Beyond Faster Answers: Rethinking AI in the Gifted Classroom
By Kathryn Fishman-Weaver, PhD
Recently, I met with Ericca Thornhill, longtime gifted educator and Division Chair for Sciences at Mizzou Academy. She couldn't wait to show me a project one of her ninth-grade students had created.
The assignment explored the electromagnetic spectrum through a creative narrative. To demonstrate his understanding, the student wrote a story about cooking spaghetti that quickly spiraled into disaster. The pasta exploded. From the microwave and gas stovetop to the cell phone used to call for help and the X-rays needed to assess his injuries, he cleverly wove examples of the electromagnetic spectrum into an imaginative—and scientifically accurate—story. To bring the narrative to life, he used ChatGPT to generate a series of colorful, humorous illustrations that complemented his original ideas.
"I was glad to see him use AI as a tool, not as a shortcut," Ericca told me. "Too often the images students generate might as well have come from an encyclopedia or a simple internet search. Instead, he created something uniquely his own that strengthened the story he wanted to tell."
Ericca's insights on how AI can leverage creativity stayed with me because they captured a tension I see many gifted educators wrestling with: Is AI leveraging learning or shortchanging it?
Artificial intelligence is shifting the landscape of teaching and learning. New tools promise greater efficiency, personalized learning, and powerful ways to create, research, and communicate. They also raise important questions about ethics, bias, energy consumption, academic integrity, and what authentic learning should look like in an AI-enhanced world.
Gifted education has never been about helping students reach answers faster. It has always been about helping them ask deeper questions, make more complex connections, wrestle with new ideas, and create something that wasn't there before. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into our gifted classrooms, our challenge is not simply deciding whether to use these tools, but how to use them in ways that preserve the conditions that make learning meaningful.
As Maryann Hebda and I were reviewing the Computers & Technology (C&T) Network sessions for the NAGC Annual Convention, we noticed something striking. Although the presenters approach AI from many perspectives—curriculum design, inquiry, literacy, coding, policy, digital citizenship, and creativity—they all, in one way or another, explore a common essential question:
How do we leverage the power of AI while preserving the conditions for meaningful learning—wonder, productive struggle, creativity, and our shared humanity?
Collectively, the five posters and nine presentations in the C&T Network explore how emerging technologies can deepen inquiry, expand access to rigorous learning, foster creativity, and empower high-ability learners to think critically without diminishing the qualities that make gifted education distinctive.
Whether your interests include curriculum design, inquiry-based learning, literacy, coding, digital citizenship, or educational leadership, you'll find sessions that challenge your assumptions, inspire new possibilities, and provide practical ideas you can bring back to your gifted classroom. As you build your convention schedule, we invite you to consider how the following sessions might continue to impact your practice long after the conference ends.
14 Computers & Technology Presentations at the NAGC26 Convention
Explore this Essential Question with the Computers & Technology network: How do we leverage the power of AI while preserving the conditions that define meaningful learning, including wonder, productive struggle, creativity, and our shared humanity?
Wonder
Inquiry Without Overwhelm: Using NotebookLM to Scaffold Depth for Gifted and 2E Learners
Concurrent Session • Friday, November 6 • 10:15–11:00 AM
Presenter: Nia M. Cannon (Atlanta Public Schools)
Future-Ready Minds: A K–12 Framework for Gifted Education in the Age of AI
Concurrent Session • Saturday, November 7 • 2:30–3:30 PM
Presenters: Melissa G. McIntire & Corey G. Smith
Productive Struggle
If Gifted Kids Finish Faster, You Didn't Differentiate with ThinkAI
Concurrent Session • Friday, November 6 • 1:15–2:15 PM
Presenters: Julia Nyberg & Gilman W. Whiting
An AI Skeptic and Enthusiast Take on AI Coding and Projects: Apps, Websites, and Games
Concurrent Session • Saturday, November 7 • 11:15–11:45 AM
Presenters: Jimmy Wilson & Casey Hogan
Creativity
Advanced AI Prompt Engineering for Differentiation in Gifted Education
Concurrent Session • Friday, November 6 • 8:00–9:00 AM
Presenters: Kimberley L. Chandler & Magdalena Fitzsimmons
Get BOOKED: The Power of Podcasting to Spark the JOY of Reading within Classrooms and Community
Concurrent Session • Friday, November 6 • 9:15–10:00 AM
Presenter: LaKeisha M. Bolling
Our Shared Humanity
Using AI Strategically to Enrich Depth and Complexity and Foster Equitable Outcomes
Concurrent Session • Saturday, November 7 • 11:15–11:45 AM
Presenter: Beth Cooper
From Scrolling to Scholarly: Teaching Students to Think Critically in Online Discussions
Concurrent Session • Saturday, November 7 • 1:15–2:15 PM
Presenter: Lydia Bertram
Gifted Education and AI Research Posters
Poster 29: Artificial Intelligence in Gifted Education: Research Evidence and Implications
Poster Session • Thursday, November 5 • 5:15–6:30 PM
Presenters: Vicky Weiqing Ji & Rachel U. Mun
Poster 33: Gifted Education Meets AI: A Pathway to Policy
Poster Session • Thursday, November 5 • 5:15–6:30 PM
Presenters: Julie C. White, Alicia Cotabish, Debbie D. Dailey & Michelle Buchanan
Poster 54: Is AI a Cognitive Partner for Gifted Students in Turkey?
Poster Session • Thursday, November 5 • 5:15–6:30 PM
Presenter: Fangfang Mo
Poster 60: From Theory to Practice: Analyzing Teacher-Designed AI Experiences for Gifted Learners
Poster Session • Thursday, November 5 • 5:15–6:30 PM
Presenters: Daniela Vilarinho-Pereira, Maurício Ribeiro Gomes & Renata Muniz Prado
Strategies in Practice for Your Gifted Classroom
Speed Geeking: The 300-Second Idea Sprint
Super Sunday Session • Sunday, November 8 • 9:15–10:15 AM
Presenter: Kathryn Fishman-Weaver
