Conference Institute Blog - TAGT giftED 17

TAGT is proud to host some of the most well-known G/T experts in the field! Get to know some our featured speakers and learn more about their sessions:

Karen Brown, M.Ed., Paradise Valley Schools, AZ
Kelsey Karcher, M.Ed., and Mitch Morken, M.Ed., Dallas ISD
Joseph S. Renzulli, Ed.D. and Sally Reis, Ph.D., University of Connecticut
Colin Seale, thinkLaw
Eleonoor Van Gerven, Slim! Educatief
Caroline Winfield and Claire Swain, Richardson ISD
Patricia Gatto Walden, Ph.D., psychologist, private practice

Karen Brown, M.Ed., Paradise Valley Schools, AZ

Karen Brown, M.Ed. is the Gifted Program Mentor for the Paradise Valley Schools and works extensively with teachers to ensure that the school’s instruction and curriculum provides appropriate challenge and support for all students. She supports administrators, teachers, parents, and students in academics and social-emotional needs. Brown teaches in the Arizona State University’s Gifted Master’s Program and consults nationally with districts on numerous topics. She is the co-recipient of the 2013 NAGC Professional Development Award and co-author of “Differentiated Lessons for Every Learner.”

Sessions:

If money wasn’t an option, what would your ideal G/T classroom/service look like?
The room would be spacious with large windows and the ability to move fluidly inside and outside. Flexible seating is a must, standing desks, tables, ball chairs, stools along with soft cushiony options. Students would have a variety of technology available and telepresence would allow connection to with the world. The light blue-green walls would contain a magnetic whiteboard wall along with a large interactive board. Resources, books, and manipulatives would be everywhere.

Tell us about a student who has impacted you.
I was reminded of how powerful words can be. Connor was truly an out of the box thinker and school was not an easy place for him. Before he moved I told his mom, “Don’t ever let anyone put Connor in a box, he can do anything!” Recently I received a card from Connor; he’s the youngest and top performing broker at his company. He shared that when things got tough in high school and college he would remind himself of those words.

What energizes you? Fills your bucket?
The buzz that is created when students are engaged in active learning – I love the energy that is generated. It is contagious. There is no better sound than the laughter of children. I believe that learning is fun, not easy, but exciting and challenging. I can’t imagine a better job than being a teacher!

Tell us more about your session topic and why educators should attend.
Critical thinking and the creative process must become an integral part of our educational system if we hope to produce learners that identify and solve problems not yet known. I am a huge believer in the growth mindset and the power of the word, “YET!” Teachers with grit can guide learners to develop the mental tenacity to face challenges and persevere. I hope my topics offer participants tools to support students in these endeavors.

What are you looking forward to doing in Houston while you’re with us?
I haven’t been to Houston recently and so am hoping to reacquaint myself with the city. I lived in San Antonio for several years and have friends that plan to come to join me for an evening. I must admit that the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Downtown Aquarium, and the Houston Zoo are on my list of possible sites to visit.

Kelsey Karcher, M.Ed., and Mitch Morken, M.Ed., Dallas ISD

Kelsey Karcher, M.Ed., is the Manager of Academic Services for Dallas ISD and has been focused on gifted and talented students throughout her career. Her goal is for all gifted students to have equitable access to an education that challenges and supports them. Karcher holds a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and International Diplomacy from The American University in Washington, D.C. and an M. Ed. in Educational Leadership from Southern Methodist University. She also possesses gifted and talented endorsements in both Arizona and Texas.

Mitchell Morken, M.Ed., has been in gifted education for over 18 years in the Dallas Independent School District and has an educational philosophy of equity and access for all. Currently the Director of Advanced Academic Services, he has been a middle school G/T science teacher and an instructional specialist for the gifted and talented program. He possesses a B.A. in Biology from U.T.A., a M.Ed. from Southern Methodist University and obtained his gifted and talented endorsement through the state of Texas. He is also the representative for large, urban school district on the Commissioner’s Advisory Council for the state of Texas in gifted education.

Sessions:

Tell us more about your session topic and why educators should attend.
High quality, dynamic professional development is a cornerstone of preparing and supporting teachers for the ever-evolving world of gifted education. As awareness of the unique facets of giftedness increases, professional development must deepen teachers’ understanding while utilizing innovative platforms and structures.

