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This homepage outlines the exemplary educational program called Night of the Notables (or variously, Festival of the Famous or Evening of Eagles) held in Australian schools to cater primarily for gifted and talented adolescents. Night of the Notables features suitable role models for gifted and talented children.
The Autonomous Learner Model "has been modified in many different directions in their own setting and with their own goals, standards and needs" (Betts, 1996:7). This site offers an authentic and proven adaptation of one part of that model for Australian conditions.
Copyright audit clearance: All our materials are original and owe no royalties to any third party. Student contributors are acknowledged in the booklets. You are purchasing from the source / author.
IN SUPPORT
"The community is a valuable source of adult role models, mentors and moral exemplars, and individuals who pursue their lives and work with passion who can guide the young gifted person to the development of his or her own passions (deep interests)" (Linda K Silverman, 1993:72).
"Senseless killings and unexplained sufferings are our everyday TV diet. To counter this, we need outstanding examples of moral uprightness and self sacrifice to encourage us to live for the greater good." by DW a graduate of Night of the Notables, now in Year 12.
"The thing I found most appealing was how the project didn't stop at handing in a paper. For the first time, I was able to take the next step and get into the shoes of my notable and give the information I had acquired to the general public." Year 8 student
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The program |
Some theory |
Our services |
Night of the Notables is inclusive, engaging and enabling.
Night of the Notables™ is an inclusive program for gifted and talented and everyone. It has received an enthusiastic response. In it, many optimal features of gifted education (demanding research skills, longer time spans, deeper studies, wider research, flexible pacing, integrated study across the subjects, advanced communication skills, personal creativity) are featured.
Night of the Notables serves and nurtures the autonomous learner. The student works at his or her own pace and to his own depth, free to move where he wishes, working within his own time frame, comfortable within his own learning style and encouraged to be creative about the products of learning. Night of the Notables shows the autonomous learner at work to best effect.
Better learning models start from the learner, they recognise learners' characteristics, their needs, their learning styles, and encourage discovery, synthesis and creativity. Longer time spans, wider resources, demanding research skills, deeper studies, wider research, flexible pacing, integrated study across school subjects, advanced communication skills and personal creativity are valued elements of better learning programs.
Models that encourage student input, sharing of resources and a synthetic approach seem to be better learning-for-life models; the skills are self developed, reinforced and applied by the learner with minimal tutor supervision. In these models, skills transference seems more likely to occur. Because it features these qualities, Night of the Notables is a best practice model. It is found to be most suitable for Grades 6-8.
"To us, this was Utopia - . . . . It became evident that the Autonomous Learner Model is an effective way to implement a gifted education programme in the regular classroom. Our experience underlined the value of the model's holistic approach, and its concern with the social and emotional growth of all students, as well as their intellectual development ."
Teachers Jill Bitmead and Pam Robertson (1993) after visiting Colorado to see the Betts' Autonomous Learner Model in regular classrooms.
"Gifted need real life problem solving activities. In these, the role of the teacher changes from being one who models thinking (demonstrates metacognitive reflection, skills and procedures), to being one who coaches (helps, monitors, directs and challenges), then to being one who then scaffolds (sets frameworks, modulates, reflects and organises), and finally being one who fades (becomes a member of the group, becomes an occasional resource for information and procedure). This diminishing role of the tutor reflects the learner's increasingly taking control of this own learning and his/her increasing autonomy as a learner."
At your own Night of the Notables, you
could meet:
Alexander Fleming, Alexander the Great, Amelia Earhart, Anne Frank, Archimedes, Robert Browning, Carl Sagan, Charles Babbage, Charles Chaplin, Charles Kingsford Smith, Christopher Columbus, Samuel Coleridge, Descartes, Ian Calder, Florence Nightingale, Fred Hollows, Gene Kelly, Hubert Opperman, Ira Gershwin, Isaac Asimov, Laurens van der Post, Marco Polo, Matthew Flinders, Mozart, Allan Border, Beethoven, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, Confucius, Dennis Lillee, Douglas Mawson, Albert Einstein, Gustav Flaubert, Gandhi, Greg Norman, Helen Keller, Joan of Arc, Karl Benz, Leonardo, Linus Pauling, Margaret Thatcher, May Gibbs, Michael Jordan, Michelangelo, Nehru, Phillip Law, Richard Dawkins, Shakespeare, Sun Yat-sen, Thomas Edison, Vincent van Gogh, William Booth, . . . .
Condensed from G. B.Smith "Night of the Notables: A program for gifted and talented". Our Gifted Children 2.1, (1993), 2 - 5. Melbourne: Hawker Brownlow Education.
Night of the Notables is differentiated for gifted. It:
Night of the Notables is a model multidisciplinary learning experience. The Night of the Notables Program™ is a suitable challenge for both gifted and talented children.
