WATG2017

Gifted children, particularly those of diverse backgrounds (race & culture), may be forced to manage an accelerated level of isolation, confusion, and ultimately disappointment if self-discovery and acceptance are not addressed appropriately by members of the educational and home community. 

This session will create an intentional dialogue about diversity and the impact for children within their own circle of influence.  The ability to thrive within one's own community is heavily dependent upon the person's ability to feel a sense of belonging.  We will explore the challenges one faces during this self-discovery process and how we as teachers, administrators, and community partners can assist along the way.

Participant Outcomes:

• Understand the definition of Nigrescence and Hypercorrection.
• Ability to recognize the conflicting signs of self-discovery and acceptance within diverse students.
• Create a community-led action plan for identifying and addressing Nigrescence and
  hypercorrection among students.
• Develop the starting point for a specific strategic training for individual staff and community training

Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, all Wisconsin public schools are required to provide their grade 6-12 students with Academic and Career Planning (ACP) services.  If implemented effectively, ACP can be an incredible tool for identifying and meeting the needs of gifted students. 

This session will explain the vision of ACP and how ACP can help schools better understand how to provide the experiences gifted students need to be challenged and continually challenge themselves.  The session will also show how ACP can facilitate much deeper engagement of students in designing and executing their own learning plans and the critical role families and all teachers have in the ACP process.

Participant Outcomes:

• Gain an understanding of the state mandated Academic and Career Planning initiative and the impact ACP can have for gifted students
• See how they can play a crucial role in ACP implementation and execution and how ACP can connect and contribute to numerous other programs and initiatives
• Learn about the immense collection of resources available for ACP implementation that can help ensure it is done effectively so it has the greatest positive impact on students.

Parents and teachers want children to embrace challenges. Children that acquire positive strategies to face challenges can build lifelong achievement habits and open vast possibilities for their future.

But challenges can sometimes produce negative emotions and some advanced learners develop behavioral strategies to help them avoid challenges and the accompanying negative feelings.  These challenge-avoidance strategies can lead to underachievement and the Impostor Syndrome.

In this session, we will identify some of the negative responses caused by challenges, some causes of the negative emotions, and offer positive strategies for dealing with the frustration that comes with challenges. Participants will learn about the importance of encountering challenge at an early age, as well as use an emotion identification scale and problem solving strategy charts to help children handle feelings that surge through them when encountering challenges.

Participant Outcomes: 

• Learn about the Impostor Syndrome and growth mindset
• Learn to identify the negative strategies children are using to avoid challenges
• See how early responses to frustration can lead to lifelong values that can be positive or negative
• Identify tools and strategies to help children learn to embrace challenges

Because problem solving can be difficult - even for gifted students - it is important for students to have a "tool-belt" of problem solving strategies. Many of the strategies presented in this session will force students to change their normal thinking patterns and approach each problem in a different way.

You will leave this session with many unique problem-solving techniques that will help all students be more successful in math contests and on tests. Each participant will leave the session with 10 problems they can take back and implement immediately in their classroom that will interest and challenge their students.

Participant Outcomes:

• Teach students many powerful problem solving techniques
• Have challenging high interest materials to bring back to the classroom
• Learn ways to deal with students who fear making mistakes

This presentation will summarize individualized middle school and high school interventions to improve gifted and talented students' executive functioning skills. Specifically, these interventions have targeted G/T students who struggle with social and emotional issues including anxiety, depression, ADHD, and perfectionism. The session will share the strategies taught to students, present outcomes of prior interventions, and discuss potential applications of these strategies.

Participant Outcomes:

• Have an understanding of the close links between executive function skills, identity, and social-emotional functioning amongst the gifted and talented population
• Identify interventions in school, home, and coaching environments to support gifted students and help them grow and develop executive functioning skills

Learn about FREE ACT Test Prep materials and how they can provide information about your students to personalize their learning utilizing case studies.

Participant Outcomes:

• Locate, access, and offer free ACT Test Prep materials for students
• Learn about a variety of resources available to meet the needs of out-of-grade-level students

NAGC Standards addressed in this session:

• Standard 2: Assessment Description: Assessments provide information about identification, learning progress and outcomes, and evaluation of programming for students with gifts and talents in all domains.
• Standard 3: Curriculum Planning and Instruction Description: Educators apply the theory and research-based models of curriculum and instruction related to students with gifts and talents and respond to their needs by planning, selecting, adapting, and creating culturally relevant curriculum and by using a repertoire of evidence-based instructional strategies to ensure specific student outcomes.

