The array of choices for early education can be overwhelming. Learning about the more prevalent approaches and their unique philosophies can help parents select a program that works for their precocious children. Some of these approaches include childcare/daycare, early entrance, Head Start, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Waldorf. The National…

Ziegler and Phillipson (Z&P) advance an interesting and ambitious proposal, whereby current analytical/mechanistic theories of gifted education are replaced by systemic theories. In this commentary, the author focuses on the pros and cons of using systemic theories. He argues that Z&P's proposal both goes too far and not far enough. The future of…

The commentaries to our target article "Towards a systemic theory of gifted education" differed in their assessments of the various arguments we put forward. Of the more than 40 responses to our target article, 27 responses were chosen as being representative of all commentaries. We grouped the responses according to the main points in our target…

Using a causal-comparative research design, this study investigated the effectiveness of Differentiated Instruction Support Inclusion Services on fifth grade regular education and gifted students' Reading/Language Arts achievement. The study analyzed and compared the achievement of the regular education students who received no inclusion support…

The research base on cooperative learning was examined for its applicability to academically talented students. Common types of cooperative learning are described with highlights of the model characteristics as they apply to academically talented students. The models include: Teams-Games-Tournament (TGT); Student Teams Achievement Divisions…

This report presents an executive summary, in Spanish, of a study which examined the effects of curriculum compacting, a curriculum modification technique for gifted and talented students. The study involved approximately 436 elementary teachers and 783 students in 27 school districts throughout the United States. The study was designed to…

This study examined the effects of curriculum compacting, a curriculum modification technique for gifted and talented students, with approximately 436 elementary teachers and 783 students in 27 school districts throughout the United States. The study was designed to investigate the types and amount of curriculum content that could be eliminated…

This paper looks at the ideas of R. Skemp which emphasize fostering "intelligent learning" in the teaching of mathematics. Skemp posits that schematic learning takes place when new concepts are constructed by the learner. Three modes of building such internal schema are proposed. Teachers are urged to ensure that at every stage the new…

This presentation summarizes effective strategies and programs for nurturing students who are gifted in science. A smorgasbord of educationally accelerative opportunities is recommended, to enhance students' potential for future development in science. These opportunities may include field trips, advanced placement courses, and science summer…

This guide, based on the Texas Education Agency's "essential elements," presents a model for providing differentiated instruction for gifted high school students in any area of content and within any educational setting. The guide provides strategies for changing the following dimensions of the curriculum: (1) content or subject matter,…