Differentiating Cooperative Learning to Meet the Needs of Gifted Learners: A Case for Transformational Leadership

Cooperative learning activities, which assign gifted learners to mixed-ability groups, have been validly decried as exploitation. But a case can be made that mixed-ability grouping provides opportunities for gifted students to develop transformational leadership skills, an element of gifted education that has been given insufficient attention. Observations of interactions in mixed-ability groups reveal three persistent challenges (inclusiveness, enacting the ideal, and monitoring growth) in which leadership skills can be exercised and developed. Specific student strategies are proposed for each challenge. The role of teachers in developing the leadership skills of gifted learners involves delegating responsibility to student groups, adjusting leadership to the maturation levels of gifted learners, and creating pull-out programs for leadership training.