Conclusion and Recommendations

Conclusion and Recommendations

In thoroughly examining these ten models in gifted education, I found a variety of beneficial components that are worth using within any education system/model. As a Chapter 104 Math Consultant, I follow the Catalyst Model rather closely. I meet with regular mathematics classroom teachers on a weekly basis to discuss their content standards and plan ways to differentiate curriculum to meet the needs of the Chapter 104 students on my caseload. Sometimes I pull kids out of the regular classroom for 15 or 20 minutes to introduce compacted content or a differentiated product, or to talk about their social emotional needs, but most of the gifted programming happens in the regular classroom, with the regular classroom teacher.

In addition to the Catalyst Model, I would encourage my district to use components of other models that I listed in each model in the section "What Works for Me." Some of the big ideas I would recommend implementing include:

• Betts' empathy and unconditional positive regard to promote autonomous, self-directed, lifelong learners
• Kaplan's grid and creating differentiated content, process, and product directed by gifted characteristics and principles of differentiation
• VanTassel Baska's three dimensions to guide gifted learners through advanced content with differentiated process and product, and a focus on big concepts, issues, and themes
• Barbara Clark's use of neuroscience to promote nurturing of total brain function and intuition
• The parallels and Ascending Intellectual Demand in Tomlinson's model
• Pieces of the Total Talent Portfolio in Renzulli's Schoolwide Enrichment Model
• The 5 key components (differentiation, social/emotional support, physical environment, targeted remediation, and challenging curriculum) in the Talent Centered Model for 2E
• The thinking skills that are embedded throughout the Talents Unlimited Model
• The guidelines for clustering gifted students as expressed in the Total School Cluster Grouping model

There is not one model that I would want to adopt in a gifted program. The research-based methods in many of the models can be utilized without full implementation.