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Support
The Learning Enrichment program is part of an overall strategy at Oxley College to meet the individual learning needs of every student. As well as providing direct support to students, much of the work undertaken by Learning Enrichment staff involves planning and liaising with subject teachers and supporting classroom teaching and learning programs. The Learning Enrichment staff also work closely with Tutors and the Pastoral Care team to provide customised support through the Tutor Group and House structure.
Learning Enrichment enhances individual academic care for students through:
- Creating and maintaining Student Learning Profiles
- Meeting with class teachers to formulate Individualised Learning Plans for students with high support needs.
- Working closely with Tutors and the Pastoral Care Team to provide Organisational Support for students.
- Investigating students’ learning needs through individualised testing and Referral for Specialist Assessment.
- Securing Special Examination Provisions for students for whom the regular examination setting is unsuitable.
- Running an Essay Writing Skills course for senior students.
- The Academic Writing and Research Elective (AWARE)
- Running the Peer Tutor Literacy Program every morning in the Library during Terms two and three.
- By coordinating a Cross Curricular Spelling Program for Years 7 and 8.
View full details of the above programs
Gifted and Talented Students
SH Engineering Challenge
It is critically important that every child has the opportunity to learn at an optimal challenge level. The psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, describes the state of “flow” that human beings achieve when they are engaged in activities at just the right challenge level. In a state of flow, we lose ourselves and time goes by without us noticing. We feel a sense of fulfilment as we follow our fascination and powerful learning occurs. Gifted students who are highly intellectually able need to be able to achieve “flow”, as do all learners, and for that, they need more intellectually demanding learning activities and more challenging tasks. A Gifted and Talented Program that offers that challenge outside the classroom through extra-curricular activities can provide important opportunities but would be insufficient without regular classroom programs that are differentiated to meet the needs of gifted students.
Puzzlement and uncertainty are a necessary part of the learning experience. Piaget’s idea of assimilating new understanding into our existing scheme only after we experience a state of cognitive dissonance makes clear that cognitive dissonance is an essential component in the learning process. Without the kind of intellectual rigour that perplexes them, and maybe even makes them feel a little frustrated, gifted learners develop the habit of working within what they already know and lose the sense of what it means to stretch and grow cognitively.
Additionally, students who are not being academically catered for appropriately find it difficult to meet behaviour expectations, as does anyone who finds themselves bored or frustrated by an activity that is too easy or too hard.
Programs for gifted students offer an opportunity for students to work:
- with highly complex ideas
- with higher levels of abstraction
- to explore and seek to resolve contentious issues
- at a faster pace
- with academics and mentors who act as role models and build a connection to a wider academic community
- at greater depth in areas of particular interest or talent
- acknowledgment and acceptance of the traits and characteristics of gifted students
Identification of Gifted Students
Upon entry at Oxley College, detailed information about each student is collated into a learning profile. The learning profile includes test results such as NAPLAN, specialist assessments, questionnaires completed by parents, achievements in competitions and involvement in hobbies and leisure pursuits as well as comments from people who know the student well. After collating the information, we analyse the profile for indicators that the student may be a gifted student. While many students are easily identified as gifted, we often have to look very carefully to ensure gifted students who are not performing to their potential are also identified. Oxley College takes an inclusive approach to enrichment opportunities for gifted and talented students and parents are encouraged to share all observations they make about their son or daughter’s abilities as part of the identification process.
Inclusion in Gifted and Talented Programs
While students who have been identified as gifted are encouraged to participate in extension options in class and on assessments and to participate in extra-curricular opportunities, any student who expresses an interest and a strong desire to be included is welcomed. We work hard to be inclusive in all aspects of the college and find that allowing students to self-select is an important aspect of maintaining social cohesion while providing challenge and enrichment.
At Oxley College, the Curriculum Mapping tools create a collaborative online space for all teachers to contribute to the development of classroom programs. We continue to adjust and modify class programs to include extension options for gifted students. Embedding gifted education in the regular class program so that every student experiences optimal challenge in every lesson every day will remain the primary goal and curriculum mapping will be an important vehicle to achieve that goal.
View examples of whole school activities for Gifted and Talented students.
