Dr. Bob Seney - Creating Empathy and Understanding through Bibliotherapy
Seney - Creating Empathy and Understanding Through Bibliotherapy.pdf
What fiction does best is to create a space for readers to gain empathy with others, even if their situations are different. -Carlos Hernandez: Sal and Gabi Break the Universe
In presentations, when I reference Bibliotherapy, most questions are about this strategy – even though it was not the focus of the presentation! Obviously, this reflects a strong interest in this best practice strategy. Bibliotherapy is a counselling technique, adapted for classroom use, and is a tool for helping people deal with problems or issues through reading novels or short stories about characters that possess similar problems. Because reading appeals to the imagination, Bibliotherapy provides an interaction between readers and the story/action of the novel, leading to a less threatening situation than direct confrontation, thus “defusing” the problem. The idea is to help individuals realize that others have the same problems and that they are not alone. This is often the first step in effectively dealing with a situation and creating empathy. This technique has become a popular strategy in working with gifted students. Since many of our gifted students are avid readers, Bibliotherapy is a very effective way to respond to their social/emotional needs. Because we are using gifted students’ strength areas: i.e. reading and problem solving, we often experience success. Bibliotherapy can be used to explain problems/issues; to define problems/issues; to solve problems/issues; and to create empathy. In this session, we will define and describe the strategy, provide guidelines for implementation, and share resources that will help participants locate literature that directly addresses a variety of issues. A Resource List will be provided.
Robert W. Seney, PhD Professor Emeritus/Gifted Studies, Mississippi University for Women, has worked in education for over 46 years, 40 of those in gifted education. He was a classroom instructor, district administrator, head of private schools, and university professor. He is most known for his advocacy of using Young Adult Literature with Gifted Readers and his work with gifted readers. At MUW, he directed the graduate programs in Education and was the primary instructor in the Masters of Gifted Studies program. He was also the director of the Mississippi Governor’s School, a three-week summer residential program for gifted high school students. Upon retirement, the Mississippi University Board named him Professor Emeritus for his educational service to the state of Mississippi, the university, and the field of gifted education. He has been active in several state gifted organizations, NAGC, and the World Council for Gifted Children. He was the 2005 World Conference Chair in New Orleans.
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Dr. Jessica Howard - How to fly when you feel like falling…Understanding the social emotional needs of gifted learners
SEAD - DU conference note catcher.docx
SEAD - Anxiety presentation flyer 2019.pdf
SEAD - Social-Emotional resources 2020.docx
SEAD - Strategies.docx
It is difficult to help students if you do not know they are struggling. Low flyers are students that fly under the radar and avoid letting adults know when they need help. Gifted learners are often low flyers, wanting to appear as if everything is fine, when they are actually struggling. If not addressed, this can have negative, lifelong consequences. In this session, we will explore the factors that affect the social and emotional development of gifted learners. Understanding the underlying issues can assist practitioners, teachers, and parents as they support these students. Perfectionism, anxiety, and depression are often exacerbated by over excitabilities and asynchronous development. We will discuss the relationship between these topics and share strategies that are easy to implement and will allow students to overcome setbacks in order to foster lifelong success. Low flyers require proactive support to address their needs. Gifted girls are a large subgroup of low flyers. Female low flyers often deal with Imposter Syndrome and Horner’s Effect. We will spend time understanding the unique characteristics and needs of gifted girls, how to identify them, and ways to support their individual needs. If low flyers are not supported, they can become lost and disengaged in the world around them. They may lose their enjoyment in activities and collapse within themselves. Suicide rates are high for this type of student. We cannot let these amazing children fall through the cracks. It’s imperative to be highly aware and support them early and often as they move through childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood.
Jessica Howard, EdD is the founder of the SEAD Program and has been involved in special education and gifted education for decades. The SEAD program offers an online platform for adolescents to learn about specific social and emotional topics. She has three children, 15-year-old twins and a 17-year-old. Jessica has been featured in Your Teen Magazine, presented at national and international conferences, and offers professional learning opportunities across Colorado and beyond. She holds a doctoral degree in curriculum & instruction specializing in gifted education, as well as master’s degrees in educational psychology & elementary education. A board member of the Colorado Academy of Educators for the Gifted, Talented & Creative, she has been worked in public schools, private schools, universities, and the Colorado Department of Education.
