VENTILACIÓN DE SALAS DE CALDERAS

This section introduces the students who are the focus of this report, the gifted and talented.

1.1.1

What are giftedness and talent?

A threshold question for the Committee in its consideration of the education of gifted and talented students is what constitutes giftedness and talent.

Defining giftedness and talent

There are no universally agreed definitions of giftedness and talent. In conducting this Inquiry the Committee was principally guided by the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent developed by Professor Francoys Gagné, a leading authority on giftedness and Honorary Professor of Psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Gagné’s model is widely accepted both in Australia and internationally.

Under Gagné’s model, giftedness refers to natural ability in one or more areas, while talent refers to outstanding performance in an area or areas.1 _{Ability transforms into} talent through a complex developmental process.

A feature of Gagné’s model is that it recognises giftedness in domains beyond the academic sphere, such as arts, business, leisure, social interaction, sports and technology.

Chapter two explores the various models of giftedness and talent in greater detail.

How does a gift become a talent?

An inherent feature of Gagné’s model is that giftedness is only potential and must go through a transformative process in order to become a talent. Thus, a gifted student will not automatically become a talented student.

The factors that influence the conversion of giftedness into talent can be broadly divided into three categories: a student’s intrapersonal characteristics; the student’s environment; and chance.2 _{Intrapersonal characteristics include factors such as a} student’s willpower or self-awareness, while environmental factors include elements such as a student’s teachers, school or home life.

While there are many external factors that can influence the conversion of a gift to a talent, evidence to the Inquiry suggests that a student’s educational environment plays a key role. For example, the Tasmanian Department of Education submitted:

The school represents the most important environmental factor in mediating the development of talent from giftedness. Recognising this critical role for the school points to the need for

 

      

1

Françoys Gagné, ‘Transforming gifted into talents: The DMGT as a development theory’ in Nicholas Colangelo and Gary Davis (eds) Handbook of gifted education (3rd edition, 2003) Pearson Education, 60.

2

teachers to identify the natural abilities of students and, through appropriate learning experiences, support the development of latent talent.3

This report is based on the fundamental premise that teachers and schools play a pivotal role in ensuring that each individual student’s innate gifts are transformed into outstanding performance.

1.1.2

What do gifted students look like?

This section paints a picture of what gifted students look like. It provides a foundation on which the Committee builds later in this report in terms of identifying gifted students and designing interventions that meet their special academic and social and emotional needs.

Characteristics of gifted students

Gifted students come from all backgrounds and cultural groups. While it is impossible to create a single image of a gifted student, there are some characteristics and intrapersonal traits that are common to many gifted students. Dr Linda Kreger Silverman, Director of the Gifted Development Centre at the Institute for the Study of Advanced Development in the United States, has identified a range of characteristics of gifted students (see figure one). Silverman suggests that if a child demonstrates more than three-quarters of these traits, it is likely that he or she is gifted.

Figure 1: Characteristics of gifted students4

 reasons well (good thinker)

 learns rapidly

 has extensive vocabulary

 has an excellent memory

 has a long attention span (if interested)

 sensitive (feelings hurt easily)

 shows compassion

 perfectionistic

 intense

 judgment mature for age at times

 is a keen observer

 has a vivid imagination

 is highly creative

 tends to question authority

 has faculty with numbers

 good at jigsaw puzzles

 morally sensitive

 has strong curiosity

 perseverant when interested

 has high degree of energy

 prefers older companions or adults

 has a wide range of interests

 has a great sense of humour

 early or avid reader (or loves being read to if too young to read)

 concerned with justice, fairness

This list is consistent with other research in this area, as well as the characteristics of gifted students identified by participants in this Inquiry.5

 

      

3

Department of Education (Tasmania), Submission10, 5. See also Australian College of Educators (Victorian Branch), Submission21, 2; Ms Debbi Daff, SEAL and Enhancement Coordinator, Sale College, Submission70, 4; Dr Danuta Chessor, Lecturer, School of Psychology, University of Western Sydney, Submission76, 1; Victorian Association for Gifted and Talented Children (VAGTC), Submission34, 11; Mr Mark Smith, Committee member, VAGTC, Transcript of evidence, Melbourne, 25 July 2011, 5–6.

4

Linda Kreger Silverman, Characteristics of giftedness scale (1993) Gifted Development Center. Available at <http://www.gifteddevelopment.com>viewed 28 February 2012.

5

Maureen Neihart, ‘Revised profiles of the gifted: A research based approach’ (Paper presented at the VAGTC Conference, Melbourne, 8–9 September 2011); George Betts and Maureen Neihart, ‘Profiles of the gifted and talented’ 32(2) Gifted Child Quarterly 248, 250–251. See also Ms Debbi Daff, Submission70, above n 3, 3–4; Modern Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria, Submission72, 1–2; Goldfields Local Learning and Employment Network, Submission86, 3–4; VAGTC, Submission34, 5; Nossal High School, Submission57, 17.

