Section 27.470  Gifted Education Teacher

 

By October 1, 2024, all candidates for an endorsement in Gifted Education will be required to complete a program aligned to the NAGC-CEC (Council for Exceptional Children) Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted Education (2013), published by the National Association for Gifted Children, 1331 H Street NW, Suite 1001, Washington DC 20005, and available at https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/national-standards-gifted-and-talented-education/nagc-cec-teacher. (No later amendments to or editions of these guidelines are incorporated.)  The standards effective until September 30, 2024 are as follows:

 

a)         The competent gifted education teacher, recognizing the learning and developmental differences of gifted and talented students, promotes ongoing self-understanding, awareness of his or her students' needs, and cognitive and affective growth of these students in school, home and community settings to ensure specific student outcomes.  The competent gifted education teacher:

 

1)         collects and develops tools and techniques to engage the full range of profiles of gifted and talented students, including students with special needs (e.g., students with disabilities (twice exceptional), English language learners, creatively gifted, visual-spatial learners, profoundly gifted) in identifying their interests, strengths and gifts;

 

2)         assists gifted and talented students in developing pride in their gifts and growing their passion for their areas of interest;

 

3)         develops activities that can be tailored easily to match each student's developmental level and culture-based learning needs or to compensate for areas of deficit;

 

4)         provides a variety of research-based grouping practices for use with gifted and talented students that allow them to interact with individuals of various gifts, talents, abilities and strengths;

 

5)         models respect for individuals with diverse abilities, strengths and goals, including those students with atypical gifted profiles;

 

6)         provides role models (e.g., through mentors, bibliotherapy) for gifted and talented students that match their abilities and interests (i.e., students with special needs);

 

7)         identifies extracurricular learning opportunities that match students' abilities and interests, and works to remove barriers to their taking advantage of these opportunities;

 

8)         collaborates with families in accessing resources to develop their child's gifts and talents;

 

9)         provides interventions for students to develop cognitive and affective growth that is based on research of effective practices;

 

10)         develops specialized intervention services for underachieving gifted and talented students to accommodate their deficits, remediate their barriers to achievement, leverage their gifts and build their community with other gifted students;

 

11)         enables students to identify their preferred approaches to learning, accommodates the students' preferences and expands them;

 

12)         provides students with college and career guidance that is consistent with their strengths; and

 

13)         implements a scope and sequence of the curriculum that contains personal and social awareness and adjustment, academic planning, and vocational and career awareness.

 

b)       The competent gifted education teacher has a deep understanding of assessment and its ability to provide information about identification, learning progress and outcomes, and evaluation of programming for gifted and talented students in all domains.  The competent gifted education teacher:

 

1)           identifies gifted and talented students, including those students with special needs who may be underserved;

 

2)           develops environments and instructional activities that accommodate the full range of learning and performing among gifted populations, and encourages students to express diverse characteristics and behaviors that are associated with giftedness;

 

3)           possesses current knowledge of student exceptionalities and collects assessment data while adjusting curriculum and instruction to address each student's developmental level and aptitude for learning;

 

4)           provides parents and guardians with information in their native language regarding diverse behaviors and characteristics that are associated with giftedness, including unique characteristics that are associated with gifted students with special needs;

 

5)           provides parents and guardians with information in their native language that explains the nature and purpose of gifted programming options;

 

6)           uses current, research-based assessment strategies that accurately measure the progress of all gifted and talented students, including students with special needs;

 

7)           uses differentiated pre- and post-performance-based assessments to measure the progress of gifted and talented students;

 

8)           uses differentiated product-based assessments to measure the progress of students with gifts and talents;

 

9)           uses and interprets qualitative and quantitative assessment information to develop a profile of the strengths and weaknesses of each student to plan appropriate intervention;

 

10)          communicates and interprets assessment information to students and their parents or guardians;

 

11)          possesses an understanding of the emotional and attitudinal profiles of gifted and talented students and identifies when a child is in crisis and in need of additional supports; and

 

12)          possesses an understanding of the difference between high-achieving students and gifted and talented students, and is able to address the needs of both within a single, unified program.

 

c)         The competent gifted education teacher applies the theory and research-based models of curriculum and instruction for gifted and talented students and responds to the needs of his or her students by planning, selecting, adapting and creating culturally relevant curriculum materials or curricula and by using a repertoire of evidence-based instructional strategies to ensure specific student outcomes.  The competent gifted education teacher:

 

1)         uses local, State and national standards to align and expand curriculum and instructional plans;

 

2)         adapts, modifies or replaces the core or standard curriculum to meet the needs of gifted and talented students, including those students with special needs;

 

3)         designs differentiated curricula that incorporate advanced, conceptually challenging, in-depth, distinctive and complex content that can be modified to meet the needs of all gifted and talented students, including those students with special needs;

 

4)         uses a balanced assessment system, including pre-assessment and formative assessment, to identify students' needs, develop differentiated education plans and adjust plans based on continual progress monitoring;

 

5)         ensures that assessment measures are sensitive to the needs of students with special needs;

 

6)         uses pre-assessments and paces and differentiates instruction based on the learning rates and needs of each gifted and talented student, including those with special needs, accelerating and compacting learning, as appropriate;

 

7)         uses information and technologies, including assistive technologies, to individualize instruction for gifted and talented students, including those who are twice exceptional;

 

8)         collaborates with school support personnel and special educators to design and deliver curricula in cognitive, affective, aesthetic, social and leadership domains that are challenging and effective for gifted and talented students, including those students with special needs;

 

9)         uses meta-cognitive models to meet the needs of gifted and talented students;

 

10)         selects, adapts and uses a repertoire of instructional strategies and materials that differentiate instruction for gifted and talented students and respond to diversity;

