Gifted and Talented

Gifted and Talented in the News

Gifted and Talented Associations

Gifted and Talented Education Professional Development Package for Teachers (Australian Government Department of Education 2012)

Module One: Understanding Giftedness (pdf) | Early Childhood (pdf)| Primary (pdf)| Secondary(pdf)|
Understanding the nature of giftedness and talent; what the terms mean; levels and types of giftedness. Cognitive and affective characteristics of gifted and talented students; ways in which these students may differ from their classmates - even if at first we don’t observe this.

Module Two: The Identification of Gifted Students (pdf) | Early Childhood(pdf)| Primary(pdf)| Secondary(pdf)|
A range of practical identifi cation procedures, with particular attention to procedures which are effective in identifying gifted students from culturally diverse and disadvantaged groups. We’ll be emphasising the use of a combination of approaches rather than a single measure such as IQ testing or teacher nomination used in isolation.

Module Three: Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Students| Early Childhood (pdf)| Primary (pdf)| Secondary (pdf)|
Understanding the social and emotional characteristics and needs of gifted students. Ways in which gifted students may differ somewhat from their classmates in their social and emotional development. Supporting gifted students and their parents. Teaching strategies and class structures which foster the development of positive social attitudes and supportive peer relationships in gifted students.

Module Four: Understanding Underachievement in Gifted Students | Early Childhood | Primary | Secondary |
Understanding the causes of underachievement in gifted students. Identifying gifted underachievers and planning interventions designed to prevent and reverse cycles of underachievement.

Module Five: Curriculum Differentiation for Gifted Students| Early Childhood | Primary | Secondary |
Teaching strategies and methods of curriculum differentiation which enhance the learning of gifted students in the regular classroom. Appropriate use of different enrichment models that international research has found to be effective with gifted and talented students. Practical applications of pre-testing, curriculum compacting and individualised programming.
Module Six: Developing Programs and Provisions for Gifted Students| Early Childhood | Primary | Secondary |
Practical strategies for the establishment and monitoring of ability, achievement or interest grouping, and the many forms of accelerated progression. Particular attention will be paid to the effects of various strategies on students’ academic and social development.

There are further extension and specialist modules provided by the Department of Education. These can easily be found in a search on the website.

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