Identifying and meeting the needs of gifted and talented students at Morawa District High School

1. Identifying and meeting the needs of gifted and talented students at Morawa District High School Presented by Helen Walter 21st October 2015

2. IQ and levels of giftedness (Gross, 2000)

3. Bell curve for IQ

4. Gagne’s definition (2007) Based on Gagne’s definition, Giftedness - is an, ‘innate ability (which shows up with little or no systematic training or development)’ Talent - is an, ‘innate but developed ability resulting from support, systematic training, teaching and home/school input’. The combination of giftedness and talent - can often lead to outstanding performance in a particular area or areas.

6. Giftedness on its own is not enough Giftedness on its own may not result in positive outcomes for a particular individual. The classroom teacher can make all the difference by recognising and developing the student’s gift into a talent.

7. How do we identify giftedness?

8. 6 Profiles of Giftedness(Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010) Type 1 – Successful Gifted These students achieve highly at school and are the group most likely to be identified as gifted and talented. They are conforming, eager for the approval of others, and perfectionistic. They lack autonomy and assertiveness, and avoid taking risks. (Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010)

9. 6 Profiles of Giftedness(Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010) Type 2 – Challenging Gifted, Creative Gifted These students are highly creative but frustrated, bored, questioning, and sometimes rebellious. They do not conform to the school system and often challenge school rules and conventions. (Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010)

10. 6 Profiles of Giftedness(Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010) Type 3 – Underground Gifted These students deny their abilities in order to fit in. They may be insecure, shy, and quiet, avoid taking risks, and resist challenges. Many are never identified as gifted. (Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010)

11. 6 Profiles of Giftedness(Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010) Type 4 – Dropout or At-Risk Gifted These students are resentful and angry because they feel that the system has failed to meet their needs. They are often perceived as 'rebellious loners', and may be disruptive or withdrawn. They fail to complete schoolwork, and their levels of achievement fall well below their ability. (Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010)

12. 6 Profiles of Giftedness(Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010) Type 5 – Double-labeled or Twice Exceptional Gifted These students are gifted but also have a physical or sensory disability or a learning difficulty. Often their giftedness goes unrecognised because people fail to see past their disability. They can become angry and frustrated, and may feel powerless.

13. 6 Profiles of Giftedness(Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010) Type 6 – Autonomous Gifted These students are confident, independent, and self-directed. They are intrinsically motivated and willing to take risks. They set goals for themselves and take responsibility for their own learning. (Betts & Neihart 1988, 2010)

14. Workshop Activity • Revised Profiles of the Gifted and Talented (Betts & Neihart 2010) • 6 groups • 1 sheet A2 butchers paper per group • Coloured markers / pens - 3 different colours per group • 1 printed copy of one Profile of the Gifted & Talented per group • 10 minutes • Allocate each group a profile • Draw a Y-chart • Brainstorm – what would a student with this particular profile look like, sound like and feel like? There can be positives and negatives in each of these sections. • 10 minutes • Orally report your findings to the whole group. • Think about students in your classes. Do any of them fit these profiles?

15. Example of a Gifted Y-Chart

16. Unrepresented and/or difficult to identify Gifted & Talented groups • Children from particular populations may be less likely to be identified as gifted or more difficult to identify. • It is suggested by Braggett (2002) that within the Australian context these include children from: • low socioeconomic groups • children from indigenous groups • children from non-English-speaking backgrounds • children with disabilities or learning difficulties • children from rural/isolated areas • girls

17. The education of gifted children. Report of the Senate Committee 2001 Recommendation 4 Training for teachers to identify giftedness should pay particular attention to the need to identify gifted children who have disadvantages such as low socioeconomic status, rural isolation, physical disability or Indigenous background.

