Biography

Biography

Gillian Eriksson, Ph.D. is the Coordinator of the Gifted Education Program: the Gifted Education Certificate Program; M.Ed. in Elementary and M.Sc. in Early Childhood Gifted Specializations; and Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction Gifted Specialization. She is the Lead Instructor in Gifted Education, and also teaches Curriculum, Educational Psychology and Global and Comparative Education. Dr. Eriksson has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a focus on Curriculum, Research and Evaluation, and Special Education: Gifted (University of Connecticut). She has an international reputation as a specialist in unrecognized high-ability learners, gifted and talented students; has served as the USA elected delegate to the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children for 3 terms (2007-2013), and has presented at 16 World Gifted conferences and 14 times at the National Association for Gifted Children annual conventions. As the P.I. for Project GLIMPSE (USDOE Jacob K. Javits Grant, 2022-2027), she manage a UCF team in collaboration with the School District of Osceola County working in 14 Title I schools that also includes graduate coursework for 15 teacher leaders and 4 doctoral students from SDOC. She was the UCF PI for Project ELEVATE (USDOE Jacob K. Javits Grant, 2015-2020) and previously served as the Project Coordinator of Project Step-Up, at Lamar University, Texas (USDOE Jacob K. Javits Grant, 1993-1994). She was the Co-Pi on the Working on Gifted Issues (WOGI) Grant at UCF for the Florida Department of Education (2002-2003) and worked on editorial revisions to the Gifted Training Manuals used by school districts in 2007. She coordinated the UCF Semester Teacher Education Abroad Program and has conducted study and internship abroad programs to The Netherlands, England, New Zealand and South Africa. She served on the Morgridge International Reading Center Council; the NAGC Visioning Committee and the NAGC Convention

Committee (2021-2024). She has received awards for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2024, 2018), the UCF Women of Excellence for Global Achievement (2016); Teaching Excellence (TIP Teaching Incentive Program 2009; 2017); Internationalization; Minority Mentorship and a Fulbright scholarship. She received the 2015 Board of Educational Affairs Golden Psi Award of Excellence (APA) for developing the Gifted Curriculum at a charter school for gifted. She is widely published and a reviewer for several journals and a consultant editor of Gifted Education International (SAGE).

Areas of Expertise
  • Advanced, High-Ability and Gifted Education
  • Educational Psychology and Learning Sciences
  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Comparative and International Education
Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Educational Psychology
University of Connecticut, U.S.A. (1988)
Major Areas: Curriculum Development; Research and Evaluation;
Special Education: Gifted

Research

Research Interests
  • Developing effective learning spaces and places for schoolwide enrichment and acceleration to meet the needs of all unique learners.
  • Identifying and meeting the individual needs of high ability students who are unrecognized and twice-exceptional gifted learners
  • An examination of resilience and development of excellence in high-ability learners from extreme circumstances
  • Longitudinal studies on the impact of Gifted Education programs on later life achievement
  • Comparative and international education research on issues of access, multiple perspectives and global concerns.
Current Funded Projects

Principal Investigator (PI) for Project GLIMPSE(USDOE Jacob K. Javits Grant, 2022-2027),”Gifted Learning Infusing Multiple Perspectives via Strengths Education” for Low-Income Title I, ELL and Twice-Exceptional learners. Collaborative Demonstration grant with the School District of Osceola County; (SDOC Director) Dr. David Maddock; UCF PI Gillian Eriksson (CCIE) (#S206A220026 worth $2,600,000)

Principal Investigator (PI) for Project ELEVATE (USDOE Jacob K. Javits Grant, 2015-2021), “English Learner Education eVolving through Advanced Teacher Education” for Low-income Title I, ELL learners. Collaborative Demonstration grant with Seminole County Public Schools PI(s):Jeanette Lukens (SCPS); UCF PI Gillian Eriksson (CCIE) (#S206A150014 worth $2,500,000)

Coordinated Project Step-Up, a USDOE Javits Grant at Lamar University, Texas (1993-1994), focusing on needs of unrecognized nor served high-ability and gifted students across Four States. P.I. Dr. Dorothy Sisk.

Co-PI on the Working on Gifted Issues (WOGI) Grant at UCF for the Florida Department of Education (2002-2003) improving educational resources. Revised the Gifted Training Manuals in 2016, adopted by school districts in 2007.

Eriksson, G.I.; Cavilla, D. (UCF) Merritt, T; Maddock, D. (SDOC) Affective Education for Academic Success. Secondary Gifted. (2016-2017) Project Collaborative Curriculum Challenge Grant ; FLDE Challenge Grant with Osceola Public Schools District

Eriksson, G; Holt L (UCF) Gifted Mindsets Project: Brain-Based Learning. (2014-2015). Project Collaborative Curriculum Challenge Grant ; FLDE Challenge Grant with Brevard County Public Schools

Managed the UCF Semester Teacher Education Abroad Program to the Netherlands, and facilitating study and internship programs in The Netherlands, England, New Zealand and South Africa.

Awards

  • UCF Professional Development Leave (Sabbatical) 2008, 2018. 2025.
  • UCF Scholarship for Teaching and Learning Award, 2017, 2024
  • UCF College of Education and Human Performance Teaching Incentive Program – Excellence in Teaching Recipient, 2009; 2017
  • UCF Women of Excellence for Global Achievement (2016), UCF Center for Success of Women Faculty & Life at UCF
  • American Psychological Association Board of Educational Affairs Golden Psi Award of Excellence (APA, 2015) for Curriculum Design for Gifted Students (co-award with Dr. M Gill and Dr. D. Hahs-Vaughn)
  • Award for Internationalization UCF for Haitian Projects. Office of Internationalization, University of Central Florida (2010)
  • Certificate awarded for Dedication as a Minority Programs in Education Mentor. College of Education, University of Central Florida (2008)