Online Gifted Education Courses

This course allows the student to develop an understanding of the unique characteristics, strengths and challenges of children classified as exceptional. An historical and legal overview of the field of special education will be presented as well as current trends, issues and best practices for educating children with exceptionalities in a contemporary setting. Students will understand the competencies necessary to effectively teach, communicate, and live with individuals with exceptionalities in educational and natural environments. The course focuses on the social and emotional implications of the “exceptional” label to individuals, their families, and society as a whole.

This course allows the student to develop an understanding of the unique characteristics, strengths, and challenges of exceptional children. An overview of the historical and legal aspects in the field of special education are presented, as well as current trends, issues, and best practices for educating children with exceptionalities in contemporary settings. Students will understand the competencies necessary to effectively teach, communicate, and live with individuals who have exceptionalities in educational and natural environments. This course will focus on the social and emotional implications of the “exceptional” label to individuals, their families, and society as a whole.

In this course, students will explore theories regarding innovation and the challenges associated with innovating in an educational culture. Students will examine aspects of an innovator’s mindset, as well as behaviors and practices conducive to the effecting and sustaining of innovations.

This course is designed to provide an overview of education from historical, philosophical, and sociological perspectives. Students will expand on their understanding of contemporary education through an investigation of the changing role of educators in current social, political, and economic times using current peer reviewed articles and other open educational resources (OER).

This course is designed to engage practitioners in the collection, evaluation, and interpretation of educational research for use in a variety of educational practices. The student will investigate the basis of educational research, along with pertinent methods of data collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative research results. Emphasis will be placed on research problems, designs, and findings in the student’s selected area of concentration. Students will be expected to demonstrate their ability to narrow a research topic, complete accepted scholarly search strategies, identify and synthesize research articles, and correctly format a literature review using established APA guidelines.

This course includes entry-level concepts and is a prerequisite for future study in the field. The course introduces students to basic terminology, theories, and general approaches and encompasses the following broad aspects of the field: history; major research; philosophy; definitions; cognitive, social and emotional characteristics and needs of the gifted; types and levels of giftedness; broad-based identification procedures; general program issues, approaches; special populations; teacher characteristics and competencies.

This course has a dual emphasis. First, it includes substantive study of past and current curricula with attention to their bases in research and theory. Second, this knowledge is utilized by participants in preparing curricular programs which will enable them to function more effectively in their particular educational settings. Emphasis will focus on curricula used for educating gifted learners in a K-12 setting.

This course teaches students about the use of non-projective, educationally relevant tests, including theories of measurement, test construction, test administration, and the use of assessment results. Students will review administration of one of the more commonly used methods of assessment, either the SB-V or WISC-V. Students will be provided with opportunities (online or in class) to view assessments and demonstrations of the commonly used assessments in schools today. Students will also be introduced to ethical considerations, confidentiality, and the impact of diversity in testing. The role of testing in special programs, including gifted identification and the Response to Intervention (RTI) model will also be discussed. Lab fee required.

This course provides the fundamental principles of program development for the gifted. Topics addressed include student identification procedures with particular focus on special populations of the gifted; needs assessment; philosophy of curriculum development; staff selection and development; budgeting; resource identification and utilization; strategies for communicating the rationale for gifted education to the education community and the community at large; parent and community role clarification; program monitoring and evaluation, and strategies for producing change. Role functions and referent groups are studied as well as general educational procedures; steps in basic program development, including a manual of guidelines and procedures; provision for appropriate resources; and refinement of effective parent and community involvement.

This course focuses on the differential affective characteristics and needs of students who are gifted. General counseling techniques will be studied as they apply to working with the gifted. This area includes such topics as communicating with the gifted, their teachers and parents; assessing special interests, needs and expectations (e.g., underachievement, perfectionism, self-esteem, leadership peer pressure, depression, suicide, motivation, personal and social dynamics, and parenting skills); the role of the school in psycho-social development; and the potential of the gifted to achieve.

This course requires exploration in current topics of interest in relation to the study and application of learning theories to contemporary educational issues. Physical, cognitive, and emotional development of the young child through adolescence are also investigated. Students will learn theory, models, and current research in developmental and educational psychology.

This course is designed to provide an overview of education from historical, philosophical, and sociological perspectives. Students will expand on their understanding of contemporary education through an investigation of the changing role of educators in current social, political, and economic times using current peer reviewed articles and other open educational resources (OER).

This course includes an in-depth examination of theories of learning styles with emphasis on Brain Dominance, Learning Styles, and Multiple Intelligences. Applications of the models as they can be adapted to basic teaching styles will be stressed.

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the writing expectations in published educational research. Students will learn the organization, writing expectations, and citation style of APA. The instructor will present strategies for all aspects of the writing process, especially revision. Students will work in groups to peer review each other?s work and meet individually with the instructor. This course is designed to enhance graduate students? writing skills so they are more prepared for the complex writing requirements of graduate level writing and scholarship. Locating, reading, synthesizing, and evaluating published educational research will also be reviewed. This course emphasizes writing for a specific audience. The final product of this class will be a literature review excerpt on a topic the student desires to investigate further in the certificate program or other professional writing such as a grant application.

This course is an introduction to psychometrics and methods of appraisal. Students will examine several data collection approaches including interviewing and testing and consider factors affecting data interpretation such as age, sex, and ethnic and cultural background. Students will learn how to use and interpret a variety of tests including personality, vocational interest, achievement, group intelligence, and aptitude tests. Lab fee required.

This course is a review of the historical and theoretical bases of intelligence testing in addition to instruction and supervised practice in scoring, interpreting, and reporting results for Wechsler and Binet intelligence tests. Lab fee required.

This course involves the application of knowledge, skills, and competencies delineated in the five basic areas of study: survey; program planning and development; screening, assessing, and evaluating; instruction; meeting the affective needs of the gifted and talented. A practicum will be individualized to address the needs, abilities; and prior educational and professional experiences of the students and focus on designing and evaluating curriculum and instruction methods that enhance the specific learning styles of students who are gifted. Individual conferences and group meetings will provide opportunities to share and discuss problems and solutions encountered during the practicum.

This course requires the student to be responsible for the preparation of a final project as required for the course and graduation. The project must be a specific application of gathering, analysis, evaluation, and re-conceptualization of ideas which have been stressed throughout the program. The topic of the project may focus on a particular problem which the participant faces in his/her individual situation as an educator. The master’s project may take the form of curriculum development, whereby the candidate will design, test, and evaluate a curriculum plan within an educational environment. Other paths include analysis of a teaching project for the candidate to observe, record, and analyze various patterns of teaching behavior, or a research project in which a particular research technique is applied to an educational problem.