Gifted / High Ability Education

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A guiding principle of Catholic Education is to meet the needs of all students in an inclusive Catholic setting and our Catholic Worldview celebrates the unique “gifts” that each of us has been given. The Catholic Schools Office, Diocese of Broken Bay has a firm commitment to enhancing the way we meet the individual learning needs of all students.

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All children have many and varied gifts, however within any school there is a proportion of students whose natural high abilities (gifts) are of an exceptional level. It is the role of the Diocesan Catholic Community – students, parents, carers, teachers, schools and CSO – to work together in partnership to foster the potential of gifted/high ability students.

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There are a variety of gifts, but always the same spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people it is the same God who is working in all of them. 
                                                                                              (1Cor. 12:4-7)

What does gifted mean?

Gifted/high ability students are those whose natural potential places them in at least the top 10 percent of age peers in at least one ability domain.

Talented students are those whose systematically developed abilities (or skills) and knowledge in a domain places them in at least in the top 10 per cent of age peers. (Gagne, 2002)

Underachievers are defined as students who show a discrepancy between their school performance and some index of his or her actual ability.  (Davis & Rimm 2004)

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What are some characteristics of gifted students?

Gifted/high ability children show distinguishing characteristics from an early age. These traits are not exclusive to gifted students and not all gifted students possess all of them, but they may be present to a greater degree. 

                                                                                                                                         (Source: Silverman, 1993 p.53)

Gifted/high ability students may also display negative characteristics.

Identification

How can gifted / high ability students be identified? 

Gifted students can be assessed in many ways and parents can provide information that can aid the assessment process.  Effective identification includes different types of criteria.

•  Qualitative (subjective): These are judgements made on structured observations 
     eg  checklists of behaviours, nominations by teachers, parents, peers, information 
     about the child’s interests etc

• Quantitative (objective): These include tests of ability or achievement. Eg. IQ tests,   
    general ability tests, standardised tests of achievement

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Effective identification includes elements of both as well as indicators of underachievement. 
                                                                                    (Merrick & Targett. 2004. AGQTP Module 2)

How can I get my child assessed?

Schools collect their own assessment data on students which can include ability and achievement tests to help them identify gifted/high ability students. Individual IQ                        assessments need to be done externally by trained psychologists.

Parent Checklist - Things my child has done

Instructions:
Carefully read each of the descriptions. Each item is followed by a series of examples; use the examples to help understand the description in the item. Decide how much you agree that your child is like the description. Mark your agreement on the scale from strongly agree (SA) to strongly disagree (SD). Fill in one circle for each item. If you are unclear about an item, fill in the unsure or don’t know circle. Then, tell about a time your child did the things in the item. Try to recall specific incidents or examples about your child. Feel free to add extra pages of stories or examples to tell us more about your child. Click HERE to download

Links

          Catholic Schools Office: Diocese    
           of Broken Bay Gifted Education

        NSWAGTC: NSW Association of 
            Gifted and Talented Children
                Includes a support forum 
                           for members

          AAEGT: Australian Association 
                  for the Education of the
                      Gifted and Talented

      GERRIC: Gifted Education Research,   
       Resource and Information Centre

                        SENG: Supporting the 
               Emotional  Needs of the Gifted