I am just not convinced differentiation works.
Agreed. Differentiation is a
buzzword and non-specific term which only means that something is
different, it does not mean that the education is better suited for the student nor that the student's curriculum, placement, and pacing are in the student's zone of proximal development (ZPD), which some people refer to as providing a "challenge". The word challenge is also sufficiently nebulous as to obfuscate what the school is providing. For example, an overabundance of busywork homework can provide one form of challenge, but it is not a challenge worthy of the child's academic/intellectual potential nor is it beneficial to growing the child's intellectual curiosity.
This may emphasize the importance of knowing what type of "fit" in curriculum, placement, and pacing the school would provide for the gifted child.
To help get beyond buzzwords, this
post suggests learning the
5Ws of a gifted program: Who, What Where, When, Why, and How.
