College of Education

Instruction: Gifted and Talented

Master of Education

About This Program

Program Purpose

The Master of Education in Instruction: Gifted and Talented degree program focuses on issues of teaching and learning from the perspective of the practicing classroom teacher who is interested in teaching and/or designing programs for gifted and talented students. Candidates are provided with the knowledge, skills, and experiences needed to enhance student learning and to ensure their effectiveness as teachers and leaders in the field of gifted and talented education. The program addresses research, theory, and best practices related to social and emotional development, curriculum development, and promoting creativity and critical thinking. Translating theory into practice is a primary emphasis.

Program Competencies

The standards and program competencies adopted for the Master of Education in Instruction: Gifted and Talented degree program are the National Gifted Education Standards issued by the National Association for Gifted Children, Council for Exceptional Children, and The Association for the Gifted (2008). Those standards can be found at the website http://www.nagc.org/

Standards from The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) (1992) will be addressed in the foundation courses. INTASC standards can be found at the website http://www.ccsso.org/

Program completers will be able to:

  1. Make decisions based on a thorough understanding of the historical and philosophical foundations of gifted and talented education, including contemporary issues related to inclusion, diversity, culture, and context.
  2. Create learning environments that support the developmental trajectories and idiosyncratic ways of learning needed by individuals of gifts and talents.
  3. Design meaningful and challenging instruction based on learning theories, developmental theories, and best practices that acknowledge differences of individuals with gifts and talents.
  4. Demonstrate effective pedagogical practices that promote motivation, as well as cognitive and affective development.
  5. Create learning environments that encourage positive interpersonal relationships and social interactions, foster cultural understanding, emotional safety, and well-being that will prepare individuals with gifts and talents to live independently and productively in a culturally diverse world.
  6. Use a wide range of strategies, information and communication technology, and assistive technology to address the diverse needs of all individuals with gifts and talents.
  7. Design, implement, evaluate, and revise curricula that provides differentiated instructional opportunities directly related to the unique learning needs of individuals with gifts and talents, facilitating these actions in a collaborative context.
  8. Use appropriate and multiple types of assessment tools and information for identification and making instructional decisions.
  9. Engage in professional, ethical, and reflective practices while being committed to participating in professional development opportunities.
  10. Work collaboratively with families, school personnel, and related service providers to communicate, advocate, and promote programs that benefit individuals with gifts and talents.

Outcomes Assessment

Multiple assessments are used to determine candidate growth toward achievement of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions described in Master of Education in Instruction: Gifted and Talented program competencies and college-wide graduation competencies. Performance-based assessments are used to evaluate fieldwork, projects, assignments and research papers. Goals, learning outcomes and activities, external assignments, and assessment strategies are linked directly to program and graduation competencies and are clearly stated on each course syllabus. Other assessment strategies may include advising conferences and observations of candidate performance in authentic settings. A web portfolio completed during the program will show the candidate’s level of expertise in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and dispositions described in National Association for Gifted Education Standards.

This information applies to students who enter this degree program during the 2010-2011 Academic Year. If you entered this degree program before the Fall 2010 semester, please refer to the academic catalog for the year you began your degree program.