Parallel Curriculum Model
Structure:
Rationale:
No piece of the pie occurs independently in this model. Students are consistently being asked to draw parallels in both academic and expressive manners. Academically, students are exposed to core content in a responsive manner across multiple content areas. As students are exposed to academic core content, they are asked to examine the content through multiple viewpoints and perspectives. As students practice the core content using multiple viewpoints they naturally draw parallels that help explain overarching concepts such as change and resilience. In the parallel curriculum model, the four main areas (core, practice, connections, and identity) are being processed simultaneously. As students take on the roles of scientist and historian to examine an artifact they are considering not only the core content of what they know about the time period from which the artifact is from, but also evaluating their own ability to practice the core content.
The identity and practice pieces of the parallel model benefit gifted students in particular because these pieces naturally allow students to experience curriculum in a more intense manner, appealing to the intensity often observed in gifted students. In addition, the practice piece of this model encourages students to interact with core content in a disciplinary manner appealing to gifted students' desire for learning with real-world applications. Using this model, students are able to see content in action as it is outside of the classroom and compare their preconceptions against the experience in order to grow as an individual within the discipline and also growing to master core content. This model can help gifted students appreciate the process of revision (which by nature of perfectionism some gifted students are reluctant to) because of the constant parallels that are being drawn and revisited throughout a unit. Learning in the parallel model transcends all other learning and students realize through a multitude of connections and parallels that learning is never finished or done. Finally, as gifted students are often fast learners and sometimes early finishers, the depth of thinking that all parts of this model require simultaneously is sure to keep gifted students engaged.
No piece of the pie occurs independently in this model. Students are consistently being asked to draw parallels in both academic and expressive manners. Academically, students are exposed to core content in a responsive manner across multiple content areas. As students are exposed to academic core content, they are asked to examine the content through multiple viewpoints and perspectives. As students practice the core content using multiple viewpoints they naturally draw parallels that help explain overarching concepts such as change and resilience. In the parallel curriculum model, the four main areas (core, practice, connections, and identity) are being processed simultaneously. As students take on the roles of scientist and historian to examine an artifact they are considering not only the core content of what they know about the time period from which the artifact is from, but also evaluating their own ability to practice the core content.
The identity and practice pieces of the parallel model benefit gifted students in particular because these pieces naturally allow students to experience curriculum in a more intense manner, appealing to the intensity often observed in gifted students. In addition, the practice piece of this model encourages students to interact with core content in a disciplinary manner appealing to gifted students' desire for learning with real-world applications. Using this model, students are able to see content in action as it is outside of the classroom and compare their preconceptions against the experience in order to grow as an individual within the discipline and also growing to master core content. This model can help gifted students appreciate the process of revision (which by nature of perfectionism some gifted students are reluctant to) because of the constant parallels that are being drawn and revisited throughout a unit. Learning in the parallel model transcends all other learning and students realize through a multitude of connections and parallels that learning is never finished or done. Finally, as gifted students are often fast learners and sometimes early finishers, the depth of thinking that all parts of this model require simultaneously is sure to keep gifted students engaged.
Integrated Curriculum Model
Structure:
Rationale:
The integrated model combines three separate curriculum models that have all proven to be successful independently. Units written in this model are interdisciplinary and allow students to make connections between disciplines in relation to a broad theme and/or concept. The content presented is ideally two grade levels ahead of the students current age. Higher-order thinking skills are required to engage with the content and the products developed by students are often responses to real-world problems and use real-world audiences.
It is no surprise that this model is supported by research because it is based on models previously determined to be successful for gifted learners when taught independently. Concept-based units appeal to the conceptual understandings that gifted learners often visualize. Furthermore, the real-world nature of the processes required to design products appeals to gifted students because of their natural curiosities that lead to a determined sense of creative problem-solving. Advanced content allows students to feel challenged and to make connections between current and prior learning, appealing to gifted students who appreciate a detail-oriented sense of organization.
