Strategies for Teaching GT Students
1. Independent Projects and Inquiry Based Learning
What it is: Students explore self-chosen topics, conduct research, or create products beyond the curriculum. Download the link to keep in independent student notebooks. Provide a template for independent study contracts. Template can be downloaded here.
How to Promote Inquiry in the Classroom?
With our “What?” and our “So what?” figured out, let’s think about how can we create a culture of inquiry in our classrooms?
We can use a three-pronged approach that entails serving as role models of curious thinking, designing opportunities for formulating questions, and providing guidance as learners share their thinking. These steps would look like this:
Model: Provide a big idea provocation at the beginning of a learning experience, unit, or situation under consideration that is significant enough to provoke learners to adopt an interest.
Design: Create learning experiences that provide opportunities for learners to make and share their questions that evolve from our provocation. The gold ring of the Verb Wheel below can spark ideas for processes that can be used when designing the learning.
Guide: Facilitate learner reflection for connections to self, previous learning, and the world.
Below are some final thoughts on initiating inquiry with our learners.
Creating the Provocation
To create the provocation, we can use pictures, videos, a field trip, scenarios, expert speaker, propaganda, articles, literary excerpts, charts, data, demonstration, role play, etc.
2. Tiered Assignments
What it is: Designing tasks at different levels of depth and complexity so all students work on the same standard but at different challenge levels. The choice menu below will give students the option to choose and create their own products. These menus can be kept in students IAN notebooks for independent work time.
Vision
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Product Differentiation
How students demonstrate learning
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Offering multiple assessment options
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Creating product menus for student choice
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Varying complexity of final products
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Providing rubrics with tiered expectations
Learning Environment Differentiation
The classroom’s physical and psychological elements
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Flexible seating arrangements
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Creating quiet spaces and collaborative areas
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Establishing clear routines with flexibility
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Fostering a growth mindset culture
Higher Order Thinking Questioning /Blooms Taxonomy
What it is: Pushing beyond recall with questions that require analysis, evaluation, and creation.
Bloom’s Taxonomy divides thinking into six categories, with one being the simplest level of thinking, up to six, which is the most complex.
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Knowledge: Remembering or recalling appropriate, previously learned information to draw out factual (usually right or wrong) answers. When asking question, use words and phrases such as: how many, when, where, list, define, tell, describe, identify, etc, to draw out factual answers, testing students' recall and recognition.
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Comprehension: Grasping or understanding the meaning of informational materials. When asking question, use words such as: describe, explain, estimate, predict, identify, differentiate, etc, to encourage students to translate, interpret, and extrapolate.
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Application: Applying previously learned information (or knowledge) to new and unfamiliar situations. When asking question, use words such as: demonstrate, apply, illustrate, show, solve, examine, classify, experiment, etc, to encourage students to apply knowledge to situations that are new and unfamiliar.
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Analysis: Breaking down information into parts, or examining (and trying to understand the organizational structure of) information. When asking question, use words and phrases such as: what are the differences, analyze, explain, compare, separate, classify, arrange, etc, to encourage students to break information down into parts.
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Synthesis: Applying prior knowledge and skills to combine elements into a pattern not clearly there before. When asking question, use words and phrases such as: combine, rearrange, substitute, create, design, invent, what if, etc, to encourage students to combine elements into a pattern that's new.
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Evaluation: Judging or deciding according to some set of criteria, without real right or wrong answers. When asking question, use words such as: assess, decide, measure, select, explain, conclude, compare, summarize, etc, to encourage students to make judgements according to a set of criteria.
Implementing Blooms
How to apply Bloom's Taxonomy in your classroom
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Use the action verbs to inform your learning intentions. There are lots of different graphics that combine all the domains and action verbs into one visual prompt. ...
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Use Bloom-style questions to prompt deeper thinking. ...
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Use Bloom's Taxonomy to differentiate your lessons.
Sample Cluster Outlines
Here are a few theme-based ideas you could adapt:
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Robotics & Coding
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Explore basic coding skills through robots or block-based programming.
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Project: Design and demonstrate a simple robot task (e.g., obstacle course).
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Debate & Public Speaking
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Learn persuasive speaking and listening strategies.
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Project: Host a mini-debate or mock trial for peers or families.
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Creative Writing & Publishing
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Practice storytelling, poetry, and article writing.
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Project: Compile a digital anthology or classroom magazine.
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Environmental Explorers
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Investigate local ecosystems, recycling, or conservation.
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Project: Create a school-wide sustainability campaign.
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Young Entrepreneurs
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Learn business basics—marketing, budgeting, product design.
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Project: Develop and “sell” products at a school marketplace.
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Theater & Performance
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Practice acting, scriptwriting, and stage design.
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Project: Perform a short play or skit for the community.
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STEM Challenges
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Engage in engineering tasks (bridges, towers, Rube Goldberg machines).
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Project: Present and test designs at a “STEM showcase.”
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1. Foster a Growth Mindset
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Emphasize effort over innate ability: Praise persistence, creativity, and strategies rather than just “smartness.”
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Teach that challenges are opportunities for learning and improvement.
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Use language like:
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“You haven’t mastered this yet.”
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“What strategy could help you solve this problem?”
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2. Encourage Self-Reflection and Goal-Setting
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Have students set personal learning goals and track progress.
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Encourage reflective journaling: What did I learn? What was challenging? How can I improve?
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Teach them to analyze mistakes as tools for growth.
3. Promote Autonomy and Ownership
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Give students choice in projects, topics, or learning methods.
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Encourage self-directed research or creative projects that align with their passions.
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Teach planning and time-management skills for long-term projects.
4. Support Risk-Taking and Resilience
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Create a safe environment for trying new ideas without fear of failure.
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Model how to handle setbacks: discuss strategies and next steps after mistakes.
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Encourage experimentation and exploration beyond “right answers.”
5. Develop Metacognition
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Teach students to think about their thinking:
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How do I approach a complex problem?
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Which strategies work best for me?
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How can I improve my learning process?
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Encourage strategic learning rather than passive memorization.
6. Scaffold Challenge
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Present tasks that are slightly above their current level (the “zone of proximal development”).
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Gradually increase complexity to build confidence and competence.
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Provide guidance, then step back to let students take ownership.
7. Celebrate Progress, Not Just Achievement
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Recognize improvement, persistence, and creativity.
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Showcase effortful learning processes in addition to final products.
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Use feedback that guides next steps, not just evaluates performance.
Gifted and talented (GT) students have unique academic and social-emotional needs that require intentional strategies for differentiation, enrichment, and acceleration (VanTassel-Baska & Stambaugh, 2006; Reis & Renzulli, 2010). Many educators lack targeted training or resources to consistently implement these strategies, which can lead to underachievement or disengagement among GT learners (Cross, 2014). The GT Teacher Toolkit addresses this need by providing practical, research-based resources, including lesson planning checklists, classroom strategies, and family engagement tools. By offering actionable guidance grounded in evidence-based practices, the toolkit empowers teachers to implement strategies that support both the cognitive and social-emotional growth of GT students, ensuring they receive appropriate challenges and opportunities to thrive.