Study Gifted Education with us
What do we mean by giftedness and talent? How do gifted students learn? What are characteristic knowledge profiles? How can teachers identify the learning characteristics and styles of these students? How can teachers and schools help gifted and talented students learn successfully? How can teachers differentiate their teaching effectively in terms of how these students learn? How can schools support optimise curriculum provision for them, for example, using acceleration and higher grade placement? How can schools support their total development? How can creative and innovative thinking be fostered in regular education ?
These are some of the questions that guide the study of Gifted Education. Gifted education studies will give you the tools to discover and nurture the hidden talents of our nationís brightest.
Applications for these courses can now be submitted for 2009 enrolment so Apply Now
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- Programs in Gifted Education
- Themes explored in Gifted Education
- Research in the field of Gifted education
- Staff in Gifted Education
- Who is the program suitable for?
- Career outcomes
- Key benefits of the program
Programs in Gifted Education
You can specialise in Gifted Education by choosing one of the following programs:
Programs |
Part Time |
Full Time |
1 year |
6 months |
|
| Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Studies (Gifted Education) | 2 years |
1 year |
| Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Studies | 2 years |
1 year |
2 years |
1 year |
|
3 years |
18 months |
|
2 years |
1 year |
|
3 years |
18 months |
|
2 years |
1 year |
|
3 years |
18 months |
|
6 years |
3 years |
|
6 years |
3 years |
|
6 years |
3 years |
(NB. The differing lengths of the Masters
programs are based on the previous
qualifications/work experience of the applicant)
Themes explored in Gifted Education
Based on the latest research and theory, this study program offers learning experiences that you can apply effectively in your workplace. Study focuses on the following areas:
- understanding the learning characteristics and knowledge profiles of gifted and talented learners, theories for describing and explaining how these students learn think and feel,
- differentiating and modifying classroom teaching to accommodate how these students learn,
- the psychology of gifted learning,
- identifying and evaluating the learning patterns of gifted and talented learners,
- curriculum provision for gifted and talented learners, curriculum differentiation, grade placement and acceleration issues,
- facilitating the overall development of gifted and talented learners,
- understanding the culture of gifted and talented learners.
Staff in the Gifted Education area
Associate Professor John Munro leads the teaching in this area. Dr
Munro has worked extensively in researching
aspects of gifted learning and developing differentiated teaching
practice based on this research. You can see some of the recent papers
written by Associate Professor Munro
at www.education.unimelb.edu.au/eldi/selage/publications/index.html
A key focus of the work is on describing the knowledge of gifted students
to identify how they learn. The research has led to an explicit framework
for teaching these students that takes account of how they learn.
Research in the field of Gifted education
Dr Munro guides research in
- the learning characteristics of gifted students who also have learning disabilities.
- the spontaneous learning strategies used by mathematically gifted students.
- cognitive processes implicated in creativity.
You can gain an impression of theses areas of research by looking at the articles available on www.education.unimelb.edu.au/eldi/selage/research/index.html#roge.
Who is this program suitable for?
This area of study is targeted at professionals who are looking for specialist knowledge and qualifications in areas of gifted learning, teaching and curriculum provision. This includes primary and secondary teachers, school principals, educational administrators, educational psychologists, curriculum specialists, early childhood and special education professionals.
Career Outcomes
Our course will assist you to improve your professional knowledge and teaching in the area of gifted learning and teaching. It will also equip you to lead the implementation of gifted education in your school and contribute to the growing body of research knowledge. As well as working in classrooms and schools, this course equips graduates to work as:
- gifted education and learning educators
- curriculum and teaching consultants
- learning support staff
- adult education support staff.
Key benefits of this program include
- Course content that is based on explicit models of learning; you can see examples of this at www.education.unimelb.edu.au/eldi/selage/publications/index.html .
- On-line teaching and learning support materials
- Integrated teaching procedures for these students; you can see examples of this at www.education.unimelb.edu.au/eldi/selage/publications/index.html . These show how teaching procedures to target each aspect of learning difficulty can be implemented.
- A collaborative solution focused approach to teaching.