18. Educational options for rural Gifted students in WA • GT Online Secondary (formerly ATP Online) • PEAC (Primary Extension and Challenge program) • Specialist Government G & T secondary schools in Perth and Bunbury • Private boarding schools

19. GATE Secondary programs • Applications must be made by parents. Schools do not automatically test and don’t always advise parents of this opportunity. • Places are limited • All Arts, Languages and Academic subjects are at selected Metropolitan government high schools • Only Academic is offered by GT Online - either Maths & Science OR English and Society & Environment • A child seeking a place in a Gifted and Talented Program in Year 7 is required to be in Year 6 when they sit the Academic Selective Entrance Test. Testing is usually done early in the year.

20. PEAC – Primary Extension and Challenge program • Provides opportunities for talented students in Years 5 and 6 to: • socially interact with other gifted and talented children • enjoy an intellectually rigorous and challenging program • to interact with practising experts • develop higher order process skills and in-depth investigation skills • work on open-ended activities which encourage choice and negotiation • undergo self/peer evaluation and reflection of performance • DETWA 2015

21. PEAC – Primary Extension and Challenge program • Selection is completed in Year 4 and is based on results from assessment tests, teacher and parent nominations, and other relevant information. • Rural students are very limited in accessing PEAC programs unlike Metropolitan students who can learn alongside their intellectual peers at PEAC centres on a part time basis (usually one morning or afternoon each week) during school • There is/was an online PEAC for rural students. • Schools in local areas may get together to run extension programs for students in areas such as art, technology and languages. • DETWA 2015

22. Private Boarding Schools • Can offer a wide range of specialist programs • Larger group of like-minded student peers • Other social and cultural interactions not available in rural areas • Expensive • Separates family • Success not a guarantee

23. The education of gifted children. Report of the Senate Committee 2001 Recommendation 14 The Commonwealth should propose to MCEETYA (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs) that state and territory education authorities should require, as a condition of employment, that newly graduated teachers have at least a semester unit on the special needs of gifted children in their degrees. This should include training in identification of gifted children and the pedagogy of teaching them.

24. Professional Development for teachers Training package "Gifted and Talented Education; Professional Development Package for Teachers" distributed to all Australian government schools in 2005 by GERRIC Poorly implemented with little support Many teachers unaware of its existence Free to download from https://education.arts.unsw.edu.au/about-us/gerric/resources/pd-package/ Early childhood, primary and secondary modules Extension modules Specialisation modules Completion of the package can be included in TRB Professional Learning log

25. How can we develop and improve our teaching strategies for gifted students at Morawa DHS? • General strategies that benefit all students • Implementation of GERRIC Training package as PL for staff • Constructing curriculum based on individual interest/strength – eg: primary cross-setting in literacy and numeracy – can this be expanded into other core learning areas such as Science and HASS? • Vertical streaming in secondary school • Differentiation – (Differentiated curriculum addresses the different learning styles and rates of learning of students in both mixed ability and self contained gifted classrooms).

26. How can we develop and improve our teaching strategies for gifted students at Morawa DHS? Specific strategies that benefit particular students Enrichment - refers to "learning activities providing depth and breadth to regular teaching according to the child's abilities and needs" (page 362). Enrichment activities are normally in addition to and different from the regular classroom activities by way of offering challenge. (Townsend, 1996)

27. Enrichment?

28. How can we develop and improve our teaching strategies for gifted students at Morawa DHS? Specific strategies that benefit particular students Acceleration – instruction that aligns gifted and talented students' abilities and learning needs more closely to the curriculum. "In practice, acceleration occurs when children are exposed to new content at an earlier age than other children or when they cover the same content in less time" (page 361). Thus, acceleration differentiates the timing of introduction of content and/or the rate of coverage. (Townsend, 1996)

29. Acceleration?

30. Conclusion Increased awareness of the existence of giftedness in rural communities can only be of benefit to all stakeholders.&Identification is the first step to meeting the needs of gifted students at Morawa DHS

31. End of Presentation A short workshop evaluation survey is available for participants to complete. Thankyou to everyone who has helped me out with this presentation.