Gifted Children and Gifted Education Publisher - Prufrock Press

Save 20% When You Download eBooks From Prufrock Press!

JMcIntosh — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:51:00 GMT

I'm so excited to announce that Prufrock Press now offers many of its best-selling titles as downloadable eBooks. Whether you seek classroom-ready activities that can be printed immediately for student use, or you want to leisurely read a book on your computer or eReader, Prufrock Press offers a wide selection of exciting eBooks!

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For a limited time, save 20% when you purchase eBooks from Prufrock Press. I want to give my customers an incentive to try our new line, so all of Prufrock’s exciting eBooks are discounted at 20% off the retail price of print books through December 31, 2010. Plus, because there is no physical book to ship, you will save on shipping charges.

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Click here for more information about Prufrock's line of eBook products.

ADHD: The Ongoing Controversy

CFertig — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:01:00 GMT

Is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) a legitimate behavior description/diagnosis or is it a reflection of what modern society deems appropriate and normal behavior?

No one will argue that ADHD is a long time subject of controversy. But some question whether it is really a disorder or just a collection of personality traits that may be undesirable. A few conservatives even see ADHD as being an attack on traditional masculine traits.

The online magazine, Slate, recently published The ADHD-ventures of Tom Sawyer, suggesting that today, Tom would have been diagnosed as having not only ADHD, but also Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). When Mark Twain wrote his books about Tom Sawyer, the boy’s behaviors were described quite differently than they would be today. Tom had a wandering mind, his heart ached to be free, he had to sit far away from the seductive outside summer scenes, he was unable to take responsibility for his own actions, he aggressively provoked his peers, he ignored rules, defied adults, he was dishonest, and skipped school. No one described him as having ADHD.

For some critics, the label ADHD is merely an excuse for frustrated parents and teachers and overzealous doctors to medicate away a child's annoying behaviors. Other critics concede that ADHD exists, but believe it is vastly over diagnosed. ADHD and Education, on the University of Michigan Web site, states one “controversy is that of teachers and schools wanting students to be on medication so that they are not a disruption in class.”

Does ADHD Exist?, from the archives of Frontline, offers six different viewpoints about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Some opinions are from active opponents of ADHD and some are from true believers of the disorder. Reading these will give you a broader perspective.

An advisory panel to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently recommended that some of the drugs used to treat ADHD should display on their packaging a “black box” warning—the strongest possible warning for adverse side-effects, so medicating these young people should not be taken lightly.

In some circles, it is felt that ADHD may be a misdiagnosis. Instead of suffering from ADHD the child (especially a gifted child) may be expressing overexcitabilities as described by Polish psychiatrist and psychologist Kazimierz Dabrowski. You can read more about overexciteabilities in Overexcitability and the Gifted at the SENG Web site.

It is important for parents and teachers to understand that there is not a consensus about ADHD. Before jumping to any conclusions, those who work with young people should educate themselves thoroughly about the topic.

More Online Learning for Gifted Students

CFertig — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 09:01:00 GMT

Teachers and parents alike often turn to online learning options in order to supplement and/or accelerate gifted students' learning. Does your young person have a strong interest and ability in mathematics, physics, computer programming, literature, writing, history, or foreign language? Does she want to take Advanced Placement (AP) classes that are not offered at her local high school? Or, does your student need a flexible schedule because of family circumstances, work responsibilities, or health issues?

Are you in a school district where your young person’s needs and abilities surpass the available curriculum? Do you homeschool your child, either full-time or part-time, and, as a result, need solid educational resources? Or, do you have a student who doesn't necessarily want to earn credit for extracurricular classes, but instead just wants to expose himself to different topics in order to see if any really interest him? If so, then you may want to introduce your student to the wide range of opportunities available through online learning.

For years, I have been writing about the virtues of distance learning for gifted kids. Over the past few years, the distance learning field has continued to expand. As the technology becomes more sophisticated, many distance learning programs are beginning to use not only computers for their programs, but also everyday technologies, such as cell phones.

Kids are often more comfortable with these technologies than adults. This may be one reason why traditional schools are often unable to adjust to and incorporate these new technologies into the traditional classroom. Adults (both parents and teachers) sometimes lack the expertise that young people have already learned at an early age and use every day. Perhaps it is time for adults to stop fighting these new developments and, instead, embrace them and incorporate them into student learning. Online learning is one good way to start.