• Become familiar with the components of the Seal of Biliteracy and how to establish criteria for a Seal of Biliteracy in their school or district
• Gain awareness of the benefits of bilingualism, biliteracy, and global competence in terms of developing talent potential

Our gifted children face many stresses in the educational environment that impact their capacity for joy. Some are external, some internal. Research in neuroscience has led to conclusive findings regarding the connection between joy and learning.

This session will discuss the importance of joy in a child’s education and life in light of recent brain research. We will also share strategies that will help parents and teachers increase joy in their   gifted and talented children and teens.

Participant Outcomes:

• Understand the current research in neuroscience that promotes joyful learning practices
• Identify strategies and resources that promote joyful learning in classrooms and home environments
• Learn how to effectively advocate for students leveraging research and effective practices that support joyful learning

Wisconsin currently has two active federal Javits grants for projects related to gifted students.  Both focus on delivering appropriately challenging and culturally relevant instruction within the RtI framework. 

Expanding Excellence is DPI’s grant on mitigating the excellence gap for low-income students and English Language Learners, especially at the primary level. The Smart Spaces grant to UW-Madison/WCATY expands access to high-quality blended curriculum for underrepresented gifted middle school students.

This session will provide an update on each project and will also provide numerous suggestions and strategies based on lessons learned that participants may find useful for implementing gifted programming in their own districts, schools, and classrooms.  Issues addressed will include inclusive identification, programming within the RtI model, and parent involvement.

Participant Outcomes:

• Understand purpose and basic structure of both Javits grants
• Understand current national emphasis on inclusive gifted education
• Consider grant student identification strategies for application in own classroom, building, or district
•  Apply aspects of grant curriculum and programming information to own classroom, building, or district

NAGC Standards addressed : 2, 3, 4, 5

(Exhibitor Session) 
The greatest hurdle for incorporating project-based learning in the curriculum is that there is rarely enough time in the school calendar to devote to multiple project based learning experiences. For your gifted and talented students, you want them to have project based learning opportunities, but you just don’t know how to work it into your GT program. Until now.

In this session, Wisconsin Destination Imagination (DI) provides you with an experience every DI team member experiences at every team meeting: an interactive experience of project based learning that is completed within 15 minutes. Our session will provide you with our approach to rapid problem solving project based learning experiences that you can fit in multiple times during the school year.

In this session, you will learn skills – and have FUN!

This session will be a facilitated parent discussion.  Co-facilitators, Dal and Jackie Drummer, Nationally Certified SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of Gifted) trainers, will encourage parents to share ideas, information, and the joys and challenges of parenting gifted children and adolescents.

In this session, parents will network, share information and resources in a guided facilitation format.  This session is designed to help parents deal more effectively with the unique social, emotional and learning needs of their gifted child/ren. Community resource ideas, and specific parenting techniques will be explored.

Advocacy for any cause can be both rewarding and overwhelming. Building skills in negotiation can provide a framework to effectively advocate at both the school and district levels. Whether you are a parent, educator or administrator, effective negotiation skills can allow you to be a proactive part of ongoing discussions for including Talented and Gifted education in your district’s priorities and actions.

In this session, we will outline key negotiation factors and how they can be put to practical use as an individual advocate or as part of a larger network of advocates. We will discuss both strategies that have worked and ones that haven't worked to better target time, energy and resources to have the greatest effect.

We will use information from the book "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In" by Roger Fischer and William Ury and the NAGC Advocacy Toolkit to develop our negotiation and advocacy framework. I will share examples from my experiences as an advocate and consultant in the Madison Metropolitan School District.

Participant Outcomes: 

• Consider the challenges that Talented and Gifted education face in own school or district 
• Identify a key entry point into the discussion 
• Identify 2-3 actions toward negotiating for change

Differentiation has been described as one of the most important aspects of effective teaching, especially in the field of gifted education. However, the limits of the process and the factors contributing to effective differentiation is vaguely defined. In this session, Dr. Bahar will discuss the results of his study on teachers' differentiation ability to meet the needs of mathematically gifted students. 

Participant Outcomes:

• Grow knowledge in use of differentiation strategies through designing differentiated curricula that incorporate advanced, conceptually challenging, in-depth, distinctive, and complex content for students with gifts and talents.
• Practice how to modify/differentiate instruction processes in middle/high school mathematics classes

NAGC Standards:

Standard 1: Learning and Development: 

• 1.1.2. Educators assist students with gifts and talents in developing identities supportive of achievement.

