Page 41 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 25 February 2014
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The needs of students who are twice exceptional—that is, students who are intellectually gifted but who also have a disability or learning difficulty that potentially masks their true potential—are now reflected in the updated gifted and talented students policy that will be launched shortly. The policy now requires that an individualised learning plan will be developed and implemented for each and every twice exceptional student here in ACT public schools.
Extensive work and consultation took place in updating that policy. To ensure the policy is recognised as leading practice, the directorate engaged the services of a highly qualified educator in gifted and talented education to provide the professional input to the update of the policy. The directorate undertook an extensive community consultation process to ensure that the policy reflects a broad range of views from parents, community organisations and the teaching profession. With the input from parents and stakeholder groups and professional advice from the expert, I am confident that ACT public schools will be a leader in the provision of support from the special group of students that comprise our gifted and talented students.
As I said, the focus has been on developing a professional learning package that will enhance the skills of our teachers in learning difficulties. Professional learning is the foundation on which we build support for students who are struggling with their learning. We know that skilling the teaching force improves outcomes for students. Significant resources have been injected into a professional learning program that will, over time, build the skills of our teaching workforce.
All ACT public schools have identified a staff member—a “representative expert”, so to speak—who is attending an extensive professional learning program. This professional learning program will cover the understanding of learning difficulties, intervention strategies to support students, evidence-based studies and using inclusive technology tools.
To ensure broad-based experience and professional input, the program is being supported by professionals within the directorate, such as school psychologists, literacy and numeracy officers, the University of Canberra and Dyslexia SPELD ACT. Follow-up sessions will cover implementing assessment tools, collecting data and how this learning experience is being used to develop capacity within schools. Through the workshops, schools will share knowledge, make connections and support one another. To ensure that knowledge and experience are shared, a learning difficulties professional learning online page has been developed. The purpose of this page is to share resources and to complement the workshops. Online resources include videos of each workshop, including handouts, web links and online surveys. Forums were open during the workshops to enable teachers to share ideas and teaching strategies and interventions. This is a significant step towards building expertise across the workforce as knowledge is shared and spread. The partnership with parents and carers is also a focus in implementing support for students with learning difficulties. Some of the workshops will be open for parents and carers.
Ongoing work includes a partnership with the ACT health and community services directorates. As an example, the Education and Training Directorate is working with Therapy ACT to develop effective strategies to meet the needs of students with language disorders.
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