Gifted and Talented

Guidelines

This document gives an overview of our procedures for supporting GAT students at Halswell School.

Our definition of giftedness

At Halswell School we describe gifted students as being…

those with innate high abilities and particular personal abilities that may be seen across one or more
domains, including intellectual, creative, social, cultural, visual-spatial, and physical.*
*description courtesy of NZCGE

Description of Domains

DOMAIN DESCRIPTION

Intellectual The intellectual domain refers to understanding, memory, vocabulary, speed

depth and abstraction of thought, critical thinking, reasoning, curiosity. These
are learners with exceptional abilities in one or more of the New Zealand
Curriculum learning areas.

Creative The creative domain is not just about The Arts. It’s about ideas - invention of
and the expression of. You can see how any of the arts fall easily into the
‘expression of ideas’ end, but the creative domain encompasses so much more
than that and should never be limited to the arts. Creative thinking is the
manipulation of what is and what might be, of innovation, invention and
entrepreneurship, of questions and curiosity and that insatiability of needing to
know. We often see those who have abilities in this domain as our
day-dreamers, our big picture thinkers, the questioners, the non-conformers,
those who are always, ALWAYS asking why and really needing to know.

Social The social domain is all about interpersonal skills. For some gifted learners, it's
the mana they exude, the social esteem in which others hold them, that really
highlights their abilities in this domain, those kids that can really read the room
and understand what’s happening.
These are learners with interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities and qualities
which enable them to act in leadership roles.

Cultural The cultural domain refers to those culturally specific and culturally relevant
skills - so for Māori gifted learners it relates to those abilities that are culturally
important, which could include kapa haka, whaikorero, the arts, matauranga,
those quite traditional views of wisdom. For our Pasifika learners it often
involves oratory, understanding lineage.

Culture-specific abilities and qualities refers to those valued by the cultural or

ethnic group of learners, including traditional arts and crafts, pride in cultural
identity, language ability, and service to the culture.

Visual-spatial Visual-spatial - this is often seen as a domain tucked in under the creative
 domain, but it’s worth peeling away as it’s quite particular. High abilities in this
domain are about the ability to see and think through images and to
manipulate and use images in space. Those with high abilities in this area may
well be those who create amazing infographics,

Physical Physical domain is those students who are exceptionally skilled in using their
bodies, not just sports, but any task that involves a high level of physical skill.

Identification of our gifted students

Students are identified through a variety of ways including teacher observation, formal and informal
assessments and parent nomination.

We have developed the following descriptions of the domains of giftedness to assist in identification of
GAT students. Read this document to see typical characteristics of giftedness and their flipsides:
Characteristics and Behaviours - Halswell

Use the GAT: Making sense of a hunch form to gather more data on a student you have a hunch may
be gifted..

Students identified as GAT are recorded on our GAT Register. This is used by the GAT Focus Team and
Learning Teams to ensure differentiation and suitable opportunities are identified for our GAT students.

Identification Flowchart
Meeting the needs of our gifted students

In class
Support for most GAT students is provided within our learning studios through differentiation of regular
class programmes, opportunities arising out of our Learning Through Play approach, flexible grouping
with like minded students and our collaborative learning spaces. The GAT focus team member in each
Learning Team will take the lead on ensuring there is differentiation of learning within the wider
curriculum. Literacy and Numeracy focus team members will take the lead on ensuring there is
differentiation and suitable extension opportunities for students gifted in literacy and numeracy. This
may involve students joining another learning team for these subjects.

Teachers provide differentiation in class through:

● Differentiation of the curriculum
● Integration of metacognitive strategies into class programmes
● Flexible grouping within and beyond learning teams
● Providing choice and agency to students
● Providing an environment that meets the sensory needs of all learners

Extracurricular activities
We offer a large range of extra curricular activities across the school, many of which provide
opportunities for our GAT students to be extended in their area of passion.

Specialist GAT Programmes

These programmes focus largely on extending GAT students in the intellectual/creative domains. The
content of programmes may vary from term to term and the students involved may change
accordingly to meet identified needs.

In Years 0-4 programmes are provided once a week as part of our Learning Through Play programme.
This is led by our GAT focus team representative.

In Years 5-8 students participate in a weekly half day “Mindplus Your School” programme run jointly by
our staff and staff from the New Zealand Centre for Gifted Education. This programme is led by our
GAT leader.

GAT Focus Team

Our GAT focus team is made up of a GAT leader and a representative from each learning team. The
main responsibilities and tasks of the team are:
● Maintain the GAT register and identify opportunities that meet the needs of our GAT learners
 ● Provide support in learning teams with curriculum differentiation and identification of GAT
learners
● Provide specialist GAT programmes for some GAT students
● Ensure parents of GAT students receiving specialist programmes are informed through termly
Hero posts

Literacy and Numeracy Focus Teams

Our Literacy and Numeracy focus teams play a role in supporting GAT learners with strengths in the
intellectual domain by identifying opportunities for extension learning. This may be within or across
learning teams.

Supporting documentation:
GAT Professional Development 2023
GAT: Making sense of a hunch form
GAT Register