2024 IAGC Conference

Gifted children present with a wonderful and at times challenging social and emotional complexity. Despite the increase in education and understanding about the unique dynamics and needs of gifted children, these complexities can present a challenge to their ability to regulate and be successful in the classroom. This workshop will provide a new lens with which to view and understand the strengths and challenges our gifted students present and offer five core strategies for partnering with your student to stay connected and help them grow their social/emotional capacities and skills.

Participants will:
- Increase understanding and awareness of the social emotional needs of gifted children.
- Explore key questions that will offer a new lens with which to understand our gifted students and foster collaborative conversation and goals with students.
- Identify myths that contribute to mis-perceptions about our gifted students
- Develop skills and obtain concrete strategies for working with social emotional issues in the classroom

Several U.S. states and many more school districts have adopted MTSS-based models for serving gifted and advanced students, which aim to expand access to enrichment, differentiated instruction, and appropriate supports and frame talent development as a schoolwide responsibility. Explore how talent development programs that leverage MTSS provide opportunities to enhance equity and promote collaboration and explore challenges, and “lessons learned” from experience implementing MTSS-based service models.

Gifted students are often identified as high-achieving and therefore accelerated or placed in enrichment programs. However, what about students who do not qualify as gifted but are still high level learners? How will you ensure these students continue to grow within the classroom? Learn how to focus on PLC question 4, update curriculum guides for progression of standards, and incorporate collaboration across grade levels to ensure high level learners continue to grow at high levels.

Learn how high school students can gain valuable experience doing STEM and Humanities research with university professors. We will provide information about how to find research mentors, what journals students can publish their research in, competitions they can enter, and more. We will discuss the pros and cons of individual vs. group research projects, long-term vs. short term projects, fee-based vs. free programs, and extracurricular vs. in-school projects.  

Significant disparities exist in the identification of and the opportunities provided to gifted children. Analysis of Chicago Public School data reveals disparities based on income, race, disability status, and school. Unfortunately, initiatives by the District aimed at addressing inequity had unintended, but not unforeseeable, consequences of exacerbating opportunity gaps for many low-income students of color. Bureaucratic changes by CPS to provide universal standards decreased the number of applications for accelerated instruction and made it less likely for Black and Latino/x students to receive advanced instruction. I propose multiple low-cost and easy-to-implement solutions to improve the identification of gifted and academically talented students that are more inclusive.