Two primary schools will provide a new way of learning for gifted students.

Student Services senior education officer Joeann Smith revealed that Prospect Primary and Gilbert Institute, beginning later this year, will be the first schools to adopt the "differentiated instruction'' programme designed to help students of varying abilities maximise their talents.

The news came on the heels of criticisms by some parents of special students who were not satisfied with education reform plans for such students. Bermuda Overcoming Learning Disabilities (BOLD) members have claimed that the new Education Act offers more protection to the Education Ministry than special students and their parents or guardians.

And BOLD member Ann Dunstan noted that she had not heard anything about provisions Government planned to make for gifted students.

But Mrs. Smith this week told The Royal Gazette the Education Department had been mulling over the management of gifted students for "some time''.

"We looked at two models, withdrawing students from their class and having them all together for some type of activity,'' she said. "But since we are for inclusiveness we thought it was not healthy for all children to do this.

It was not the best way to meet the needs of all students.'' Mrs. Smith recalled that she learned about the differentiated instruction programme while she was attending an education conference in Detroit about two years ago.

"I met a lady on a bus who was involved with gifted education,'' Mrs. Smith said. "She said her programme had received awards and a video was made of it.'' Explaining that differentiated instruction meant that teaching will move from "a teacher-led environment to student-led'', Mrs. Smith added: "The vision we have at the end of the day is a classroom where different children will be doing different things.

"A cross section of students -- some A students, some average students, and below average students -- will be placed in groups which will be switched around. With this programme, the needs of gifted students are met, average children get better, and below average children become more able.'' She also noted that the Detroit-based programme was designed to meet all students' needs within a classroom.

"They will be learning at the same time,'' Mrs. Smith said. "But the level which they will be working on will be higher or lower, depending on where they are.'' And she explained that with differentiate instruction, teachers were able to take into consideration each student's strengths and weaknesses and help them learn.

"It is a way of meeting the needs of all students,'' Mrs. Smith said.

"There's no child that can do everything.

"The great thing about it is there's a lot of independence with all the students because the learning environment does not have to be confined to the classroom.'' After receiving more information on the programme, Mrs. Smith said education officers and principals from Prospect Primary and Gilbert Institute visited the Detroit area.

Programmes for gifted students The Education Department also brought educator Stirling Jones of the Detroit Public School Board to Bermuda.

"We felt it was important to give teachers an overview of the programme,'' Mrs. Smith explained. "During the last two days of the school term, we brought Mr. Jones down to talk to the two schools, Prospect and Gilbert Institute, and other interested schools.

"We also had representatives from Dellwood Primary, Somerset Primary, and East End come to hear what this is all about because our intention is to move it to all primary schools and eventually it will go all through the system and become much more sophisticated.'' But Mrs. Smith stressed that the programme cannot and will not be implemented overnight.

"It is something you have to work the student toward,'' she said. "We have to train them in a different learning style.

"For the first term we will be seeing teachers working on helping students be more independent learners and teachers will also be learning more about the students.

"Whenever you do a pilot programme there's a lot of support needed.

"We will be bringing in additional persons from Detroit, including a teacher, in February.

"We will have them meet with schools who are doing the pilot programme. But we will also look at talking to any principals who may be interested.''