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Teachers - Gifted Education Professional Developmentpd

The Gifted Education Research, Resource and Information Centre (GERRIC) at the University of New South Wales is Australia’s leading centre for research, teacher professional development and student programs in the education of gifted and talented students. GERRIC provides tailored professional development programs and consultancies to education departments around Australia, and to state, Catholic and independent schools.

All GERRIC presenters have qualifications, many years of experience and expertise, in the field of gifted education. Our staff will liaise with youl to deliver a program specifically tailored to meet the needs of your school staff and student population.

Professional development is available for single staff development days, short courses or on a continuing consultancy basis.

Professional development topics may include

Introductory topics such as:

  • General awareness of the field of gifted education
  • An introduction to current issues in gifted education
  • Identifying gifted and talented students in your school
  • Issues of equity in gifted education

Topics of interest to teachers who already have some background in gifted education may include:

  • Curriculum differentiation
  • Meeting the social and emotional needs of the gifted
  • Planning successful acceleration

Topics for schools that have already undertaken significant staff development in gifted education may include:

  • Planning and implementing a whole-school policy
  • The teacher as counsellor
  • Catering for the affective needs of gifted students
  • Evaluating your school’s gifted program
  • Planning defensible school programs for the gifted

Additionally, GERRIC has developed a series of mini-courses in gifted education designed to provide substantial professional development to your staff. These courses range from 8 to 22 hours in length and can be delivered to individual schools or to clusters of schools in metropolitan or regional areas.

GERRIC Mini Certificate of Gifted Education Program

Outline of Course Content

(Please note: professional development programs may be tailored to meet the individual needs of your school staff and student population. However, the content below is typical of what many schools request.)

Session One:

Key content covered includes:

• Common beliefs and myths of giftedness

• Introduction and/or further development of the Gagné Model of Giftedness and Talent

• Introduction to the qualitative and quantitative differences between gifted students at different levels of giftedness and between same age peers

Session Two:

Key content covered includes:

• Introduction and overview of possible tools for identification

• Classroom identification strategies including the use of off-level testing

Session Three:

Key content covered includes:

• Underachievement: causational factors and identification

• A model of underachievement

• Case studies of underachievement

• Addressing underachievement in the classroom

Session Four:

Key content covered includes:

• Instructional and curriculum models – the similarities and differences

• Overview of curriculum models based on conceptual frameworks – the use of universal concepts

• Levels of questioning in a classroom

Session Five:

Key content covered includes:

• Using conceptual frameworks to plan units of work

• Pre/Post (Summative) Assessment design –mapping learning gain.

Session Six:

Key content covered includes:

• Applying instructional strategies to teaching programs (Blooms Taxonomy and the Williams Model)

• Developing tiered formative assessment

• Developing tiered instruction

Session Seven:

Key content covered includes:

• Managing choice in learning activities in the classroom

• Classroom management strategies for differentiated classrooms

• Developing differentiated assessment using Blooms and/or Williams

Session Eight:

• Research based programming options for gifted students – mentoring, ability grouping and acceleration

• Planning gifted programs for schools

For further information about GERRIC professional development, or to make a booking, please contact the GERRIC office on (02) 9385-1972, email: gerric@unsw.edu.au or fax (02) 9385-1973.

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