ABSTRACT
OVERVIEW OF THE MODEL The Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM), as the title suggests, represents an attempt to unite multiple curricular approaches in the design and implementation of strategies for working with learners in schools. Too often, gifted learners end up with a curriculum diet composed of morsels of acceleration, morsels of project work, and morsels of higher-level thinking opportunities. The ICM organizes these features into one package, allowing gifted learners and others to experience a more integrated pattern of learning. This integrated approach also reflects two fundamental findings of recent research on learning. Studies have documented that:
a. better transfer of learning occurs when higher-order thinking skills are embedded in subject matter (Minstrell & Kraus, 2005; National Research Council [NRC], 2000; Perkins & Salomon, 1989); and
b. teaching concepts in a discipline is a better way to produce long-term learning than teaching facts and rules (Marzano, 1992).
