Gifted Students Research References - Key Information

Tomlinson (2001) suggests that teachers should gradually raise expectations of advanced learners, encouraging them to compete with their own potentialities rather than with their peers.

Tomlinson (2001) suggests that teachers can differentiate instruction for advanced learners in numerous ways (e.g., assigning more complex reading or research matter, challenging them to think at a higher level, and requiring them to use more sophisticated skills).

Research shows that teachers can successfully differentiate instruction in regular classrooms to accommodate the needs of advanced or gifted students (Johnsen et al., 2004). Successful differentiation strategies include independent study, compacting, acceleration, enrichment, and problem-based instruction (Callard-Szulgit, 2005). Tomlinson (2001) cautions that effective differentiated learning must be more than giving normal assignments to most students and “different” ones to the advanced and struggling students. Such practices engender a divisive “pecking order” among students.

Many great men and women were the successful beneficiaries of acceleration (Colangelo, Assouline, & Gross, 2004). For example, Martin Luther King, Jr. graduated from high school at the age of 15. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor did so at 16.

Hoagie’s Gifted Page  http://www.hoagiesgifted.org
This website is a composite of resources for teachers and parents. It has a wealth of information about and for gifted children.

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