Chapter 1: Introduction In considering gifted students it is important to recognise that students who are high academic achievers are not necessarily gifted. Dr John Munro, Associate Professor Exceptional Learning and Gifted Education at Melbourne University’s Graduate School of Education, explained this distinction to the Committee:

There are some children in a classroom who will learn the ideas I present extremely rapidly. They will learn those ideas, they will internalise them ... There is a second group of students who will learn the ideas at a high level again, but who will be able to think creatively about them and who will take the ideas further. There is a third group of students who come into the classroom already having thought about the ideas I am going to be teaching … I think one group should be called the high-achieving group or the easily programmed group. They are the group of students who learn extremely efficiently with two or three examples from the content that is being presented. The second group, as I said, will learn in that way and they will be able to take it further, but they will be able to be creative in quite predictable ways … I would call the third group gifted … They are more than being creative learners, because they are being creative about a better developed body of knowledge than their peers.6

Domains and levels of giftedness

There are many domains in which an individual can be gifted, ranging from maths or information technology to art or sport. A student who is gifted in one domain will not necessarily be gifted in other areas. For example, a student may be gifted in science and be capable of performing well above expectations for their age, while being an average student in all other subjects. Some gifted students may have another exceptionality such as a learning disability or an autism spectrum disorder. These students are often referred to as twice exceptional students.

There are also different levels of giftedness. This means that two students who are gifted in the same field will not necessarily have the same abilities in that field. Intellectually gifted students are commonly classified as mildly, moderately, highly, exceptionally and profoundly gifted. Figure two illustrates the levels of intellectual giftedness as defined by IQ levels and indicates the prevalence of children at these levels.

Figure 2: Levels and prevalence of giftedness7

Level IQ range Prevalence

Mildly gifted 115–129 1:6–1:40

Moderately gifted 130–144 1:40–1:1 000

Highly gifted 145–159 1:1 000–1:10 000

Exceptionally gifted 160–179 1:10 000–1:1 million

Profoundly gifted 180+ Fewer than 1:1 million

 

      

6

Associate Professor John Munro, Exceptional Learning and Gifted Education, Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Transcript of evidence, Melbourne, 19 September 2011, 6–7. See also Ms Rhonda Collins, Coordinator, Victorian Affiliated Network of Gifted Support Groups, Transcript of evidence, Melbourne, 10 October 2011, 2.

7

Miraca Gross, ‘Highly gifted young people: Development from childhood to adulthood’ in Larisa Shavinina (ed)

Underachieving gifted students

Just as not all high achievers are gifted, not all gifted students achieve highly. While there is limited data on the number of gifted students who underachieve, research suggests that somewhere between 10% and 50% of all gifted school students fail to perform at the levels of which they are capable.8

A significant number of gifted students leave school before completing Year 12. Again there is no clear data on how many gifted students drop out of secondary education, with estimates ranging from 10% to 40%.9

Underachievement may also be an issue among gifted students who are performing well at school, with teachers sometimes failing to recognise that these students have the capacity to complete work at much higher levels than the work they are assigned at school.10

Underachievement in gifted students is not well understood. The available research suggests that gifted underachievement is influenced by a broad range of factors including school, home, culture and peers.11

1.1.3

How many gifted students are there in Victoria?

While it is not possible to precisely calculate the number of gifted students in Victoria, several participants in this Inquiry provided estimates. The Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented, a national association representing the interests of gifted children, estimated that there are approximately 400 000 gifted children in schools across Australia.12

Other submissions suggested Victoria-specific figures ranging from 23 067 to 35 000, based on a presumption that 5% of the student population is gifted.13 Any estimate of the number of gifted students in Victoria will vary depending on the definition of giftedness adopted. Under Gagné’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent, up to 10% of the population may be gifted.14

There are currently 461 162 primary school students and 386 097 secondary school students in Victoria.15

Therefore, under Gagné’s definition there could be approximately 85 000 gifted students in government, independent and Catholic schools across Victoria.

 

      

8

Lee Wills and John Munro, ‘Changing the teaching for the underachieving able child: The Ruyton School experience’ in Diane Montgomery (ed) Able underachievers (2000) Whurr Publishers, 89; Jeffrey Hoffman, Frances Wasson and Betsy Christianson, ‘Personal development for the gifted underachiever’ 8(3) Gifted Child Today 12, 12; Ken Seeley, ‘Gifted students at risk’ in Linda Kreger Silverman (ed) Counseling the gifted and talented (1993) Love Publishing Company, 264; Wilma Vialle and Karen Rogers, ‘Gifted, talented or educationally disadvantaged?’ in Chris Forlin (ed) Future directions for inclusive teacher education: An international perspective (2012) Routledge, included in Submission28 Appendix C, 3.

9

Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education References Committee, The education of gifted children (2001) Commonwealth of Australia, 14. See also Joseph Renzulli and Sunghee Park, ‘Gifted dropouts: The who and the why’ 44(4) Gifted Child Quarterly 261, 261–262.

10

Sally Reis and Betsy McCoach, ‘The underacheivement of gifted students: What do we know and where do we go?’ 44(3) Gifted Child Quarterly 152, 157.

11

ibid., 155–6.

12

Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented, ‘AAEGT information statement’, included in Submission28 Appendix A, 1.

13

CHIP Foundation, Submission77, 4; Ms Henriette Boonen-Hackett, Supplementary submission26B, 3.

14

Françoys Gagné, above n 1, 60.

15

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD), Summary statistics Victorian schools, February 2011 (2011) DEECD (VIC). Available at

<http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/publications/newsinfo/factsandfigures.htm>viewed 21 December 2011.

Chapter 1: Introduction

In document Sustitución de una caldera de gasóleo por una caldera de biomasa en el hogar de la tercera edad de Villamuriel de Cerrato (página 108-113)