GT Toolkit
(Definitions and Examples)

 

Curriculum Compacting   Grouping   Bloom's Taxonomy   Tiered Lessons   Choice Menu   Independent Study Learning Contract   Reflection Journaling

 

The following is a list of strategies to differentiate, and/ or extend the curriculum in order for GT students to be engaged and challenged. Each strategy is followed by a specific example and its benchmark. The strategy can be used for any benchmark, depending on the concept you want to teach. Our focus is more on the strategies and not the benchmarks.

 

Curriculum Compacting (Content)

Curriculum compacting is a form of content acceleration that enables high-ability students to skip work they already know and substitute more challenging content.       

 

Grouping (Content, Process, Product)

Placing students in small learning units to enrich curricula at all instructional levels.  Groupings may be based on academic goals, readiness, interests, or abilities.      

 


 Bloom’s Taxonomy: From lowest to highest order thinking - Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation. GT strategies focus on the highest 4.


Analysis: Examine and break information into parts by identifying motives or causes. Make inferences and find evidence to support generalizations. 


Synthesis: Compile information together in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern or proposing alternative solutions.


 Evaluation: Present and defend opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas or quality of work based on a set of criteria. 


 Application: Solve problems in new situations by applying acquired knowledge, facts, techniques and rules in a different or new way.
 

Tiered Lessons: A tiered lesson is a differentiation strategy that addresses a particular standard, key concept, and/or generalization, but allows several pathways for students to arrive at an understanding of these components, based on the students’ readiness.

 

Dilemma: A dilemma is a problem offering two or more alternatives or possibilities, none of which is acceptable to everyone. Hypothetical or real problems are provided to students for discussion, solution, etc. Problems can be ethical, moral or philosophical.

 

Choice Menus: Choice menus are organizers that contain a variety of activities which the students can choose from in order to learn a skill or develop a product. Menus can be organized so that students are required to choose options that focus on several different skills.

 

Independent Study Learning Contract: A learning contract is able to address the diverse learning needs of different students and may be designed to suit a variety of purposes. A learning contract is essentially an agreement negotiated between a learner and a teacher to ensure that certain activities will be undertaken in order to achieve a learning goal and that specific evidence will be produced to demonstrate that goal has been reached. From the outset, the learner is encouraged to identify his or her own learning needs and to develop learning objectives and strategies consistent with those needs. The main advantage of a contract is that it can be tailored to suit the individual learner. 

 

Concept Based:

 

Interpersonal (Garner's Multiple Intelligences):

 

Intrapersonal (Garner's Multiple Intelligences):

 

Kinesthetic (Garner's Multiple Intelligences):

 

Mathematic Logical (Garner's Multiple Intelligences):

 

Musical Rhythmic (Garner's Multiple Intelligences):

 

Naturalist (Garner's Multiple Intelligences):

 

Verbal Linguistic(Garner's Multiple Intelligences):

 

 

Visual Spatial (Garner's Multiple Intelligences):

 

Graphic Organizer:

 

Grouping:

 

Janus Face:

 

KWL Chart (Know Already, Want to Learn, Learned):

 

Observation:

 

Problem Based Learning:

 

Pre-Assessment:

 

Socratic Method:

 

Telescoping:

 

Tiered Lessons:

 

Reflection Journaling:  A personal record of occurrences, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis; a diary, thinking about thinking. Journaling encourages children to be observers of the world, to be reflective of their experience, and to be expressive writers.