Curriculum Models

Evolution of Curriculum Models for Talented Students

Virgil S. Ward was one of the first educational theorists to propose the need for differentiated curriculum for gifted students. His research began in the 1950s and focused on Differential Education for the Gifted (DEG). Ward's work laid initial theoretical and conceptual frameworks for educators of the gifted. He emphasized the teacher's role in supporting talented students, stressing the importance of unique curricula developed specifically for talented students. Ward pointed out that the adaptation of existing curricula often resulted in talented students being given “more of the same,” resulting in a lack of challenge and engagement. Methodologies and interconnections of content areas should be the focus of curriculum development for talented students rather than the didactic transmission of existing facts and basic understandings.

In more recent years, theories involving curriculum for the gifted have come to focus on operationalized program models affecting entire schools. For example, Joseph Renzulli's schoolwide enrichment model (SEM) introduced us to an identification system and programming options in the form of a continuum of services that not only identified the traditionally serviced gifted children in the top 5 to 10 percent, but also captured the creative-productive potential in students from the top 20 percent who may or may not perform well on traditional measures of intelligence. Along with Renzulli, Sally Reis introduced the revolving door identification model, which allows students to enter the program via a variety of alternative and traditional pathways (IQ measurements, performance test scores, products, along with parent nominations, portfolio assessments, peer nominations, etc.).

A curriculum model for gifted learners that is focused on extraordinary talent in specific domains is the talent search model of talent identification and development, developed by Julian Stanley and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University. This model utilizes the SAT-Math and SAT-Verbal as identification measures, and is largely based on accelerative practices within schools. A plethora of research about the model suggests it has substantial benefits for mathematically and verbally talented youth. The Study of Mathematically Pre cocious Youth (SMPY), led by Camilla Benbow and David Lubinsky, has been a major source of information about the learning needs of mathematically gifted students. More than 300 articles have been published about SMPY, supporting the model's contention of the benefits of acceleration. The model's focus on content does not require altering curriculum greatly, allowing the model to align nicely with state and national standards.

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