High potential and gifted education

At Dural Public School, high potential and gifted education (HPGE) is a natural part of everyday learning. Many of our students demonstrate exceptional abilities, and we are dedicated to nurturing that potential into meaningful achievement.

Our teachers carefully identify students’ learning needs within the classroom and use research-based teaching strategies to challenge and extend their skills. We offer a range of learning pathways, including enrichment programs, extension activities, and acceleration where appropriate. Students are identified early by teachers as having high potential or giftedness in the cognitive, creative, physical, or social-emotional domains. This information is shared across the school to ensure consistent and effective support.

We foster supportive classroom environments that promote belonging, encourage risk-taking, creativity, and collaboration. Gifted learners, especially in the cognitive domain, receive explicit teaching that goes beyond their age group to meet their level of challenge. They engage with open-ended tasks, extension opportunities, and choice - without being given additional work simply for the sake of it.

Groups are flexible, students take on leadership roles, and feedback focuses on strengths with clear goals and opportunities for self-assessment.

Our students participate in a variety of enriching extracurricular activities to sharpen their skills and broaden their experiences, including events like the Sydney Writers’ Festival, mathematics competitions, Tournament of the Minds, and more.

For students gifted in the physical domain, we offer many chances to excel, including PSSA competitions, school carnivals, knock-out competitions, athletics, gymnastics, and lunchtime physical activity groups.

Those gifted creatively have access to our dedicated art and music spaces, led by specialist teachers. We offer choir for Years K-6, Beginner Band, Senior Concert Band, Jazz Band, String and Recorder Group, drama clubs, and numerous opportunities to perform at school and community events such as Primary Proms, the Festival of Choral Music, the Dural Public School Annual Art Show, and various competitions.

Students gifted in the social-emotional domain have meaningful roles in our school community, including as Meeters and Greeters who welcome visitors and provide school tours. They can also take on leadership roles, participate in Buddy Reading programs to mentor younger students, and represent the school in Hills Public Speaking and Debating tournaments.

Our teachers actively engage in ongoing professional learning to meet the diverse needs of all students, ensuring that our high potential and gifted learners receive the best possible education.

At Dural Public School, we aim to extend and challenge our high potential and gifted learners by developing their ability to:

• Make meaningful connections
• Analyse multiple variables
• Identify patterns
• Solve complex problems and pose their own
• Engage in inquiry-based learning
• Explore concepts in greater depth

How We Do It

We help our students think deeply and creatively through a range of engaging teaching strategies, such as:

• Asking thought-provoking questions to encourage deeper thinking
• Helping students make connections between ideas that may not seem related
• Exploring and comparing different concepts, even across different subjects
• Using “What if…?” questions to spark curiosity and imagination
• Guiding students to ask their own questions and investigate answers
• Encouraging discussion about real-world issues, ethical questions, or big ideas
• Looking at what influences trends or patterns in the world around us
• Using philosophy to explore deeper meanings and patterns
• Having students create pictures, diagrams, or stories to help represent their thinking
• Adjusting tasks to challenge students using skills like analysing, creating, and problem-solving

At Dural Public School, we aim to extend and challenge our high potential and gifted learners by helping them to:

• Use what they already know in new and different situations
• Make connections between different subjects and ideas
• Apply their learning in creative and flexible ways
• Think deeply and explain their reasoning
• Work with challenging ideas, texts, and problems
• Explore their own questions through independent research
• Tackle complex or controversial topics thoughtfully
• Clearly explain and communicate their thinking
• Discuss ideas from different points of view
• Notice when something doesn’t make sense and ask why
• Reflect on how their thinking changes as they learn

How We Do It

We challenge our students through a range of purposeful and engaging strategies such as:

• Finding out what students already know before teaching
• Linking learning across different subjects
• Encouraging students to use their knowledge in new ways
• Teaching them how to explain their thinking clearly
• Using more advanced resources and materials
• Supporting students to carry out their own research projects
• Using thought-provoking questions or topics to spark discussion
• Using assessments to shape learning activities
• Offering independent projects based on student interests and strengths
• Setting tasks that apply learning to real-world problems
• Planning projects that involve more than one subject area
• Helping students communicate their ideas for different audiences
• Creating space for discussion and respectful debate
• Using real issues from the community to design learning experiences
• Helping students reflect on how their thinking has developed over time

At Dural Public School, we aim to support high potential and gifted learners by providing opportunities to:

• Choose from a variety of tasks, projects, or ways to show their learning
• Work on open-ended activities with multiple possible outcomes
• Explore topics based on their own interests and passions
• Communicate their thinking in different ways (e.g. writing, visuals, speaking, technology)
• Take ownership by exploring different options for how and what they learn

How We Do It

We offer choice through a range of engaging and flexible strategies such as:

• Allowing students to choose how they show their learning
• Providing a range of task options to suit different strengths
• Supporting students to design their own learning activities or projects
• Using a variety of questions to spark ideas and guide learning
• Asking open-ended questions that connect with student interests
• Encouraging brainstorming, free thinking, and planning
• Matching learning outcomes to students’ areas of interest
• Adapting content to allow access through different passions
• Letting students select thought-provoking topics for deeper exploration

