Programs – Gifted Education
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Schooling options
This section considers a number of ways in which a school can structure an individual program for a gifted and high potential student.
The educational needs of gifted and high potential students
As children veer from the norm in either direction, their educational needs become increasingly more differentiated. A child, three standard deviations below the norm (55 IQ), could not profit from placement in a cooperative learning group in the heterogeneous classroom; neither does a child three standard deviations above the norm (145 IQ). (Silverman 1990, p 6)
The options considered here all involve exposing the student to advanced content and skills and include:
Early
entry into school
Early Entry into School occurs when a child is
allowed to enter school at an earlier age than that mandated by education
authorities.
Single-subject
acceleration (Advanced offerings in a specific subject)
Single-subject
acceleration allows a student who has demonstrated that they have advanced
knowledge and skills in a particular area to access a curriculum at least one
year in advance of their current year-for-age level.
Curriculum
compacting
Curriculum Compacting is different from subject
acceleration in that the student’s actual levels are assessed through
pre-testing and then this pre-testing determines what will be learned next.
Telescoping
Telescoping
is when a student is allowed to complete several years of the school’s
curriculum in less time. For example Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 are completed in
total of three, rather than four years.
Year
Level Advancement
Year level advancement occurs when a student is
promoted into a higher year level resulting in the student not completing a
full twelve months placement in an intervening year level, for example at the
conclusion of Year Three a student is promoted into Year Five the following
year.
Concurrent
Enrolment
Concurrent Enrolment occurs when a gifted or high potential
student is enrolled at two schools (one may be a university) in the same year
and attends classes (or lectures and tutorials) in two physically different
locations.
Mentoring
A
mentoring arrangement has the gifted or high potential student partnered with
an ‘expert’ or professional in the student’s specific area of interest.
Virtual
Mentoring
Virtual Mentoring is particularly suitable for students from
geographically isolated schools in country Victoria.
VCE
Extension Studies
VCE
Extension Studies are undertaken by high potential and gifted students in
years prior to Year 11 to ensure that the curriculum is sufficiently
challenging and matches their learning needs.
Early
Admission into Tertiary Education
Early entry into tertiary education
occurs when a student completes VCE after rapid acceleration (perhaps using a
variety of curriculum options) and enters university significantly younger
than the usual 18 years of age.