Challenging Gifted & Advanced Learners Through Differentiated Curriculum & Instructional Strategies
NAGC recognizes that gifted and advanced students have unique learning needs that require modifications
to their curriculum, instruction, and environment in order to fully develop their potential. For many gifted and advanced students, the prescribed grade-level curriculum is insufficiently challenging to promote learning unless the pacing and depth of instruction are differentiated. Positive achievement gains, psychosocial benefits, and increased creative productivity over the lifespan occur when gifted and advanced students engage in curriculum that is intentionally matched to their assessed performance or potential (Hattie, 2012; Stambaugh, 2017; Wai et al., 2010).
Therefore, NAGC recommends that school districts adopt differentiated curriculum and instructional strategies that are found to be effective with gifted and advanced learners and are culturally relevant and responsive, and that districts provide supports to educators so that they can effectively use these strategies and resources in order to meet the educational and psychosocial learning needs of gifted and advanced students.
