Identification

PEAC courses are for exceptionally able students who are identified in the 97^th percentile and above.  Test data, course outlines, course criteria and an understanding of potential and performance are important in assisting student selection for PEAC.  In exceptional cases, students outside the 97^th percentile can be nominated for courses in a Teacher Nomination system.  Supporting evidence must accompany Teacher Nominations.

 

The following tests are administered to students in Year Four:

 

This test has been designed to measure broad language and reasoning abilities, which correlate with academic success.

 

 

This test is designed to measure students’ ability to see relationships and solve problems.  It is a test of students’ reasoning ability on non-verbal items and is useful where verbal tests like the TOLA 4 cannot be expected to give a satisfactory assessment, as in the case of students with poor reading ability.  It can also be effective in assessing the ability of children of non-English-speaking background.

SPM     /60

 

Individual scores are normed to Australian standards according to chronological age at the date of assessment.

 

Test Administration

Students are tested in year four of primary school.  Evaluation of the testing program is ongoing.  Schools are provided with test results, which may be used to identify students at risk.

 

Parent Information

A Parent Information Brochure is designed to assist in providing information on the testing program.

Students who have been identified in the 97^th percentile and above are included in the pool of student eligible for PEAC.

 

Database

A database of all students and their scores from year 5 – 7 is held at Balcatta PEAC Centre.  A software program (Cosy Corner), specifically designed for the West Coast Education District, allocates students to courses based on their normed scores in testing and teacher nominations.

 

Nomination and Selection Procedure

Guidelines are provided to School PEAC Coordinators to assist them with the nomination and selection process.  Students identified through testing and, in special cases, teacher-nominated students, are offered a range of courses from which to choose.  Nominations are sorted using the Cosy Corner software program and a Special Placement List is used to highlight issues of equity and special requests.

 

 

It is important that gifted and talented students’ abilities be accepted, valued and fostered by teachers, parents, peers and the community.  Schools, parents and the students themselves need to consider the provision of challenging learning experiences which broaden the students’ knowledge and skills.

 

The policy identifies two forms of provision, school-based and supplementary.

School-based provision ensures schools and teachers provide a challenging and extended curriculum to enable the gifts and talents of students to emerge, be recognised and be developed.  This form of provision is the responsibility of all teachers and relates to as much as 15% of the population.  In some classes, the proportion will be higher. 

 

Primary and secondary school-based provision occurs within the individual classrooms of all teachers on an ongoing basis.  Additionally, schools may develop strategies which allow the most able students to learn together.

Supplementary provision enables the most gifted and talented students to interact with their intellectual peers in specific curriculum fields at higher levels than can normally be provided in the regular classroom or school.  The resources for supplementary provision are centrally allocated and provide for approximately 3% of the population in a particular domain or area of talent.

 

At the secondary level, the Department of Education and Training supports the Gifted and Talented Programs in several metropolitan senior high schools.  Gifted and talented students are offered a range of specialist programs to meet their specific needs.  As with the PEAC program these supplementary programs are centrally funded.

 

The form of supplementary provision varies according to resources available and geographic location.

 

Supplementary programs must:

·    enable the most able gifted and talents students to interact with their intellectual peers;

·    promote academic rigour and intellectual challenge in specific curriculum fields; and

·    provide opportunities for critical analysis and emphasise higher-order thought processes (ie application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation).

·    Additionally, where appropriate, these programs should:

·    engender open-endedness which encourages students choice and negotiation;

·    enable students interaction with practising experts so that first-hand investigations can be undertaken (e.g. guest speakers, excursions, mentors);

·    encourage students to take risks and back their judgement when experimenting with new styles, ideas and approaches to learning or discovery;

·    facilitate the pursuit of in-depth investigation of real problems and the presentation of results to an appropriate audience;

·    allow students to work at their own pace;

·    require students to evaluate and reflect upon their own products and learning outcomes in terms of their original goals and objectives; and

·    encourage constructive criticism and feedback.