At Dural Public School, we aim to extend our high potential and gifted learners by helping them to:

• Look beyond surface-level facts to explore deeper meanings
• Examine the purpose, messages, and significance behind content
• Identify and question the big ideas or concepts that sit beneath the learning

How We Do It

We develop abstract thinking through strategies such as:

• Exploring complex systems, symbols, or ideas
• Encouraging students to explain and justify their thinking
• Asking questions like “What makes you say that?” to dig deeper
• Embedding key concepts into lessons rather than just covering topics
• Using content that goes beyond the standard year-level expectations
• Designing learning tasks that involve questioning, analysis, and inquiry
• Using philosophical thinking to examine abstract ideas and perspectives
• Helping students break down complex ideas using diagrams or creative systems

At Dural Public School, we aim to develop our high potential and gifted learners’ ability to:

• Design original ideas and responses
• Consider alternative options and approaches
• Communicate in innovative and varied ways
• Take risks and experiment with new ideas
• Explore and develop their thinking freely
• Discover the deeper principles behind concepts
• Think divergently and flexibly

How We Do It

We foster creative and critical thinking through strategies such as:

• Creating unique products by adapting existing ideas
• Using scenario-based learning activities
• Comparing and evaluating tools like mind maps to find the best way to share ideas
• Breaking ideas down into parts or building them up from parts to wholes
• Clarifying causes and effects in events, ideas, or processes
• Questioning the reliability of claims or common beliefs
• Developing and adapting questions to gather diverse perspectives
• Exploring different possible outcomes using ‘if… then…’ thinking
• Using ‘reverse thinking’ to challenge usual ways of understanding

At Dural Public School, we aim to develop our high potential and gifted learners’ ability to:

• Think creatively and make connections between ideas
• Compare and prioritise information
• Evaluate ideas and arguments thoughtfully
• Analyse data and information carefully
• Combine different pieces of information to form new understanding

How We Do It

We support higher order thinking through strategies such as:

• Using Bloom’s Taxonomy question stems to guide discussions and assessments
• Encouraging deeper analysis and justification of answers
• Developing “what if…” scenarios to provoke imaginative thinking
• Using concept maps to visualise and explain ideas or research
• Synthesising information and evaluating key ideas when solving problems
• Making judgements about ideas using thinking tools like PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting)
• Using visuals to summarise information and explain complex relationships
• Reflecting on personal thinking and comparing it with others’ perspectives
• Speculating about future possibilities or applications
• Investigating opposing viewpoints and identifying inconsistencies

At Dural Public School, we aim to meet the learning needs of our high potential and gifted learners by:

• Allowing learning at a faster pace
• Reducing repetition and unnecessary time on familiar content
• Checking what students already know before starting new topics
• Combining learning outcomes to deepen understanding
• Expecting students to achieve learning goals earlier than their peers

How We Do It

We manage pace through strategies such as:

• Using pre- and post-tests, along with ongoing assessments, to guide learning speed
• Asking questions before new lessons to gauge readiness
• Compacting the curriculum based on pre-test results
• Combining multiple learning outcomes to increase complexity
• Spending less time on familiar content and moving faster through new material
• Adjusting lesson pace to meet individual student needs
• Negotiating flexible deadlines to help students manage their work
• Providing support and modelling strategies to help students learn efficiently
• Helping students set goals and manage their time
• Using personalised KWHL charts (What I Know, Want to Know, How to Learn, What I Learned) to guide learning

At Dural Public School, we aim to engage our high potential and gifted learners with:

• Real-world problems and challenges
• Opportunities to present to real audiences
• Exploration of current, relevant issues
• Using high-quality examples to guide learning

How We Do It

We promote authenticity through strategies such as:

• Examining contemporary media topics to inspire debate and critical thinking
• Inviting audiences to view and respond to student work
• Exploring current events to deepen understanding of complex ideas
• Using exemplars to set clear, high expectations
• Having experts evaluate student progress and learning
• Investigating how experts in different fields gather and analyse information

At Dural Public School, we create a learning environment where high potential and gifted learners experience:

• Acceptance and a strong sense of belonging
• Motivation and encouragement to reach their potential
• Recognition and valuing of their unique strengths
• High expectations combined with support and flexibility
• Opportunities for autonomy, leadership, and collaboration
• A positive climate that includes humour and respect
• Development of character, citizenship, and a growth mindset

How We Do It

We support our learning environment through strategies such as:

• Providing chances to showcase strengths in different ways to diverse audiences
• Offering varied ways for students to communicate and receive recognition from peers
• Co-designing personalised learning plans with students
• Differentiating assessment options to suit individual strengths
• Using humour to build rapport and a positive classroom atmosphere
• Encouraging collaboration and active thinking through routines like think-pair-share
• Giving students a voice in their daily learning
• Creating a safe space that encourages experimentation and risk-taking
• Clearly sharing success criteria so students know what’s expected
• Teaching language for reflection, like “What can I do better next time?”
• Allowing time for thoughtful reflection
• Focusing on personal bests, effort, growth, and positive attitudes towards learning