, Zita Marossy. "After the course, Zsófia was very motivated. It did her good, not only in terms of computer science skills, but in general."

Cavar and Pedrocchi welcome the fact that more and more cantons and municipalities are starting programmes to support the gifted. "In the future, we will increasingly support schools in developing their own concepts for gifted education," says Cavar. "This is the best option. Extracurricular activities are great, but children in small communities far from the big cities hardly have access to them." In addition, the Centre for Gifted Education wants to bring its courses to schools in French-speaking Switzerland, Ticino and Grisons, an effort that has so far been hampered by the pandemic. "We have big plans," says Cavar. "But first, we want to grow and to improve and expand our courses." Zsófia and Nelio would definitely sign up for another course, the two children affirm.