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GT Designation Course #5: Building Quality Gifted Programs (K-12)

OPEN NOW Fall/Winter Registration · Enroll Jul 15 – Nov 14 · Due Dec 31
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GT Designation Course #5: Building Quality Gifted Programs (K-12)

$499.00

You purchase the book separately. Find it on Amazon →

Graduate credits 3 semester hours
Credit equivalent 4.5 quarter hours
University CSU Pueblo
Level Graduate
Format Book-based/self-paced

Course Overview

This is the capstone course of the GT Specialist Designation. The four core courses must be completed first.
Good gifted programming is often treated as a matter of good intentions: a pull-out group, occasional enrichment, or a teacher who cares deeply about advanced learners. In reality, effective services depend on a coordinated system of identification, curriculum and instruction, learning environments, program evaluation, and professional learning, all guided by shared standards of quality.
Working from the NAGC Pre-K–Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards, edited by Susan Johnsen, Debbie Dailey, and Alicia Cotabish, this course examines what strong gifted programming requires across an entire school or district. You will then weigh those standards against the realities of your own setting: where current services align, where gaps remain, and what practical steps could move the program forward.
This is also where the work of the designation comes together. You will synthesize the applied projects from the four core courses into a professional portfolio documenting your preparation across all seven national standards for gifted educators. You will also produce a standards-attainment record designed to communicate that preparation clearly to a principal, gifted education coordinator, or hiring committee.

Capstone Work

In addition to the coursework, capstone candidates complete four artifacts that bring the designation together:

  • An equity synthesis, connecting the text with a professional source on equity in gifted education that you locate and vet yourself
  • A portfolio synthesis, integrating your applied work from the four core courses
  • A GT Coach reflection, drawing on the coaching work you completed across the pathway
  • A standards crosswalk documenting where your portfolio meets each of the seven standards

You will also select one book from an approved shortlist to go deeper in an area relevant to your own school or district. Full instructions are provided in the course. Three graduate credits through CSU Pueblo.

About the Editors

SJ
Susan K. Johnsen, PhD, Debbie Dailey, EdD & Alicia Cotabish, EdD
Dr. Johnsen is Professor Emerita of Educational Psychology at Baylor University, editor-in-chief of Gifted Child Today, and author of three widely used tests for identifying gifted students. She is past president of The Association for the Gifted, Council for Exceptional Children. Dr. Dailey is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Central Arkansas, and chairs the STEM network at the National Association for Gifted Children. Dr. Cotabish is Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning at the University of Central Arkansas and co-chairs the NAGC Standards Committee. Together they edited the NAGC Pre-K–Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards, published by Routledge.

This is a graduate-level course intended for K–12 educators who have completed a bachelor’s degree. It is recommended that you receive board or district approval before registering with TPAI.

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