Elmwood Normal School employ a specialist teacher and utilise the expertise in our own teaching staff to support our Enrichment programme. Teachers also cater for these needs within the classroom through differentiated learning experiences.
The school acknowledges that gifted and talented students have special needs that require differentiated learning experiences and social and emotional support in order to ‘realise their individual potential’. The classroom teacher is responsible for the identification of students in their class. Identification systems and procedures that seek to identify students with both potential and achievement will be established and ongoing throughout the year.
What do the terms ‘gifted and talented mean’?
Gifted children are those children who have an ability or potential ability to achieve significantly beyond their peers, in one or more areas. Talented children are those children who are demonstrating their ability through performance or achievement significantly beyond their peers in one or more areas. This is based on the model by Gagne (2002) and acknowledges that the child’s personal attributes, environmental factors and chance all contribute to how a child’s ability develops.
How do we identify students?
Identification is on-going as abilities may emerge at different times in different children. Some gifted children be under-achievers and not showing their ability for some reason. Other children may be both gifted and have a learning disability. A variety of subjective and objective methods are used to identify students, with data being gathered from parents, teachers and the students. These may include:
Children are placed on our school GATE register.
How do we provide for these children?
Each child is an individual and it is important to make the best learning decisions for that child at the time. There are a number of organisational and class provisions that may be implemented for meeting the needs of gifted children:
Clustering of ‘like minds’
Cross grouping for some curriculum areas, e.g. mathematics
Year level acceleration
Withdrawal groups – e.g. Future Problem Solving, Passion Projects, Philosophy for Children, Super Scientist, Art Extension, Orchestra, Chamber Groups, Sport, French, Chess, lunchtime clubs and encouraging children to establish their own clubs.
Differentiating the class programme
Because gifted children are gifted all day every day we have a particular focus on providing differentiated learning experiences within the classroom programme.
Where can I find out more?
There are a number of websites you can refer to:
TKI – This is the Ministry of Education website for parents and teachers.
Gifted Children – The New Zealand Association for Gifted Children (NZAGC) website.