Rigor and Relevance: Curriculum Design and Implementation for Diverse Learners

Introduction

The term ‘differentiate’ is often used in the field of education to signify the modification of learning based on student readiness, learning profile, and academic skills, with changes being made to the depth, pace, and breath of the process (instruction), content (curriculum) and product (students’ work and assessments) (Tomlinson, 2017). Initially, differentiation was used more frequently in the field of special education and remediation to modify curriculum and accommodate students with special needs. Federal law mandates that students with disabilities be educated, to the greatest extent possible, in the same environment as their non-disabled peers (IDEA, 2004). The general education classroom serves as the least restrictive environment, so to comply with federal law, teachers are required to modify instruction and if necessary, accommodate students during their learning process so that they can receive an appropriate education in an environment deemed as the least restrictive for each student. Therefore, it is important for teachers to be skilled at differentiating the content and instruction for students who have special education needs, while simultaneously challenging every student in the learning space.

Similarly, the notion of differentiation also meets the special needs of students identified as gifted. Unlike students with disabilities, gifted students do not have a federal mandate on which they can lean. The Javits Act (1988) supports research-based programs designed for students who are identified as gifted and talented. The Act also strives to utilize resources to aid in the identification and provide services to those who are traditionally underrepresented in gifted programs, and to encourage districts to provide equal educational opportunities. However, the funding for local education agencies is discretionary and is not guaranteed. A review of educational acts as they pertain to special education and gifted education shows that one act mandates appropriate education while the other encourages appropriate education.

This chapter will focus on differentiation as it relates to gifted culturally different students, with an emphasis on the inclusion of cultural considerations within learning profiles. This chapter will also discuss the necessity of both rigor and cultural relevance in lessons, especially since gifted students from diverse backgrounds desire and deserve to be challenged, while also being affirmed by what is taught. The under-representation of African American and Latinx students in gifted programs will also be discussed, along with curricula and program challenges within general and gifted classrooms. A brief overview of Bloom’s taxonomy and James Banks’s multicultural curriculum model will be shared, in addition to an overview of Ford’s Bloom-Banks matrix, along with a revised layout of Trotman Scott’s color-coded layout of Ford’s matrix with pros and cons for each matrix quadrant.

Data show that African American and Latinx students are underrepresented in gifted education. This is not due to the lack of ability, but because of the underachievement of many African American and Latinx students in the classroom setting because they are not interested in what is being taught. See the vignette about Stephanie in the following paragraphs for context.

Stephanie is a 5th-grade African American student attending a public school in Columbia, South Carolina. She lives with her mother, Valarie, but interacts frequently with her father who lives in Indiana, in-person during school breaks, and other times via telephone and camera chats. Stephanie, who celebrated her tenth birthday a little over one month after her first day of school, is considered ‘young’ for a fifth-grade student, because Stephanie started kindergarten at four years of age at a private school. She fairs well, earning A’s and B’s in most of her academic classes.

Valarie shared that Stephanie does not exhibit age-appropriate behaviors. Each quarter, Stephanie receives low scores in behavior conduct on her report card, and although she completes her assignments in a satisfactory manner, she does not consistently turn them in, and when she does, it is deemed sloppy. Stephanie has friends with whom she interacts, but Valerie described her play habits as “a little selfish” and attributes it to Stephanie being an only child. While Stephanie’s behavior is not ideal, Valerie does not consider her behavior to be disrespectful.