Conference Program...
Conference Workshop List and Descriptions
Title: Creativity in the Classroom
Description:
The National Association for Gifted Children Programming Standards indicate that creativity is an essential part of addressing the needs of students with gifts and talents. Gifted learners often struggle with tolerance for ambiguity, flexibility, risk taking and accepting the ideas of others. By developing creative habits of mind in their students, teachers can help gifted learners overcome these struggles. Focusing on Torrance’s four aspects of creativity, participants will learn ways to infuse creative thinking strategies into daily lessons. Participants will experience how incorporating improvisation, activities that promote vocabulary fluency, exploring perspective and collaboration will enhance students’ creativity. This workshop is appropriate for all levels.
Co-presenters:
Kerry Young, Gifted Education Specialist
Cynthia Salsedo, Gifted Education Specialist
Karen Graham,Gifted Education Specialist
Bay Trail Middle School, Penfield SCD, Penfield, NY
Focus of Presentation: Creativity Strategies, Best Practices in Gifted, Differentiation, 21st Century Learning and Gifted
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Support staff: Counselors, School Psychologists, etc., Parents, Guardians, Pre-service teachers
Title: Introverts, Extroverts - How We Live in the World
Description:
Does your child often need a break in the middle of a play date? Do one or two students dominate class discussions, and others hang back? While approximately 30% of America's population leans toward introversion, nearly 60% of gifted people are more introverted. In this presentation, parents and teachers will look beyond stereotypes to understand how introversion and extroversion, as inborn temperaments, affect individuals, family dynamics, and social interactions. We'll also look at practical strategies to address the differing needs of introverts and extroverts at home and at school, as well as adult-child interactions.
Presenter:
Irene Lavin, Teacher/Gifted-Talented, Eden Elementary School, Eden CSD, Eden, NY
Focus of Presentation: Classroom issues, Social/Emotional Issues, Parenting/Grandparenting
Target Audience: Parents, Guardians, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Support staff: Counselors, School Psychologists, etc., Pre-service teachers
Title: What to Do When Your Kid is Smarter Than You: How to Help Your Child Be a Better Learner.
Description:
This workshop explores numerous ways to reach learners in different and interesting ways. Parents will learn to assist their children in developing fluency in thinking and writing. Participants will leave with a multitude of new time-saving strategies, abundant creative ideas for activities, and knowledge of specific materials for implementing these new ideas.
Presenter: Scott Hobson, Educational Consultant/ former principal and teacher
Focus of Presentation: Curricular issues, Classroom issues, Social/Emotional Issues, Critical Thinking, Creativity Strategies, Differentiation, Parenting/Grandparenting
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Parents, Guardians
Title: Differentiating the Curriculum: Combining Bloom's Taxonomy and Multiple Intelligences.
Description:
Schools today have a very diverse student population and many teachers are reluctant or unable to differentiate the curriculum. In consequence, gifted children are unchallenged and underachieving in the mixed ability classroom. In this workshop, we will explore how the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Multiple Intelligences Theory can be integrated to differentiate the curriculum as teachers’ diversity the teaching and learning strategies. Participants will explore ways of creating a Multiple Intelligences/Bloom matrix that can serve as a graphic organizer that facilitates students’ understanding of their learning styles and teachers’ confidence in their ability to differentiate the curriculum.
Presenter: Leticia Hernandez de Hahn, AGATE Board Member and Assistant Professor at Niagara University, Niagara Falls, NY.
Focus of Presentation: Curricular issues, Underachievement, Best Practices in Gifted, Differentiation
Target Audience: Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists
Title: Engaging and Important: Imperatives for Classroom Practice
Description:
Research and practice have shown the importance of making the content of curriculum meaningful and the importance of using instructional practices that engage student interest and focus. This interactive workshop will first examine the meaning of engaging and important, and then participants will use an Engaging and Important framework to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of classroom lessons and units. By applying this framework to their own classroom practice, participants will strengthen their ability to evaluate and improve their own instructional decisions.
Presenter: Charmy Perry, Coordinator, Gifted and Talented Education for Monroe-Orleans BOCES 2 and Damon Piletz, Gifted and Talented Resource Teacher
Focus of Presentation: Curricular issues, Classroom issues, Best Practices in Gifted
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Pre-service teachers
Title: Unpacking Rigor: The Power of Concept-Based Curriculum
Description:
The New York State Common Core Standards require students to work with more complex texts and increasingly more sophisticated ideas. In other words, classroom units of study aligned with the Common Core Standards must be more rigorous. But, how is rigor intentionally infused into the classroom curriculum? Much can be learned about the concept of rigor by examining the attributes of expertise. The National Research Council reports that the knowledge of experts "…is not simply a list of facts and formulas that are relevant to their domain; instead, their knowledge is organized around core concepts or 'big ideas' that guide their thinking…" This session will help participants develop a framework for rethinking and designing units of study based on concepts and generalizations. Concept-based curriculum infuses rigor; it is foundational to differentiation; and it ultimately helps students make meaning and transfer understanding.
