Teaching the Gifted Student in the Regular Classroom Blaine Parker

Students who are the same age differ in their readiness to learn, interests, ways of learning (visual, auditory, etc.), experiences, and their background knowledge of topics.

A teacher’s responsibility is to teach the students (not the content), to make sure that all students learn new content everyday!

Student’s will learn best when… Supportive adults encourage their learning They can make a connection between what they are learning and what interest them Learning opportunities are natural

Teacher’s Role Be facilitator and mentor Partnership in the learning task Encourage to explore Skilled in orchestrating the diverse elements of the differentiated program and ensuring a comprehensive yet balanced educational provision.

Learning Environment Pace Variety Exploration of ideas Student choice of content Challenge Development of creativity Collaborative inquiry Exploration of ideas Independent investigation Development of thinking skills Intellectual risk taking Research skills

What Gifted Students Need Gifted students need compacting and differentiation. Compacting – condensing a semester or year’s worth of learning into a shorter period. Differentiation – providing gifted students with different tasks and activities that their age peers

5 Elements of Differentiation Content Process Product Environment Assessment

Content Content is differentiated through the use of more advanced, complex texts and resource materials. The focus of differentiated content should be on understanding more than just the information.

Process Defines the methods students use to make sense of concepts, generalizations, and/or the required standards. Gifted students should spend most of their learning time on tasks that are more complex and abstract than those their age peers could handle.

Product This describes the ways in which students choose to illustrate and demonstrate their understanding of the content and process. Product is differentiated by steering children to exciting and unusual resources.

Environment Gifted students typically spend more time in independent study than their classmates. They thrive in a challenging atmosphere in which individual differences are valued and nurtured. Learning environment is differentiated by changing the actual place where students work, altering the teacher’s expectations, allowing flexible time limits, providing for in-depth research, and letting students work with mentors.

Assessment Describes the method used to document mastery of curriculum. They should experience consistent opportunities to demonstrate previous mastery before a particular unit of work is taught.

Five Steps to Successful Compacting Identify the learning objectives all students must learn Plan an alternate path through the content for those students who can learn the required material in less time than their age peers.

Five Steps to Successful Compacting Plan and offer curriculum extensions Eliminate practice, review, or preparation for state tests for students who have already mastered such things Keep accurate records of student’s compacting activities

Examples of Activities Create a model Make a game Have a panel discussion Make a photo album Write a new law Design or construct a new product Make a movie Create a musical instrument Make a map Create an advertisement Create a slide show Write a book

Resources Winebrenner, Susan (2001). Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom www.kidsource.com www.adifferentplace.org Hill, Frances (2005). Teaching Gifted Learners