Preparatory School Annual Report | 2019
Gifted and Talented
Definition and Identification The purpose of defining and identifying giftedness is to recognise individual and group abilities, qualities and interests. Gifted education is about ensuring that gifted potential is realised, that gifted learners discover their strengths and follow their passions, and that barriers to success are minimised. Students in the Preparatory School who have been identified as gifted and talented are monitored and placed on the Learner Needs Register on the school’s student management system, Synergetic.
Differentiation In the Preparatory School staff provide responsive learning environments in which students are encouraged to become adaptive, creative, and resilient. Curriculum differentiation is a strategy used by staff to cater for the wide range of abilities in classrooms. Differentiation greatly enhances the educational experiences of gifted and talented 14
students. When gifted learners are active participants in their learning and experience appropriately differentiated teaching and learning, well-being is promoted, and achievement and progress is accelerated. The underlying principles guiding differentiation for gifted and talented students are to: • present content that is related to broad based issues, themes, or problems; • integrate multiple disciplines; • present comprehensive, related, and mutually reinforcing experiences; • develop independent or self-directed study skills; • develop productive, complex, abstract and/or higher order thinking skills; • focus on open-ended tasks; • develop research skills and methods; • evaluate student outcomes by using appropriate and specific criteria through self-appraisal.
