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This revised and updated edition helps educators increase rigour and depth for all advanced and gifted learners to fulfil their potential.
With increasing numbers of students receiving gifted services every year, it’s more important than ever for differentiated instruction to go beyond adjusting content levels, task complexity, or product choice—it must truly challenge and support learners on all levels: academic, social, and emotional. This award-winning resource in the field of gifted education has been revised and updated to include:
Downloadable digital content includes customisable reproducible forms and a PDF presentation; a free PLC/Book Study Guide for use in professional development is also available.
Front Matter
Chapter 1 Giftedness Defined Through an Equity Lens 6
Chapter 2 Using Brain Research to Improve Differentiation 19
Chapter 3 Gifted Learners and Standards-Based Education 33
Chapter 4 Defensible Programs and Services 40
Chapter 5 Creating Authentic Honors Courses 82
Chapter 6 Changing Roles for Educators of Gifted Students 112
Chapter 7 Co-Teaching: A Collaborative Approach to Differentiation 120
Chapter 8 Understanding and Reversing Underachievement 136
Chapter 9 Grading and Assessment and the Gifted Learner 160
Chapter 10 Leadership 193
Chapter 11 Streamlining Your Lesson Planning 229
Index 240
About the Authors 251
"Differentiation for Gifted Learners is the right book at the right time. Finally a book with specific teaching methods that can be used to tailor lessons to meet the unique needs of gifted learners!"
- Wendy A. Behrens, coauthor of Exploring Critical Issues in Gifted Education: A Case Studies Approach
"Heacox and Cash have each made significant contributions to the field of gifted education. Together, they more than double their impact in this thoughtful, easy-to-read book. They use current research to address timely issues like differentiating the Common Core State Standards for high ability students, co-teaching as a collaborative effort, and focusing on assessment as a critical element of the instructional process. They tackle topics not previously discussed like working with immigrant students and designing challenging honors courses for secondary students. This book is full of practical suggestions for classroom teachers, gifted education specialists, and principals. It is a must-have for those eager to go ‘Beyond the Basics."
- Chrystyna V. Mursky, director of professional learning at Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and educational consultant at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
"Heacox and Cash hit a home run again. With a strikingly fresh and updated perspective, the authors take Differentiation for Gifted Learners: Going Beyond the Basics to a new level of possibilities with their revised and updated edition. If you liked the original book, you will love this new edition. It promises to be a must-have classic that all educators should read. This book is not to be missed!"
- Patti Drapeau, adjunct faculty at University of Southern Maine, founder of Patti Drapeau Educational Consulting Services, and author
"The highest praise for the authors! This new revision spans the gamut of how all aspects of teaching can be differentiated using formative assessments to create authentic learning and real-world connections. Heacox and Cash skillfully consider the roles of teaching and leadership, defensible gifted programming, and how to ensure equity when differentiating instruction. Through surveys, questionnaires, reflection guides, and observation and feedback forms, the authors show teachers how to design lessons that engage and challenge all learners. They then provide an abundance of practical templates, lesson plans, and ideas that create a complete system for taking differentiation beyond the basics."
- Dina Brulles, Ph.D., director of gifted education, Paradise Valley Unified School District, and School District Representative, National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Board of Directors
"I have been referencing and recommending the first edition of this book, from its first release, to student teachers and practicing teachers. This new edition is even more helpful in establishing a solid foundation in the topics that are so crucial for the field today, especially in areas of equity and in comparing and contrasting historical practices and improvements. At a time when gifted education courses struggle for enrollment numbers and gifted programs around the country are being debated for closure, discussions of defensible practices are critical for meeting the needs of the real students. Teachers also need to see how gifted education fits within the larger scope of education. This book has practical ideas, a clear writing style, and many avenues for conversation. It should be used in teacher preparation courses and professional development opportunities to build expertise and reflection. I look forward to the conversations that I will have with both new and experienced educators as a result of this new edition."
- Nikki Myers, founding director of Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning and member of the Colorado Academy of Educators for the Gifted, Talented, and Creative
"In the new edition of Differentiation for Gifted Learners, Diane Heacox and Richard Cash truly do go beyond the basics to help teachers extend their knowledge of the skills needed to differentiate instruction and apply this knowledge to a variety of student populations. Both Heacox and Cash have written and presented extensively on differentiation, and their knowledge of context truly enriches the content in this important book. I was especially interested in the focus on underserved populations, including ELL students and students who have ASD or ADHD and/or face other learning or behavior challenges. This addition is in sync with the trend in gifted education that emphasizes the fact that we teach all types of gifted students and must program for them. I personally appreciated the information in chapter 5, which offers guidelines for creating honors/advanced courses and a curricular framework that infuses the pedagogy of gifted education into secondary courses. Too often we forget secondary gifted students, but Heacox and Cash do not. I endorse this book and encourage those who are serious about meeting the needs of gifted students to read and apply the information presented."
- Felicia A. Dixon, Ph.D., educational consultant and professor emerita, Department of Educational Psychology, Ball State University
