The purpose of differentiating the curriculum is to provide appropriate learning opportunities for gifted and talented students. Three important characteristics of gifted students that underscore the rationale for curriculum differentiation (Van Tassel–Baska, 1988) are the capacity to:
- learn at faster rates
- find, solve and act on problems more readily
- manipulate abstract ideas and make connections.
What is curriculum differentiation?
Gifted students need the opportunity to work through the curriculum at a faster pace and need less time on basics and revision. A differentiated curriculum is a program of activities that offers a variety of entry points for students who differ in abilities, knowledge and skills. In a differentiated curriculum teachers offer different approaches to what students learn (content), how students learn (process) and how students demonstrate what they have learned (product).
Pre-testing
The creation of a differentiated curriculum requires some pre-planning. It is important to find out what the students already know and their level of skill attainment. There are different ways that students' prior knowledge can be determined, for example, brainstorming or producing a concept map or a series of questions on a test. These types of pre–tests can provide valuable information about individual differences in ability within the class. The curriculum can then be compacted to delete outcomes that have already been achieved if some students demonstrate mastery of them.
Curriculum models
A program should strive for the optimal match between learner capacity and level of experiences provided. Some children have greater facility with abstract thought, critical reasoning and meta–cognitive skills than others (Braggett et al., 1999). This means that to avoid underachievement a curriculum needs to be developed that will both challenge and stimulate students appropriately.
There are numerous models of curriculum differentiation that can be applied creatively to produce programs that provide flexibility and choice, for the range of individual differences in the classroom. These models show how content, teaching and learning processes and products can be fine-tuned to meet the needs of gifted students. The challenge is to use the models in a considered way to create exciting opportunities for gifted students.
Writing programs for gifted students
Gifted students can be catered to by providing extension and enrichment opportunities and through accelerative practices.
What are extension and enrichment?
Extension means providing opportunities at a greater level of challenge to the student. A combination of practices including acceleration, grouping and differentiation of the curriculum enable gifted students to access meaningful learning opportunities. Substantial gains in learning can be made when gifted students are grouped together and when they are accelerated but this can only be achieved if they have access to a developmentally appropriate curriculum ( Rogers , 2002).
Enrichment means providing breadth to the curriculum at the same level of challenge to the student. All students should have access to enrichment at the appropriate intellectual level. However, appropriate enrichment for gifted students would not be suitable for all students. This is because the activities would not match the learning needs of every student.
When creating programs for gifted students it is important to discover their current level of knowledge, skills and understanding. This means determining their level of achievement of learning outcomes. Some students may not have achieved a substantial number of outcomes at their stage level but may benefit from exposure to a more demanding curriculum. This means that outcomes need to be differentiated to cater for the need of a more abstract curriculum, a faster pace of learning and the ability to make connections across disciplines.
Students who have achieved substantially at their stage level should have the opportunity to access outcomes at higher stages. This needs to be made explicit and written into programs.
The learning environment
Environmental conditions are also important for gifted students to maximise learning. Teachers of the gifted devote less time to instruction and more time to questioning. They tend to ask many divergent questions and use questions to stimulate discussions and to understand thought processes. Most teachers rely heavily on feedback but some teachers of the gifted avoid doing this. They behave like counsellors: attentive and interested but not judgmental. This stimulates self–evaluation and reduces dependency on teacher reinforcement. Teachers of the gifted also control the classroom differently, using humour, non-verbal cues and unobtrusive ways of refocusing students' attention on tasks. There seems to be more equality among gifted students and teachers than among the general school population (Silverman,1988).
Bibliography
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