The Extent, Nature and Effectiveness of Planned Approaches in ...

always be concerned to protect students’ self esteem, they need to realise that self esteem is enhancedwhen success comes about through tasks that are challenging (Rimm, 1986). Simply providingstudents with high grades or positive feedback for work that students find easy does not enhance giftedstudents’ self esteem. Curriculum compacting is one way that teachers can facilitate this challenge.Curriculum compacting has also been found to be an effective tool for students with doubleexceptionality, that is students who have learning difficulties in some areas and gifts and talents inanother (Winebrenner, 2003).A national perspective. Research into the use of curriculum compacting in New Zealand schools isscarce and given what is known about the effect of context on learning outcomes, it would appear tobe an area of research in New Zealand gifted education that needs further investigation. For example,much of the research comes from the United States and educational provisions there are often centredaround textbooks. Therefore, American research into curriculum compacting places a major emphasison this. This is not the case in New Zealand; however, the Ministry of Education (2000) suggests theuse of curriculum compacting as a strategy for transforming the regular classroom into an appropriatelearning environment for gifted and talented students.Despite the lack of New Zealand specific research, there are some references to this practice in NewZealand schools. For example, Macleod (1996) when writing on education provisions for gifted andtalented students in New Zealand secondary schools refers to the method of curriculum compacting asa very useful tool that enables students to more quickly reach achievement levels beyond those that areexpected of average students. Macleod points out that rather than having students just ‘marking time’by doing ‘more of the same,’ curriculum compacting allows students opportunities for accelerationand/or enrichment.Potential Strengths• Eliminates previously mastered material giving students opportunities for acceleration andenrichment (Ministry of Education, 2000; Reis & Renzulli, 2003; Winebrenner, 2001).• Reduces boredom and frustration for students (Winebrenner, 2001).• Enhances the self-esteem of gifted and talented students (Rimm, 1986).• Focuses teachers’ attention on identifying prior knowledge and providing appropriate learningexperiences (Reis & Renzulli, 2003; Reis et al., 1993).• Curriculum compacting can be carried out by regular class teachers (Reis et al., 1993).Potential Weaknesses• Teachers require training and professional development in the use of curriculum compacting(Reis et al., 1993).• It should not be used as the only strategy for meeting the needs of gifted and talented studentsin the regular class (Troxclair, 2000).• Requires resources to be available to the teacher to plan for acceleration and enrichment (Reiset al., 1993).Recommendations for Effective Practice• Curriculum compacting should lead to appropriate differentiated educational experiences forgifted and talented students (Reis et al., 1993; Troxclair, 2000).• The training of teachers is a vital tool for successful curriculum compacting (Reis, et al.,1993).• Curriculum compacting is a useful strategy for students who are gifted in one area and havelearning difficulties in another (Winebrenner, 2003).77