ABSTRACT
For many years, curriculum was considered to be appropriately differentiated for gifted learners when it emphasized the development of higher-level and creative thinking skills, solving real-world problems addressed to multiple audiences, exploring key concepts of the field, and conducting in-depth, independent investigations (Feldhusen, VanTassel-Baska, & Seeley, 1989; Maker & Nielson, 1995; National/State Leadership Training Institute on the Gifted and Talented [N/SLTI-G/T], 1979; Renzulli, 1977; Van-Tassel-Baska, 1992, 1994). In 1979, the curriculum committee of the N/SLTI-G/T developed a list of seven principles of a curriculum for the gifted which served for many years as the definitive criteria for what makes curriculum for the gifted unique. Curricula should:
1. Focus on, and be organized to include, more elaborate, complex, and in-depth study of major ideas, problems, and themes that integrate knowledge within and across systems of thought.
