Giftedness

The specific mandate of Westmount Charter School is to provide an excellent, publicly-funded program for Gifted Learners. For more information about how to choose a program for your gifted child, and Westmount's program philosophy, click here. For specific Westmount registration information, choose from the admissions links on the right hand side of this page.

Westmount Charter School defines Giftedness in this way: "Students are gifted when they perform, or show potential for performing, remarkably high levels of accomplishment in learning rate, depth of knowledge, and reasoning and problem-solving abilities when compared to others of their age, experience, and environment."

Another helpful description of giftedness comes from the Columbus Group: "Giftedness is 'asynchronous development' in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally." (The Columbus Group, 1991, in Morelock, 1992)

Giftedness is indeed a very complex phenomenon. To see some of the more common profiles of gifted learners, click here. To engage some common myths about giftedness, click here for an excellent article by the National Association for Gifted Children.

One of the most common questions asked is, "is my child gifted?" This question is addressed in our parent information nights in January/February each year, but for those who would like a quick checklist of gifted traits, click here to download "signposts along the way: signs of giftedness". This checklist is an excerpt from Alberta Educations's gifted resource, "The Journey".

Not all gifted learners present a profile of high academic achievement. To learn more about the phenomenon of gifted underachievement and the research undertaken at Westmount in this area, click here.
- For our past Principal's presentation on "gifted underachievement" to the 2009 World Conference for Gifted and Talented Children, click here.
- Associated with the project on gifted underachievement is a literature review outlining current research on this topic. To see this literature review, click here.
- for a reading list for parents, click here.

There are many local, national and international agencies focused on giftedness. For links to these gifted organizations, click here.

19 December 2011

Sharing our learnings about giftedness:

Westmount proudly presented the first annual Pillars of Gifted Education Conference, October 22-23, 2010. Click here for post-conference information.

As an important step forward within the world-wide community of gifted educators, all seven of Westmount's abstracts submitted to present at the 18th World Conference on Gifted and Talented Children (August 2009, Vancouver) were accepted.
Below are the titles and presenter(s) for each presentation:

• Early Literacy – Mrs Mary Campbell and Mrs Michelle Bence
• The Integration of Philosophy 30 and Physics 30— Mr Seamus Doyle and Ms Kristy Martens
• Gifted Learners and Physical Inactivity – Mr Chris Hooper
• Understanding the Impact of a Global Issues Awareness Program on Gifted Teens – Mr Neil Robinson
• The Importance of Integrating Outdoor Education with Core Curriculum – Mr Chris Byron
• Goal Setting in High School Mathematics – Mrs Sandy Miller
• Improving Academic Performance of Gifted Underachievers – Mrs Martha Faulkner.

Westmount is piloting an "Inclusive Education Planning Tool" in grades 1-8 this year. For more information, click here, and check the Sept 29, 2011 article in our Online Newsletter!