2016 Gifted Education Policy Symposium and Conference

Over, Under, Inside Out: Achievement and Emotions of the Gifted

Dr. James Delisle - Distinguished Professor of Education, Kent State University (retired)

Americans have always had a love/hate relationship with giftedness. They want the most capable students to achieve, but they want them to do so without being identified, labeled, or served separately in schools. This division in thought has become starkly obvious in relation to several recent publications about educating gifted children that have been criticized widely on social media. This session examines some possible causes for this animosity as well as offering suggestions for “doubling down” on our advocacy efforts, in order that gifted children’s intellectual and emotional needs are served and not ignored any longer.

Kerry Philo - GT Teacher, Cherry Creek School District

Tame you inner critic, improve coping strategies and take better care of yourself! Previously titled, “FirstPut On Your Oxygen Mask,” this presentation is a primer on wellness and mindfulness-based stress reduction strategies with an emphasis on gifted overexcitabilities. In our fast-paced, challenging culture, gifted individiuals need these tools now more than ever. Grounded in recent findings from the field of neuroscience, this presentation will include instruction in breathing techniques, conscious movement, and “life hacks” that will leave you feeling refreshed and excited to have powerful new tools for supporting yourself and the gifted people in your life.

Kerry Philo Power Point.pdf

Sheri Collier- Gifted and Talented Specialist, School
District 27J

As more policy is developed for the GT student through our state it is important to remember that all of the work is FOR the student; so it is time to bring the student to the forefront of the policy. I will take the audience through my experience taking a school district of 24 schools through the process of removing the ALP from building representatives and handing it to our gifted students. This process included local mentors, school counselors, and the students! We are focused on the students’ achievement and how to continue to build on their own strengths. While everything in education can bring challenge, learn through my mistakes and success stories on why it is important to keep the students’ ALP in their hands!

Sherri Collier PPT Take the planning to the stud

Ruthi Manning-Freeman - Assistant Director for TAG, Academy District 20
Jennifer Duarte- ELL Coordinator, Academy District 20

International gifted students are often difficult to identify due to English language development. Presenters will share how they work cooperatively with ELL teachers and TAG teachers to collaboratively observe and document clues to determine high ability regardless of receptive and expressive English language skills. Information shared will include the growing need for understanding second language learners and their gifted potential. Presenters will also share current data and trends regarding the growing international student population in Colorado. We will also explore what is happening internationally for gifted programming.

Dr. Kristina Hesbol -Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Denver

American education has been characterized as a continuous series of reform initiatives. Few, however, have contributed to a systematic paradigm shift in appropriate and innovative instructional design for gifted students, particularly within the context of public schools. In this session, we will examine the research on structural barriers to enacting real change, and identify strategies for school, district, and community-level agency to build a shared vision to support every gifted learner.

Dr. Kristina Hesbol Power Point.pdf

Dr. Kristina Hesbol - Components of LO.pdf

Dr. Kristina Hesbol Slide 1 Gifted School Refor

Dr. Kristina Hesbol Slide 2 Structural Barriers

Dr. Kristina Hesbol Slide 3 Leadership for Incl

Dr. Kristina Hesbol Slide 4 Reimagining Schools

Dr. Bob Seney- Professor Emeritus/Gifted Studies, Mississippi University for Women

Over, Under, Inside Out: A great way to describe the roller-coaster emotions of gifted learners! But how can we effectively address this roller-coaster experience? Dabrowski’s Overexcitabilities provide an excellent framework in which to view gifted individuals and their emotions. But little has been done to help teachers bring this rich and important concept into the classroom so that gifted learners might better understand who they are and their unique characteristics. A modified strategy of bibliotherapy using the sophistication of picture books may be the answer to help gifted learners understand, direct, and celebrate their social/emotional growth. A book-list will be provided.

Dr. Bob Seney Handout.pdf

Dr. Bob Seney Power Point.pdf

Dr. James (Jim) Delisle- Distinguished Professor of Education, Kent State University (retired)

Above all other attributes, gifted children, teens and adults share a common characteristic: intensity. These intensities may relate to academics, where nothing below straight-A’s is acceptable; emotions, where extreme highs and lows leave no room for moderation; and everyday life, where relationships are deeper, disappointment is stronger, and even simple questions have complex answers. In this session, these and other intensities will be addressed, as will ways that educators and parents can learn to appreciate them for the assets they are instead of the deficiencies that many make them out to be.

