Abstract
Kanevsky, L. (2011). Deferential differentiation: What types of differentiation do
students want? Gifted Child Quarterly, 55, 279-299. (Original DOI:
In the above-mentioned article, Tables 3 and 5 originally were published incorrectly. The corrected tables are reprinted here.
Items Receiving Negative Ratings From More Than 50% of Students Identified Gifted
(SIG) and Students Not Identified Gifted (SNIG).
Percent negative
Item text
SIG (N = 416)
SNIG (N = 230)
I really like . . .
learning under pressure like when I’ve missed school and the rest of the
class is ahead of me.
68.1
67.3
working with kids who learn more quickly than I do in my group so I have to
work very hard to keep up with them.
61.5
64.4
having my desk in a corner of the room, away from everyone, so I can have
my privacy.
61.2
68.1
sharing my work with classes of older students.
57.9
62.5
working with a partner, when my partner learns more quickly than I do so I
have to work very hard to keep up.
57.8
63.1
doing projects in a group when my teacher assigns me to my group.
55.5
51.5
doing projects with a partner when my teacher assigns me a partner.
55.5
60.7
having kids in my class teach me.
55.3
50.4
learning from textbooks.
54.2
45.4
having my teacher choose the way I should show what I have learned.
53.4
52.9
learning with a partner who learns more slowly than I do so I am teaching
what I already know.
51.3
50.9
Percentages of Students Identified as Gifted (SIG) and Students Not Identified as
Gifted (SNIG) Giving Positive (Agree or Strongly
Agree) or Negative (Disagree or Strongly
Disagree) Ratings to Most and Least Popular Items in Each of the Nine
Categories. Indicates groups’ percentages differed by 10% or more.
Percent positive
Percent negative
Item text
SIG (N = 416)
SNIG (N = 230)
SIG (N = 416)
SNIG (N = 230)
I really like . . .
1. Pace
learning at my own speed.
90.4
87.1
having lots of time to dig in to ideas and projects.
74.1
77.1
having time to think after being given a really difficult idea to
understand. I don’t like to rush when I’m working on hard stuff.
73.6
79.0
having time to think about my ideas before I start to work on an
assignment.
69.0
70.0
assignments that can be finished in one class.
63.3
65.6
learning under pressure like when I’ve missed school and the rest of the
class is ahead of me.
68.1
67.3
waiting until everyone in the class or group understands the lesson before
going on to a new idea.
53.4
a
39.7
a
learning small bits of information at a slow, easy pace with lots of
practice.
[30]
[55.2]
46.9
a
19.4
a
2. Collaborative learning
doing projects with a partner when I get to choose my partner.
89.1
85.1
doing projects in a group when I get to choose my group.
83.5
83.0
learning with a partner who learns as quickly as I do.
79.8
75.6
working with kids who learn as quickly as I do when I’m learning in a
group.
76.8
69.1
working in groups sometimes and working alone sometimes.
72.2
a
58.3
a
sitting in clusters of 3-6 desks.
62.4
57.7
working with kids who learn more quickly than I do in my group so I have to
work very hard to keep up with them.
61.5
64.4
having my desk in a corner of the room, away from everyone, so I can have
my privacy.
61.2
68.1
sitting alone.
59.3
a
69.9
a
working with a partner, when my partner learns more quickly than I do so I
have to work very hard to keep up.
57.8
63.1
doing projects in a group when my teacher assigns me to my group.
55.5
51.5
doing projects with a partner when my teacher assigns me a partner.
55.5
60.7
having kids in my class teach me.
55.3
50.4
learning with a partner who learns more slowly than I do so I am teaching
what I already know.
51.3
50.9
learning in a group with kids who learn more slowly than I do so I am
teaching them what I already know.
47.3
41.3
3. Choice
learning about topics I choose. It might be ANYTHING!
87.1
88.4
learning when I get to choose the way I get to learn (from books or
experts; groups or alone; worksheets or projects).
82.9
74.4
using computers to find new information through the internet and
databases.
79.4
70.1
doing activities that let me learn something new that is different from
what anyone else in my class learns.
76.0
a
64.3
a
choosing the way I will show what I’ve learned.
64.3
a
51.9
a
learning centers where I can choose activities.
63.3
58.8
having my teacher choose the way I should show what I have learned.
53.4
52.9
learning about topics chosen by the teacher.
47.0
53.5
4. Curriculum content
learning about weird topics that I wonder about. They are things that we
don’t study in school.
84.5
a
66.5
a
understanding complicated ideas and problems.
75.2
a
55.4
a
studying REAL problems like endangered species, pollution, peace, politics,
power, death….
69.6
65.0
learning about computers and technology.
66.5
58.0
understanding how and why things happen.
64.9
66.3
understanding the ways ideas are connected.
63.5
a
47.1
a
learning from textbooks.
54.2
45.4
memorizing facts and definitions.
46.3
43.5
5. Evaluation
knowing how I will be graded before I begin.
77.5
72.5
knowing if my grade is better or worse than my classmates.
63.0
58.4
tests.
46.7
51.8
6. Open-ended activities
doing activities that have more than one right answer and more than one way
to find it.
76.0
71.3
experimenting. I can find ways to experiment with my ideas in any subject.
It might be writing, or math, or music, or science.
74.0
67.0
finding creative solutions to difficult or weird problems.
72.6
a
61.1
a
7. Expert knowledge
understanding things the way experts do.
67.8
a
55.0
a
having visitors come to school to talk about my favorite topics.
63.5
58.9
learning about real things that experts need to know to be experts.
60.4
54.3
8. The teacher/student relationship
having my teacher try really hard to understand what I’m saying or what I’m
feeling.
64.7
66.5
having my teacher encourage me to try out a new idea I just thought up,
even if it sounds weird.
62.4
56.9
asking for extra help.
49.6
a
32.5
a
9. Sharing learning
sharing my work with my family.
60.8
64.8
sharing my work with classes of older students.
57.9
62.5
telling my class about what I’ve been learning.
42.6
52.3
sharing my work with groups of adults outside of school.
40.1
a
52.9
a
teaching other kids in my class.
45.1
a
69.6
a
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