Personalized Learning in Gifted Education Differentiated Instruction That Maximizes Students' Potential

Gifted students can exhibit extreme variance in both their abilities and their interests, yet they are often treated within schools as one homogeneous, specialized population. Personalized Learning in Gifted Education helps educators strengthen their differentiation of both instruction and services for advanced students. This book: • helps educators develop the specific gifts and talents of the gifted students they serve • demonstrates how educators can utilize the wealth of data they have at their disposal • provides a rationale and blueprint for a stronger, more personalized approach to gifted education • offers suggestions for both elementary and secondary schools. Recommendations center around five features of personalized learning: personalized learning plans, project- or problem- based learning, competency-based progression through the curriculum, criterion-referenced assessments, and multi-year mentoring.

Section 1: Foundations of Personalized Learning  1. The Theory and History of Personalized Learning  2. Gifted Education, Talent Development, and Personalized Learning  3. Personalized Learning and Student Achievement  Section 2: Core Strategies of Personalized Learning in Gifted Education  4. Personalized Talent Development Plans  5. Competency-Based Progressions and Acceleration  6. Inquiry Models of Learning  7. Criterion Referenced Assessment of Student Progress  8. Multi-Year Mentoring for Talent Development  Section 3: Applying Personalized Learning in Gifted Education  9. Personalized Learning Examples in Gifted Education  10. The Role of Technology in Personalized Learning  11. Implementation and Teacher Support for Personalized Learning

Todd Kettler is Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at Baylor University, USA. He is Co-Editor of the Journal of Advanced Academics, and his research and teaching focus on gifted education models and learning designs to support exceptional achievement. Cheryl Taliaferro has worked as a teacher and administrator in gifted education for more than 25 years. She currently serves as District Liaison for ASPIRE Academy for Highly Gifted Students in Grapevine, Texas, and teaches graduate courses in Curriculum and Instruction at Texas A&M-Commerce.