Dr. Jim Delisle Session PowerPoint.pdf

Sheri Collier- GT Specialist, School District 27J
Heather Carson- Special Education Teacher, Delta County

Meeting the needs of Twice-Exceptional students goes beyond just gifted or just special education needs. When creating an IEP or 504 concurrently with an ALP it is important to provide appropriate accommodations to meet the student’s intellectual needs in the classroom. Through proper accommodations, the success of the student will increase to meet their domains. This presentation will provide parents, educators, and leaders with tools and ideas to implement immediately including ways to support the student’s physical, emotional, social, intellectual, sensory, and creative outputs.

Dr. Richard Shade- GT Specialist, Jefferson County Schools

Do you know students who: act or talk without thinking? Blurt out or interrupt? Regularly leave tasks unfinished? This session offers supports you can use to help your students navigate these challenges so they can successfully demonstrate their giftedness. Learn practical tools and techniques you can teach students: Rewind & Pre-wind, Other-People’s Viewpoints and organization tips and tools to support their executive function capabilities. A parent-teacher Plan for Success template will be shared. Discover how to recognize eight areas of identified needs.

Dr. Sylvia Rimm- Psychologist, Author, Speaker

How do successful and often gifted women achieve and keep on achieving? What began as a three-year survey of 1,000 successful women culminates fifteenyears later in this capstone chronical detailing boththe research and stories of childhood and adult elements that help women achieve.  In this third installment following See Jane Win
and How Jane Won, Sylvia Rimm and her daughters expand on their original research and interviews with updates from a selection of women who reflect on their challenges and successes to offer advice and inspiration for young girls and women.

Dr. Sylvia Rimm Power Point.pdf

Lindsey Reinert- GT Resource Teacher, Jefferson County Schools
Ruthi Manning-Freeman- Assistant Director for Learning Services, Academy School District 20
Allen Golden- GT Coordinator, Montrose County School District

Noddings (2013) states “Our task is to help students develop their talents and interests. We should allow them to choose courses that will be useful for them and at which they can succeed.” This session will explore three very different vocational/technical opportunities for learners. Together we will understand vocabulary/technical terminology for employment in the culinary arts, theater, and mentoring opportunities. Presenters will discuss how students engage in career and academic planning related to their Individual Career and Academic Plan(ICAP). “Education through occupation rather than education for occupations” (Noddings, 2013).

Dr. Daniel Cottle- 6th Grade GT Teacher, Fairfax County Public Schools
Dr. Tatyana V. Cottle- School Counselor, Fairfax County Public Schools

Gifted programs in communities with large immigrant populations are often viewed as having a disproportionate representation of minority students. What this may represent, however, is the dynamic of intensive parental effort towards a child’s acceptance into a gifted program, often viewed as the culmination of family expectations as “having made it in America.” A student’s advance admissions preparation may include a dizzying array of early learning experiences, intense coaching, special programs, and weekend schooling. This program will discuss the dynamics of this phenomenon as well as the social and emotional toll of this dynamic on students, parents, and educators.

Cottle.pdf

Brian Michael Weaver- GT Specialist, Denver Public Schools
Rebecca McKinney- GT Director, Denver Public Schools

High school learning environments are changing. The 2016 dynamics require an increasingly engaging climate that fosters liberty, authenticity and immediacy on the parts of educators and learners. In this session, a student panel will expound on the functions of academic freedom, genuineness and sense of closeness in secondary learning environments as pathways to achievement. Through this lens, progressive settings such as collegiate concurrent enrollment and online coursework will be compared and contrasted with traditional settings. Exploring the most effective climates with our highly gifted teens, participants will gain essential perspectives in this growing aspect of educational differentiation.

Dr. Del Siegle - Professor, Author, Director of the National Center for Research on Gifted Education at the University of Connecticut

SieglePalmariumTalk.pdf

Dr. Del Siegle - Professor, Author, Director of the National Center for Research on Gifted Education at the University of Connecticut

What should children know about their talents? How do perfectionism and procrastination play into talent development? Do children have a right not to be good at everything? This presentation will address 10 rights that children have on the way to developing their gifts and talents. Learn what you can do to help your students want to learn and flourish.

