ABSTRACT
Educational support for higher order process skills requires both an examination of what the skills themselves entail and an exploration of effective ways of fostering and assessing those skills in classrooms and other educational settings. This chapter explores the process/product dimension of the Integrated Curriculum Model. The critical thinking skill application needs are different for gifted learners at any particular stage of development, requiring that the basic curriculum structures in language arts, social studies, math, and science be adapted to meet those needs. Many of the processes identified at higher levels of the taxonomies may be classified under the overarching headings of critical and creative thinking. Explicit instruction in critical thinking may occur within content domains throughout a child's school career and into college. Process skills such as critical thinking can be measured through criterion-based approaches, performance- or product-based assessments, and standardized measures.
