Academically/Intellectually Gifted (AIG) Add-On Licensure Program for Teachers

The add-on licensure program (currently for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools teachers), prepares teachers to obtain an Academically/Intellectually Gifted (K-12) Education add-on licensure to their North Carolina teaching license. This is not a degree program. The candidates complete 12 graduate semester hours of course-work (4 courses) through the M.Ed. program during the course of two academic years. At the end of this 4-course sequence, completers are eligible to be recommended by the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education for additional licensure in North Carolina.

Please note: Although this add-on licensure program is currently only available to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools teachers, it will be offered to teachers outside of this district at a future date.

Admissions

To apply for admission, a free online Special Student application needs to be completed and transcripts from all colleges and universities attended should be sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions. If you were selected to apply to the special Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Cohort, please click here to complete the Special CHCCS Application.

There is also the option to transition seamlessly into the M.Ed. program when your add-on is complete. To be eligible, applicants must successfully complete 6 hours by the end of the fall semester, submit an official M.Ed. program application and two letters of recommendation. Standardized test scores also are required, however, applicants with a 3.0 GPA or higher may qualify for a waiver.

AIG Education Courses for Add-on Licensure

MED 5620 Foundations of Gifted Education

Designed to provide graduate students with the historical and legal foundations, the key issues and trends, and the guiding policies of education of gifted students. They will examine the role of families, communities, and the educational environment in supporting the development and education of individuals with academic and/or intellectual gifts.

MED 5640 Curriculum & Instructional Design in Gifted Education

This course will acquaint graduate students with the central concepts of curriculum and instructional design and differentiation. Students will study models of curriculum and a wide range of instructional methods that enhance the strengths of gifted learners. The principle of alignment will be emphasized throughout, in terms of alignment with standards and with learner characteristics as well as internal alignment of curriculum and instructional elements.

MED 5670 Social/Emotional Needs of Gifted Students

This course will introduce graduate students to the social and emotional issues that confront students who are gifted. Special populations, including gifted/learning disabled, culturally diverse and those who are extremely precocious, will be considered regarding their unique characteristics and needs. An emphasis will be placed on programming and promising practices for these special groups of students.

MED 5320 Consultation & Collaboration

The course explores the collaborative nature of education with particular emphasis on developing the skills required to be an effective member of an education team. The course includes examination of communication skills with a focus on those skills needed to form effective partnerships with families, community agencies, paraprofessionals, administrators, and others involved in students’ education.

The course allows graduate students to exercise and refine the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they have developed through their participation in their coursework. Students will work, in collaboration with Elon University leaders and fellow cohort members, to facilitate the cognitive, affective, and social development of P-12 learners by designing, administering, and evaluating a summer learning enrichment experience on the Elon University campus.