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Gifted & Talented Students Policy

Our Approach

At Pal Buddhist School, we understand that challenge nurtures personal excellence. We recognise our students' diverse learning abilities, with some showing exceptional potential to grasp complex ideas and acquire knowledge quickly and deeply. While our standard curriculum challenges most students, it may not sufficiently engage those who are gifted. To ensure these students thrive, we provide tailored learning strategies.


Our Goal

Our goal is to identify and cultivate the strengths of every student within our community. We are dedicated to challenging students with significant potential in any area, offering opportunities to develop their talents through flexible, student-centred programs designed to meet their unique learning needs.


Defining Giftedness

A gifted student demonstrates the potential to achieve significantly above average in one or more areas. A talented student performs significantly above average in one or more areas of human performance. 

(Adapted from Gagne, 1995)


We recognise that gifted students are diverse, showing varying levels and types of giftedness. Highly and exceptionally gifted students require a curriculum that offers greater challenge and intellectual rigour than their moderately gifted peers. 

(Adapted from Gross, MacLeod & Pretorius, 2003)

A student with high potential who is underachieving may still be identified as gifted, with their abilities yet to be fully developed as talents. The development of giftedness into talent can be influenced by factors such as motivation, self-esteem, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, and our school's capacity to identify and support their gifts. (Gagné, 1995)


Characteristics of Gifted Students

Research shows that gifted students typically:

  • Learn quickly.

  • Demonstrate advanced problem-solving skills.

  • Connect abstract ideas.

Typical attributes of gifted and talented students include:

  • Advanced vocabulary.

  • Ability to discuss complex ideas.

  • Quick mastery and recall.

  • Creativity and imagination.

  • Enjoyment of reading.

  • Capacity for independent work, self-reflection, and a desire for excellence.

  • Interest in global issues.

  • Ability to apply learning across contexts.

  • Ability to understand relationships and principles.

  • Self-initiated activities and deep engagement.

  • Broad interests, including art, music, and drama.

  • Strong rapport with older students/adults.

  • Competence in multiple languages.

Key Characteristics

Gifted and talented students often demonstrate:

  • A rrich memory.

  • Intense curiosity.

  • Reflection.

  • Openness to new experiences.

  • Ability to connect ideas and think abstractly.

  • Ease and speed in problem-solving.

  • Heightened sensitivity.

Identification

Early identification is essential for developing learning programs that meet their needs and maximise their potential. As standard age-based tests may not accurately reflect the abilities of highly gifted children, we use a balanced approach of objective and subjective assessment methods, including:

  • Professional observation.

  • Parent observation.

  • Peer observation.

  • Checklists of traits.

  • Review of school history.

  • Analysis of anecdotal evidence.

  • Interviews.

  • Interest surveys.

  • Standardised achievement tests.

  • Cognitive ability tests.

  • Above-level testing.

  • Evaluation of competition results.

  • Teacher-developed assessments.

At Pal Buddhist School, parents complete a survey upon enrolment. This information, combined with previous school reports and student interviews, aids initial identification. Teacher observation and checklists further assess students potentially identified as gifted and/or talented. Standardised achievement tests, conducted by external agencies like GERRIC, may be used to confirm the level of giftedness/talent and identify specific strengths.


Strategies for Supporting Gifted and Talented Students

School-Wide Approach

  • Streaming: Streaming in core subjects reduces the ability range within classes, enabling differentiated instruction and allowing advanced groups to progress more quickly and deeply. The streaming structure is adapted to the needs of each year group. Grouping high-achieving students together fosters a supportive environment, facilitates faster-paced learning, and provides more enrichment and extension opportunities. While streaming benefits high-achieving students, gifted and talented students require more individualised programs.

Individualised Strategies

We recognise the unique needs of each gifted and talented student, and develop individualised programs to support them. Enrichment, extension, and acceleration are the primary methods for catering to intellectually gifted children. Mentoring is also valuable in certain cases.


Enrichment and Extension (Curriculum Differentiation): Enrichment activities broaden curriculum content and benefit all students. Extension activities allow students to explore topics in depth, benefiting most students. Gifted and talented students thrive with learning experiences that combine:

  • Enrichment at their current level.

  • Challenging work at a higher level.

  • Tasks aligned with their needs and interests.

  • Opportunities to collaborate with peers of similar abilities (where possible). (Benbow, 1998)

Enrichment and extension strategies may include:

  • Specialist teachers in early education for Language, Music, and PE.

  • Higher-order questions/projects using Bloom's Taxonomy and/or Multiple Intelligences.

  • Individual research or challenging projects.

  • Open-ended questions.

  • Complex problem-solving tasks.

  • Participation in advanced competitions (e.g., Tournament of Minds, Olympiads, Euler & Noether Series for Mathematics, Da Vinci Decathlon).

  • Distinction courses.

Acceleration: Acceleration allows select students to progress through content at a faster pace. For exceptional students, this may involve advancing to a higher cohort in all subjects (grade advancement) or in specific areas (partial acceleration). Acceleration aims to provide a stimulating and challenging learning environment, offering opportunities such as Distinction courses or broader/deeper subject selection in later years. This process involves promoting a student to a level of study beyond their age group and is supported by research.

Factors considered for accelerated progression include:

  • Academic capacity.

  • School performance.

  • Achievement of curriculum outcomes.

  • Social adjustment.

  • Emotional readiness.

  • Future study plans.

  • School resources and staffing.

Assessment measures for acceleration may include:

  • Standardised achievement and ability tests.

  • Multi-dimensional testing.

  • Behavioural checklists.

  • Teacher reports.

  • Evaluation of student work.

  • Class grades.

  • School counsellor reports.

  • Psychologist recommendations.

  • Student interviews.

  • Parent/guardian interviews.

  • Anecdotal records.

  • Academic awards.

  • Co-curricular and extracurricular activities.

Accelerated students complete curriculum outcomes more quickly and at an earlier age. Acceleration is based on curriculum compression, not omission.

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