Gifted Learners:
Curriculum,
Instruction, and
Assessment
Teacher trained in gifted education
Content
Accelerated and enriched
curriculum
Needs,
Characteristics,
Interests, and
Learning Styles
Product
Process
Communicates highlevel understanding
Critical and creative
thinking
Assessment
Instruction
Learning with other students with advanced potential
2
Elements of Differentiated Content
Substantive
content—focus on
concepts
Provision for
acceleration and
compression of
content
In-depth focus
including
enrichment
More advanced
reading and
vocabulary levels
Use of primary
sources, artifacts,
and real objects
Interdisciplinary
connections
Includes in-depth
and critical
analysis
Fosters creative
expression
Exploration of
areas of choice
3
Analysis
Critique
Propaganda
Struggle
Big Picture
Big Ideas
Common
man
Social
justice
Identity
Journey
Role of
government
4
Definition of Curriculum
Curriculum: A set of
for a targeted audience
experiences
(VanTassel-Baska & Stambaugh, 2006)
5
Elements of Differentiated
Instruction
Working with
intellectual peers
Developing habits
of mind of the
experts in the field
Opportunities for
independent
research in areas
of interest
Opportunities for
student choice
Consistently
focused in critical
and creative
thinking
Differentiation for
individual
readiness and
learning style
6
Models inquiry
process
Stimulates
different ways of
thinking
Question
Asking
Clarifies key ideas
Inspires curiosity
7
Tips for Questioning
• Don’t accept the first answer: What
else? Other ideas?
Solicit multiple • Encourage responses to the
responses of others
responses
• Use Bloom’s verbs to get at HOTS
Generate open- • Ask for support for ideas
ended questions
8
Cubing
Contracts
Tiering
Anchoring
activities
Centers
Strategies
Exit cards
Tic-tac-toe
Jigsaw
RAFT
Think dots
Task cards
Organizers
9
Elements of Differentiated
Assessment
Effective
communication in
oral, written, and
visual formats
Demonstration of
critical and
creative thinking
Real audiences
Effective use of a
variety of
technology/media
K–12 coordination
of opportunities
for advanced
products
10
Create
Create
Evaluate
Evaluate
Analyze
Analyze
Apply
Apply
Understand
Understand
Remember
Remember
Example: The Grapes of Wrath by
John Steinbeck
Substantive
• Influence of geography (or economics)
content with focus on sociology (or political agendas)
on concepts:
Provision for
acceleration:
In-depth focus
including
enrichment:
• Use this in middle school
• Cover more reading in less time
• Look at art and music related to migrant
workers or Great Depression or Dust
Bowl
12
Elements: The Grapes of Wrath
Habits of mind of
experts:
• Look at point of view
• Read primary sources
Demonstration of
advanced
understanding
through projects:
• Socialism vs. the American Dream
• Development of sense of
community
13
Opportunities for
independent
learning:
•
•
•
•
Role of women—feminism
Use of film techniques to convey the story
California’s migrant culture
Biblical imagery and its place in the era
Consistently
focused on
critical and
creative thinking:
• Power of writing to bring forth social justice
Interdisciplinary:
• Geography, history, economics, politics,
sociology, art, music
14
Questions: The Grapes of Wrath
• What data or evidence from the novel would
suggest that kindness may be more common
among the poor than the rich?
• What inferences do you draw from the
following statement by Ma? “Up ahead they’s
a thousan’ lives we might live, but when it
comes, it’ll on’y be one.”
• What are the consequences for individuals
and society of the Great Depression?
15
Bloom’s Questions: The Grapes of
Wrath
• Who are the main characters?
• What causes the journey to California in the first place?
• Compare the move of the migrant workers out of Oklahoma
to the forced moves of Native American tribes.
• Analyze the role of Rose of Sharon. What causes her to
behave as she does?
• Synthesize the feelings that Casy has about being a preacher.
• Evaluate the decision to move to California? Was it the right
one?
• Create a new ending for The Grapes of Wrath and construct
the justification for it being a viable alternative.
