In this video-based online course, classroom teachers demonstrate several practical ways to differentiate instruction and learning for gifted and highly capable students within whole group, small group, and individual settings, grades 2-6. Five differentiation strategies are highlighted: tiered assignments, flexible grouping, providing choices, orbital studies, and curriculum buyout.
The purpose of this course is to show several practical, classroom-proven differentiation strategies that will enable you to better meet the needs of gifted and highly capable students in grade 2-6 classrooms. You'll see teachers increase subject area complexity, adjust content pacing, and deepen student thinking-- all within the context of grade level curriculum.
You will learn how to:
- provide choices that enable gifted students to pursue their interests and deepen their understanding of curricular content and concepts
- make optimum use of tiering within whole class assignments and independent activities
- tap the power of small flexible learning groups, both teacher-directed and student-directed, to stretch and challenge students’ thinking
- organize and monitor orbital studies and curriculum buyout projects in ways that increase gifted students’ motivation, productivity and learning
- involve a variety of people in meeting the special learning needs of gifted students
Watch an excerpt from this course:
"This course allowed me to have much time to reflect and plan out my actions to take methods and organization directly into my classroom."
- M. Jacob
"I appreciated the sample ideas and lessons for ways to integrate the core ideas in each lesson. The lessons and videos were well-paced and easy to follow. I enjoyed the course and learned a few new ideas."
- M. Antos
"Great visual ideas for how to incorporate project based learning and differentiation in the classroom."
- K. Ogorman
"This online course was extremely helpful by providing clear explanations of the five modules for teaching gifted students. I thoroughly enjoyed the videos of teachers working with students demonstrating the differentiated strategies to meet their needs. The note pages provided were very helpful as well. I look forward to implementing these in my own classroom."
- L. Bailey
"This was great. I could complete at my own pace and learned so many great ways to give gifted students what they truly need. I needed guidance and focus with this and now I feel comfortable and ready to try these research-based practices in my own classroom!"
- A. Tinkham
"Such valuable tools and loved and appreciated seeing them in action in each classroom/content setting."
- C. Stief