The integrated model combines three separate curriculum models that have all proven to be successful independently. Units written in this model are interdisciplinary and allow students to make connections between disciplines in relation to a broad theme and/or concept. The content presented is ideally two grade levels ahead of the students current age. Higher-order thinking skills are required to engage with the content and the products developed by students are often responses to real-world problems and use real-world audiences.
It is no surprise that this model is supported by research because it is based on models previously determined to be successful for gifted learners when taught independently. Concept-based units appeal to the conceptual understandings that gifted learners often visualize. Furthermore, the real-world nature of the processes required to design products appeals to gifted students because of their natural curiosities that lead to a determined sense of creative problem-solving. Advanced content allows students to feel challenged and to make connections between current and prior learning, appealing to gifted students who appreciate a detail-oriented sense of organization.
Multiple Menu Model
Structure:
Via the University of Connecticut: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented
Rationale:
A major advantage of the multiple menu curriculum model for gifted students is the opportunity for significant choices for differentiation within the gifted classroom. As a classroom teacher you know that anything you design to meet the needs of your gifted students will not meet the needs of each child in the same way. The preceding holds true because gifted students, although often lumped together for differentiation, still benefit from differentiation techniques even within a homogeneous group of students identified as gifted. Multiple menus also allow the instructor to use formative assessment to visualize easy ways to make adjustments. With multiple choices on each of the various menus the possibilities are endless for curriculum design choices for a particular unit of study.
The multiple menu model is rooted in knowledge and heavily supplemented by instructional techniques resulting in a range of both concrete and abstract products. The abstract products offered lend themselves to meeting the social/emotional needs of gifted students and are valued within the model which is often not the case in traditional standards-based lessons. In fact, traditional lessons rarely value abstract products at all (perhaps because of the subjectivity in evaluating and assessing). Regardless of whether abstract products are valued by traditional lessons, these abstract products are always being developed and created in the minds of students so it makes sense to include and value them on a continuum when evaluating the work of gifted students.
With so many options, the teacher has the ability to tailor a unit of study to the intensity of the students (which is often running high among gifted students). Once the target products and knowledge tools and applications have been determined, the teacher can use the various instructional technique menus to plan for helping students complete, or in the case of some abstract products, contribute to the final products. The design of a multiple menu curriculum is complex and detail-oriented but both of these attributes appeal to observed characteristics of gifted students. Finally, the choice and complexity involved with this curriculum model appeal to the imaginative sense of gifted students as they become high involved in the work through multiple senses.
A major advantage of the multiple menu curriculum model for gifted students is the opportunity for significant choices for differentiation within the gifted classroom. As a classroom teacher you know that anything you design to meet the needs of your gifted students will not meet the needs of each child in the same way. The preceding holds true because gifted students, although often lumped together for differentiation, still benefit from differentiation techniques even within a homogeneous group of students identified as gifted. Multiple menus also allow the instructor to use formative assessment to visualize easy ways to make adjustments. With multiple choices on each of the various menus the possibilities are endless for curriculum design choices for a particular unit of study.
The multiple menu model is rooted in knowledge and heavily supplemented by instructional techniques resulting in a range of both concrete and abstract products. The abstract products offered lend themselves to meeting the social/emotional needs of gifted students and are valued within the model which is often not the case in traditional standards-based lessons. In fact, traditional lessons rarely value abstract products at all (perhaps because of the subjectivity in evaluating and assessing). Regardless of whether abstract products are valued by traditional lessons, these abstract products are always being developed and created in the minds of students so it makes sense to include and value them on a continuum when evaluating the work of gifted students.
With so many options, the teacher has the ability to tailor a unit of study to the intensity of the students (which is often running high among gifted students). Once the target products and knowledge tools and applications have been determined, the teacher can use the various instructional technique menus to plan for helping students complete, or in the case of some abstract products, contribute to the final products. The design of a multiple menu curriculum is complex and detail-oriented but both of these attributes appeal to observed characteristics of gifted students. Finally, the choice and complexity involved with this curriculum model appeal to the imaginative sense of gifted students as they become high involved in the work through multiple senses.