Standard 3: Curriculum Planning and Instruction

• 3.1.4. Educators design differentiated curricula that incorporate advanced,conceptually challenging, in-depth, distinctive, and complex content for students with gifts and talents.

Innovation relies on culturally responsive practices teaching and learning.  Few, however, include any analysis of the personal equity analysis necessary to use the white power and privilege most Wisconsin educators were born with to disrupt racism. 

This session will provide a unique view of changing demographics, provide a vocabulary necessary to function in our racialized social world, challenge participants to begin a racial autobiography as well as provide a variety of resources for the journey and the work.  Information on teaching a similar pilot unit to high school students will be described.

NAGC K-12 Programming Standards explicitly addressed in this session:

• Standard 1: Learning and Development (1.1, 1.2.1, 1.8.2)
• Standard 3: Curriculum Planning and Instruction (3.3.1)
• Standard 6: Professional Development (6.1.3, 6.31, 6.3.3) 

The typical teenage urge for independence makes it especially important for parents to be guides-on-the-side as our gifted learners take charge of their own education. Parents will discover ways to help their children negotiate the educational system, creating their own unique routes to graduation and beyond. Letting go while holding on is made easier for both parent and child when, together, we follow the four simple steps to sef-advocacy.

Participant Outcomes:

•  Recognize the characteristics of their child's learner profile
• Reflect on their child's rights and responsiblities
• Match their child's unique learner profile to appropriate programming
• Recognize other advocates who are part of the support team
• Create a plan to guide their child toward self-advocacy

Are you curious about creating a Makerspace?  Or have you plunged in and are hoping to see what other schools are doing with their spaces?

Then please join us as we share our start up plans, current success stories as well as our honest frustrations as we fine tune our journey into this exciting world of collaboration, creation and differentiation.

Participant Outcomes:

• Define Makerspaces and the possibilities they can provide
• Explore how to best integrate this space into curricular areas while maximizing student potential
• Examine how to utilize community resources to expand your makerspace potential

Have you wondered what you could be doing in your school to help your advanced learners reach the next level in their historical thinking? If so, you should consider starting a National History Day (NHD) competition at your school.

Middle School History teacher, Linda Garcia and Library Media Specialist, Kelly Steiner work together on their school's NHD program and they will be sharing all the tips and tricks they have learned after four years of implementation.

All 8th grade students complete a project, and then students with interest, passion, and talent are encouraged to continue on to school, regional, and even state level events. Students learn about analysis, crafting thesis statements, finding credible primary and secondary sources, and presenting their findings professionally.

• Learn more about the National History Day program
• See an example of how it has been successfully implemented in a Middle School environment
• Be able to determine if this program is a fit for their school
• Get contact information for people at the Wisconsin Historical Society who can help school/district get started
• Get a look inside a successful program as a model for implementation

• Expand awareness of early college opportunities to incorporate into the Academic & Career Plan.

• Identify some traits of readiness for college work.

• Increase awareness of online learning opportunities and how they can blend with a high school schedule. 

As a parent of a gifted child, you know that giftedness affects their whole life, in some positive ways and some challenging ways.  This extended session will provide parents with tools to support their children as they navigate the ups and downs of giftedness.  Topics to be addressed will be typical traits of giftedness, anxiety, depression, self-compassion, building security in one's identity, and whatever other topics would be of help!  The session will include some lecture, some hands-on participation in helpful interventions, and time to support one another on this joyfully complicated parenting experience.

Participant Outcomes:

• Identify typical traits of gifted children and adolescents
• Identify symptoms of depression and anxiety
• Implement 3-5 parenting strategies to stabilize mood and manage anxiety

• Meeting with school personnel to get your child evaluated and identified?
• Investigating school board conversations around gifted education?
• Writing letters or making phone calls to state and federal lawmakers?

Never have we seen such an explosion of quality young adult literature.  Curating a classroom library or choosing new titles for your curriculum, however, can be a daunting task. 

Let us help by providing you with an overview of over 30 titles published in the past five years that will captivate and challenge your advanced learners.  Specifically, we will feature titles that work well across content areas and titles that feature culturally diverse representation.  Everyone deserves a chance to see herself or himself represented in books! 

Attendees will be provided with a guide for taking notes as we cycle through over 30 book talks.

Participant Outcomes: Our advanced learners are hungry for challenging and engaging books.   Participants will leave empowered to better meet the needs of the adolescents in their life who love to read!