Presenter: Charmy Perry, Coordinator, Gifted and Talented Education for Monroe-Orleans BOCES 2
Focus of Presentation: Curricular issues, Classroom issues, Best Practices in Gifted
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Pre-service teachers
Title: Integrating Technology and 21st Century Skills into Student Products
Description:
By integrating technology into Student products, teachers can infuse 21st century skills such as creative and critical thinking, communication and collaboration, and information, media, and technology skills. This workshop will feature Web 2.0 tools such as Glogster, Photo Story 3, PBworks, Prezi and screencasting. Information will be shared on how you can integrate these tools into your student products.
Presenter:
Linda Howell, Enrichment Specialist, Cosgrove Middle School and E.J. Wilson High School, Spencerport Central School District
Focus of Presentation: 21st Century Learning, Critical Thinking
Target Audience: Teachers, Gifted Education Specialist, Pre-service teachers
Title: Navigating the Assessment Practices for the Gifted and Talented
Description:
Are we identifying the correct students for our programs? What outcomes should we be looking for? What measures should we be using for best practices in the selection process? These are some of the questions that many districts wrestle with concerning the identification process. This presentation will identify best practices for identification through a school collaborative approach and also identify current normed referenced instruments with sound reliability and validity for screening and assessing gifted student populations.
Presenter:
Cheryl L. Repass, Psy.D., Director of Graduate Psychology Programs at Roberts Wesleyan College, Rochester, NY
Target audience:
Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Support staff: Counselors, School Psychologists, etc.; Parents, Guardians, Pre-service teachers
Focus of presentation: Identification processes
Title: Rules, Schmules: How Effective Classroom Management Benefits the Gifted Learner
Description:
This presentation explores ten things you can put into practice on Monday that will change the way you teach – and the way kids in your classroom learn – forever. Learn how something as simple as a right answer can be a powerful tool in mind expansion and growth. Explore what a plane crash in New Zealand has to teach about good teaching. Does running a classroom well mean being boring, staid, and uninteresting? Quite the opposite! This presentation will show you how to free your students’ minds and potential through the true meaning of discipline.
Presenter:
Lisa Van Gemert, Gifted Youth Specialist, Mensa Foundation
Focus of Presentation: Classroom Issues, Best Practices in Gifted
Target Audience: Teachers, Administrators
Title: Gift of Self: Enhancing Self Concept in gifted learners
Description: Positive self-concept is a key to achieving our full potential, yet many of our gifted learners struggle with feelings of inadequacy that limit their success. How can we increase students’ self-concept in genuine ways? What are the unique challenges to self-esteem faced by gifted learners? Come explore the many ways we can help children develop positive and authentic self-concept. Learn classroom-ready strategies that are simple, effective, and powerful.
Presenter:
Lisa Van Gemert, Gifted Youth Specialist, Mensa Foundation
Focus of Presentation: Social and Emotional Needs, Parenting/Grandparenting
Target Audience: parents, teachers, counselors, administrators
Title: The New CogAT: An Ability Test for the 21st Century
Description:
The newly released Form 7 of CogAT represents the most substantial revision of the test since the first edition was published in 1963. Nine years in the making, Form 7 was designed to measure the abilities of an increasingly diverse student population. The test is fully accessible to ELL children yet measures verbal and quantitative reasoning in addition to nonverbal reasoning. Other new features include: a short screening test, an online test, free practice materials, and new talent identification software and reports. The purpose of this session is to introduce the first 21st century-ability, group-administered ability test to the field.
Presenter:
Dr. David F. Lohman, Professor of Educational Psychology, Iowa Testing Programs , University of Iowa
Focus of Presentation: Identification process, Professional Development, Best Practices in Gifted, Diverse Population,
Target Audience: Administrators; Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists; Support Staff: Counselors, School Psychologists, etc.
Title: Best Practices in Using Standardized Tests to Identify Talent among Low Income and ELL Children
Description:
Effective talent identification requires measuring both the general and specific aptitudes needed for rapid learning in particular academic domains. Typical nonverbal tests administered to ELL children help measure general abilities but not the specific aptitudes and other personal characteristics needed to excel academically. A partial solution is to use nonverbal tests that measure quantitative and even verbal reasoning as well as figural/spatial reasoning. A second way to consider both general and specific aptitudes is to use local and subgroup norms. Thus, one measures similar abilities and achievements for all children but then uses local or subgroups norms to better account for differences in opportunity to learn. Such norms can be obtained from test publishers, developed using software they provide, or simply by using a spreadsheet. However, students who exhibit talent using different norms cannot be placed in programs that assume similar levels of prior achievement in all students.