 

11)         uses school and community resources that support differentiation;

 

12)         provides opportunities for gifted and talented students to explore, develop or research their areas of interest and/or talent;

 

13)         uses critical-thinking strategies to meet the needs of gifted and talented students;

 

14)         uses open-ended creative-thinking strategies to meet the needs of gifted and talented students;

 

15)         uses problem-solving model strategies to meet the needs of gifted and talented students;

 

16)         uses inquiry models to meet the needs of gifted and talented students;

 

17)         develops and uses challenging, culturally responsive curriculum materials or curricula to engage all gifted and talented students;

 

18)         integrates career exploration experiences into learning opportunities for gifted and talented students (e.g., biography study, speakers);

 

19)         uses curriculum materials or curricula for deep explorations of cultures, languages and social issues related to diversity; and

 

20)         demonstrates the ability to identify and leverage sources for high-quality resources and materials that are appropriate for gifted and talented students.

 

d)         The competent gifted education teacher creates learning environments that foster personal and social responsibility, multicultural competence, and interpersonal and technical communication skills for leadership in the 21^st century to ensure specific student outcomes.  The competent gifted education teacher:

 

1)         maintains high expectations for all gifted and talented students as evidenced by meaningful cognitively and creatively challenging activities;

 

2)         recognizes, accommodates and helps to remediate the limitations of gifted students with special needs in meeting production demands;

 

3)         provides opportunities for self-exploration, development and pursuit of interests, and development of identities supportive of achievement (e.g., through mentors and role models);

 

4)         creates environments that support trust among diverse learners;

 

5)         provides feedback that focuses on effort, evidence of potential to meet high standards and mistakes as learning opportunities;

 

6)         provides examples of positive coping skills and opportunities to apply them;

 

7)         understands the needs of gifted and talented students for both solitude and social interaction;

 

8)         provides opportunities for gifted and talented students to interact with intellectual and artistic and creative peers, as well as with chronological-age peers;

 

9)         provides students with special needs with opportunities to interact with both intellectual and emotional-age peers and with other gifted and talented students with special needs;

 

10)         assesses and provides instruction on social skills needed for school, community and the world of work;

 

11)         establishes a safe and welcoming climate for addressing social issues and developing personal responsibility;

 

12)         provides environments for developing many forms of leadership and leadership skills;

 

13)         promotes opportunities for leadership in community settings to effect positive change;

 

14)         models appreciation for and sensitivity to students' diverse backgrounds and languages;

 

15)         censures discriminatory language and behavior and models appropriate strategies;

 

16)         provides structured opportunities to collaborate with diverse peers on a common goal;

 

17)         provides opportunities for advanced development and maintenance of first and second languages;

 

18)         provides resources to enhance oral, written and artistic forms of communication, recognizing students' cultural context; and

 

19)         ensures access to advanced communication tools, including assistive technologies, and use of these tools for expressing higher-level thinking and creative productivity.

 

e)         The competent gifted education teacher is aware of empirical evidence regarding the cognitive, creative and affective development of gifted and talented students, and programming that meets their concomitant needs.  Competent teachers use this expertise systematically and collaboratively to develop, implement and effectively manage comprehensive services for students with a variety of gifts and talents to ensure specific student outcomes.  The competent gifted education teacher:

 

1)         regularly uses multiple alternative approaches to accelerate learning;

 

2)         regularly uses enrichment options to extend and deepen learning opportunities within and outside of the school setting;

 

3)         regularly uses multiple forms of grouping, including clusters, resource rooms, special classes or special schools;

 

4)         regularly uses individualized learning options, such as mentorships, internships, online courses and independent study;

 

5)         regularly uses current technologies, including online learning options and assistive technologies, to enhance access to high-level programming;

 

6)         collaborates with educators in gifted, general and special education programs, as well as those in specialized areas, to collaboratively plan, develop and implement services for gifted and talented students;

 

7)         regularly engages families and community members for purposes of planning, programming, evaluating and advocating;

 

8)         provides professional guidance and counseling for individual students' strengths, interests and values; and

 

9)         facilitates mentorships, internships and vocational programming experiences that match student interests and aptitudes.

 

f)         The competent gifted education teacher formally assesses professional development needs related to standards, develops and monitors development plans, systematically engages in training to meet identified needs, and demonstrates mastery of standards through the assessment of relevant student outcomes.  The competent gifted education teacher:

 

1)         participates in ongoing, research-supported professional development that addresses the foundations of gifted education, education of gifted students with special needs, characteristics of students with gifts and talents, assessment, curriculum planning and instruction, learning environments and programming;

 

2)         stays current regarding key issues affecting gifted and talented students, such as anti-intellectualism, and trends in gifted education, such as equity and access;

 

3)         expands the support system for gifted and talented students and their families by connecting them to organizations and publications relevant to gifted education;

 

4)         participates in ongoing professional development to support the social and emotional needs of gifted and talented students, and shares resources and perspective with students and their families;

 

5)         assesses his or her instructional practices on an ongoing basis and, based on these assessments, continues his or her professional development related to gifted education through the school district's staff development, professional organizations and higher education settings;

 

6)         assesses evidence of the impact of new instructional approaches both on teacher practice and student learning;

 

7)         leverages multiple modes of delivering professional development, including online courses, online gifted-related communities, workshops, professional learning communities and book "talks";

 

8)         identifies and addresses areas in his or her professional development plans for personal growth in the teaching of gifted and talented students;

 

9)         responds to cultural and personal frames of reference when teaching gifted and talented students; and

 

10)         complies with rules, policies and standards of ethical practice.

 

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 8630, effective May 12, 2020)