Pre-Assessment - this an excellent method for determining what a student does and does not know. Often times though, we use this information to close gaps and provide intervention, but how often do teachers use it to figure out ways to challenge students, especially our gifted ones, and differentiating up?

Removing the Ceiling on Learning - when we teach a lesson, we can either put a ceiling on the learning by asking students to provide a definite answer, one that stops the learning once they find it. Or we can remove the ceiling by asking them to do something that has multiple possibilities, each of which can be explored and expanded upon.

How to Handle Pace in the Classroom - we have those students who seem to process and understand things a lot quicker than the rest of the class. They move at a very fast pace. The question is what to do with these students?

How to Get Students to Dig Deeper - when we ask students to do this, how intentional are we being about showing them how to do this whether it be asking the right questions or giving them a process to use?

Going Above Grade Level - we can challenge students through enrichment and going deeper, but we can also accelerate their learning and expose them to content and learning that is above what is expected of them. One simple way to do this is to present students who have shown mastery above grade level content.

Student Choice - One way you can certainly challenge students and differentiate up in the classroom is to provide them with choices. This could be a choice in topics learned, choice in how this is learned, choice with who you learn it with, and choice in how you are going to determine mastery.

Performance Assessment - When it comes to measuring what students have learned and differentiating up, there are more choices than the traditional assessments of multiple choice. There are performance assessments which include but are not limited to oral presentations, journals, exhibitions, role playing, debates/speeches, essays, interviews, and research papers.

Mentors/Mentorships - Even though teachers are expected to be the experts in their subject area, often times there are things that we don't know. One strategy for overcoming this is using mentors/mentorships to provide students with access to a unique learning experience that is going to grow their understanding.

Asking higher level questions - if you want to raise the rigor in your classroom and ensure that you are teaching to the level of the standard, you need to be able to ask higher level questions of your students.

Inquiry-Based Learning - What if we let the students be responsible for most of the learning in class? That is the basic premise behind inquiry-based learning where the content is not given to the kids by the teacher but rather generated and discovered on their own.