For gifted learners, an appropriately differentiated classroom will provide material, activities, projects or products, homework and assessments that are complex, abstract, open-ended and multifaceted enough to cause gifted students to stretch in knowledge, thinking and production. These classrooms provide consistent expectations for gifted student to work with fuzzy problems, make great mental leaps and grow in ability to exercise independence (Tomlinson). The ideas below identify some characteristics of a differentiated classroom essential for gifted learners.
Gifted Dimensions
- The pace at which they learn. They get their work done quickly and seek further assignments or direction.
- The depth of their understanding. They ask probing questions that tend to differ from their classmates in depth of understanding and frequency.
- The interests that they hold. They have interests in areas that are unusual or more like the interests of older students. They often get "hooked" on certain topics.
Verbs are critical and represent the cognitive process.
Adapt
Anticipate
Categorize
Combine
Communicate
Compare
Compile
Compose
Construct
Contrast
Create
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Design
Develop
Devise
Express
Facilitate
Formulate
Generate
Incorporate
Individualize
Initiate
Integrate
|
Intervene
Invent
Make up
Model
Modify
Negotiate
Organize
Perform
Plan
Pretend
Produce
|
Progress
Propose
Rearrange
Reconstruct
Reinforce
Prioritize
Reorganize
Revise
Rewrite
Structure
Substitute
Validate
|
Appraise
Argue
Assess
Choose
Compare & Contrast
Conclude
Criticize
Critique
Decide
Defend
Evaluate
|
Interpret
Judge
Justify
Predict
Prove
Rank
Rate
Reframe
Select
Support
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Work Groups
- Flexible grouping is consistently used.
- Students work alone.
- Students work in pairs.
- Students work in groups.
- Groups/tasks are readiness-based, interest-based, learning style-based or a combination.
- Students self-select peers with whom to work.
- Whole group for introducing new ideas, planning, or sharing learning.
Evaluation
- Criteria for evaluating student work are presented before students begin actual work.
- Students earn equivalent credit for differentiated work. Assessment is predicated on student growth and goal attainment.
- A variety of options are available though which students can demonstrate or exhibit what they have learned.
Samples That Are NOT Considered Differentiation
- Assignments are the same for all learners.
- Assignment adjustments consist of varying the level of difficulty of questions for certain students.
- Some students are graded harder than others.
- Those who finish early get to play enrichment games.
- Students are given extension assignments (extra math problems or extra book reports) after finishing “regular” work.
- Students are getting high grades so no differentiation is needed.
- Instruction stresses retention and regurgitation of fragmented bits of information.
- The focus is on coverage-based curriculum.
- Independent projects are assigned.