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Dr. Susan Daniels - Visual Learning & Teaching: Developing an Educator Toolbox of Strategies to Boost Engagement and Increase Retention
Emojis . . . avatars . . . icons . . . Our world is becoming increasingly reliant on visual communication. Visual thinking, imagery, and imagination have long been recognized as key aspects of creative thinking and creative giftedness in both the arts and sciences. Yet our classrooms still heavily focus on traditional oral and written instruction. Visual thinking is essential to imagination, design, problem solving, and invention. Moreover, visual learning methods have shown to increase retention by 29%! Based on the visual triad model, Dr. Daniels channels over twenty years of research and experience into a comprehensive guide of creative and practical visual learning strategies that enable educators to rise to the challenges of 21st century education. In this talk, Dr. Daniels will look at how we can use the images we see, imagine, and depict while teaching and learning visually. She will examine research based on dual-coding theory, which illustrates how students learn best and have greater retention when working both visually and verbally. Attendees will develop a visual toolbox for use in visual learning and teaching.
Susan Daniels, PhD, is Professor of Educational Psychology and Counseling at California State University – San Bernardino. She is also a co-founder and Educational Director of the Summit Center, with offices in Northern and Southern California. At the Summit Center, Dr. Daniels provides personality, creativity, and learning profile assessments for children and adolescents as part of the center’s comprehensive psycho-educational and neuropsychological evaluations. She is also available for consultation with families and schools. Dr. Daniels is an internationally recognized expert in the field of gifted education and creativity, with numerous publications and presentations given annually at educational and psychological conferences. She specializes in the social and emotional development of gifted children and adolescents, intensity and sensitivity of gifted individuals across the lifespan, and the development of creative potential. Dr. Daniels is co-editor and co-author of Living with Intensity (Great Potential Press). In addition, and along with Dr. Peters, Dr. Daniels is co-author of Raising Creative Kids (Great Potential Press). Her most recent book Visual Learning and Teaching: An Essential Guide for Educators K-8 was published by Free Spirit Publishing.
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Dr. Lindsey Reinert and Dr. Ruthi Manning-Freeman - Why are We Ignoring the Researched Benefits of Acceleration?
Reinert and Manning-Freeman - IDGE 2020 Pre conference Why are We Ignoring the Researched Benefits of Acceleration.pdf
In light of the current national debate regarding the elimination of gifted programs, Renzulli and Reis (2019) state, “The recent controversy over the elimination of gifted education programs in New York City’s public schools must be viewed in the larger context of the role that schools need to play in changing world conditions, career development opportunities, the job market and the ways in which we can better prepare all of our young people for happy and productive futures.” This session will provide resources and ideas to consider when programming for gifted learners; not eliminating gifted programming but rather changing what gifted programming could look like. The overwhelming research surrounding the academic benefits of acceleration and peer ability grouping continues to face opposition with many public school districts choosing to turn their backs on the research and best practices of acceleration (Colangelo, Assouline, &; Gross, 2004). Borland (1989) promotes, “Acceleration is one of the most curious phenomena in the field of education. I can think of no other issue in which there is such a gulf between what research has revealed and what most practitioners believe” (p.185). During the past two decades of research, evidence supporting acceleration has continued to accumulate (Kulik 1984, Rogers, 1991; Colangelo, Assouline, & Gross, 2004; &; Colangelo, Assouline, Van-Tassel-Baska, &; Lupkowski-Shoplik, 2015). Despite the evidence, advocates remain concerned that educators continue to hold negative attitudes and schools and districts remain reluctant to implement acceleration models. This session will describe twenty different types of acceleration options, discuss national, state, and local acceleration policy, and engage participants in collegial discourse addressing these dimensions of acceleration. Educators will be empowered to be change agents in helping to remove barriers concerning acceleration such as scheduling issues that can often block creative programming to meet students’ learning needs. Doctors Reinert and Manning-Freeman are experts in the field of gifted education and specialize in Early Access, a form of acceleration, as well as meeting the unique individual academic and social emotional needs of the students they serve.
Lindsey Reinert, EdD is an adjunct faculty at the University of Denver in Curriculum & Instruction, a GT Resource Teachers for Jefferson County Public Schools supporting pre-K through 12th grade students, schools, and families, and has her own educational consulting business; Little Red Backpack, LLC. She is the presiding secretary for the Gifted Education State Advisory Committee (GE-SAC) and is Co-Presiding Governor for the Colorado Academy of Educators for the Gifted, Talented and Creative (CAEGTC). She has actively worked in the field of gifted education for the past 20 years.
Ruthi Manning-Freeman, EdD is serving Academy District 20 Schools, Colorado Springs as the Assistant Director for Learning Services responsible for Gifted and Talented Programs, Enrichment Programs and Foreign Exchange Programs. Ruthi has an interest in the arts and oversees two large partnership grants with The New York Metropolitan Opera Company and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Ruthi is a graduate of Chatham College, earned her master’s degree at The University of Virginia, and her Doctorate in Gifted Education from the University of Denver. Ruthi is passionate about gifted young learners and acceleration in all forms.
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