Course of Study

Academic Year Course Schedule (Academic Year: Fall and Spring Semesters)

Timing of Individual Courses

It is strongly recommended that graduate students take SPED 753 first and SPED 756 last in the series of four courses for the Advanced Certificate degree.

SPED 753, "Understanding and Identifying Gifted Learners" is typically taught in the fall and summer semesters.

SPED 756, "Professional Discourse: Program Evaluation and Leadership," is typically taught in the spring and summer semesters.

Courses SPED 754 and SPED 755 are "interchangeable" in timing. They do not have to be taken in numerical order.

SPED 754, "Differentiation of the Curriculum," is typically taught in the Fall and Summer semesters.

SPED 755, "Assessment and Differentiation of Instruction," is typically taught in Spring and Summer semesters.

 

 

Please read below for course descriptions.

Each fall and spring, two courses are taught once a week on two different days from 4:30 - 7:00 p.m.

SPED 753

Understanding and Identifying Gifted Learners: Individual and Developmental Diversity

3 credits; 10 field hours. Permission of Gifted Program Coordinator, if not a Special Education graduate student. SPED graduate students (who are not in the gifted program) must take SPED 753 as a pre- or co-requisite for SPED 754 and SPED 755. 

An overview of major questions and issues in the field, including: What is intelligence? What is creativity? What is giftedness? How do we measure these qualities? Focus on the urban context, incorporating rich cultural, social, political and educational resources, and developing expertise in educating gifted and talented students from a broad range of backgrounds.

SPED 754

Differentiating Curriculum for Gifted and Talented Learners

3 credits; 10 field hours. Prerequisite: SPED 753. Permission of the Gifted Program Coordinator, if not a Special Education graduate student.  SPED grad students (who are not in the gifted program) must also take SPED 753 as a pre- or co-requisite for SPED 754.

Consideration of a wide range of curricular options appropriate for meeting diverse gifted learning needs from early childhood through Grade 12. Examination and analysis of a variety of placement options, from the regular classroom to the full-time gifted school.

SPED 755

Assessment and Instruction for Diversely Gifted Learners

3 credits; 20 field hours. Prerequisite (during academic year) or Co-requisite (during summer session): SPED 753.  Permission of the Gifted Program Coordinator, if not a Special Education graduate student.  SPED grad students (who are not in the gifted program) must also take SPED 753 as a pre- or co-requisite for SPED 755.

Supervised Learning Lab experience involving scaffolded assessment, diagnosis, and associated curriculum differentiation for diversely gifted learners, including those with learning and emotional problems, physical disabilities, and special abilities. Includes writing and implementing Individual Education Plans.

SPED 756

Professional Discourse and Leadership in Gifted Education

3 credits; 10 field hours. Pre-requisites: SPED 753 & SPED 754. Pre- or co-requisite: SPED 755. 

Collaborative models of professional development and program evaluation in gifted education. Major  issues and leadership concerns in the field, e.g., including underrepresented populations and integrating gifted practices school-wide and system-wide. Students investigate public policy and participate in advocacy for gifted education.

Please note:

The Advanced Certificate in Gifted Education is a degree program. Hunter College graduate students may not enroll in two degree programs simultaneously. If Hunter College Masters students outside the department of Special Education wish to enroll in some gifted education courses, then they must receive permission from their adviser and from the Gifted Education Program Coordinator.

In addition, students who plan to apply for the Advanced Certificate in Gifted Education degree may do so during their last semester of a Masters program or after they complete their Masters. Contact Dr. Elissa Brown, the Program Coordinator, before applying to the program to receive important information about the process.

Contact Dr. Elissa Brown Gifted Program Coordinator, for details:
eb177@hunter.cuny.edu; 212.772-4618