Community Activism as Curriculum: How to Meet Gifted Students’ Needs While Creating Change

Gifted middle school students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades engaged with a community activism curriculum designed and implemented by the author, their gifted education facilitator, as part of their gifted programming. This authentic learning experience asked students to follow a creative problem-solving process that fostered thoughtful problem-solving and successful action plans. Participating students reported feeling empowered by the experience of creating lasting positive change in their community and even altered their own expectations of learning experiences in school. This article explores the perspective of the practitioner and ways of successfully implementing such a curriculum