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New for 2010 - Gifted Education Essentials  

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Mindsets, Praise, and Gifted Education: How Our Messages Can Help or Hinder the Development of Talent

Carol S. Dweck
Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor, Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Carol Dweck is one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of motivation and author of the bestselling book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.

Dweck's research about intelligence and motivation, and how they are variously influenced by fixed and growth mindsets, has attracted attention from teachers trying to help underperforming students, parents concerned with why their daughters get turned off of math and science, and even sports coaches and human-resources managers intent on helping clients reach higher levels of achievement.

Before joining Stanford's faculty in 2004, Dweck taught at Columbia for 15 years as well as at Harvard and the University of Illinois. Her work has been featured in such publications as The New Yorker, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe; she has appeared on The Today Show and 20/20.

Curriculum Studies/Peeking into Classrooms: A Look at Parallel Curriculum Model Teaching and Curricular Design
Jann Leppien, University of Great Falls, Great Falls, MT; Marcia Imbeau, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

Designing curriculum for advanced students is a difficult task. This session focuses on viewing examples of curricular units that have been designed using the Parallel Curriculum Model. Participants view video excerpts of teachers who are using PCM to redesign their instructional units based on the principles of PCM. This session also provides an overview of PCM, snapshots of unit examples, strategies for adapting curriculum to reflect the intent of PCM, and lessons we have learned as teachers begin to redesign curriculum based on this model.

Special Populations/Response to Intervention and Gifted Education
Susan Johnsen, Baylor University, Waco, TX; Mary Ruth B.Coleman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 

This session provides an overview of RtI and its impact on the field of gifted education. Topics include RtI’s implications for twice-exceptional students and its practical implications at the local, state, and national levels. Case studies that have adopted an integrated model are highlighted.

Early Childhood/Creating a Profile: A Process for Identifying Primary Students for Gifted Programs
Linda Hall, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia Beach, VA

Identification of young students is a difficult task as there is limited information available on which to base decisions. In an effort to ensure that all children are given equal access to gifted services, all first-grade students are screened utilizing a culture-fair ability test from which an applicant pool is established. This session provides an overview of the screening and referral processes currently in place for primary students and offers suggestions on how to implement a program of early identification by creating a profile of the primary student.

Research and Evaluation/Best Practices in Gifted and Talented Identification: A Fireside Chat Among Researchers and Network Experts 
Scott Peters, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, Whitewater, WI; Laura Beltchenko, Wauconda CUSD #118, Wauconda, IL 

Several recent publications have highlighted identification as the most debated and complicated issue in GT education. Despite this challenge, effective methods do exist in the research literature and in the day-to-day practices of many NAGC Network content experts. This session presents a discussion between researchers and content experts on the topic of best practices in gifted education identification in the following areas: early childhood identification, how to do multiple measures, and the use of non-verbal measures in identification. All Network members are invited to attend and contribute to this dialogue.

Special Populations/Assessing, Identifying, and Servicing Low-Income, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Gifted Students: Gifted 101 
Peter Laing, Arizona Department of Education, Phoenix, AZ; Jaime A. Castellano, Ganado Unified School District, Ganado, AZ

This session is designed for teachers of the gifted, coordinators and administrators of gifted education programs, and other related personnel in districts that serve low-income, culturally and linguistically diverse students and are expected to assess, identify, and serve them in a gifted education program. Best practices, research-based recommendations, and practical solutions are provided. Multiple characteristic checklists and an observational protocol used to inform gifted education classrooms are also presented. Get the knowledge you need to make a difference. A must-attend session for districts seeking to increase historically underrepresented students in their gifted education programs.

Identifying and Retaining Underserved Populations: Making the Most of Middle School Years
Christine Deitz, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR; Faye Hanson, Little Rock School District, Little Rock, AR

African-American and Hispanic students are underrepresented in most gifted programs; yet a program for gifted middle school students thrives within a historically rich, low socioeconomic, and culturally diverse community. This session shares promising practices and effective strategies for identifying untapped learning talent from diverse populations, recruiting learning talent to the program, servicing, and retaining high-ability students through the middle school years. Participants leave with practical ideas ways to approach and serve underrepresented populations.

Early Childhood/Intentionality, Spontaneity, and Appropriateness: Planning for Young Gifted Children
Jeanine Jechura, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH

Intentional teaching is thoughtful, planful, and purposeful while being responsive to the needs of gifted, young children in typical classrooms. Balancing the spontaneous nature of young, gifted children with appropriate activities can be achieved within the context of intentional design. How is this accomplished? Energetic discussions of this topic engage attendees.

Parent & Community/Getting (& Staying) Together: Creating a Support and Advocacy Group That Works
Nan Janecke, Partners in Learning for Unlimited Success of Southwest Michigan, Kalamazoo, MI; Kelly Schultz, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI

At its heart, advocacy and support for gifted children and their families is a grassroots effort, making local chapters ground zero in the movement to improve gifted education across America, but how do you start? More importantly, how do you keep it going? From determining your mission and goals to the day-to-day struggles for money, members, and motivation, parents and educators are invited to hear one organization’s stories of success and failure and how they make it work, and what could work in your community.

Early Childhood/Academic Acceleration: Parents as Early Childhood Advocates 
Susan Scheibel, President, Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented, Littleton, CO

This qualitative research study focused on the lived experiences of two families striving to find academic fit for their high ability children. Insight was gained regarding the academic, social emotional, and longitudinal effects that academic acceleration had on the lives of these individuals and their families beginning with pre-school. Findings include: the critical advocacy role of the parents during early childhood and the difficult decisions families face to educate their children today. Parents and educators find evidence that success is possible through academic acceleration when the academic needs of the learner remain the focus and the long-term goal.

