The National Association for Gifted Children is pleased to offer support materials for the Parallel Curriculum Model (PCM). It is our hope that these support materials will provide interested educators with an opportunity to participate in a distance learning initiative about the PCM.

What is the PCM?

The Parallel Curriculum Model is an integrated framework and set of procedures for designing rigorous and highly motivating curriculum that attends to important student differences. This introductory page is designed to provide interested readers with background information about this distance learning opportunity and instructions for using this website.

Background information

This web site is a collaborative effort between the National Association for Gifted Children and Project CONN-CEPT, a Priority Two Javits Grant that was recently awarded to The Connecticut State Department of Education and Cheshire Public Schools. One of the products promised in the grant was a distance learning opportunity about the Parallel Curriculum Model (PCM).

The purpose for this distance learning opportunity is to increase educator’s knowledge of and access to information about the Parallel Curriculum Model. Gradually, during the next three years, new components and links will be added to this site. Our first installment is a PowerPoint slide show that can be viewed (in Internet Explorer 5.0 or 6.0) by anyone interested in furthering his or her understanding of the PCM. The slides will be displayed using the PowerPoint "Notes" format. Included in the notes section will be a question, example, and/or an activity related to the content of each slide. This format allows users to not only read about a variety of important components of the PCM, but also construct their own meaning about the content by answering a focused question and participating in a purposefully designed activity.

An alternative for learning about the Parallel Curriculum Model involves the creation of a book discussion group. A small group of six to eight interested educators can meet on a weekly basis for 8-10 weeks to discuss each of the eight chapters in the book and the implications of the book's ideas for their grade level, subject area, and/or program. Using a literature discussion format or a text-based protocol , the members of the group can read the chapter independently; mark interesting, controversial, or confusing text, create their own inferential questions for group discussion; and discuss the questions during the next meeting.

For those who want to use the text-based discussion format, but who prefer to use a set of book discussion questions already prepared by the authors, click here.

For those participants who would like to use an abbreviated set of book discussion questions to get started, a one-page template is provided.

As we develop and expand this PCM site, your learning and technology needs may change. We will evaluate the effectiveness of our learning opportunities and modify the format within the year as we make the necessary adjustments. We hope that you will share with us what is working for you and what features might need to be "tweaked" to make our offering more effective. Tell us about your needs by emailing the Project CONN-CEPT distance learning coordinator. Please note that by emailing the coordinator you will not receive a reply. The email account is for submitting your needs only. Our ProjectCONN-CEPT distance learning coordinator will take your questions, but you will not get an answer during the first few months that the Parallel Curriculum Distance Learning page is active. Instead she will collect and make available a set of FAQs including answers on the NAGC website. If you have a question please email the coordinator.

A series of slides and teaching notes have been created to guide educators in understanding the rationale behind the model, an overview of its components, and an explanation of the ten components that provide the foundation for curriculum designing and planning. Please click here to start the Slide Show (Slides are optimized for Intenet Explorer version 5.0 or 6.0).

Visit the NAGC Book Store to purchase the Parallel Curriculum Model