Why does your district encourage educators to engage with TAGT?
Engaging with TAGT allows our teachers to collaborate with colleagues across the state, gain valuable information to support our district’s diverse population, and stay up to date on new developments.

What’s the greatest challenge facing G/T educators today?
As advocates for gifted children, we constantly seek more and better ways to identify students from diverse backgrounds and with unique needs. We strive to eliminate bias and support all students and families experiencing all that living with giftedness means. Additionally, with the current focus on high-stakes, minimum-standard testing, we constantly look for ways to provide challenging curriculum rich in acceleration, enrichment, depth, and complexity.

How did you start in gifted education/what’s your passion around G/T?
Kelsey: I had three stellar teachers who exemplified the patience, compassion, drive, and wit teachers of the gifted should have. When the district where I began my career adopted a gifted cluster model, I saw my opportunity to hopefully become that type of teacher. Through training and experience, I became particularly passionate about servicing gifted learners via cross-curricular teaching, arts integration, student choice and creativity, and honest conversations that help kids understand their own giftedness.

Mitch: I began teaching 8th grade gifted and talented students in Dallas ISD over 18 years ago. Giving students the opportunities to explore, challenging their thinking, and engaging their minds in ways they can grow and thrive fuels my passion toward gifted and talented instruction. These students continually surprise me, teach me, and inspire me to become a better educator.

Tell us about a student who has impacted you.
Kelsey: I’ll never forget my sweet student who, in a class discussion after the tragedy in Sandy Hook, offered wisdom and empathy many adults struggle to process. She raised her hand and simply said, “I can’t imagine those parents walking by their Christmas trees and seeing presents they’ve bought that their kids will never open.” The class stopped. I cried. It was then I realized how much power the brains and hearts of our students contains.

Mitch: Early in my teaching career, I had a young, Hispanic student. Being twice-exceptional, he struggled with social norms, verbal communications, and had an intense impulsivity. Around mid-semester, his mother shared with me that in their country he was identified as mentally retarded during his elementary years and no one ever considered he could be gifted. Watching him thrive in hands-on, science building competitions is one of many gifted students’ memories I cherish.

Eleonoor Van Gerven, Slim! Educatief

Drs. Eleonoor Van Gerven studied pedagogy at Nijmegen University (The Netherlands). She is managing director of Slim! Educatief, a private teacher education institute at post graduate level. She educates teachers in gifted education with an emphasis on twice-exceptionality. She has published (in Dutch) more than 15 books on gifted education. Dr. Van Gerven has over 25 years of experience in teacher education and graduates from her programs are leaders in gifted education in The Netherlands.

Sessions:

Why do you like to engage with gifted educators?
Teachers can and will make a difference for every child. However, in Holland I experience that they feel ill-equipped when it comes to gifted students. In their graduate teacher education, the topic of gifted education is not covered. I think that’s a huge omission. Gifted children are important for our future. Having a great teacher who recognizes them for who they are and challenges them to develop themselves is as important for the child as for us.

Tell us about the G/T services in the Netherlands.
G/T services in the Netherlands are different in every region. Every school is obliged to respond as good as possible to individual educational needs of every student. In practice, this means that schools work with a three-tiered structure based on the concept of RtI. Gifted students are part of the level 1 group, the top 20% achievers of all students. Any further differentiation in classroom strategies is hardly made. Therefore, one can wonder if the educational needs of gifted children are truly being met in our schools. Additionally, schools are working with pull out programs and in some school districts, gifted children can join pull programs for a day a week.

Over the last few years, special schools for the gifted were founded, based on private schooling. Private schooling is not common in the Netherlands and the concept of special schools for the gifted is not welcomed with open arms. The most important pitfall of the special schools for the gifted in Holland is that a big part of their population is 2E students without being recognized as such. Those students are being approached as ‘regular’ gifted students and so in the end, their needs are still not met.

How did you start in gifted education/what’s your passion around G/T?
When I left my job at the university 25 years ago, I started out as a private consultant in the field of educational policies. It was in that context that I was confronted with one of the first Dutch enrichment projects. I ended up becoming part of the project and organization. Next thing, I was being asked to become editor in chief of a magazine about gifted children for parents and teachers and from that point, everything is history as the say. My passion is that I strongly believe in the broader implications of inclusive education, meaning that every child has a right to an education that focusses on its individual development. And in the strive for that ideal, teachers need to be trained to see, understand and respond to the educational needs of gifted students.