Presenter:
Dr. David F. Lohman, Professor of Educational Psychology, Iowa Testing Programs , University of Iowa
Focus of Presentation: Identification process, Professional Development, Best Practices in Gifted, Diverse Population,
Target Audience: Administrators; Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists; Support Staff: Counselors, School Psychologists, etc.
Title: Mindsets, Praise, and Gifted Education: How Our Messages Can Help or Hinder the Development of Talent
Description:
This presentation is based on the research of Stanford University professor, Dr. Carol Dweck and her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006). Highlights include:
- Why brains and talents don’t bring success…and how they can stand in the way of it!
- Why praising brains and talent doesn’t foster self-esteem and accomplishment, but jeopardizes them.
- How teaching a simple idea about the brain raises grades and productivity.
Presenter:
Beth Dombrowski, Primary Enrichment Specialist and K-12 District Lead Teacher for Enrichment, Canandaigua School District, Canandaigua, NY
Focus of Presentation: Research, Social/Emotional Issues, Parenting/Grandparenting
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Support staff: Counselors, School Psychologists, etc., Parents, Guardians, Pre-service teachers
Title: My Child is a Gifted Reader: How Do I Know They are Being Challenged in School?
Description:
Parents of bright youngsters need to be equipped to advocate for their children in school. Here you will learn about
- Common reading assessments and what they reveal about your child's strengths and needs
- Learning goals and differentiation practices used by schools to help challenge your child
- Strategies for parents to nurture a child's intellectual potential
Presenter:
Beth Dombrowski, Primary Enrichment Specialist and K-12 District Lead Teacher for Enrichment, Canandaigua School District
Focus of Presentation: Identification processes, Differentiation, Parenting/Grandparenting
Target Audience: Parents, Guardians
Title: Metaphors and Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching
Description:
This workshop is based on the book Metaphors and Analogies by Rick Wormeli. Metaphors and analogies are power tools that can electrify learning in every subject and at all grade levels. Come and learn why you should give metaphorical thinking more attention in your classroom. Practical and effective strategies that drive deeper understanding will be shared. This workshop will hit the nail on the head!!!
Co-Presenters:
Sandy Stewart, Gifted Specialist, Pittsford Central School District
Nancy Campbell Gifted Specialist, Pittsford Central School District
Focus of Presentation: Critical Thinking, Creativity Strategies, Best Practices in Gifted, Differentiation, 21st Century Learning and Gifted
Target Audience: Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Pre-service teachers
Title: Rigor: What is It? What does it like?
Description:
This session will enable participants to develop a deeper understanding of academic rigor. We will explore the following questions through discussion and practical examples:
- What makes a task rigorous?
- How do you know that materials or resources encourage rigor?
- How do you know rigor when you see it?
Co-Presenters:
Sandy Stewart, Gifted Specialist, Pittsford Central School District
Nancy Campbell Gifted Specialist, Pittsford Central School District
Focus of Presentation: Critical Thinking, Creativity Strategies, Best Practices in Gifted, Differentiation, 21st Century Learning and Gifted
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Pre-service teachers
Title: How to Turn Pending Legislation into $pending Legislation in NY State
Description:
In this workshop we will be informing people as to what gifted and talented legislation has been proposed in Albany, NY and in Washington D.C and we will be modeling how individual participants (parents, teachers, administrators, and/or specialists) can work within their own communities to help get legislation funded and passed in both the Assembly and Senate of NY State.
Co-Presenters:
Jen Seron, Adjunct Prof. and Informal Science Educator
Mary Kay Lewis, President, AGATENY
Focus of Presentation: Curricular issues, Identification processes, Legislation/Laws, Advocacy, Research, Professional Development, Underachievement, Diverse Populations, Acceleration, Differentiation, New Directions for Gifted, Twice Exceptional, Parenting/Grandparenting
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Support staff: Counselors, School Psychologists, etc., Parents, Guardians, Pre-service teachers
Title: Youth Filmmaking & Literacy
Description:
In this presentation of my research on youth filmmaking, I show how students are using digital video production as a form of multimodal literacy in school. The data in my research suggest that students are finding agency in their films to express emotions, deal with personal and community problems and even draw on these expressions as a form of healing. In this sense, students are using filmmaking literacy practices (screen writing, editing, shooting, storyboarding, showing at film festivals, etc) to help them to make sense of their problems while attempting to make changes in their lives and communities. By presenting local case studies and examples of students’ films, I argue that schools must expand what counts as literacy in order to offer students more opportunities to make sense of their lives and develop communicative competence with the moving image.
