Making a Difference

E-mail pen 
pals
Students can practise their writing and communication skills 
with e-mail pen pals. Several Web sites help to connect 
students and support use of this medium.
Multimedia
Using digital photos and video editing programs, students 
can create multimedia projects. When students are engaged 
in activities like these they are constructing their own 
knowledge, with the teacher acting as a facilitator.
Software that provides an avenue for artistic expression (e.g., 
drawing programs, music-creation programs, graphic-design 
programs) also may be helpful in supporting students with 
diverse learning preferences.
For more information and strategies for teaching English language learners, see:
English as a Second Language: Guide to Implementation, Kindergarten 
• 
to Grade 9
(2007), http://education.alberta.ca/media/507659/English 
languagekto9gi.pdf
Chapter 6 of the language and culture 9-year program guides to 
• 
implementation for grades 4, 5 and 6; e.g., 
Spanish Language and Culture 
9-year Program Guide to Implementation, Grades 4–5–6
(2008), http://
education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/interlang/spanish/spanlc4to6.aspx.
Multiple Means of 
Engagement 
(tapping into interests and preferences)

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Part 2—Making a Difference
|
Meeting diverse learning needs with differentiated instruction
171
10
Students who are 
Gifted
Contents of this chapter
Purposeful planning
Making content more abstract
Making content more complex
Making content interrelated
Making content more constrained
Flexible 
pacing
Learner pro
fi
les
Developmental 
issues
Perfectionism
Underachievement
Asychronous 
development
Learning 
dif
fi
culties
Identi
fi
cation of strengths
Assessment
Assessment for instructional planning
Assessment 
for
learning
Assessment 
of
learning
Differentiated learning experiences
Meaningful 
activities
Goal 
setting
Tiered 
assignments
Questioning 
techniques
Anomalies and paradoxes
Independent 
projects
Higher-order 
thinking
Taxonomy of thinking
Mentorships
Other learning environments
Tool 1 Differentiated learning and teaching strategies for students who are
gifted
171

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Chapter 10–Students who are Gifted
172
172
172
“To make forward progress from what they know to what they don’t know 
yet, students who are gifted need differentiation. For these students, 
differentiation may mean different tasks and activities than their age 
peers—rich and meaningful tasks that lead to real learning.”
– David Harvey, Consultant for Gifted Education
M
any students who are gifted require differentiated programming and supports 
to meet their exceptional learning needs. The strategies and information 
in this chapter are based on 
fi
ndings from the research on giftedness and gifted 
education.
For a summary of research completed by the Centre for Gifted Education at the 
University of Calgary, visit Alberta Education’s Web site at http://education.
alberta.ca/apps/aisi/literature/ and click on Student Groups, then choose 
Understanding Giftedness, 2005.