What’s the one thing you won’t forget to pack for your trip to the states?
My e-reader!

If someone was to visit the Netherlands, what’s the one spot you recommend they don’t miss?
The ‘Oostvaardersplassen:’ a nature reserve in the area where I live. It is of outstanding beauty.

Joseph S. Renzulli, Ed.D. and Sally Reis, Ph.D., University of Connecticut

Joseph S. Renzulli, Ed.D. is a professor and director of the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development at the University of Connecticut. His research has focused on identification and development of creativity and giftedness and organizational models for total school improvement. He lists as his proudest accomplishment the application of his work on more flexible approaches to strength based identification and the widespread use of his Schoolwide Enrichment Model around the world.

Sally M. Reis, Ph.D. recently completed a six-year term as the Vice Provost of Academic Affairs and currently is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in the Educational Psychology Department in the Neag School of Education at UConn. She was a classroom teacher and administrator in public education. She authored and co-authored more than 250 articles, books, book chapters, monographs and technical reports, and worked on a research team that generated over 35 million dollars in grants.

Sessions:

Tell us more about how you got your start in Gifted Education.

Renzulli: When I started teaching in 1958, the Russians had just launched Sputnik and the Superintendent of Schools in my district in New Jersey asked me to start a program for our most advanced students in science. Since there was no “curriculum for the gifted,” I started playing around with ideas about student interest-based projects and this became the beginnings of what emerged in later years as the Enrichment Triad Model.

Reis: When I started teaching in 1973, I had an incredibly advanced student in one of my high school English classes and I had no idea how to challenge and engage her. I began doing some reading and studying about gifted and talented students and that led me to my first course in gifted education. I met Joe a few years later after I returned Connecticut and implemented my first gifted program.

Why do you encourage education students to pursue G/T specific degrees?

Renzulli and Reis: Because enrichment specialists and gifted education teachers who have completed their degrees are often the most creative change agents in any school or district. The majority of participants who attend Confratute, our annual summer residential training program for teachers, for example, are highly creative educators who are seeking greater flexibility in identifying students and providing services; We called these educators “positive malcontents! Also, many of our talented undergraduate education majors at UConn take classes in areas such as differentiation or creativity and these initial classes often result in them seeking an endorsement in gifted education. They then become classroom teachers who can effectively differentiate and provide creative opportunities for students. Some of them have also become principals who are outstanding at developing and expanding services for talented students and enrichment for all students.

What current research are you working on?

Renzulli: Technology is probably been the most important innovation that has occurred in our lifetimes and we developed the Renzulli Learning System (RLS) for a very practical reason – Our current research is focused on how personalized learning and teaching for talent development can be achieved by using technology. RLS is a time saving tool that provides an individual strength-based profile for each student’s academic areas, interests, learning styles, and preferred modes of expression. A search engine then matches high engagement resources from a 50,000 item database to the student’s profile. We are investigating how teachers can use RLS to differentiate the curriculum by finding and infusing enrichment resources into any and all regular curricular topics.

Reis: After completing a challenging administrative role at UConn for 6 years, I am gearing up to start a new research initiative on gifted and talented students who are or were underachievers and also some new work relating to 2E students, as well as students who are underachieving in school.

What’s the greatest challenge facing G/T educators today?

Renzulli and Reis: The underrepresentation of culturally diverse students in gifted programs, the disappearance of enrichment and gifted programs in states that do not have a mandate to identify and serve, and reversing underachievement in smart students. Another challenge is how to encourage and help classroom teachers to differentiate instruction and curriculum when they are faced with so many diverse learners and learning styles.

Tell us more about your topic and why educators should attend.

Reis: I am speaking about underachievement and talented readers and will be providing concrete advice about how teachers and GT educators can reverse underachievement, as well as challenge talented students in reading so they will not become underachievers!

Renzulli: I am presenting a session that summarizes my experiences that clearly show special services for gifted students are most effective in schools where there is a culture that promotes enjoyment, engagement, and enthusiasm for all students. In typical pull-out programs, gifted students spend the majority of their time in regular classrooms; and we should attempt to make that time more interesting and engaging for these students as well as others who can benefit from some of the strategies we advocate. When gifted education specialists share some of their teaching strategies with other teachers we are much more likely to be viewed as change agents and members of a team rather than a privileged interloper. A rising tide lifts all ships, and schools become more joyful and challenging places when everyone promotes a culture of enthusiasm for learning.

