Thinking Skills Curriculum
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To develop critical thinking skills, the student will develop the skill of:
a. Focusing a question.
b. Analyzing arguments.
c. Asking and answering questions of clarification.
d. Judging the credibility of a source.
e. Making and judging observations.
f. Making and judging deductions.
g. Making and judging inductions.
h. Judging the accuracy of presented information.
i. Defining terms and judging definitions.
j. Identifying assumptions.
k. Deciding on an action.
l. Interacting with others.
m. Recognizing fallacies.
To develop creative thinking skills, the student will develop the skill of:
a. Creative problem solving (problem finding, deferring judgment,
considering alternatives).
b. SCAMPER modification techniques.
c. Random input/synectics (forced association).
d. Brain storming.
e. Creative thinking processes (fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration).
f. Synthesizing.
To develop analytical skills, the student will develop the skill of:
a. Recognizing attributes.
b. Comparing and contrasting.
c. Classifying, outlining, webbing.
d. Ranking, prioritizing, sequencing.
e. Pattern finding and completion.
f. Completing and making analogies.
g. Hypothesizing.
h. Analyzing.
i. Inferring.
j. Evaluating.
k. Predicting.
To develop organizational skills, the students will develop the skill of:
a. Mathematical problem solving.
b. Formulating questions.
c. Interpreting data.
d. Developing a thesis statement.
e. Decision making techniques.
f. Goal setting/planning/designing.
g. Summarizing.
h. Memorization techniques.
Affective Curriculum
Personal and Group Dynamic Skills
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To understand what being gifted means, the student will:
a. Analyze giftedness.
b. Analyze cultural, special needs, and gender issues related to giftedness.
c. Develop a personal definition of the word “gifted”.
To develop strategies to strengthen personal capabilities, the student will:
a. Analyze personal learning and thinking styles.
b. Recognize personal capabilities.
c. Develop strategies to deal with procrastination and perfectionism.
d. Develop strategies to deal with stress.
e. Develop awareness and understanding of self-efficacy.
f. Develop awareness of gender issues.
g. Develop strategies to enjoy the present.
h. Identify self and others’ expectations and develop the strategies
necessary for dealing with these expectations.
To develop an awareness of and gain insight into interactions between self
and others, the student will:
a. Understand family responsibilities (rules, siblings, chores).
b. Develop strategies to deal with peer group issues.
c. Understand the difficulties facing teachers as they work with a diverse
population of individuals.
To develop interpersonal and group process skills, the student will:
a. Develop strategies to articulate feelings.
b. Understand the impact of learning and thinking styles on interpersonal
relationships in the school setting.
c. Develop communication skills relating to personal, family, and school
issues.
d. Develop strategies to make and keep friends.
e. Develop group dynamic skills.
To develop life skills, the student will:
a. Recognize ethical behaviors, e.g.: honesty, integrity, responsibility,
trustworthiness, courtesy, kindness, respect.
b. Develop decision-making skills.
c. Develop short-term and long-term goals for personal growth.
d. Recognize the need for service to others.
Gifted Program Performance Standards
GOAL 1: Gifted students in Diamond R-IV Public Schools will acquire the in-depth
knowledge and skills to gather, analyze and apply complex information and ideas.
Gifted students will demonstrate within and integrate across all content areas the ability
to:
1. develop abstract questions and ideas to initiate and refine more open research
2. conduct in-depth research to answer complex questions and evaluate abstract
information and ideas
3. to work independently to design and conduct original field and laboratory
investigations to study nature and society
4. use advanced technological tools and demonstrate independence in using
other resources to locate, select and organize information
5. comprehend and evaluate a wide range of written, visual and oral
presentations and works
6. discover and evaluate complex patterns and multi-faceted relationships in
information, ideas and structures
7. evaluate the accuracy of complex information and the reliability of its sources
8. organize complex data, abstract information and ideas into useful forms
(including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation
9. use more open approaches to identify, analyze and compare the institutions,
traditions and art forms of past and present societies
10. use original thoughts to apply acquired information, ideas and skills to
unknown contexts as students, workers, citizens and consumers
GOAL 2: Students in Diamond R-IV Public Schools will acquire the in depth knowledge
and multi-faceted skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.
Gifted students will demonstrate within and integrate across all content areas the ability
to:
1. plan and create written, oral and visual concrete and abstract presentations for
a variety of purposes and audiences
2. review and revise communications to identify elements would allow for flexible
thought
3. exchange information, questions and ideas and consider a wider range of
acceptable responses or approaches while recognizing the perspectives of
others
4. present abstract perceptions and ideas regarding works of the arts, humanities
and sciences in a more creative format than originally presented
5. perform or produce works in the fine and practical arts with greater
independence and less facilitator modeling
6. identify and apply the most current communication techniques to the job
search and to the workplace
7. use state of the art technology to exchange multi-faceted information and
abstract ideas with greater independence
GOAL 3: Gifted students in Diamond R-IV Public Schools will acquire the complex
knowledge and skills to recognize and solve abstract problems. Gifted students will
demonstrate within and integrate across all content areas the ability to:
1. identify complex problems and define their scope and elements
2. develop and apply advanced strategies based on ways others have prevented
or solved complex problems
3. develop and apply advanced strategies based on one’s own experience in
preventing or solving complex problems
4. evaluate the multi-faceted processes used in recognizing and solving complex
problems
5. reason inductively from a set of complex facts and deductively from abstract
premises
6. examine complex problems and abstract solutions from multiple perspectives
7. evaluate the extent to which an abstract strategy addresses the complex
problem
8. assess costs, benefits and other consequences of abstract solutions
GOAL 4: Gifted students in Diamond R-IV Public Schools will acquire the conceptual
knowledge and transformational skills to make decisions and act with greater
independence as responsible and contributing members of society. Students will
demonstrate within and integrate across all content areas the ability to:
1. evaluate reasoning in the decision making process and defend information
used to support decisions.
2. justify and defend the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in Missouri and
the United States; apply transformational understanding to abstract global issues.
3. analyze the abstract duties and responsibilities of individuals in societies (ie:
moral, ethical, ecological, global) for both present and future generations.
4. evaluate and practice honesty and integrity in academic work and in the
workplace.
5. develop, monitor, revise, and evaluate plans of action to meet deadlines and
accomplish complex goals with greater independence.
6. identify complex tasks that require a coordinated effort and work with others to
complete those tasks
7. evaluate and apply practices that preserve and enhance the safety and health
of self and others
8. explore, prepare for and seek multi-faceted and transformational education