G I F T E D A N D TA L E N T E D G I F T E D N E S S & TA L E N T 1
GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION
Giftedness refers to a student’s outstanding natural abilities or aptitudes, located in
one or more domains: intellectual, creative, social, perceptual or physical, placing that
student in the top 10% of age peers.
Talent is the outstanding performance or competency in one or more fields of human
activity that places a student in the top 10% of age peers in that field.
The Gifted and Talented Students Policy is based on Gagné’s Differentiated Model of
Giftedness and Talent (DMGT). A diagram of the DMGT is below. It has three columns,
with gifts on the left hand side, talents on the right hand side and catalysts that impact
the developmental process in the centre. A student’s gifts are turned into talents through
the developmental process.
Gifts are divided into two groups: mental (intellectual, creative, social and perceptual) and
physical (muscular and motor control). Talents are in the fields of: academic, technical,
science and technology, arts, social service, administration/sales, business operations,
games, sports and athletics.
Gifts are developed into talents through the developmental process. The developmental
process, designed to nurture and develop gifts into talents, has six main elements:
1.	 Enriched curriculum or training program
2.	 A clear and challenging excellence goal
3.	 Selective access criteria
4.	 Systemic and regular practice
5.	 Regular and objective assessment of progress
6.	 Personalized accelerated pacing (Gagné, 2008).
If the development process is poor, a gifted student may not become talented. Students
performing at very high levels exhibit inherent gifts that if nurtured and developed often
lead to the display of talent. The DMGT shows where the student – and the student’s
family – can be influential. In the centre of the model, between gifts and talents, are the
catalysts.
Catalysts are the important aspects of the student’s environment, both external and
internal, that impact their development. The developmental process can be influenced
through the way catalysts are managed either directly or indirectly by the student’s
family; for example, a student’s potential can either be developed or hindered by
environmental and intrapersonal catalysts. Nurturing and developing gifts into talents
involves a complex, structured program of activities over a period of time and depends on
the individual student’s level of giftedness and need.
Further information on Gagné’s Model of Giftedness and Talent can be found at
http://gagnefrancoys.wix.com/dmgt-mddt.
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GIFTEDNESS&TALENT
G I F T E D A N D TA L E N T E D G I F T E D N E S S & TA L E N T 2
TALENTFIELDS
Thereareninetalentfields.SixofthemaresourcedfromJohnHolland’swork-relatedclassificationofpersonalitytypes:R=Realistic;I=Investigative;A=Artistic;
S=Social;E=Enterprising;C=Conventional.TheotherthreecomplementtheWorld-of-Worksystem:Academic(K-12)subjects;Games;Sports&Athletics(Gagné2008).
Gagné’s Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT) (2008)