Lessons from another field: Applying coteaching strategies to gifted education

Because research has found that differentiation of instructed for gifted st udents does not typically occur within the general classroom, collaboration between gifted and general education teachers is critical in order in orde r to ensure appropriate services to students with high abilities, Gifted ed ucation teachers are now being called upon to provide services to their stu dents in the regular education environment. This fundamental change in sett ing mirrors mandated changes in special education, wherein students with di sabilities are increasingly served in the general education classroom. This article provides a new definition of collaboration within the context of g ifted education and expands on the utilization of coteaching ar a collabora tive strategy. Five models pf coteaching originally developed for meeting t he needs of students with disabilities were adapted and examples of their u se with gifted students in the general education classroom are provided.