ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the application of the term "accelerate" to students identified as gifted and talented. It characterizes the gifted learner and explores how curriculum differentiation led to the development of curricula for gifted and talented students perceived to have special cognitive needs. Joyce Van Tassel-Baska outlines three factors to consider for acceleration: cognitive ability and performance, affective characteristics, and interest and motivation for acceleration. Van Tassel-Baska argues that not to offer acceleration to students who learn at a rapid pace solely for the purpose of keeping them at grade level is indefensible. Models of acceleration found in gifted education literature include service delivery models and curriculum models. Curriculum models for accelerating the learning of gifted students are more closely aligned with individual student learning needs and characteristics than service delivery models. Students are often identified for curriculum models of acceleration through their deep interest and aptitude in a subject area; these students benefit from self-pacing opportunities.
