Leveraging Differentiation to Support High Achievers
There are many useful models for educators to use that provide valuable curriculum planning insight. Most teachers use a differentiated approach to meet the needs of the students in their classrooms. June Maker’s work links seamlessly with the general approach to teaching in a differentiated learning environment. It’s evidence-based and well worth trying!
June Maker was an American psychologist and educator who specialised in gifted education. Maker was a pioneer in the field of gifted education, and her research has greatly influenced the way educators approach the education of gifted and exceptional learners. Maker's research was mostly about figuring out what gifted students need and coming up with ways to help them grow academically and intellectually. She believed that gifted learners require a differentiated curriculum that challenges them and meets their unique needs.
Through her research, Maker developed a modified differentiated curriculum framework that emphasizes the importance of individualising instruction to meet the needs of gifted learners. Maker's framework recognises that gifted learners have unique strengths, interests, and learning styles and that they require a curriculum that is challenging, engaging, and relevant to their lives. Maker's legacy still affects how teachers teach gifted students today, and her research is used as a basis for creating effective programs and strategies to help gifted and exceptional learners grow and develop.
Here is a general outline for how to make a unit plan using Maker's approach to differentiating content, process, and product. Here is an example of how to create a unit plan for a middle school science class:
Unit: Forces and Motion
The goal is for students to understand the basics of forces and motion and use that knowledge to solve problems in the real world.
Content Modifications:
Give them chances to study things in more depth. Gifted students often benefit from chances to learn more about a subject. Teachers can give students the tools they need to do research on their own, letting them dig deeper into topics that interest them.
Offer advanced reading materials: gifted learners often have a greater capacity for reading and comprehending complex texts. Teachers can provide advanced reading materials, such as scholarly articles or primary sources, to challenge students' reading and analysis skills.
Offer a range of materials: gifted learners may have varied interests and preferences for learning. Teachers can give students a variety of ways to learn, such as text-based resources, videos, podcasts, and other multimedia resources.
Process Modifications:
Offer flexible grouping. Gifted students may learn more when they work with other students who share their interests and skills. Teachers can group students in different ways, so gifted students can work with peers who are like them on challenging and interesting projects or activities.
Use higher-level questioning techniques. Teachers can push the critical thinking and problem-solving skills of gifted students by using higher-level questioning techniques, such as open-ended questions, inquiry-based learning, and Socratic questioning.
Provide opportunities for independent study. Gifted learners often thrive when given the opportunity to pursue their own interests and passions. Teachers can provide opportunities for independent study, allowing gifted students to explore a topic or concept in depth and at their own pace.
Product Modifications:
Offer creative projects. Gifted learners often have a strong creative streak. Teachers can give creative projects, like coming up with a new way to solve a problem or making an original piece of art that explores a certain idea.
Use authentic assessments: Gifted learners may benefit from authentic assessments that allow them to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in real-world contexts. Teachers can use real-world assessments like making a portfolio of students' work, planning a project to meet a specific need in the community, or making a proposal for a new product or service.
Provide opportunities for leadership. Gifted learners often have strong leadership qualities. Teachers can give gifted students chances to lead, such as by being a mentor to other students, leading a class discussion, or planning an event for the whole school.
Assessment:
Pre-assessment: Teachers can give their students a pre-assessment to find out what they already know and understand about forces and motion.
Formative assessments: Quizzes, exit tickets, and discussions are all examples of formative assessments that teachers can use to check how well students understand the concepts as the unit goes on.
Summative assessment: At the end of a unit, teachers can use a project or test to see how well their students understand what they've learned.
Activities:
Experiments in the lab: Students can do experiments to learn more about forces and motion.
Case studies: Students can analyze real-world case studies to apply their knowledge of forces and motion to solve problems.
Creative projects: Students can create their own projects, such as designing a new invention that uses forces and motion or creating a stop-motion animation that demonstrates the concepts.
Independent study: Gifted learners can pursue independent study projects such as researching a topic related to forces and motion that interests them and presenting their findings to the class.
Bibliography:
Maker, J. (1982). Curriculum development and teaching strategies for gifted learners. Gifted Child Quarterly, 26(2), 87-92.
Maker, J., & Nielson, A. B. (1995). Teaching models in education of the gifted. Prentice-Hall.
Maker, J. (1997). Teaching models in education of the gifted (2nd ed.). Pro-Ed.
Maker, J., & Schiever, S. W. (2005). Differentiated curriculum for the gifted learner. Prufrock Press.
Maker, J., & Schiever, S. W. (2014). Differentiated curriculum for gifted learners (3rd ed.). Prufrock Press.
Maker, J. (2016). Teaching models in education of the gifted (3rd ed.). Prufrock Press.
Maker, J., & Schiever, S. W. (2017). Differentiated curriculum for gifted learners (4th ed.). Prufrock Pres