The Night of the Notables' study is usually a whole family involvement: Families have become very involved in Notables, even more than in any other of a student's studies. It is very much a family affair when mother, father and student along with siblings and even grandparents trundle in with all the flags, signs, video gear, costume and food to help set up the display. Many hours of family discussion, planning and arranging go into this particular Study and the parents always report they love being so involved in what their boy or girl learns. The Night itself is very exciting and crowded, a real coming together of the school family.
Librarians, researchers, teachers, family members, community resource people and the elderly are all valued in this study as students look far and wide for the information they need. Encouraging parents to monitor progress as it does, the program values parents as active partners in their children's education.
Night of the Notables challenges the myth that IQ is destiny. Studying the lives of notable people shows that success comes from opportunity, hard work, persistence despite failure, scholarship, teamwork as well as native talent. It offers more complex explanations for fame than strong motivation and pursuing media promotion.
The program does promote active learning and problem solving. The research focus is on active learning growing from student interests. Night of the Notables is indeed an extra-mural study seeking the widest possible sources in a community of scholarship.
Night of the Notables is a superior programme.
"I found myself interested in knowing more about the great men of the eighteenth century because in reading about Wedgewood there were numerous references to them. I ended up checking out books on the architecture of the Adams brothers, the Wesleyan movement, American poetry, and Chinese and Japanese porcelain. I bought books on mythology, ceramics, a biography of Joseph Banks, The Diaries of James Boswell. Bits and pieces came together because I did this, That's what's so strange: you do a study of one man and suddenly you know the whole era through him."
Parents, teachers and students find the study and the night immensely rewarding. Some invited guests have even written back too with appreciative comments. The following is a selection:
2001: "The evening went off without a hitch and was a huge success for both students and teachers. The parents were dazzled by their children's knowledge and enthusiasm. The school community were raving all week about it (many siblings and additional staff members were impressed). Thank you for your great program and I will keep in contact for next year." Meagan K.
"I am writing to congratulate you and your students for a truly inspirational and entertaining evening. . . The students really rose to the occasion and demonstrated a sound and well rehearsed understanding of the characters they 'became' for the night. That they had spent a great deal of time researching the lives of their chosen person was obvious, as was their pleasure in relating the details and anecdotes about the lives of their famous people. The sources of their information were varied and well chosen and the presentation of this information in such diverse projects as interest centre posters and games was very well done." letter from a parent of a notable
One of the most impressive aspects of the Night from my perspective was the fact that the students remained in character (accents and all in some cases!) for the whole night, in a most mature and often spontaneous manner. I learned facts about such people as Walt Disney, Sir Edmund Hillary and others that I could not have found in standard references. Attempting to find out about life through the eyes of Mao Tse Tung was fascinating, as this student related his feelings about the revolution as though he were truly Mao himself, and other characters, too numerous to mention, also taught me a lot about the various aspects of the lives of their notables. . . ." Guest Book entry
To me it was obvious that [they] had invested a great deal of time, effort and patience in this venture which paid off handsomely for your students." Katrina R
"I have organised five Nights of the Notables in the (United) States and I can say truthfully this is equal to my best. I congratulate you Greg and all the boys and their parents for an excellent and stimulating evening." Janet Aker Smith, Texas USA
"It was a wonderfully successful night for you and for all others involved. It shows clearly what our boys can achieve and that we are on the right course in 'lifting the ceiling'. Congratulations, Greg!" G.K.H., Head of School
"Most boys dressed up in appropriate costumes which added to the excitement the night. I really enjoyed Charles Kingsford Smith's display and liked having a chat about his life and achievements. Vincent Van Gogh had the patched ear and the real irises to show his famous painting. Overall the night was a great success and congratulations must go to ... the famous notables themselves!" Xanthe R
The boys did a superb job, not only of researching their character but in communicating the information so ably to a very mixed audience. I was impressed with their spontaneity and confidence which was evident in the obvious enjoyment and keenness with which they presented their special "notable".
Comments from students participating include: "I loved learning about Einstein; he fascinated me greatly. I learn t a lot from this study. . . . It answered many of my questions about the universe that previously no one could explain [to me]. I enjoyed what I learnt and think it will benefit me in the future."
by 'Agatha Christie': "It provided a challenge to become another person to the smallest detail. I learnt everything about my notable: brothers, sisters, religion, childhood, education , romances, just to name a few areas. I learnt so many things it is hard to remember them all! I began to understand the person who invented the great stories and plots. I have learnt why her mind works the way it does."
Students are challenged: "I was also pleased that people asked many questions . . . people asked me a lot of questions . . . I was able to answer all the guests' questions. . . . I enjoyed answering the questions. . . a great learning experience. I answered many questions . . . Many people asked me questions and I usually managed to answer everything."