Education

Able Learners' Enrichment Program

History

A History of the Program
Since 2000, the La Trobe University Daedalus Program at the Bendigo campus, has been a successful initiative for gifted and talented children from regional and rural Victoria, with over 1000 students participating over the five years. Since 2005, this program, based at the Bendigo Campus of La Trobe University, has been called the Able Learners' Enrichment Program.

Because of their geographical location, many gifted children in regional and rural areas typically suffer inequitable access opportunities to appropriate intellectual and cultural experiences commensurate with their abilities. For a combination of reasons, they tend to be under-identified, and their specific learning needs less recognised, as compared with urban students.

The Program provides gifted children with access to challenging and interesting information and activities surrounded by their intellectual peers. This allows them to interact with more children of similar abilities and who share their interests than they may normally encounter in their schools. The Program also supports and informs parents so that they do not feel isolated. It also provides the workshop presenters with exciting opportunities to interact and teach small classes of gifted children who are enthusiastic about their selected topic.

Tutors in this program, including university staff, primary and secondary teachers, community teachers, and community leaders, have offered interesting and innovative workshops for small groups of gifted children, a growing number of whom are coming from rural communities in north central Victoria.

In addition, on these days each year, we have provided parents with an opportunity to listen to guest speakers with wide experience in giftedness or gifted education provision.

This enrichment program has run on volunteer time. For nine years, we have provided one day of enrichment workshops each year, for gifted children nominated by their parents, or invited to attend by schools, at the La Trobe Bendigo campus.