This article describes the use of clusters in facilitating inquiry and expanding learning opportunities for advanced and gifted students. Options are presented that extend or reinforce the central focus of curricular investigations. These clusters enhance the gifted students' understanding of the connections that reinforce and/or extend the impact…

This article describes methods for operationalizing the concept of interdisciplinarity. The methods respond to the characteristics of giftedness and strategies of differentiation. In selecting and using an interdisciplinary strategy, educators need to consider the compatibility of the purpose or objective of interdisciplinarity to the curriculum…

This article discusses various key words that facilitate differentiated curricular experiences for gifted students. Key words such as "about," "in," "from," and "with" can present a different perspective on the learning experience and stimulate investigative behaviors. They are also a set of words that are…

With the growth of online, virtual, and blended learning, there has been an increase in the demand for access to differentiated, quality online resources that are both student- and teacher-friendly for advanced or gifted and talented learners. The included resources have one or more combinations of exploratory, meaningful, and relevant content,…

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) requires that the teacher understands and applies not only knowledge about content, and not only knowledge about teaching strategies, but an intersection of the two. This article provides professional learning considerations for supporting teachers' PCK and skills with gifted and high-potential students. These…

A list of 16 things the author believes about students with gifts and talents are described in this column. These beliefs stem from research that he and/or others have conducted or from his own personal experiences. In this column, he comments on each of these statements that he has come to believe are true.

This column describes how to differentiate differentiation using a two-step process. Step 1 differentiates the basic curriculum to meet the general traits of the gifted and Step 2 amends the selected general differentiated elements to respond to the unique differences that represent the specific gifted students to whom the curriculum will be…

The author identifies six myths that pervade educational thinking about advanced learning and constrain educational opportunities for gifted students. These myths relate to higher-level thinking, differentiated learning outcomes, accelerated work, limitations on other students, standards, and students from low-income backgrounds. The author…

Providing challenging curriculum in a literacy classroom of students whose reading abilities range widely can be a challenge. Integrating interdisciplinary book selections into a self-selected reading program, however, provides students with challenge by engaging them with big ideas. This article describes methods of integrating advanced…

The purpose of this article is to assist classroom teachers in discerning qualitative differences between a student-written report and student-led research. There are many connotations to the terms "report" and "research," and they can have implications on how teachers effectively or ineffectively differentiate instruction to…

Shared experiences through school-hosted events, such as family literacy events, can afford opportunities to support and extend academic learning while fostering positive home-school relationships. This article describes the importance of developing primary-grade students' literacy skills through a talent development lens and explains several ways…

Gifted education in the United States has a long history of underrepresentation of culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse (CLED) gifted students. Despite the many years of attention toward this pervasive problem, the gap in equity and access to gifted services for CLED students has not closed due to a variety of practices related to…

The author, as a school administrator, wrote this article to describe an effective collaboration with several universities on research projects that benefit both institutions. The outcomes described here focus on the process involved in such collaborations and the benefits to the school district these collaborations can create. Directed toward…

Video games can provide cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social benefits to students when properly implemented in the classroom. Teachers who are well versed in their curriculum can use games to differentiate instruction for gifted and talented students. This article discusses the benefits of gaming in education settings and provides…

The experience that students gain through creative thinking contributes to their readiness for the 21st century. For this and other reasons, educators have always considered creative thinking as a desirable part of any curriculum. The focus of this article is on teaching creative thinking in K-12 science as a way to serve all students and,…