This text is part of the special Back to School notebook
Promoting academic perseverance among gifted students is the goal of a mentoring project in partnership with Sacré-Coeur Elementary School in Sherbrooke. The team behind the initiative, which was set up last year, wants to repeat the experience for a second consecutive year.
Children who are gifted or have high potential have more developed skills or creativity than other young people their age. And these abilities put them at risk of getting bored, due to a lack of challenge, summarizes Mathieu Pilon, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Sherbrooke and neuropsychologist.
Some people may get excellent grades and remain calm in class. Others, however, will adopt disruptive behaviors or become impatient with certain repetitions of learning they have already mastered, he adds.
And when giftedness is accompanied by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), these young people may experience difficulties with social adaptation, underperformance or weariness, adds Juliette François-Sévigny, a doctoral candidate in psychology at the University of Sherbrooke.
Pairing youth and mentors
In order to keep these children motivated, researchers from the University of Sherbrooke had the idea, during the first edition of the program, to pair around twenty students from the universities of Sherbrooke and Bishop’s with 25 students from the 2e at 6e primary school year based on their passions. These young people then explore topics related to their interests, through a personal project spread over the school year, from October to April, explains Marilou Bélisle, professor of education at the University of Sherbrooke and scientific director of the Incubator of Educational Innovations (i2P). This organization supports the initiative in terms of support.
For example, a young person might decide to start writing a novel, building a model car, creating a video game, etc. The field in which the mentor studies should match the interests of the student he or she will take under his or her wing. “We go based on common interests and personality, so that they can have an optimal experience,” explains M.me François-Sévigny, who coordinates the mentoring program and is also involved in the resulting research project.
The 25 students selected at the Sacré-Coeur school were selected because they had profiles similar to those of gifted children, notably demonstrating leadership, curiosity and a great sense of observation and direction. “They have developed expertise in identifying these students who have characteristics that resemble giftedness,” explains Juliette François-Sévigny. Thus, not all of them have had a neuropsychological assessment formally confirming their high potential, but they have skills that are related to it. High potential concerns approximately 2% to 10% of the population.
Ways to motivate students
Through this project, Mathieu Pilon and his team are collecting data to determine the effects of mentoring on the well-being and academic engagement of participating students. “We took measurements at the beginning of the year regarding their motivation, their daily functioning, the presence or absence of symptoms of anxiety, depression, etc. At the end of the year, we took the same measurements to see if there had been any change,” explains the neuropsychologist.
The researchers will also analyze qualitative data collected from mentors, children and their parents, with a view to improving the next edition of the program. Ultimately, the team hopes to create educational materials so that other schools in the province can set up similar initiatives.
According to Mme Bélisle, the reactions of the participants are mostly positive. “We could clearly see the complicity between the students and the mentors, who were proud of what the young people had done. And the parents noticed the enthusiasm in their children throughout the year,” she observes.
In a possible future edition, the researchers will also focus more on the link between the student and his mentor. “We realize that the lever of the mentoring experience, for the young person, is to have a privileged relationship with an older student to engage in this particular project. This seems to be a very important variable,” emphasizes Mr. Pilon.
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