How important is teacher certification in gifted education? We were just told by an administrator that "It just means they did an extra 12 hours and picked up a certification...".

My DD had a first grade teacher who was certified in gifted education, and, whether it was just in her nature, or was actually trained, she really helped our DD to flourish. The remainder of the teachers in her school are not certified. Is this worrisome?

fWiw, all the other teachers *seem excellent.

This from the NAGC website FAQ https://www.nagc.org/resources-publ...y-asked-questions-about-gifted-education
What kind of training does a teacher need to work with gifted students?
You might think twice before sending a tennis coach to baseball’s spring training season; although there would be overlap in general kinesthetic and sports psychology knowledge, the nuances of the two sports are very different and require disparate sets of coaching skills. Just as a baseball team needs a coach who understands baseball, gifted students need guidance from well-trained, challenging teachers who understand their educational needs.

Teacher training requirements for working with gifted students are determined at the state and local levels. Although gifted and talented students are in every school and classroom, few districts require that all classroom teachers receive training to address the educational needs of advanced learners.

Research indicates that teachers who have received training in gifted education are more likely to foster higher-level thinking, allow for greater student expression, consider individual student strengths and weaknesses, and provide a variety of learning experiences to challenge students. This vital expertise that benefits all students is not developed merely as a result of one-hour training sessions; refining teacher skills requires high-quality professional development, time, materials, and continued support.

Read the knowledge and skills in gifted education that all teachers should have. https://www.nagc.org/resources-publ...ted-and-talented-education/knowledge-and

I have a master's degree in gifted education. I think that there are two things that make for a teacher who is good with gifted students.

The first is obviously training--but this training needs to have been understood and internalized. There were a lot of students in my classes who were getting the same training that I was who obviously didn't get it at all. For example, when asked to design a lesson plan appropriate for gifted students, they focused on making popsicle sticks with students' names on them to draw during discussions so that everyone would get a chance to speak--nothing about depth, complexity, nuance, or offering choices that allow gifted kids to really dig in to whatever it is.

The second--which I realize is not PC--is that they really need to be gifted (or at least very bright) themselves. I think this is why the popsicle stick people were resorting to popsicle sticks. They really had *no idea* what it meant to alter a lesson so that it is intellectually appropriate for gifted students. I don't know what sort of feedback they got when they did that sort of thing, but my suspicion is that it probably didn't alter their approach.

I think that training that has been internalized can compensate for a lack of giftedness to some extent, but I think that more often that teachers who are known for providing appropriate experiences for their gifted students are those who are gifted themselves. Unfortunately, since by definition gifted folks make up only a few percent of the population, these teachers are going to be few and far between, and they are going to be even more rare in the population of elementary school teachers.

As for certification--which I know nothing about--if it is just 12 hours of passive training, it isn't going to do much.

I think it is twelve hours college credit, so four courses, and not just twelve clock hours. Usually in Florida at least that would include Nature and Needs of gifted student, special methods of instruction for the gifted, special curriculum for gifted, and one addition class.

So, essentially a subset of what I did for my master's degree. I'd guess that a person with that level of training might be more likely to be a good teacher for gifted students, but not necessarily.

The other benefit would be the person made some effort to learn about gifted kids so presumably accepts they exist and they have special needs. This is more than half the battle.

Popsicle sticks for turns. So their take away from the training was they shouldn't let the gifted kids answer too many questions? And they are teachers.

On average, yes it makes a difference.
I'd agree with Kai that the GT teacher being gifted themselves can be a key ingredient.

Few teachers have any idea of how to effectively differentiate to a regular class room group, let alone to a class of GT students. To be honest, few teachers want to go to that much work which is why GT students are often just handed busy work rather than work that expands upon breadth and depth. At least with a certification they usually have some idea of the concept, though applying it is a different story ask Kai seems to be signaling.

As for the 12 credits, I'd have to say that it depends on where those credits came from. As with any other certification, degree, or education, some sources are much more effective than others.