Gifted and Talented Programs

Supplementary provision

Supplementary provision enables the most gifted and talented students to interact with their gifted and talented peers in specific curriculum fields at higher levels than can normally be provided in the regular classroom or school.

The resources for supplementary provision are centrally allocated and provide for approximately 2.5% of the population in a particular domain or area of talent.

At the primary level, schools and districts (or service areas) are responsible for the selection and implementation of the organisational structures for supplementary provision for gifted and talented students. Primary Extension and Challenge (PEAC) provides one such organisational structure.

At the secondary level, the Department of Education and Training supports the Gifted and Talented Education program in several metropolitan senior high schools and the Academic Talent Program (ATP) online for rural students. Centrally funded programs provide gifted and talented students with a range of specialist programs to meet their specific needs.

Supplementary programs aim to:

• enable the most able gifted and talented students to interact with their gifted and talented peers;
• promote academic rigor and intellectual challenge in specific curriculum fields; and
• provide opportunities for critical analysis and emphasise higher-order thought processes (i.e. application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation).

Additionally, where appropriate, these programs should:

• engender open-endedness which encourages student choice and negotiation;
• enable student interaction with practicing experts so that first-hand investigations can be undertaken (e.g. guest speakers, excursions, mentors);
• encourage students to take risks and back their judgement when experimenting with new styles, ideas and approaches to learning or discovery;
• facilitate the pursuit of in-depth investigation of real problems and the presentation of results to an appropriate audience;
• allow students to work at their own pace;
• require students to evaluate and reflect upon their own products and learning outcomes in terms of their original goals and objectives; and
• encourage constructive criticism and feedback.