ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in subsequent chapters. The part address the major developmental processes of the Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM) that need to be applied to accomplish differentiation of curriculum for the gifted. It highlights curriculum-based approaches employed to assess the learning of gifted students who have experienced “remodeled” curriculum, using the ICM as the basis. The part then highlights the first level of differentiation that must be addressed in a curriculum for the gifted. It explores the importance of teaching higher-level thinking to everyone but also the core distinctions in such teaching for the gifted. The part highlights the skills and processes that influence the teaching and learning of gifted students as they engage in designing and developing their own projects, both individually and collectively. It lays out the importance of using differentiated approaches for assessment of the gifted as well as of the curriculum and instructional processes employed to teach them.
