How Our Curriculum is Differentiated to Meet the Needs of Gifted Learners
The National Academy for the Gifted is dedicated to providing multiple avenues for acquiring content, processing or making sense of ideas, and developing products. Differentiation is the heart of our program and the essence of our gifted education. No two children are alike, learn the same, or require the same enrichment, so lessons must be designed to meet the needs of a diverse student population.
Our gifted school has created a learning environment that is receptive to the unique needs of gifted and talented learners. Our lessons are student-centered, encourage inquiry and independence, include a wide variety of materials, provide physical movement, are generally complex with multiple learning paths to choose from, and connect the school experience with the greater world.
The National Academy for the Gifted Curricula strives to provide:
- Elaborate, complex, and in-depth study of major ideas, problems, and themes (aka: higher order processing skills)
- A variety of options for students to demonstrate or exhibit mastery
- Time for in-depth exploration
- Encouragement for the manipulation of ideas and the drawing of generalizations about seemingly unconnected concepts
- A forum for asking and answering provocative questions
- Opportunities for making connections within and across systems of knowledge by focusing on issues, themes, and ideas.
- Engagement in active problem-finding and problem-solving activities and research
- The development of self-understanding and the understanding of one's relationship to persons, societal institutions, nature, and culture
- Self-initiated and self-directed learning and growth
- Exploration of constantly changing knowledge and information, and development of the attitude that knowledge is worth pursuing in an open world
Our teachers establish a climate that encourages students to question, exercise independence, and use their creativity to reach higher potential. Teachers can encourage students to demonstrate what they have learned in a wide variety of forms that reflect both knowledge and the ability to manipulate ideas. For example, instead of giving a written book report, students might prefer to design a game around the theme and characters of a book. Our lessons work well with each student's preferred learning style. They address real problems, concerns, and audiences; synthesize rather than summarize information; and include a self-evaluation process.
TNAG offers multiple options designed to tap into different readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles. We offer different ways for students to explore content. Our students:
- Watch videos
- Read and are read to
- Craft projects
- Engage in simulations
- Write creatively and critically
- Play games
- Build things
- Go on webquests
- Role-play
- Take virtual and real-world field trips
- Provide community service
- Explore a varieties of websites for further exploration
- Utilize software programs
- Apply college and career education
The relationship between our student-centered curriculum and inquiry-promoting teachers provides a learning environment that meets the needs of all learners who attend The National Academy for the Gifted.