The Master of Science in Education in Gifted Education Degree and the Gifted Education Licensure Program provide a well conceived and systematic, yet flexible plan for opportunities to gain expertise in the development and education of the gifted and related areas in education.  These programs will prepare graduates for a variety of types and levels of professional roles including:

1. Practitioner (Teacher/Consultant)

2. Teacher Trainer/Coordinator

3. Program Developer/Evaluator

The goal of these programs is to develop scholars, leaders, and practitioners to work in local, regional, state, and national institutions and agencies, particularly educational settings, pre-kindergarten through post-graduate.

The School of Education provides 24 hours of course work in Gifted Education for which I am the primary instructor and advisor.  The foci of the curriculum are on basic topics, opportunities for specialization, and related areas.  This core provides a firm foundation in theory, practice, and research.  The theoretical base includes extensive coverage of the major premises underlying approaches to education of the gifted.  The practical base focuses on program and curriculum development, teaching, and service (e.g. administration, consultation, staff development, and delivery of instruction).  The research base provides significant knowledge of existing studies and an opportunity for personally meaningful discovery.  Opportunities are provided to study education of the gifted in depth and focus upon specific areas of emphases, expertise, and professional interest providing the flexibility to individualize according to the needs of the studying professional.

Each course has been designed to provide an environment of stimulation, challenge, and encouragement for all students.  The structure of each course is an open, prescriptive, and descriptive model meant to stimulate the behaviors of decision making.  It is a model in which, in both theory and practice, the quest for an ideal approach to decision making continues; decision making is studied or analyzed in a research mode; there is involvement in educational decisions; there is belief in attainment; thoughtful practice is based on viewing educators as developing adults; there is a particular instructional focus consistent with the “teacher-as-decision maker” model; instruction and advising are linked with action research through purposeful study; there is a link between individual needs, course goals, program requirements, and licensure standards; class is viewed as working harmoniously together, complementing and working with each other as part of an efficient system to produce quality educators; and, there is continuous constructive feedback for all.