IHVO Certificate Courses: Quality Standards

by Hanna Vock

In 2003 the IHVO entered completely uncharted waters with the Certificate Courses on “Advancement of Gifted Children in Kindergarten”. Until then there had been no further training on offer for kindergarten teachers, that was comparable in its comprehensiveness.
From the outset we have ensured high quality standards with regard to contents, didactics and organisation of the courses as well as the transfer of our teachings to the daily practice of our participants in their field of work.

The courses are consistently aligned with

the needs, interests and abilities of the gifted children to be fostered and
the working conditions and facilities of our participants at their kindergartens.

Every Certificate Course is conducted by a member of our IHVO team, who is present at all seminar units, guiding and structuring the process as a whole.
The participants acquire the underlying theory of the advancement of gifted children partially by the study of selected excerpts from pertinent literature and partially through teachings provided by the instructor. Abstracts compiling the course’s contents in keywords are handed out to the participants regularly for later reference.

The participants’ individual learning processes are further accompanied by individual feedbacks (in writing) given on their written works on the reading assignments as well as on their reports of the practical assignments they have carried out. On the latter they will also receive individual advice between seminars via telephone if requested.

The designated shadow days at kindergartens and schools are embedded in the course schedule and will be prepared in form and content during the preceding seminars.

The required accomplishments for the certificate are being accumulated through the written assignments and the practical project work performed and documented between seminars at the kindergarten. This is how participants can assess their level of achievement at any given time.

IHVO-Courses: Criteria for the Evaluation of Practical Assignments

The number of participants per course is limited to 16 at the most. This ensures that every participant will find an attentive ear for his/her questions – and also feels called upon to actively participate in class.

The IHVO course instructors hold the necessary qualification to guarantee a top level further education.
The three instructors dispose of

comprehensive and diversified knowledge of the subject-matter which is also grounded in solid work experience,
pedagogic degrees (M.A. in Pedagogics and Sociology, Master Degree in Social Pedagogics, Master Degree in Pedagogics),
extensive and multifaceted work experience in adult education and
substantial practical experience in day-care centres.

Hanna Vock and Barbara Teeke are, in addition, certified kindergarten teachers and have worked in day-care for 10 years each. Arno Zucknick, a teacher by profession, has acquired the necessary work experience in day-care during extended internships in a number of kindergartens.
Over and above, Barbara Teeke is an experienced practitioner of the diagnostics of giftedness (and further pedagogic-psychological diagnostics). And finally she is a certified commissioner for quality management /NPO, familiar with the development and the sustainment of quality standards.

All three instructors have been concerning themselves with the topic of giftedness for many years. Experiences made in their private lives caught their attention they have since acquired substantial knowledge on giftedness.
Furthermore, between the team members there is plenty of experience from many years of consultations with parents of gifted children as well as from family seminars and from pedagogic group activities for gifted pre-school and primary school children.

Then, our instructors have conducted scores of seminars for kindergarten teachers on the topic of the advancement of gifted children in kindergarten, which serves as solid groundwork for our Certificate Courses.
This ensemble of knowledge, commitment and experience – as well as the close collaboration within our team – are the basis for the sophisticated didactics and contents of our Certificate Courses.