Dr. Del Siegle Power Point.pdf

Michelle DuBois- TAG Instructional Specialist, BVSD

Lisa Turner- Teacher, BVSD

Increasing achievement for twice exceptional students means understanding their individual needs. Their needs are often different than even typical talented and gifted students, over, under and inside out of the norm. Training classroom teachers to meet the needs of their twice exceptional students will go a long way towards increasing all of their students’ achievement. Learning how to analyze case studies, a type of action research, based on the CDE 2e trainings, will increase the efficacy of classroom teachers in working with these atypical students.

Michelle DuBois and Lisa Turner.pdf

Sharon M. Barnes- MSSW, LCSW, Therapist for Sensitive & Gifted, Academy of Creative Living

Ever had a volcano in your home or classroom? An iceberg? Creativity, acute awareness, high sensitivity, intensity and giftedness can combine to produce emotional explosions or implosions that distress GT, 2E/2X children, teens and adults. There’s a better way. Using her Personal Power Pyramid, Sharon Barnes will show you how to help yourself, your students or children head off explosions and implosions by developing a strong Sense of Self. Come experience Sharon’s Seven Steps to Build Resilience and discover how to use these Creative Coping Tools at school and at home.

Sharon Barnes Power Point.pdf

Dr. Stephen Chou-Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Summit Center and Adjunct Faculty, University of Denver

The growth and development of children is a wondrous process for gifted children. This development is asynchronous and often viewed as a fantastic advantage or success; but it may also be a potential detriment. This presentation proposes (1) a novel way of understanding gifted children’s socioemotional development through an Ericksonian lens and (2) how to help gifted children navigate through potential emotional difficulties. Awareness and understanding of their unique asynchronous development, motivations and drives, overexcitabilities (OE’s), and socioemotional needs, within a guiding context, encourages the success of gifted children and youth and avoids the potential detriments that may develop, including but not limited to perfectionism, underachievement, heightened emotionality, or even more concerning or impaired psychiatric functioning, in school or at home.

Dr. Julia Link Roberts- Mahurin Professor of Gifted Studies Executive Director, The Center for Gifted Studies, Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, Western Kentucky University

Teachers can free themselves to offer more opportunities to engage students in project-based learning when they use the Developing and Assessing Product Tool (DAP Tool) rather than writing one or more rubrics for every assignment. The DAP Tool offers several advantages. It is ready to use, it has no learning ceiling, and the components remain constant– content, presentation, creativity, and reflection. The DAP Tool for each product contains three tiers, making it a ready way to differentiate for students with more experience with the product. Participants will learn about the DAP Tool and engage in using one to assess student products.

Kate Bachtel- Founder, SoulSpark and Board President, SENG

Emotional intelligence is inextricably tied to cognition, achievement and well-being. This presentation will provide educators and parents with a variety of research-based strategies and resources to cultivate the development of specific social and emotional skills in gifted learners. Learn ways to avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism, develop optimism and enhance emotional literacy while growing healthy relationships. All will leave empowered with practices to support student social and emotional development both at school and home.

Kimberly Peters- Teacher, Douglas County Schools

The problem remains that often gifted students don’t experience challenge in life, especially at school, until late. Then, when they do feel challenged, it’s a shock; they tend to experience panic or identity crisis, thinking they’re not as smart as they’ve always been told. My presentation focuses on how we as educators can nurture the delicate emotions of gifted and talented students while creating structured, meaningful challenge in their academic and affective goals. Once students learn how to overcome challenge, they learn to become more resilient and are able to cope with less structured challenges they face later in life.

Dr. Robin J. Carey- Research Project Coordinator, Institute for the Development of Gifted Education, University of Denver
Remy Rummel- Coordinator, English Language Development, Douglas County School District

Culturally and linguistically diverse learners continueto be under-represented in gifted programming.Participants will explore the unique educational andsocio-cultural needs of gifted English Learners (ELs). Presenters will share research-based frameworksfor identifying gifted ELs, outline critical culturalconsiderations, and provide practical guidelines forplanning and serving ELs. Participants will reflect on current programming and instructional practices for gifted English Learners, evaluate the implications of the current state, and begin to develop systems and strategies to serve a full continuum of ELs.

Dr. Robin Carey and Remy Rummel Power Point.pdf