 

Extract from Policy and Guidelines for the Education of Gifted and Talented Students, DET.

 

PEAC centres offer a wide range of courses.  These are conducted at the four centres and at external venues.

 

Courses offered at the centres are conducted by PEAC teachers with some specialist courses by outside experts.  They provide students with the opportunity to achieve a broad set of outcomes with particular focus on intellectual rigour and challenge, pursuit of excellence, higher order thinking skills, open-ended questioning, independent learning, encouragement of risk taking and an enquiry process.

 

Courses take place in three rounds of approximately 10 weeks per round.  These are advertised to students, parents and teachers so that nominations and choices can be made.

 

The use of secondary school and community expertise is a feature of the West Coast Education District PEAC model.  Examples include Music Goes Modern at Perth Modern SHS, Art and Photography at Balcatta SHS and Mathematics at Duncraig SHS.  Alternative venues such as AQWA, Scitech and Perth Zoo are the sites for a range of PEAC courses.

The model emphasises the value of providing the opportunity for gifted and talented students to interact with experts in their field/s of interest.

 

Contract staff are employed in a cost recovery system in specialist areas e.g. Art/Cartooning, Drama, Chess, Anatomy, Marine Science, Computing and Technology.

 

PEAC staff liaise closely with schools regarding the PEAC process and provisions for the gifted and talented.  To support this liaison a School Coordinators’ Workshop is held early in the school year.  This is followed by regular network meetings or professional development sessions, usually one per term.

A sample list of the forms of communication is as follows:   

·     advertising PEAC courses – package for each round

·     providing guidelines for nomination and selection procedures

·     notification of student nominations to courses

·     reporting on student performance

·     evaluation surveys of the PEAC program

·     parent information evenings

·     network meetings for School PEAC Coordinators

·     reporting of student absence from PEAC

·     notification of year-four testing procedure

 

PEAC teachers welcome parent enquiries and involvement in PEAC programs.  Parent meetings, newsletters, PEAC course information and frequent telephone communications provide information to parents.  A parent information evening at the beginning of each year provides a comprehensive overview of the PEAC program and its operation.  PEAC coordinators provide parents with information to promote an understanding of the characteristics and needs of gifted and talented students.

 

The School PEAC Coordinator provides a vital link between PEAC and schools in the district.  The link between PEAC centre staff and School PEAC Coordinators informs students, parents and teachers on the operation of the PEAC program.

 

Each of the ninety-four primary schools in West Coast Education District requires a staff member to coordinate the involvement of students in PEAC courses.  The School PEAC Coordinator promotes teaching and learning programs for gifted and talented students, including their special learning needs and encouraging their participation in the PEAC program.

 

The role of the School PEAC Coordinator will vary according to school needs, facilitating the sharing of information about student performance. 

Tasks include:

·    assisting in the identification of talented and gifted students;

·    maintaining records of district assessment profiles;

·    ensuring that all relevant teaching staff are aware of the PEAC program and its operations;

·    coordinating the school’s nomination process, involving:
-  information distribution through teachers to students and their parents,
-  collecting nominations and conveying summaries to the PEAC centre,
-  maintaining records of previous nominations;

·    monitoring the progress of participants;

·    raising the awareness of issues and concerns of the school community related to gifted and talented education through ongoing liaison with the PEAC teacher;

·    attending (or nominating a representative to attend) PEAC professional development network meetings and workshops; and

·    liaising with Academic Talent Program teachers in the district.

 

Evaluation of the program is in the form of a questionnaire to students, parents and school PEAC Coordinators.  In addition, feedback via personal, telephone and written communications provides a valuable source of information on the success of the program.

 

At the conclusion of each PEAC course, students receive a certificate and assessment of performance.  Students are invited to provide feedback in the form of a course evaluation questionnaire.

 

 

Parents are responsible for the transport of students to and from PEAC centres or other designated venues.  Bus hire may be used for specific excursions.