Caroline Winfield and Claire Swain, Ed.D, Richardson ISD

Caroline Winfield M. Ed., Gifted Specialist Richardson ISD., G/T Supplemental & Early Childhood Certification, Resides in Dallas with her husband and 2 sons. SAGE teacher representative, TAG/T Advocacy Committee Member

Claire Swain, Ed.D, has been a teacher in Texas for twenty-three years. For the last thirteen years, she has been a Gifted Specialist in Richardson where she works to identify and provide gifted services for Kindergarten and second-grade students.

Sessions:

Colin Seale, thinkLaw

Colin Seale, Esq. is an education advocate and critical thinking expert who has merged his passion and experience for education, law, and social justice into thinkLaw, an award-winning program that helps educators teach critical thinking through standards-aligned, real-life legal cases and powerful and personalized professional development to help teachers implement engaging Socratic strategies across all grades and subject areas.

Sessions:

Patricia Gatto Walden, Ph.D., psychologist, private practice

Patricia Gatto Walden, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized psychologist who has worked with gifted, highly gifted, and profoundly gifted children, adolescents and adults, including teachers and administrators for nearly four decades. She is a featured and keynote speaker at gifted international and national conferences, and a two term past Chair of Global Awareness Network for the National Association for Gifted Children. Her current book, Embracing the Whole Gifted Self, first published 2016, and second edition 2017, covers innate holistic characteristics of being gifted. She has consulting offices in Colorado and Florida.

Sessions:

What do you tell parents when they come to you for advice about their gifted student?
In order for a child to gain a positive self-esteem, she must feel that her parents truly see and understand her and are proud of who she is. It is absolutely essential that parents see and accept the whole child—her intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual (which includes ethics, morals and values), and social self. Notice what she is drawn to during her free time and accept the importance of these activities to her. Learn what makes your child’s heart sing, what she really cares about, and what she believes is truly essential. Let her be an individual with her own personality, perspectives, goals, and beliefs. The overall key is to see her, listen to her, and accept her passions, temperament, and idiosyncrasies. Make sure your home is a safe haven where all family members can authentically be who they truly are.

What advice would you give to educators as they begin the school year to ensure they keep burnout at bay?
Take care of yourself—get plenty of sleep, eat well, release tension through enjoyable exercise, get outside to revitalize, and keep family or friendship time a priority. Teachers are natural givers, which is a beautiful trait. But, too often they tend to give up free time to attend to others. My advice is to honor your individual self like you honor others. Additionally, give a gift to yourself every week. For example, it may be fresh flowers from the grocery store, going out to dinner, reading a book or going to a great movie. Make the gift a conscious choice to honor who you are and what you love. Bottom line, learn to live a more balanced life, attending to all aspects of yourself.

You have clients and experience working with G/T individuals across the country. What do you see as the greatest challenge facing gifted students?
First, feeling their worth and value as a person is reduced to their mind and productivity. Both children and adults tell me they are not seen as a whole person. Second, their innate differences (asynchrony across aspects of self, intensities, perfectionism, perceptivity, and sensitivity) are often misunderstood. As a result, they are seen by others as odd, deviant, and peculiar. The higher the level of giftedness, the more they are naturally distinct from others, the more they are judged, and the more they feel isolated and lonely. Gifted people of all ages ache to find others who share their humor, interests, and curiosities. They deeply want to find someone close to their age with whom they feel seen and accepted.

Why do you continue to attend and speak at TAGT’s conferences?
Every year, I want to go back to Texas! It’s FUN! The people are nice, compassionate, and honest. You can tell they really care. They are open to looking at themselves and making sure they are accepting, loving, and nurturing to their students and children.

What energizes you and fills your bucket?
Every day I meditate and pray. It’s essential for me to start my day with spiritual connection and joy. I love my family time with my husband and children, and I enjoy occasionally being with friends. I also need to rejuvenate with time alone. I love being outside with the sun and smells and changing seasons. I love being in nature—walking the beach and finding beautiful shells or hiking in the mountains.