Academic Options for Gifted Students
Instructional Differentiation, Subject Acceleration and Grade Skips
Sep 21, 2008
Gifted and Talented programs are often underfunded to the point that services are only provided in hour-long pull-out programs or occasional visits from a GT professional or nothing at all. As a result, parents of intellectually gifted children often need to advocate for their high end children in order to assure that their academic needs are met within the regular classroom. Differentiated assignments, subject acceleration and full-grade acceleration are three proven methods of meeting the needs of intellectually gifted students.
Differentiation of Instruction:
Differentiation of instruction is a popular buzzword that describes a classroom technique wherein teachers in mixed-ability classrooms provide different levels of difficulty within a single lesson. In a differentiated classroom the teacher may provide varying content, process or product so that the needs of students at all levels are appropriately met.
- Content - To differentiate content, an instructor may provide reading materials at varying levels. Whereas an advanced student may enjoy researching a variety of sources to find information, lower end students may need a more may need a more straight forward guided approach to learning. While a "fact-finding" assignment may be appropriate for struggling or average reader, gifted students should be challenged to synthesize and evaluate information that they find. Allowing all students to share their assigned content will ensure that all children have access to the knowledge.
- Process - Varying instructional methods may help students of different levels to learn at their own level. For instance, while students of all levels may require visual graphics or hands on activities for learning, a more advanced student will typically require far less repetition.
- Product - Offering students a variety of options for classroom activities with different levels of complexity is another differentiation strategy that may help gifted students to excel. Teachers may likewise choose different assessment rubrics for evaluating students of different levels.
A variety of differentiated packaged curricula is now available, but, with practice, teachers may find that they prefer to create their own differentiated lessons.
Subject Acceleration
When a student has already shown mastery of subject grade level content , it may be appropriate for him or her to move on to the next grade level for specific subjects. A mathematically advanced first grader, for instance, might go to second grade during math time.
Off-level instruction may also occur within the student's home classroom. For example, an advanced reader could read higher level books during language arts without ever leaving the classroom. Parents and teachers of gifted readers will want to work in tandem with the school librarian to ensure that advanced students are provided with appropriate reading material.
Grade Skipping
While often controversial, a highly gifted student may require a full grade skip or more. Research shows that students who are advanced in all subjects often thrive when working on above level coursework with older children.
When allowed by law, starting school early or skipping an early grade such as kindergarten may be the be best option for a precocious youngster who is already reading and doing math at a higher level.
Advocating for Gifted Children
In the end, advocacy for gifted children will require a team effort. Keep the doors of communication open, and politely work with educational professionals to create an educational plan that will work best for all parties.
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