Symposium for Gifted Education AU/NZ 2025 (Test)

Symposium for Gifted Education AU/NZ 2025

Gifted and Talented Education (GATE)

What to expect

Programme

Speaker

Venues

Bookings

Brochure (PDF)

The Third Symposium for Gifted Education

Following the tremendous success of the first two events, we are delighted to invite you to the highly anticipated Third Symposium for Gifted Education. This professional development event has quickly become an essential fixture for teachers working with gifted and talented students (GATE), offering invaluable resources, fresh insights, and exceptional networking opportunities.

Why Attend?

At the heart of effective gifted education lies the teacher. While popular misconceptions suggest that gifted children can thrive on their own, research confirms that well-qualified, knowledgeable teachers play a pivotal role in unlocking the potential of these learners. This symposium is designed to support teachers in navigating the complex needs of gifted students by providing both theoretical insights and practical resources.

A Focus on Big Questions

The day will address some of the meta questions often raised by gifted learners—questions that challenge traditional thinking and encourage deep exploration. By attending, you will gain tools and strategies to help your students engage meaningfully with these topics and enhance their critical thinking skills.

Exceptional Resources for Your Classroom

We pride ourselves on providing teachers with high-quality, ready-to-use resources that can be implemented immediately in the classroom. Our expertly curated materials are designed to spark curiosity and foster intellectual engagement, making your lessons impactful and memorable.

Networking and Collaboration

One of the highlights of our previous events has been the chance for educators to connect with like-minded professionals. The networking opportunities at the Symposium are invaluable, allowing teachers to share experiences, ideas, and best practices in gifted education.

Ethics

This masterclass is designed for educators with little or no formal training in ethics and offers an accessible and practical introduction to ethics. While the term “ethics” might sound abstract or academic, its principles are deeply relevant to your everyday work—especially when working with more able learners who thrive on intellectualm challenges and critical thinking.

Bright students often approach the world with a sharp sense of curiosity, fairness, and a desire to understand complex issues. They’re the ones who will ask the “big questions” about what is right and wrong, what fairness means, and how to make decisions in a complicated world.

This introduction to Ethics will give you tools to guide these conversations and stretch their thinking.

Beyond classroom discussions, ethical literacy also helps you navigate professional challenges. Whether you’re making decisions about fairness, managing conflicting needs, or handling sensitive situations, ethical principles can offer clarity and confidence in your choices.

This session will not only introduce key ethical concepts in a simple and approachable way but also show how these ideas can stretch and inspire your more able learners. By the end, you’ll feel more equipped to engage with ethical questions and support your students in thinking deeply about the world around them.

Understanding Meta- Ethics: Objectivity, Subjectivity and Relativism

9:30–10:30

This introductory session provides educators with an accessible and practical guide to key meta-ethical concepts, focusing on the distinctions between objectivity, subjectivity, and relativism. Designed for those with little or no background in ethics, the session delves into the deeper roots of ethical tension, exploring how genuine ethical debate often stems from these foundational ifferences in perspective.

Teachers will be equipped with tools to uncover and critically evaluate the unexamined assumptions underlying ethical statements, supported by a thoughtful critique of each position. This approach will enable much deeper analysis and foster more meaningful discussions.

By the end of the session, participants will have a clear understanding of the core concepts of meta-ethics and their relevance to advanced critical thinking, empowering them to inspire and challenge their students’ philosophical inquiry.

Morning Tea

10:30–11:00

Ethical Theories: An Accessible Guide for Teachers

11:00–12:00

This engaging session provides an accessible and practical breakdown of key ethical frameworks, including consequentialism, deontology and virtue theory. It offers clear explanations of each type theory, highlighting their core principles, strengths, and challenges, along with how they approach questions of right and wrong.

Participants will explore consequentialism, which focuses on outcomes and the greatest good for the greatest number; deontology, which emphasises rules and duties and virtue ethics, which centres on moral character and personal development. The distinctiveness of Christian Ethics will also be explored. To bring these theories to life, the session incorporates real-world examples, such as ethical dilemmas. Teachers will learn how to connect these ideas to their students’ everyday experiences and encourage critical reflection.

