Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Nil

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit is one of a suite of four units based on the latest research evidence around how gifted students learn and the most appropriate educational provision for talent development. This unit provides primary and secondary teachers with the knowledge necessary to understand the unique learning profiles of high-ability and gifted students including the learning profiles of twice-exceptional students, gifted indigenous learners and other cross-cultural gifted learners, as a matter of justice and equity. It has a particular focus on the knowledge and skills for identifying underachieving gifted students and gifted students from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure all gifted and talented students have the opportunity to come into the fullness of their own humanity.  

The aim of the unit is to provide teachers with the ability to recognise and identify students who have gifted learning profiles, including the identification of underachieving gifted students and gifted students from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Highly Accomplished

In connection to the learning outcomes, on successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Highly Accomplished standards:

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Lead

In connection to the learning outcomes, on successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Lead standards:

Content

Topics will include:

Characteristics of knowing and learning /thinking patterns that lead to high-level and talented outcomes and a high-ability learning profile. Participants will be equipped to:  

• understand what high ability knowing and learning in its multiple forms looks like in the classroom.  
• understand how students achieve high-level outcomes in the classroom.  
• describe the multiple forms (and combinations) of high ability knowing and learning and gifted learning profiles in the classroom: high verbal learning ability, high imagery-spatial learning ability, and high practical, performance or action learning ability.  
• understand and recognise instances of ‘asynchronous development’.  

The concept of twice-exceptional learning. Participants will be equipped to: 

• explain the concept of twice-exceptional learning.  
• describe the typical learning profiles of gifted students whose second exceptionality is due to a (1) learning difficulty; (2) psychological issue; (3) cultural or linguistic diversity; (4) socio-economic backgrounds; (5) living in rural and remote areas; 6) belonging to a First Nations community.  
• modify assessment conditions appropriate for the various types of twice-exceptional students. 

Identifying students who display high-level outcomes and students who display gifted learning profiles. Participants will be equipped to:  

• use a systematic and appropriate set of procedures for identifying high-level outcomes and talented outcomes, including achievement tests and performance or authentic assessment tasks in context.  
• use appropriate protocols to identify and compile a high-ability profile including the range of types of gifted learning profiles, using group and individual tests of reasoning skills or ‘aptitude’, authentic assessments, personality tests, identifying high-ability learning profiles in the classroom, teacher ratings, peer ratings and student self-ratings assessments. 
• use appropriate protocols to interpret, compare and combine multiple assessment outcomes. 

A personal theory of gifted learning and talent development in the classroom. Participants will be equipped to:  

• review current research and theories on gifted learning and talent development to identify how, why, and when students achieve high-level outcomes in the classroom.  
• understand the factors that influence the conversion of a gifted learning aptitude to talented outcomes in the classroom, including the endogenous personality factors and the exogenous environmental, social, and cultural factors. 
• synthesize the personal theories of high ability knowing and learning and talent development.  
• evaluate the extent to which regular educational provision accommodates each type of gifted learning profile.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

The unit will be delivered via a flexible mode based on sound principles of adult learning. It will synthesise both asynchronous and face-to-face teaching in the online mode in a flipped learning and teaching format maximising accessibility and meaningful interaction and networking opportunities to share practice.

 The unit content is organised into modules, and modules will be supported by seminar-style tutorials. Introductory tutorials will introduce module topics, followed by tutorials that ask participants to analyse module content, discuss how it has extended their knowledge and reflect on its application in their teaching and in the broader educational provision in their schools. Participants will then review the content covered in the module in consolidation tutorials, reflect on how it has extended their knowledge and identify new ideas and activities they might initiate to trial in their practice and school.

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment tasks allow participants to demonstrate achievement against the unit learning outcomes by demonstrating academic and professional standards. The assessments focus on applying content knowledge and skillsto the identification of the multiple forms of giftedness and talent and to the recognition of high-level and talented outcomes. The two tasks are sequenced to allow progressive development from recognising giftedness and talent in its various forms to application of appropriate assessment to identify these students in regular classrooms.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Barkatsas, T. (Ed.). (2023). Educating gifted, talented, creative and dissimilar learners: Imagining the future. : Brill..

Callahan, C.M., & Hertberg-Davis, H.L. (Eds.). (2017). Fundamentals of gifted education: Considering multiple perspectives (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Johnsen, S.K. (Ed.). (2018). Identifying Gifted Students: A Practical Guide (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Johnsen, S.K., & VanTassel-Baska, J. (Eds.). (2022). Handbook on Assessments for Gifted Learners: Identification, Learning Progress, and Evaluation. Routledge.

Olszewski-Kubillus, P., Subotnik, R.F., & Worrell, F.C. (2018). Talent Development as a Framework for Gifted Education: Implications for Best Practices and Applications in Schools. Routledge.

Plucker, J., & Callahan, C. (Eds.). (2020). Critical Issues and Practices in Gifted Education: A Survey of Current Research on Giftedness and Talent Development (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Rimm, S. B., Siegle, D. & Davis, G. A. (2018). Education of the gifted and talented (7th edition), Pearson.

Rimm, S.V., & Davis, G.A. (2018) Education of the Gifted and Talented. 7th ed. Pearson.

Sternberg, R. J., Ambrose, D., & Karami, S. (Eds.). (2022). The Palgrave handbook of transformational giftedness for education. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

VanTassel-Baska, J. (Ed.). (2022). Talent development in gifted education theory, research, and practice. Routledge.