Sometimes teachers are overwhelmed with the options for working with gifted kids. What does one do with kids who quickly manipulate information and produce fantastic products, but somehow don't seem to be learning anything new? For over 20 years, the Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM) by Joyce VanTassel-Baska has been one of the most thorough, successful approaches for creating a gifted education curriculum. New teachers who are struggling to work with gifted students can find solutions to many of their frustrations by following Vantassel-Baska's curriculum guidance.
What is the Integrated Curriculum Model?
Just as gifted education has grown in the past decades, so has the VanTassel-Baska's model. The early model of a running parallel curriculum options has deepened with converging differentiated options. The current model, shown in a clear and concise chart provided by the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary, gives a beautiful overview of the current model. The main elements are:
- offer umbrella concepts that related to core areas of study
- build concept understanding with advanced ideas
- have authentic, reasoned products that reflect learning processes.
The Handbook of Giftedness in Children says that ICM can be, "a basis to develop specific curriculum frameworks and underlying units in ... content areas that are aligned with state standards but differentiated for high ability students." (p.354)
If teachers have a state mandated curriculum, using ICM becomes an easy way to open up the curriculum to deeper thoughts. The state curriculum should provide the umbrella concepts, and then the teacher looks for advanced concepts that support the curriculum, and creates lessons that have deeper, faster pacing and products that reflect student growth.
Adapting the Integrated Curriculum Model
Teachers who want more support than the theoretical outlines of ICM would do well to explore the Challenging High-End Learners website created by the Oregon Department of Education Talented and Gifted Office. The site is clearly influenced by ICM; the section opens with a quotation by Joyce VanTassel-Baska. There are audio files with teachers explaining how to teach gifted students, and walking teachers through the steps of developing and integrating curriculum. The site covers:
- setting the context for gifted students
- differentiation strategies and features (including a very useful checklist)
- components and curriculum samples (which are extensive and go across all levels and core topics)
The site would be an excellent resource for classroom teachers seeking ways to modify the state curriculum and for gifted education teachers. It is a perfect example of the gifted education community supporting one another by offering excellent resources for free.
When a teacher is confronted with challenges in working with gifted education, it is tempting to offer free reading time or something that entertains the gifted child while other students catch up. The problem with quick fix strategies is that they don't offer the gifted child a chance to grow and learn at his or her level. Using the Integrated Curriculum Model, teachers can allow students to work at an appropriate pace and focus on the state curriculum, and there are such excellent resources available that there is no need to start with an overwhelming blank page.
For more information:
Pfeiffer, Steven I. Handbook of Giftedness in Children. New York, NY: Springer US, 2008.
VanTassel-Baska, Joyce and Stambaughs, Tamra. Comprehensive Curriculum for Gifted Learners, 3rd Edition. Columbus, Ohio: Allyn & Bacon, Inc., 2005.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
