Meeting the Needs of the Gifted Student in Language Arts and Mathematics: An Evaluative Exploration

This study evaluated the mathematics and reading/language arts curriculum for grades 6 through 8 in an Illinois private school for gifted students. Emphasis was on determining whether the current curriculum meets the needs of these students and whether students are challenged to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. Evaluation was within the framework of three models of gifted education: the content mastery model, the concept based model, and the process/product model. The qualitative research methodology employed involved interviews with five teachers and 15 students in each of the three grades. In addition, reading/language arts and mathematics classes were observed at least twice for each grade. The study found that, overall, the mathematics and language arts curricula are comprehensive, effective, challenging, creative, and meet the needs of students. The curriculum focuses on the development of the thinking process, is integrative, and allows for independent study and projects. Both the language arts and mathematics curricula incorporate the content mastery and concept based model. In addition, the mathematics curriculum fosters the process/product model. (Contains 19 references.) (DB)