The spill over effect: an examination of differentiated curriculum designs in a heterogeneous classroom

UnrestrictedThe purpose of this research study was to compare curriculum designs that best represent the teacher's definition of differentiated curriculum for gifted students and the means by which that curriculum can spill-over and affect the education of all learners in a heterogeneous classroom. Three broad questions guided this investigation. The researcher explored the relationship between a teacher's choice of a differentiated curriculum design for gifted students and thesame teacher's selection for all learners in a heterogeneous class. The researcher also examined the teacher's preference for differentiated curriculum and instructional strategies. The researcher further studied how teacher training and the composition of students in the class affected the teacher's perceptions of spill-over.; The intent of this two-phase sequential mixed methods study was to obtain quantitative results from a purposeful sample and then follow up with selected individuals to qualitatively probe those results in depth. In the first phase, a questionnaire was used to examine the teacher's specific preferences for differentiated curriculum and instructional designs and the reasons to support their primary choice. Participants included 56 teachers of grades 2-5 students from four Southern California school districts representative of urban, suburban, and rural areas. In the second phase, interviews were conducted to further examine the effect of extending or differentiating the core curriculum where class composition and student needs, interests, and abilities varied. Participants included six subjects selected through a purposeful sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive and content analysis.; The findings revealed that the use of a curricular differentiation approach is perceived by teachers to promote the quality of learning for all students. The findings further suggested that teachers perceive many of the attributes commonly delineated in differentiated curriculum for gifted students to correspond and spillover to the teaching process for students within a variety of classroom settings but most favorably within a heterogeneous composition and/or a cluster composition with other heterogeneous students. This research study provides a justification for much broader conceptions of talent development of students that display a wide variety of human abilities within a heterogeneous classroom setting