Swap Meet: Sharing Expertise in the GATE Community

12:00–12:30

This engaging session provides an accessible and practical breakdown of key ethical frameworks, including consequentialism, deontology and virtue theory. It offers clear explanations of each type theory, highlighting their core principles, strengths, and challenges, along with how they approach questions of right and wrong.

Participants will explore consequentialism, which focuses on outcomes and the greatest good for the greatest number; deontology, which emphasises rules and duties and virtue ethics, which centres on moral character and personal development. The distinctiveness of Christian Ethics will also be explored. To bring these theories to life, the session incorporates real-world examples, such as ethical dilemmas. Teachers will learn how to connect these ideas to their students’ everyday experiences and encourage critical reflection.

Lunch

12:30–13:30

Using-Ethical-Thought-Experiments-to-Stimulate-Critical-and-Creative-Thinking

Teaching Ethics With Thought experiments

13:30–14:30

The thought experiment is a powerful tool for engaging more able students in deep ethical reflection and critical thinking. Thought experiments are particularly effective for introducing ethical theory, challenging assumptions, and fostering moral reasoning across the curriculum with any age group.

This year’s session will showcase a brand-new selection of ethical thought experiments, distinct from those used previously. Each thought experiment will be introduced with a short video clip to spark engagement, followed by practical strategies for facilitating discussion around complex ethical dilemmas.

Teachers will leave with oven-ready ethical resources and gain the confidence to embed thought experiments into routine classroom practice. The session will equip educators to encourage creative thinking, critical analysis, and imaginative exploration of ethical issues in everyday lessons.

Practical Resources for Teaching Ethical Theories

Attendees will receive classroom-ready materials, including lesson plans, discussion prompts, and case studies to help students engage critically with ethical questions from both secular and Christian perspectives.

Complete booking form below or contact Tony at [email protected] for more details.

Julie Arliss

Join us for an enriching teacher training event featuring Julie Arliss, an outstanding Gifted Educator renowned for nurturing brilliance through a holistic approach. At the core of Julie Arliss’ philosophy is a profound dedication to unlocking the unique potential within every educator and maximizing their impact.

Arliss believes that exceptional teaching extends beyond academic excellence; it encompasses innovative methodologies, access to comprehensive classroom resources, and a visionary approach to education. Thriving Minds Symposium for GATE equips teachers with the necessary tools to refine their teaching practices, curate impactful classroom resources, and envision transformative educational experiences.

This philosophy empowers educators to challenge norms, explore novel teaching strategies, and foster environments that inspire excellence. Emphasising mentorship and guidance, teachers benefit from Arliss’ expertise and support as they embark on their journey towards enhanced teaching practices and greater impact.

Julie Arliss’ legacy extends beyond the conference platform, influencing the lives of educators who carry these values throughout their careers. With almost three decades of collaboration with leading thinkers, Arliss has delivered outstanding programs for educators across the UK and Australasia.

Join us in embracing this transformative approach to teacher development and empowering the next generation of innovative and impactful educators. Register now to be part of this inspiring event.

The Symposium for Gifted Education has been a game-changer for me. The resources and insights provided have transformed how I approach teaching my most curious and capable students.

This event equips teachers with what we desperately need – practical tools to challenge gifted students while keeping them engaged. The focus on big ethical questions has been especially valuable in our philosophy classes.

It’s rare to find an event that blends theoretical depth with practical classroom application so seamlessly. The networking alone made the symposium worthwhile, but the resources are what I’ve used repeatedly throughout the year.

I left the symposium with a renewed passion for teaching. It’s inspiring to be part of a community that genuinely cares about how we can better support gifted learners.

The resources provided were outstanding – practical, ready to use, and thought-provoking. It’s rare to attend a professional development day that makes an immediate impact in the classroom.

Registration

$275 per attendee, which includes all resources and light refreshments.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enrich your teaching practice and inspire your gifted students. Secure your place at the Third Symposium for Gifted Education today!

By confirming your booking, you are kindly committing to the associated payment. If circumstances change, our cancellation policy is available and we’re happy to assist. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Contact & Support

Complete the booking form or for further details, contact Tony at:

[email protected]

+44 7979 524277

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