Giftedness In Australia Essay

The Australian National Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (2012) states that like EAL learners and students with disability, students with gifts and talents also have the right to engage in learning activities and opportunities that challenge students and facilitate their learning through a curriculum tailored to support their individual learning needs, strengths, interests and goals. In order to cater to students’ needs and promote potential achievement, it is important for teachers have an awareness of the various characteristic that has the potential to strengthen or limit student learning (Jarvis, 2010). Regardless of these complexities, consideration of these characteristics is fundamental in the design and planning
That being said, a shared understanding of giftedness is important to address students’ needs. Though there are many theoretical conceptions regarding giftedness, in Australia, Francois Gagne’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DGMGT) is the most generally accepted definition/model of giftedness and talent in Australia (aus curriculum site). In his model, Gange makes the distinction between gifts and talents when he likens giftedness to be ‘the possession and use of natural abilities or aptitudes in at least one ability domain that places them in the top ten percentile of their age peers’. On the other hand, Gagne defines talent to be the superior mastery and development of those abilities and aptitudes that places the individual in the top 10% of their age peers active in their field(Gange 2010). According to Gagne (2010), gifted students are those whose potential is distinctly above average in the following domains: intellectual, creative, social and