Professional Learning

The Advanced Academic Services Department provides numerous professional development (PD) sessions throughout the year for teachers, counselors, and administrators who work with advanced or gifted/talented students. Please note the specific PD requirements using the link to the left.

Teachers are required to have completed thirty (30) hours of professional learning prior to their assignment to the district’s gifted/talented services (19 TAC §89.2(1)). Teachers without required training who are assigned to provide instruction and services that are part of the district’s defined gifted/ talented services are required to complete the thirty (30) hour training within one semester (19 TAC §89.2(2)).

Gifted/Talented 30-hours Online Modules

Module 1: Nature and Needs: Defining/Understanding the G/T Student

Click HERE to access in Cornerstone

Module 1: Nature and Needs is designed to meet the requirements of the Texas Administrative Code and the Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students. Participants will explore the positive and negative characteristics of gifted students and learn appropriate modifications necessitated by the exceptionalism of gifted students. Explore strategies to nurture these needs while improving your ability to recognize and cope with this uniqueness. This is session is required as part of the initial 30 hours of foundation gifted and talented training.

Module 2: Social and Emotional Needs of the Gifted

Module 3: Sparking Creative Genius in Gifted/Talented Students

Click HERE to access in Cornerstone

Creativity is integral to defining giftedness. However, not much attention is paid to nurturing creativity in children. Teachers play a big role in providing opportunities for gifted/talented children to not only develop but explore creativity in traditional and non-traditional ways. Participants will begin with grade-appropriate definitions of creativity and learn strategies for an immediate infusion of creativity in their classrooms. This module is part of the state-required 30 hours of training in educating gifted/talented students. It may also satisfy the requirement for a six-hour annual update.

Module 4: Models of Differentiated Instruction

Click HERE to access in Cornerstone

A small change in instruction can make a big difference for gifted/talented students. In this session, participants will explore ways G/T students learn differently and how to modify the structure of their lessons to encourage deeper, more complex learning. This session meets state requirements for G/T training or a module 6 annual update. This module is part of the state-required 30 hours of training in educating gifted/talented students.

Module 5: Engaging Gifted/Talented Students through Depth and Complexity

Click HERE to access in Cornerstone

Have you heard of Depth and Complexity and wondered what it was all about? Have you seen the icons and felt curious about whether that was all there was to it? Have you been using the framework but need a bit more confidence in fully implementing it? Have you struggled with taking integration to a new level? If any of these questions have ever crossed your mind then this is the class for you. Join us for an introduction to the depth and complexity framework from scratch. This module is part of the state-required 30 hours of training in educating gifted/talented students.

CLick here for advanced placement professional learning opportunities