4.5.5 Escalating the Challenge: Differentiation Strategies

Challenging gifted students to develop expertise and motivation to learn requires instructional strategies that resonate with advanced learners, yet teacher preparation programs often ignore gifted learners, and teachers may not know how to inspire advanced learning.

Research requires that the level, complexity, and pace of curricula should be matched to a student's readiness and motivation. This session will help teachers emphasize critical thinking using a wide range of differentiated strategies, including carefully chosen graphic organizers, Frayer Model, morphological synthesis, Johari Window, RAFT, and Topic Generator.

Presenters will provide examples and applications across curricular areas in K-12 so that participants learn to select strategies that are congruent with elevating creative thinking, based on teacher style and student needs.

Gifted students and their teachers benefit when the modification and adaptation of curriculum and instruction enable gifted learners to realize their full potential.

This presentation contains a variety of strategies that offer the kinds of complex and interesting experiences that appeal to talented students. In general, these strategies offer: · High levels of critical and creative thinking · Methods for increasing the ability to teach abstract concepts · A balance between cognitive and affective development · Original production · A balance between individual and group work

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