Casting a wide net for gifted and talented professional learning

TRCC (Teachers’ Refresher Course Committee) are interested in ‘casting a wide net’ with their up coming course Students of Promise for gifted and talented educators.

The course director, Ann Easter, national co-ordinator for gifted education advisory support, says that “One of the major findings of the 2008 ERO national report on schools’ provision for gifted and talented students was that small, rural schools often had difficulty gaining access to high quality professional development in gifted education.

“Since TRCC offers a travel subsidy for teachers to attend courses, we are hoping it will help go some way towards addressing this issue.”

The conference is targeted at primary and secondary teachers and principals, gifted education co-ordinators, and RTLBs who may be taking a first look at gifted and talented education, as well as more experienced practitioners who want to revisit and update their ideas.

The conference organisers are particularly keen to include principals and senior managers, as the ERO report found that effective leadership was a critical factor in building the capability of schools to cater for gifted and talented students.

Keynote speakers presenting at the conference include Dr Roger Moltzen (University of Waikato), Anne Sturgess (Edgecumbe College), and Dr Angus Macfarlane (University of Waikato).

As part of the course, Pam Hook (Hooked-on-Thinking) will also present a full-day workshop on curriculum models to meet the needs of diverse students.

Other confirmed presenters include Leeana Herewini (University of Waikato) and Ingrid Frengely-Vaipuna (Massey University) who will be part of a day focusing on cultural perspectives of giftedness and talent.

There will also be a range of concurrent workshops where practitioners from primary and secondary schools share successful models and effective teaching and learning strategies for gifted and talented students in the regular classroom.

Ann Easter notes that “There have been a number of government initiatives in gifted education over the last 10 years and some schools have made considerable progress towards meeting the needs of gifted and talented students, but there is still a long way to go.”

This course is a fantastic opportunity for principals and teachers to spend four days with an intensive focus on how to cast a wide net to cater more effectively for this group of learners in their schools and communities.

For more information about Students of Promise to be held from 7th-10th July at the Quality Hotel in Wellington, please visit: www.trcc.org.nz