W&M Center for Gifted Education hosts Korean K-12 teachers for professional development
As part of its mission to foster the development of high-ability individuals, the W&M Center for Gifted Education provides international educational outreach through curriculum training, professional development, and academic enrichment programming.
This year, the center hosted 87 Korean K-12 gifted teachers and 2 administrators for a week of professional development on the W&M campus. Mihyeon Kim, director of pre-collegiate learner programs for the center, collaborated with the Busan Metropolitan City Institute for Gifted Education and Promotion in Korea to design an intensive professional development program for the Korean teachers.
A primary focus of the training was the Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM), which was developed by Joyce VanTassel-Baska, professor emerita and former director of the center. Also known as the William & Mary model, ICM offers strategies for differentiation and creativity in gifted classrooms.
ICM was developed as a framework specifically to address the curriculum needs of gifted learners. It is designed to respond to gifted learners' characteristics of precocity, intensity, and complexity through its three dimensions of advanced content, higher level processes and product development, and interdisciplinary concepts, issues, and themes.
Mr. Jo, president of Busan Metropolitan City Institute for Gifted Education and Promotion, was excited to introduce his Korean gifted teachers to the ICM model.
“The ICM model has never been introduced in Korea, and it is amazing,” he said. “We want to support more Korean gifted teachers with professional development at William & Mary through continuous collaboration.”
On the final of day of training, teachers presented their work to demonstrate what they’d learned at William & Mary.
“It’s always exciting to teach ICM to a new group of educators, and to see it implemented in Korea is especially gratifying for me,” said Kim. “I’m looking forward to more opportunities to collaborate with fellow gifted educators in Korea.”
