Giftedness / High Ability
Legally part of the Special Education target group in Brazil. Without compacting and enrichment, the student spends the year repeating what they already know — and a low grade does not rule out high ability: sometimes it is a symptom.
- available resources
- 23
- available resources
- Pedagogical Strategies
- 7
- Pedagogical Strategies
- Specialized Courses
- 6
- Specialized Courses
Curriculum compacting
Assess beforehand what the student already masters, excuse them from it and use the freed time for new content. Without this, they spend the year repeating what they know.
- Give the unit assessment BEFORE teaching the unit
- Excuse the student from what they got right; do not assign 'more of the same'
- The freed time needs a planned destination, otherwise it becomes idleness
- Record in writing what was skipped and what replaced it
Acceleration
Allow the student to advance at their own pace, by subject or by grade. It is the strategy with the strongest empirical backing, especially in mathematics.
- Subject acceleration is usually more feasible than skipping a whole year
- Decide based on a mastery assessment, not only the teacher's impression
- Involve the family and the student in the decision
- Monitor social adjustment, not only academic progress
Interest-based enrichment
Deepen learning from what the student already wants to investigate, instead of just assigning more exercises on the same content.
- Map interests at the start of the year, in writing
- More quantity is not enrichment — it is punishment for finishing early
- Connect the interest to the subject content, do not treat it as an extra
- Let the student choose the format of the final product
Independent investigation
The student investigates a real problem with a method, producing something for a real audience — the highest level of the enrichment model.
- The problem must be real, not an exercise in disguise
- Teach the method: how to search, record and check sources
- Define a real audience for the product — the class, the school, the community
- Follow up with short, regular meetings, not only at submission
Flexible grouping
Group students by mastery of that specific content, with composition changing per topic — not a fixed 'advanced' group.
- Grouping is by content and temporary; redo it each unit
- A fixed group becomes a label and harms those left out
- Use a short diagnostic assessment to compose the group
- Make sure every group does intellectually demanding work
Watching for underachievement
High ability does not guarantee good grades. Boredom, perfectionism and lack of challenge produce underachievement — and the student drops off the radar.
- A low grade does not rule out giftedness — sometimes it is a symptom
- Watch for refusal of easy tasks: it may be boredom, not laziness
- Perfectionism makes the student not hand work in, out of fear of being wrong
- Talk with the student about what they think of the lesson; the answer often surprises
Identification that does not exclude
Use more than one source of information to identify, because a single criterion leaves out students from less advantaged backgrounds.
- Combine teacher observation, student work and expressed interest
- Be wary of a single criterion, whether grades or a test
- Ability shows up in the area of interest, not necessarily across the board
- Review the identification periodically: it is not a permanent diagnosis
Unit pre-test
Give the assessment before teaching, to find who already has mastery and free up time for new content.
Materials
Objectives
Implementation
Use the post-test as a pre-test, identify already-mastered objectives and replace them with new work.
Class interest map
A structured survey of what each student wants to investigate, guiding enrichment all year.
Materials
Objectives
Implementation
Apply a short interest questionnaire and use the answers when planning each unit.
Investigation with a real audience
An investigation project on a real problem, with a product delivered to a real audience.
Materials
Objectives
Implementation
From problem to product, with short check-in meetings every two weeks.
Foundations of Inclusive Education
Instituto Rodrigo Mendes
Schoolwide Enrichment Model — articles and training
Renzulli Center / University of Connecticut
AVAMEC — the Ministry of Education training platform
Ministério da Educação
15 distance courses in special education
Ministério da Educação
Escola Virtual.Gov
Enap / Governo Federal
Escola Virtual — Fundação Bradesco
Fundação Bradesco
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model — overview
How the model organises compacting, enrichment and independent investigation across the whole school.
Published by: Renzulli Learning · EN · PDF
Open materialEnrichment and gifted education pedagogy
An academic article on what research shows about enrichment and acceleration.
Published by: ERIC — Institute of Education Sciences · EN · PDF
Open materialSEM research studies
A compilation of the studies supporting curriculum compacting and enrichment.
Published by: Renzulli Center — University of Connecticut · EN · Site
Open materialSEM articles and presentations
A collection of practical texts on applying the model in the classroom.
Published by: Renzulli Center — University of Connecticut · EN · Site
Open materialRenzulli Center — UConn
A reference centre on creativity, gifted education and talent development.
Published by: University of Connecticut · EN · Site
Open materialUniversal Design for Learning Guidelines
Offering different levels of challenge and forms of expression from the lesson planning stage.
Published by: CAST · EN · Site
Open materialNational Association for Gifted Children
The reference body on giftedness, with position statements, programming standards and material on equitable identification.
Published by: National Association for Gifted Children · EN · Site
Open materialThe Inclusive Mainstream School
MEC/SEESP booklet: giftedness is part of the target group of Special Education in Brazil.
Published by: MEC / SEESP · PT · PDF
Open materialSpecial Education from an Inclusion Perspective
Foundations of inclusive special education, an official Ministry of Education publication.
Published by: MEC / SEESP · PT · PDF
Open materialDIVERSA — inclusive education in practice
Free platform by Instituto Rodrigo Mendes with practice reports, articles and materials.
Published by: Instituto Rodrigo Mendes · PT · Site
Open materialBrazilian Ministry of Education portal
Legislation, policies and official publications on special education from an inclusive perspective.
Published by: Ministério da Educação · PT · Site
Open materialProgress Center — evidence-based instructional practices
A collection of evidence-based instructional practices and support material, applicable across conditions.
Published by: Progress Center — American Institutes for Research · EN · Site
Open materialIntensive intervention — decision tools
What to do when an intervention produces no progress: how to measure, decide and intensify.
Published by: NCII — American Institutes for Research · EN · Site
Open material