How Do You Effectively Differentiate Curriculum for 2e Learners?

How to differentiate for twice-exceptional students? There are a number of answers to this question, but one’s first response is likely it depends. More specifically, it depends which 2e student you are working with. So rather than considering specific strategies, consider your entire mindset about differentiation: How are you differentiating instruction for your 2e students? Do you feel that differentiation is for strengths or weaknesses? Do you differentiate “up” or “down?” Ideally, 2e educators should differentiate both “directions,” what we call dual differentiation. This is not a simple task. In order to explore this complexity, naturalist that I am, I often like to reflect on the peregrine falcon. Peregrine falcons are incredible. They’re the fastest animal on the planet, flying at over 200 mph on the hunt. It’s estimated that peregrine falcons can pull around 25 G’s in flight, and they’ve evolved nares (nostrils) that vent air as they travel through the air so that their skulls don’t explode mid-flight (This is a fact 2e students often find particularly interesting). Peregrine falcons have a diverse diet, but typically eat other birds, which they snatch up right out of the air. To accomplish this, they dive at their avian prey with clenched talons and “punch” them out of flight. As their prey tumbles through the air, the peregrine circles around, catches them, and takes them to a more suitable location for their meal, such as a rocky cliff or nearby skyscraper. Peregrines are also adept at chasing their prey through vegetation, snaring birds with their ratcheting talons, and severing spinal cords with a specialized notch on their beak. This is all quite impressive, depending on your tolerance for nitty gritty details about predatory creatures, but we haven’t even discussed their vision yet. We humans have binocular vision that allows us to focus on one thing at a time with great clarity. For example, you’re likely focusing quite intently on the words on the screen in front of you while your peripheral vision allows you to take in your surroundings with some clarity. A number of birds of prey, however, put your vision to shame: they are both near and farsighted. Peregrine falcons are able to focus on their immediate flight path and a long distance target. It’s not special and it’s not excessive — it’s the equipment they were born with for thousands of years. It’s how they survive. [perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Ideally, 2e educators should differentiate both ‘directions,’ what we call dual differentiation. This is not a simple task. [/perfectpullquote] Consider a peregrine falcon on the hunt. Flying over icy cold water, patrolling the rocky cliffs and scraggly trees that border Lake Superior, a peregrine sees a flash of movement on the side of a tree. It’s a yellow-bellied sapsucker — a mid-sized woodpecker that drills holes in tree trunks, in search of larvae — which also makes it a common target for peregrine falcons. To catch a sapsucker, the peregrine has to act quickly. Using its preternatural speed, the peregrine initiates the hunt with an aggressive dive. When the sapsucker senses the danger, it will take flight, darting through the scrubby vegetation that dots the cliff. The sapsucker does not need to fly toward anything in particular, just away from the peregrine falcon. The more erratic the better, the sapsucker may fly from tree to tree, rapidly changing direction. For the peregrine to keep up, it has to maintain focus on both the sapsucker and the obstacles that clog its flight path. If it focuses solely on its prey, it’s likely to hit a branch and give the sapsucker enough time to escape. If it focuses solely on the obstacles in front of it, it may lose track of sapsucker. Focusing on two things at once is not just an advanced skill for peregrines to practice — it is a matter of life and death.

Reflecting on Practice

All too often, we lose sight of yellow-bellied sapsuckers in the name of looking out for the trees. We know that our 2e students are brilliant and that they have the potential to change the world, but it takes the focus of a peregrine to balance out how we are highlighting gifts as well as accommodating weaknesses. This article does not have any magical solutions or a comprehensive list of strategies to revolutionize practice for 2e teachers and parents. This article is an accessible framework for personal and professional reflection. Reflect on your curriculum with the following questions:

• How does this curriculum engage my students’ strengths?
• How does this curriculum compensate for/accommodate my students’ weaknesses?
• It may not be possible to differentiate up and down in perfect balance: what ratio do you maintain?

Next Steps

Educating 2e students requires constant reflection on one’s practices to develop innovative and pedagogically sound instructional strategies that will engage students. While we know that 2e students did not just start being born (their presence is unmistakable in our history books), today we know more than ever about their needs and potential. It is our responsibility as educators to consider the options that this wealth of knowledge provides us. We look to gifted education, special education, enrichment models, creativity courses, and everything in between to provide 2e students with the best possible education. For my part, I also look to the peregrine falcon. Dodging tree branches all day is tiring, but we can’t lose sight of the sapsucker.