SAGA incorporates the following curriculum models into our program:
Content Mastery
Product/Process
Content- Based (Epistemological)
Levels of Service
Trifocal Model for Underachievement
Content Mastery
Adaptive assessments in reading and mathematics are administered at the start of each school year to provide educators with an in-depth understanding of the content each student has mastered. Any content not fully understood by each individual student becomes the focus and starting point, outlined on our ILPs (Individual Learning Plans). This data is analyzed by our educators and used in differentiated group lessons. See below for an example of content differentiation with fractions.
Example: Equivalent Fractions Lesson
Lesson Flow:
Read Aloud of, ‘Equal Schmequal’ by Virginia Kroll (whole group)
Small group rotations consisting of:
small group instruction (hands on learning with educator, student-teacher ratio does not exceed 3:1)
independent work assignment(s), tailored to each learner’s fraction knowledge, via students’ individualized curriculum (Beast Academy, Zearn.org*)
free choice rotation, activities and offerings left to the educator’s discretion (Prodigy, Epic!, math brainteasers, Sudoku, missed work in other subjects,, and more*)
Click here to learn more about mastery learning
*SAGA does not exclusively use these learning programs for mathematics, nor are the activities listed an exhaustive list of third round rotation choices
Process/Product
The majority of our differentiation takes place within the process/product model. Differentiated learning opportunities are provided to our learners according to readiness, interests, and learning profiles.
Process:
An example of process differentiation can be illustrated using the ‘Equivalent Fractions’ example provided above. There are many reasons why a learner is presented content in a different format than the whole group read aloud. We leave this to the discretion of the educator and provide options to our learners who have a valid reason to request a different approach to how the content is introduced. A learner may be having a hard day and needs the read aloud time to decompress and regulate in a private area. All stages of our lessons are flexible and our educators are very experienced with maintaining this level of lesson flexibility and are innately able to ‘read the room’, proactively making decisions and pivoting to our learners’ needs.
Product:
Offering our learners various ways to apply what they have learned and extend their knowledge, using learners’ interests to guide educators during the lesson planning process. Click here for an extension activity relating musical notes to equivalent fractions. This extension activity would be offered to a learner with both a love for music and the background knowledge needed to connect the math and music notes.
Content-Based
Also known as the ‘Epistemological Model’, this third component of curriculum is what sets apart SAGA from other educational services. Research suggests that gifted children understand epistemological reasoning at a more rapid pace and to higher levels than same-aged typically developing peers. Epistemic cognition is defined as, the study of thinking about knowledge and knowing, specifically.
Click here to learn more about epistemic cognition examples. In the classroom, SAGA learners often go down ‘rabbit holes’ of philosophical queries, safely, through the guide of our educators.
Levels of Service
Levels of Service (LoS) is used within our program to identify and develop talent, abilities, and continued interests. Learners are provided the opportunity to move through the four levels, providing students with the resources needed at each level. For example, a subject matter expert comes on campus to work with a learner who has reached Level IV.
Trifocal Model for Underachievement
SAGA learners often come to SAGA with some sort of trauma from their previous learning environment. This component of our program is used by educators to reverse underachievement. Educators collaborate with parents to establish and maintain an open line of communication with therapists and/or counselors addressing past school trauma, ensuring our learners efficiently and effectively heal.
Additional Reading
Effective Curriculum and Instructional Models for Talented Students
Gifted Programming to Talent Development (Levels of Service Model)
Underachievement in Gifted Students- Trifocal Model
REFERENCES
Bray, Buddy. Cliburn Kids, 2020, cliburn.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/My-Country-pt-1-Math-in-Music_Note-Values_final.pdf.
Epistemic Cognition. (2021, January 28). ISLS. https://www.isls.org/research-topics/epistemic-cognition
Gallagher, S. A. (2019). Epistemological Differences Between Gifted and Typically Developing Middle School Students. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 42(2), 164–184. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162353219836924
Kroll, V. (2005). Equal Shmequal. National Geographic Books.
McBrien, Jody L.. “The Nature of Curriculum CHAPTER 1.”
Nagle, Deborah Langenderfer, "Underachievement in gifted students" (1998). Graduate Research Papers. 1257. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/grp/1257
Treffinger, D. (2013, December). Opportunities and Challenges of Talent Development for Students Placed At-Risk. The International Journal for Talent Development and Creativity (IJTDC). Retrieved May 28, 2023, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1301406.pdf
VanTassel-Baska, J. (1986). Effective Curriculum and Instructional Models for Talented Students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 30(4), 164–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698628603000404
