Opportunity Gaps Lead to Achievement Gaps: Encouragement for Talent Development and Schoolwide Enrichment in Urban Schools

Abstract

The SEM and related services and programs described in this article focus on the development of both academic and creative talents through enrichment and engaging learning experiences. The research that provides compelling evidence has been summarized in the hope that urban educators will consider implementing this approach. The research supports the use of enrichment and gifted education pedagogy to provide enjoyable learning experiences as well as increased achievement scores for urban students and also presents evidence that this approach may be more effective than the use of other types of programs. Overemphasis on test preparation and mechanistic instruction and the use of remedial materials has made many urban classrooms dreary places to learn. When enrichment pedagogy is extended to urban students, these high-end opportunities can provide more advanced and enriched learning experiences that promote creativity and engagement, as well as enable students to apply thinking skills and use knowledge in an integrated, inductive, and problem-oriented manner. In urban classrooms where students are using Renzulli Learning, both engagement and wonder emerge when they take a virtual field trip to a world-famous museum, research a topic in their area of interest, complete a self-selected independent study, or apply critical and creative thinking skills in areas of choice. The SEM integrates advanced opportunities for talent development in different types and levels of enrichment, and differentiation for students in all learning opportunities, such as enrichment clusters, the SEM-R, Renzulli Learning, and the Enrichment Triad Model.

The many changes taking place in urban schools should enable educators to examine a broad range of techniques for providing equitably for all students. The research described in this article and the practical experiences gained through a few decades of field testing and refining the SEM, particularly in urban areas and in schools that serve culturally diverse students, have demonstrated the many positive benefits to students and teachers that result from using an enrichment approach, including higher achievement and lower underachievement (Baum, 1988; Baum et al., 1999; Beecher & Sweeny, 2008; Gavin et al., 2007; Little et al., 2007; Reis et al., 2007; Reis et al., 2008). Academically talented students, who may be placed at risk for underachieving in school, are also the beneficiaries of this type of pedagogy. Like any innovation, implementing programs such as those described in this article requires time, energy, acceptance, and support from teachers. Yet urban educators who have effectively implemented the SEM and its related programs indicate that it takes no longer than normal teaching practices (Reis & Renzulli, 2003). More important, they report that the benefits for all students make their efforts worthwhile, suggesting that engagement and enjoyment should be considered an integral part of urban education. One urban teacher's comment about enrichment clusters reflects the attitude of most teachers who have participated in enrichment pedagogy research, “Suddenly I remembered why I had gone into teaching in the first place. I had forgotten, and I didn't even know I had forgotten. Then I remembered what I had always thought teaching would be all about” (Reis, Gentry, & Park, 1995).