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Gifted and Talented Education at IronsideStateSchool
“Not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or equal motivation; but children have the equal right to develop their talent, their ability, and their motivation."
John F. Kennedy
At Ironside State School we believe that gifted and talented students are found in all communities regardless of their ethnic, cultural or socio-economic characteristics. The gifted population includes students who are underachieving and who have disabilities.
Giftedness refers to potential distinctly beyond the average for the student’s age and encompasses a broad range of abilities in the intellectual, creative, socio-emotional and physical domains. Talent denotes achievement distinctly beyond the average for a student’s age as a result of application to training and practice.
Our school has a Gifted and Talented Committee which is comprised of a representative from each year level, a member of the Administration team and two trained Gifted Education Mentors (G.E.M). The committee meets regularly to discuss cases with classroom teachers. It offers support, advice and may refer to the school Guidance Officer for further assessments.
The committee is the conduit between all school staff and remains focussed on current educational practices promoted in the field of gifted and talented education. The committee draws upon information about:
· the nature, identification and development of giftedness and talents in the school population
· the implementation of effective curriculum and instruction for gifted and talented students.
At Ironside State School parents/carers are encouraged to:
• become familiar with characteristics of giftedness and methods for identifying children who are gifted. This familiarisation process can be further supported by the school based Parent Identification document
• continue to liaise with teachers and others to:
– identify the child’s gifts
– ensure that the child has appropriate and ongoing educational opportunities
Optimising every student’s opportunity to achieve their potential lies at the heart of Education Queensland’s commitment to all students. Our vision for students who are gifted is that they feel valued in a learning environment which both challenges and supports them to pursue excellence and develop a passion for lifelong learning.
(Framework for Gifted Education, 2004)
At Ironside State School, we have utilised the resources provided by Education Queensland to enhance teacher understanding of Gifted and Talented students.
Teachers at Ironside State School utilise a range of strategies and tools which are particularly suited to the ways in which gifted students ideally work. The vast majority of gifted students are being challenged and extended within their own classrooms. At times it may be necessary to refer a student to our Gifted and Talented Committee. Ironside State School has clear processes and procedures in place to identify gifted students and to develop suitable programs in consultation with the child, parents and teachers.
Ironside State School also supports both extension and enrichment activities which are usually carried out after school or on special days. These include:
- Maths camps/ days
- Writer’s camp
- Chess Club
- Robotics
- Instrumental Music program
- Junior Rotary Award
- Girls in ICT project
- Science Day
- Debating
- SMARTS Day
If you are interested in taking an on-line survey to identify your own SMART (or intelligences) please go to the following link.
http://www2.bgfl.org/bgfl2/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/questions/choose_lang.cfm
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