It's no longer enough to be smart, talented, and knowledgeable. For gifted students to be well-prepared for success in this century, they must be well-versed in new ways of thinking and learning. Today's classroom must be designed not to "fill up" students with existing knowledge, but rather to increase their ability to learn independently and to produce new knowledge. This requires teachers of the gifted to possess substantial skills in differentiating curriculum and instruction, and in laying the very foundations of thinking. Strategies like critical reasoning, creative idea generation, problem finding and solving, and decision making get students to "think to learn" and "learn to think." This session introduces 21st century thinking and learning skills essential for the future success of gifted learners and provides ready-to-use techniques for developing student thinking and ways to encourage gifted students to be more autonomous in their own learning.