ABSTRACT
The social interaction and exchange of ideas in the decision-making processes of collaboration lead to new learning and new possibilities. Collaboration involves working with not only classroom teachers, but also specialists, guidance counselors, parents, community members, advocacy groups, and others. Collaboration in gifted education is based on the idea that all students can make continual progress to the next level of learning, even those who have already mastered grade-level content. Gifted students are gifted all day every day, but often their needs are only addressed for a few hours a week when they attend a gifted enrichment class. Collaboration brings many benefits for both gifted students and individuals involved in the collaboration process. The Collaborative Process Model is meant to be flexible and apply to various forms of collaboration: coplanning, coteaching, coaching, and consultation. Collaboration can be organized along a spectrum with increased levels of shared responsibility to address the needs of gifted learners.
