An Evaluation of the Catalyst Program: Consultation and Collaboration in Gifted Education

Abstract

A recent evaluation of the Catalyst Program, a resource consultation and collaboration program in gifted education, was conducted in order to investigate the effects of student academic performance and teacher competencies, as well as the effectiveness of the consulting process applied to gifted education. In a two-year pilot program, general educators and gifted education specialists at 10 elementary schools in a large, urban school district consulted and collaborated with one another to provide differentiated educational experiences to gifted learners. Results indicate that the model was an effective service delivery strategy for providing differentiated education to gifted learners, had positive spill-over effects for the entire school, led to a redefined role of the gifted education specialist, and initiated an articulation of the nature of the consulting process when applied to gifted education.