Gifted: Nature and Needs

The following topics align with the Florida K-12 Gifted Endorsement, Florida Department of Education Board Rule 6A-4.01791, and the 2019 Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards from the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). The standards are endorsed by the Association for the Gifted of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). The GT codes in parenthesis reference the NAGC-CEC Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted and Talented Education (12/2013).

Topic 1: Defining Giftedness and Exploring Foundations

• Describe the importance, implications, and benefits of gifted education for students and society through the identification of key philosophies, theories, and research. (GT1.2)
• Demonstrate understanding of major historical and contemporary trends that influence gifted education. (GT6.2-GT6.4)
• Demonstrate knowledge of the historical, national, and state definitions of giftedness. (GT6.2-GT6.4)
• Demonstrate knowledge of the current criteria for gifted eligibility and placement in Florida. (GT4.1-GT4.3)

Topic 2: Understanding Giftedness

• Identify cognitive and affective characteristics of learners who are gifted, including those from diverse backgrounds. (GT1.1, GT1.2)
• Identify the needs and challenges associated with common gifted characteristics. (GT1.1, GT1.2, GT4.4)
• Compare and contrast the cognitive, social, emotional, experimental, and economic factors in supporting or inhibiting the development of giftedness. (GT2.1, GT2.4)
• Understand the role of societal, cultural, emotional, experiential, and economic factors in supporting or inhibiting the development of giftedness. (GT1.1, GT2.4, GT4.4, GT5.5)

Topic 3: Identifying the Gifted

• Identify issues related to the identification of students who may be gifted. (GT1.1, GT1.2)
• Examine district screening practices and identification procedures. (GT4.1-GT4.4) 
• Recognize contents, uses, limitations, and interpretation of multiple assessments for the screening and identification of learners who are gifted, including students from diverse backgrounds. (GT4.1-GT4.4)

Topic 4: Educating the Gifted

• Examine how gifted services differ from general education services with regard to curriculum, instruction, grouping, and learning environment. (GT3.1-GT3.4)
• Analyze the relationship among gifted programming, differentiation, and identification criteria. (GT3.3, GT5.1)
• Prioritize the educational needs of individual students who are gifted based on cognitive and affective characteristics and present levels of educational performance. (GT5.1-GT5.5)
• Compare and contrast different service delivery models for students who are gifted and the relationship of the level of need for differentiation to placement on a continuum of services. (GT3.1-GT3.4)
• Describe the characteristics and competencies of effective teachers of students who are gifted. (GT5.1-GT5.5)

Topic 5: Managing Gifted Programs

• Identify laws, regulations, and official documents that directly impact students who are gifted and services in Florida, including relationship between exceptional student education and gifted programs. (GT6.1-GT6.3)
• Identify and interpret implications of current research that impacts gifted education. (GT6.1-GT6.3)
• Demonstrate an understanding of the teacher’s responsibility for record keeping, including developing a suitable educational plan (EP) for an individual learner who is gifted. (GT6.1)
• Examine the importance and role of the parent, teacher, and student in advocating for the gifted. (GT6.4, GT6.5)