16
Problem-Based Learning (PBL):
The Grapes of Wrath
You have been told to investigate the working
and living conditions of migrant workers in
California in the 1930s. Make
recommendations for safeguards to be put in
place to ensure that the children of these
workers have an education and the families
have sanitary living conditions and access to
medical care.
17
PBL Questions
• Given the facts of the novel, what do you
know about the living conditions of migrant
workers including the education of their
children?
• What else do you need to know?
• What sources would be useful to explore?
• Are there parallel situations still in existence?
18
Differentiation: At All Levels of
Design!
Goals
Outcomes and
assessment
Strategies
Content/
materials/
resources
Activities and
projects
19
Differentiation for the Gifted
Not just
accelerated
Not just
choice
Not just a
different
assignment
Not just
different
Not just an
extension
Qualitatively
different in
all aspects
Not just a
different
word list
20
Differentiation: Social Studies
• Describe the American
• Identify three similarities and
Revolutionary War and the
three differences between
American Civil War. Include
the Revolutionary War and
information about:
the Civil War. Explore topics
in depth such as : weaponry,
– Causes
political positions of parties
– Main leaders
involved, strategies, and
– Outcomes
outcomes. You may select
another topic with teacher
approval.
21
Differentiation: Interdisciplinary
• Construct a bar graph
showing the
populations of:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Afghanistan (27,090,000)
China (1,325,000,000)
Egypt (72,500,000)
Finland (5,276,000)
Nigeria (162,083,000)
United States
(302,000,000)
• Find the population of
China for the past 10 years.
• Enter this data into an Excel
spreadsheet.
• Construct a graph using the
Excel tools.
• If there is uneven growth,
investigate possible causes.
• Is the trend line linear or
exponential?
• Can you predict the
population 10 years out?
22
Differentiation: Interdisciplinary
• Using resources found in the
library, find information on a
famous inventor posted
from the list on the board.
Answer these questions :
– What led to the
discovery?
– Describe early attempts.
– How well was this idea
accepted?
– What was the outgrowth
of this invention?
• Select one of the following topics
to research and construct a
persuasive essay defending your
position. Use multiple sources,
including primary sources, to
construct your position.
– The rate of new discoveries
has slowed in recent years.
– Most new ideas are developed
by large companies.
– The most important new idea
was the Internet.
23
Differentiation: Literature
• Describe the setting
from the story.
• Describe the setting and
why that is crucial to the
author’s purpose. Cite
specific examples from
the story to illustrate
your point(s).
24
Differentiation Instruction or
Assessment Activity
• With a colleague, take one of the following
topics and give an example of a learning
activity or assessment appropriate for grade
level learners and what that same learning
activity looks like for gifted learners:
– Bridge to Terabithia
– End of World War II
– Using percents
– Scientific method
25
What Is the Big Picture?
K–12
Sequence
Year
Units
Lessons
Activities
26
First
Grading
Period
Second
Grading
Period
Third
Grading
Period
Fourth
Grading
Period
Big ideas
Big ideas
Big ideas
Big ideas
Content
Content
Content
Content
Skills
Skills
Skills
Skills
Assessments
Assessments
Assessments
Assessments
Activities
Activities
Activities
Activities
Research
Research
Research
Research
Self-regulation
Self-regulation
Self-regulation
Self-regulation
27
Grade
1
Grade
2
Grade
3
Grade
4
Big ideas
Big ideas
Big ideas
Big ideas
Content
Content
Content
Content
Skills
Skills
Skills
Skills
Major projects
Major projects
Major projects
Major projects
Research skills
Research skills
Research skills
Research skills
Self, affective,
career
Self, affective,
career
Self, affective,
career
Self, affective,
career
28
K–8 Curriculum Map
Subject/Grade
Reading/language
arts
Social studies
Math
Science
Affective/career
Research
Self-regulation
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
A Good Activity Occasionally
30
A Planned Set of Experiences
31
32
Core curriculum designed at the
district level for learners with
advanced potential
Vertical articulation K–12
Just Say “No” to
Random Acts of Gifted Education
RAGE
33