Profiles of high-ability students
Type 1: The Successful
- Easy to identify – account for about 90% of identified high-ability students
- Obedient – display appropriate behaviours and follow given instructions
- They can get bored at school without a challenging curriculum
- Tend to lack creativity, imagination and autonomy
- Doesn’t go above requirements
- Avoids risks
- Can be a perfectionist e.g. slow to take notes as handwriting needs to look flawless
Type 2: The Creative
- Creativity will probably be shown in only one focus area (i.e. displays high-ability in landscape painting but not so much in abstract drawing)
- Sometimes labelled as a troublemaker
- Often do not work well with peers
- Non-conformist
- Often liked by one or two teachers who ‘get’ them
Type 3: The Underground
- Confusion choosing between their need to achieve versus their need to belong – some associate achievement as a betrayal of their social, racial or cultural group (on the checklist, this is referred to as ‘forced choice dilemma’
- Hide abilities to feel more included
- Frequently insecure and anxious
- Doesn’t want the ‘high-ability’ label and resists development opportunities
Type 4: The At-Risk
- Most are pro-social
- Skilled at telling people what they want to hear
- Often present as troubled or angry
- Can experience identity crisis
- Negative attitude towards authority
- Insufficient communication between school and home
Type 5: Learning Difficulty / Physical Disability
- Those in this group who are well catered for are often well-adjusted
- Social and emotional difficulties higher in this profile
- Can suffer from low self-esteem, be withdrawn and respond defensively
- Undiagnosed or misdiagnosed are often angry and frustrated
- Need to see strengths before seeing difficulties or disability
Type 6: Autonomous Learner
- Are already performing at a high level
- goal setters, embrace failure, persevere, seek information, thrive on challenge, a growth mindset
- Similar to ‘The Successful’, but willing to fail and learn from it and also happy to work with others.
- May don’t feel they need anything from adults
- Invest energy into their passions
How do I identify the high-ability students in my classroom?
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The Profile Checklists provide you with characteristics of each profile type and can assist you in identifying these students. If you have a student that you suspect of being high ability, look through the checklists and see what attitudes, behaviours and teacher perceptions are present. Keep in mind that a student will rarely display all characteristics in one profile.
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Professional Development
Understanding High-Ability Students from the Inside Out
https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/ResourcePackage/LandingPage?ObjectId=d33fd722-a7da-4b07-939b-e5c2f42ae432&SearchScope=All
Case Studies of High-Ability Students
https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/ResourcePackage/LandingPage?ObjectId=54889e54-5f61-4c7c-b454-ea99d6a2c7c4&SearchScope=All
Wellbeing of High-Ability Students
https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/ResourcePackage/LandingPage?ObjectId=51468206-bf32-4d34-8e59-9bcd652b4047&SearchScope=All
https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/ResourcePackage/LandingPage?ObjectId=d33fd722-a7da-4b07-939b-e5c2f42ae432&SearchScope=All
Case Studies of High-Ability Students
https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/ResourcePackage/LandingPage?ObjectId=54889e54-5f61-4c7c-b454-ea99d6a2c7c4&SearchScope=All
Wellbeing of High-Ability Students
https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/ResourcePackage/LandingPage?ObjectId=51468206-bf32-4d34-8e59-9bcd652b4047&SearchScope=All