Parent & Community/Voices from Gifted Students: Helping Teachers and Parents Understand Differentiated Curriculum and Instruction 
Deborah Hazelton, Judith Roseberry, California Association for the Gifted, Solana Beach, CA

It is often stated that the consumer, gifted students, are the least involved in understanding and/or reacting to the differentiated curriculum and instruction that has been designed for them. Comments related to the difficulty and the lack of purpose for the curriculum as well as the perceived unfairness related to their involvement in the curriculum represent some of the many comments made by these consumers about the nature and scope of the differentiated curriculum responsive to their needs, interests, and abilities. The findings and the strategies used to educate parents and teachers are presented in this session.

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM  

Parent & Community/The Problem With Praise: Encouraging Effort and Motivation in Children
Cindy Sheets, Highlands, Shawnee Mission, KS; Kathy Jones, Kansas Association for the Gifted, Talented, and Creative, Chanute, KS

Praise can be effective - a positive motivating force, but not all praise is created equal. In fact, some types of praise may harm more than they help. This session is based primarily on the work of Dr. Carol S. Dweck whose research has provided new insights into the effects of praise on the types of effort and motivation that lead to student success. Parents and educators can use this information in supporting their own efforts in raising and teaching their children to work toward success.

Homeschooling has been referred to as the ultimate pullout program for gifted children. Little research has been done on the vastly diverse population of families who educate their gifted children at home. Why do they do it? What methods do they use? What does their family life look like? This presentation enables parents of gifted children to: identify trends in homeschooling practices in the U.S., differentiate levels of home education (i.e. partial, full, and afterschooling), distinguish among major homeschooling curricular paradigms, and examine the variables impacting family decisions to homeschool their gifted children.

Global Awareness/Infusing Civic Engagement into the Curriculum
Mary Slade, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Is it enough for bright and capable students to learn skills and acquire knowledge? Why not challenge our students to become civically engaged in current and future global societies?
This presentation focuses on ways to teach and encourage civic engagement (e.g., service learning, volunteering, etc.) for gifted students of all ages. Examples of curriculum integration for Language Arts (English) and Social Studies (History and Government) are used as models. We discuss literature choices, instructional strategies, activities, and resources for infusing civic engagement into gifted education. Model activities, lessons, and course outlines are presented. 

10:40 AM  – 11:40 AM 

Computers and Technology/Documentaries: Motivating the Tech-Generation to Research & Write
Price Dallas, Rogers Park Elementary, Highly Gifted Program, Anchorage, AK

Students learn digital citizenship, media literacy, web-safety, precise writing, visual literacy, and teamwork by being challenged to create their own documentaries. Students learn and apply the National Educational Technology Standards in a meaningful way. See examples of student work and learn the methods used to teach documentary writing to 6th grade highly-gifted students. Attendees also receive information and guidelines for publishing student media online and information about entering the National History Day contest.

Math and Science/Race to the Top: Developing Mathematically Promising Middle Grades Students
Linda Sheffield, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY

Middle grades are a critical time for mathematically promising students. National initiatives such as the Race to the Top grants and the Common Core State Standards have implications for all our students. Join us in the session for a focus on implications for our top students including a look at the new NCTM/NAGC/NMSA book, The Peak in the Middle, and explore activities from a full spectrum of challenging and articulated middle grades mathematics designed to help students become enthusiastic and engaged in mathematics, develop their mathematical talent, and enable them to make continuous progress throughout their academic careers.

Middle Grades/Making Products Powerful in the Middle Grades
Tracy Inman, Julia Link Roberts, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY

ACT data show that fewer than two in ten eighth graders are on target to be ready for college-level work by the time they graduate from high school! Two in ten! One way to prepare middle-schoolers for successful high school and college experiences is by implementing authentic assessment through challenging products. This session explores the power in products, including an introduction to a protocol for developing and assessing products that incorporates consistent indicators and components, a performance scale that removes the learning ceiling, and a three-tier system that encourages differentiation.

Curriculum Studies/Challenging Gifted Learners in Computational Mathematics
Rachel McAnallen, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT

Many gifted students memorize mathematical procedures without the conceptual understanding that underlies the algorithm. Consequentially, they equate mathematics with computational memorization and believe that math is dull and boring. This session demonstrates how computational mathematics can be both algebraically exciting and downright beautiful, and helps teachers motivate mathematically talented students to fall in love with mathematics without the use of multiple worksheets. The final outcome of the workshop is to understand that arithmetic is answering the question whereas mathematics is questioning the answer.

The Gifted Empire Strikes Back: What Role Does Gifted Education Play in the 21st Century?

Almost daily, news sources report declines in programs for gifted and talented students; and new developments in theory and research in both gifted and general education and the field of creativity have caused me to reexamine the purposes and role of gifted education. Historically, many of the innovations first developed or adopted in gifted education have been “appropriated” by general education – indeed, general education has stolen our thunder! I view as favorable the adoption of things like thinking skills, creative problem solving, and problem-based learning into the highly publicized 21st Century Thinking Skills movement, but we now need to reexamine what makes our field necessary and unique. Infusing some of our favorable practices into general education testifies to the leadership our field has taken in the past, but it is now time to ask once again:

• What do we stand for?
• What is unique about gifted education?
• What are our ideas and responsibilities for remaining true to our mission to targeted students and the preparation of highly specialized teachers of the gifted?
• Do some of our “sacred cows” and misguided national policies need to be reexamined?
• What are our responsibilities for improving general education? And are there policies, programs, and practices of gifted education that can be infused into general education?

Following a keynote by Joe Renzulli, director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University of Connecticut, a panel of responders will react to the ideas and issues presented:

• Robert Root-Bernstein, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
• Jim Gallagher, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
• Arthur M. Horne, University of Georgia, Athens, GA