Presenter:
Dr. Brian Bailey, Professor at Nazareth College, Rochester, NY
Focus of Presentation: Curricular issues, Research, Technology and Gifted, Critical Thinking, Gifted and the Arts, 21st Century Learning and Gifted
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists
Title: Creating Novel Guides for High-Ability Readers and Thinkers
Description:
Research says that advanced readers need books with rich, exciting language and ideas that invite them to grapple with the content. High-ability learners also need the scaffolding of questions and activities that are appropriately differentiated for their learning needs. Would you like to be able to provide high-level literary analysis opportunities for your students/children? Novel guides will be examined that include questions about literary elements, themes, and interdisciplinary and research connections. Each of the “Navigators” is based on a model developed by the College of William and Mary Center for Gifted Education. The model will be explored in-depth. Participants will learn how to use the model to create their own novel guides that are differentiated for high-ability learners. The model can be applied to novels at any level, including picture books.
Presenter:
Ann Forbes, Gifted and Talented, Fairport Central School District.
Focus of Presentation: Critical Thinking, Best Practices in Gifted, Differentiation
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Parents, Guardians, Pre-service teachers
Title: Turtle Art Playshop
Description:
Creative educators seek interesting ways for students to explore key concepts and ways in which to interact with big ideas. The Turtle Art is designed for students to create digital art through play with numbers and geometry. Through easy block programming, students exercise math fluency. Because the Turtle Art is designed as a "low floor, high ceiling" software, it meets a variety of K-12 needs. During this session, you will learn how Turtle Art can be used to meet the New York State Common Core Learning Standards. Participants will also receive Turtle Art software and resources for their personal use.
Presenter:
Brian C. Smith, Instructional Technology Specialist at Monroe #1 BOCES Technology Services
Focus of Presentation: Technology and Gifted, Critical Thinking, Creativity Strategies, Gifted and the Arts, Problem-based Learning, 21st Century Learning and Gifted, Creativity & Innovation
Target Audience: Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Parents, Guardians, Pre-service teachers
Title: Learning for the Future: P21 and FPS
Description:
The Partnership for the 21st Century has outlined a series of real-world goals to help drive curriculum that readies students for the demands of the workplace of the future. But how can we build these “Learning and Innovation” skills in our classrooms? The New York Future Problem Solving Program is the state branch of an international program founded by Dr. E. Paul Torrance (University of Connecticut) and dedicated to advancing the “Four C’s”--Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity--in young people around the world. Learn how you can build these skills by implementing Global Issues Problem Solving, Community Problem Solving, and Scenario writing components in your school, homeschool, or community. FPSP provides competitive opportunities for students in grades 4-12. As their coach, you can help your students solve the problems of the future!
Presenter:
Sarah Fiess, Executive Director New York Future Problem Solving Program
Focus of Presentation: Curricular issues, Classroom issues, Critical Thinking, Creativity Strategies, Gifted and the Arts, Diverse Populations, Globalism and the Gifted, Problem-based Learning, 21st Century Learning and Gifted
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Parents, Guardians, Pre-service teachers
Title: Everyday Engineering: Ideas to Inspire STEM Careers
Description:
The Women in Engineering (WE@RIT) program at Rochester Institute of Technology, developed a day camp to address the fact that young women typically do not choose engineering due to a lack of understanding of the field. The weeklong camp includes various hands-on interactive engineering-based workshop activities. This one hour workshop will show how to incorporate multiple layers of teachers and role models to inspire young students’ (girls and boys) interest in engineering/STEM careers. You will learn team building activities, examples of incorporating multi-disciplinary engineering activities, and experience a hands-on design activity.
Presenter:
Jodi Carville, Women in Engineering Director, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
Focus of Presentation: Curricular issues, Technology and Gifted, Creativity Strategies, Gender Issues
Target Audience: Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Parents, Guardians
Title: The Young Entrepreneurs Academy
Description:
The Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) takes middle and high school students through the process of starting a completely real, legally registered business over the course of an academic year. Students are guided through each step of starting an enterprise – from brainstorming the big idea, to pitching their business plan to a panel of investors, getting funded, and really launching the company. Classroom learning is anchored by real-world applications and experiences, such as behind-the-scenes visits to local businesses, meetings with successful entrepreneurs, producing television commercials, opening bank accounts, filing tax returns, meeting attorneys, accountants, designers, and earning real profits at the trade show! Through YEA!, 11-18 year olds start as students and graduate as CEOs!
Presenter:
Allison Osborn, Founder & CEO of Young Entrepreneurs Academy, Rochester, NY, and YEA! Graduates
Focus of Presentation: Curricular issues, Identification processes, Professional Development, Technology and Gifted, Critical Thinking, Creativity Strategies, Best Practices in Gifted, Gifted and the Arts, Diverse Populations, Globalism and the Gifted, Acceleration, Problem-based Learning, New Directions for Gifted, 21st Century Learning and Gifted
Target Audience: Administrators, Teachers, Gifted Education Specialists, Support staff: Counselors, School Psychologists, etc., Parents, Guardians, Pre-service teachers.
