跨校混成教學於資賦優異學生獨立研究課程之實踐

Inter-school blended teaching in independent study courses for gifted students

資優學生需要良師與友伴以激發個人興趣，開展天賦才能。本研究透過行動研究，探討採用跨校混成方式進行資優學生獨立研究課程的可行性。由一位大學老師邀請二位國小教師，以夥伴協作模式組成教學研究團隊，對二所學校的5 位三年級資優學生進行一學年的獨立研究教學，用《植觀達人-- 從研究到發表》為主要教材，再依據學生能力現況進行區分性教學活動安排。跨校混成教學採同步遠距方式，高雄市四位學生實體學習，屏東一位學生同步線上學習。行動研究的資料包含來自學生的訪談、作業與獨立研究作品，課堂觀察紀錄（含文字與影像）以及教師共同備課的紀錄與個別教學札記。在經過三次行動循環調整，讓屏東缺乏同儕互動的資優學生，能透過跨校同步遠距教學方式與高雄實體上課的資優學生共學，並找到相同研究興趣的友伴，滿足資優學生合作學習的需求。實踐過程共發現：一、合作學習與遊戲化形成性評量，能鼓勵跨校學生間建立友伴關係。二、夥伴協作模式下，大學老師提供的《植觀達人》課程，可做為獨立研究教學的鷹架，協助教師專業成長。三、合作教師透過備課、授課、議課活動，不斷精進教學成為積極參與者。四、資優學生的獨立研究課程重視學生探索與建構式學習，可適用混成教學方式。五、資優學生能透過跨校同步遠距學習尋找相同興趣的同儕友伴，合作執行獨立研究。最後根據行動結果，提出校際間採用混成教學的建議，也期待此一實踐經驗可推廣用於缺乏資優資源的學校。

Rationale & Purpose: Gifted students require mentors and companions to stimulate their personal interests, engage in exploration, and develop their natural talents. However, gifted classes in Taiwan all take place in urban areas, and the development of gifted education is uneven between urban and rural areas, resulting in a gap in talent cultivation between these types of areas. Moreover, because of Taiwan’s declining birth rate, many schools have few gifted students. Therefore, gifted students lack opportunities to learn with peers of comparable ability, and without such opportunities, the development of their abilities and confidence may be hindered. Taiwan’s Ministry of Education promulgated the Curriculum Outline for Special Needs Fields Related to Giftedness , in which independent study courses were listed as one of four special needs areas for gifted students to help such students develop their potential and knowledge. Independent study courses are necessary for gifted students. Therefore, this study used distance learning to conduct such a course. Using inter-school blended synchronous distance teaching, a gifted student without gifted peers participated in a course of classes for gifted students at another school. The following three research questions were explored: (1) How should gifted students from different schools be assisted to help them interact and learn through inter-school online and physical blended teaching methods? (2) How should teachers cooperate to develop their teaching practices in relation to the implementation of a inter-school blended study course? (3) How feasible is conducting an independent study course for gifted students by using inter-school blended teaching? Methods: This research investigated cooperation between a school in Pingtung County with only one third-grade gifted student and a school in Kaohsiung City with four thirdgrade gifted students by using action research to explore the independent study of gifted students in a inter-school blended setting and the feasibility of the proposed course. A university teacher invited two elementary school teachers to form a research team with a collaborative approach to conducting an independent study course for 1 academic year. The action research process consisted of planning, action, adjustment, reflection, and re-action after revision. Three action cycle adjustments were made to enable the gifted student lacking peer interaction in Pingtung to study with gifted students attending classes in Kaohsiung and to meet peers with the same research interests through interschool synchronous distance learning. The aim was to meet the needs of all the gifted students through cooperative learning. We constructed a suitable inter-school blended teaching practice model to promote effective learning for the gifted students through an independent study course. The teaching material included an independent study textbook titled A Little Master of Plant Observation, written by the university teacher, as the scaffold. The university and school teachers co-planned how the course was to be taught, adjusted the course content, and arranged teaching activities on the basis of the students’ abilities. The four students in Kaohsiung attended the inter-school blended teaching course in person, and the student in Pingtung attended it simultaneously online. The teacher of gifted students in Kaohsiung City was the main teacher, and the teacher in Pingtung City was the co-teacher. The data collected included those from interviews with and homework and independent study from the students, as well as classroom observation records (e.g., text and videos), teacher co-planning records, and individual teaching notes. Results/Findings: During the 1-year action research process, three action cycles were completed. Because the research was planned to be conducted in the form of blended teaching, the first stage of planning and action focused on the establishment and adjustment of a inter-school blended teaching environment. The physical environmental aspects included the position of the camera lens, the arrangement of the microphone, and the quality of the network connection. A positive psychological environment was fostered by the teachers, who were asked to strive to create classroom relationships from the outset during their teaching. The second stage of planning and action focused on inter-school partnership and teacher collaboration. Inter-school partnership was developed in the form of digital learning. Using online gamified competitions as a method of assessment, the teachers guided the gifted students in participating in group competitions . Thus, the teachers were able to both assess the students’ learning performance and facilitate the establishment of friendships among the students. The teachers used a collaborative model to co-plan before class, teach together in class, and review one another’s teaching after class, thereby enabling the newer teacher to learn how the more experienced teacher taught and enabling the more experienced teacher to learn from feedback from the other teacher. This method enabled the teachers to learn from multiple perspectives and to encourage one another. The third stage of planning and action involved the students engaging in independent study based on their interests. Specifically, they were guided to undertake independent research projects based on their interests and to share them publicly . The two teachers cooperated in guiding the students, using the textbook to observe phenomenon, ask questions, and collect information in order to construct their own knowledge through inquiry. In this process, the students engaged in physical cooperation, individual research, and inter-school cooperation. The length of each stage differed and was adjusted primarily according to teacher–student interaction and the achievement of study goals. Conclusions & Implications: This study drew the following five conclusions: (1) Cooperative learning and gamified formative assessment encouraged the establishment of friendship among students across schools. (2) In a collaborative model, the A Little Master of Plant Observation course provided by the university teacher was an effective scaffold for independent study and teaching and assisted teachers in their professional growth. (3) Teacher collaboration improved teaching performance and enabled the teachers to be active participants in co-planning, teaching, and review and discussion activities. (4) The independent study course for gifted students supported these students in their exploration and constructive learning and could be applied using a blended teaching method. (5) Gifted students were able to meet peers and friends with the same interests through inter-school distance learning and cooperate with these peers to facilitate their independent study. On the basis of these findings, this paper offers the following four suggestions: (1) Blended inter-school teaching delivered through online and in-person education can be employed to solve the problem of a lack of gifted teachers or peers of gifted students and thus should be included as part of education for gifted students. (2) The A Little Master of Plant Observation textbook can be used as a basic textbook for teachers to guide independent study by enabling them to adjust courses and co-plan with one another; in addition, the implementation of differentiated teaching can enhance teachers’ willingness to implement blended teaching and the effectiveness of such teaching. (3) Inter-school blended teaching enables teachers to overcome physical space constraints and form a professional growth–based community. (4) High-quality online teaching requires appropriate hardware and software and teachers capable of delivering high-quality education.