For several years, the Séminaire de Sherbrooke has observed certain problems faced by students with high intellectual potential, whose academic perseverance is sometimes compromised by specific difficulties that are often unknown or misunderstood to school stakeholders.

Due to concerns about effective interventions, professors from the Séminaire expressed their lack of knowledge identifying giftedness. Giftedness is often difficult to spot since it can be accompanied by behavioural or learning disabilities, lack of motivation, and even academic failure. Thanks to a grant from the PRESE, the Séminaire worked with Dr. Anne Brault-Labbé, professor of Psychology at UdeS, to understand the complex problems associated with giftedness, and to train its staff to better support gifted students.

In order to further support students who experience a loss of interest from a teaching rhythm slower than their own, the Séminaire hopes to collaborate with Dr. Brault-Labbé to develop a specialised learning path that enriches and encourages overall gifted learning as opposed to accelerated education. This would promote the development of a well-rounded education on both personal and academic fronts.Pedagogical material was created to train the teaching team from the Séminaire and the next workshop is expected to roll-out through 2021-2022.