GTC 006: G/T for Counselors

Course Description

Counselors play a vital role in gifted students’ school experiences. This course provides a look at key characteristics and needs of gifted students, responses to those needs, models for communication, and strategies specific to the counseling process.

Participants 

This course is designed for any K-12 educator or mentor who serves in roles as teachers, instructional coaches, administrators, or other professional positions working with students or potentially working with students who receive Gifted and Talented services.

Course Objectives

Upon completing this course, you will meet objectives 4.3C and 1.7C of The Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students —  

• 4.3C Administrators and counselors who have authority for service decisions are required to complete a minimum of six (6) hours of professional development that includes nature and needs of gifted/talented students and service options for gifted/talented students (19 TAC §89.2(4)).
• 1.7C Final determination of students’ need for gifted/talented services is made by a committee of at least three (3) local district or campus educators who have received training in the nature and needs of gifted/talented students and who have met and reviewed the individual student data (19 TAC §89.1(4)).

Scope and Sequence

• Introduction to GTC 006: G/T for Counselors
• Unit 1: Characteristics
• Unit 2: Communication
• Unit 3: Motivation & Underachievement 
• Unit 4: Perfectionism & Stress
• Unit 5: Idealism & Depression
• Unit 6: Teaching Self-Management     

Required Course Materials

Please visit the Computer Requirements page to view minimum device, internet, and application requirements for all UT High School courses. Generally, a desktop or laptop device five (5) years or newer with access to an office suite, such as Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, will be adequate to participate in most UTHS courses. 

Course Structure

The course consists of 6 modules/units:

• A good way to help break up the course and to manage your time is to set aside 1 hour for each module totaling 6 hours of work per course.  
• Each module includes 2-6 lessons, 1 major graded assignment, and 1 or more minor assignments (self-assessments/discussions).  
• You MUST complete all assignments before moving on to the next assignment. Assignments can take many forms. Assignments can be in the form of a quiz, a text entry, a discussion, or a file upload. 
• The course has an interactive notebook for you to process your knowledge. The completion of the interactive notebook is OPTIONAL and for your use only. 

Course Grade 

For successful completion of the course:  

• You MUST complete all lessons including surveys, quizzes, and graded-assignments and successfully pass 5 of 6 graded assignments to earn your certificate of completion for the course. 
  • Graded assignments begin with a number (01 to 06) and are followed by the phrase —Graded Quiz or Graded Assignment. 
  • Graded assignments will specify a maximum number of attempts (between 1-3). 
    • Re-dos may be required to earn your certificate of completion.