If you are interested in learning more about the opportunities available to gifted kids, there is a great deal of information available at the Davidson Institute for Talent Development website and at the Distance Learning Programs page of Hoagies’ Gifted Education website.

National Standards for the Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:01:00 GMT

For a very long time, our country has maintained a hodgepodge of educational expectations for students, often not even coming close to the standards of other developed countries. You may have read recently about the proposed national standards for math and English, which have recently been released. They are part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI)—a panel of educators convened by the nation’s governors and state school superintendents who are working to create benchmarks to bring all areas of the country in alignment with the same expectations. As reported by The New York Times, these are not without controversy. Alaska and Texas declined to participate in the standards-writing effort, arguing that they should decide locally what their children learn. After viewing the proposed standards, some states, like Massachusetts, may oppose the proposed national standards because state educators feel that they already have higher standards in place and may want to keep those.

Although the implementation of high academic standards is probably a good thing for our country in general, we must also be careful that the standards (if accepted) do not limit the learning of gifted students. It would be impractical to set a unique set of standards for the gifted population because these students fall on a long continuum of abilities. Instead, it is best to think of any national standards as a baseline of expectations, allowing more capable students to progress much more quickly and in greater depth.

Are you aware that back in 1998, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) developed and released the Pre-K - Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards designed to assist school districts in examining the quality of their programming for gifted learners? These are standards for creating and maintaining effective gifted programming in schools. At the very least, these gifted program standards should be implemented in addition to the national educational standards. The NAGC standards include:

program design,
program administration and management,
student identification,
curriculum and instruction,
socio-emotional guidance and counseling,
professional development, and
program evaluation.

While national educational standards are probably a good idea for the general population, they should only be considered as minimal expectations. Students who are capable should not be held back by these proposals, but allowed and encouraged to move beyond them. Pairing the proposed national standards with the NAGC program standards is a good option for able students.

Maritime History for Gifted Kids

CFertig — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:45:00 GMT

The study of maritime history is a great vehicle for weaving together an understanding of the history of ships, as well as an understanding of how inventions and discoveries enabled explorers to travel farther and farther from home. It also helps students understand the motivations for explorers to travel to different parts of the world, whether it was for political, economic, or personal reasons. There is excellent information on the Internet that will enable students and teachers to study this subject. Below is just a sampling:

The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia has created an Age of Exploration On-Line Curriculum Guide. The curriculum guide, which is designed for grades 3-12, addresses maritime discovery from ancient times to Captain Cook's 1768 voyage to the South Pacific. The website includes visual images, text, and materials that can be downloaded or printed for transparencies, presentations, or reports. It also includes lesson plans, vocabulary, links to related websites, and guides to other reference materials.

The National Maritime Historical Society has created a site titled Sea History for Kids. At this site, you will find a variety of informational pages and activities, including vessel types, the commerce of historical shipping, famous mariners, underwater archaeology, professions and occupations of the sea, the historical stories of kids who went to sea, games, and puzzles.

San Francisco Maritime (National Park Service) provides insights into the role of women in maritime history.

The BBC presents A History of Navigation, charting the course of maritime navigation "from the days of rough reckoning to the ground-breaking technological advances of the late 1700s." An animated slide show is used to present the information.

Free Tutorial Videos on Math and Science

CFertig — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:01:00 GMT

Salman Khan and the Khan Academy are back in the news, having recently being featured on NPR and PBS. At the Khan Academy website, there are more than 1,100 free instructional videos, each 10-20 minutes long, that range from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, chemistry, biology, and finance. The videos cover concepts that, as a student, Sal felt were poorly taught through lectures and textbooks. Each video explains the concepts covered in the lesson in a comfortable, relaxed manner that reflects Sal's own easy understanding of math and doesn't compromise rigor or comprehensiveness. Sal also has included several hundred videos devoted to the SAT, GMAT, and other standardized test problems.

Since I first wrote about the Khan Academy back in December 2008, Sal decided to quit his day job and devote himself full-time to expanding his library of instructional videos. Eventually, he plans to add even more academic subjects to the website.

The videos at the Khan Academy website can be used by a wide variety of students, including:

students who need a bit more instruction to understand a concept,
those who want to learn beyond what is being taught in the classroom, and
students who are preparing for certain standardized tests such as AP, SAT, and GMAT.

The videos can also be used in a variety of venues, such as the classroom, home, and around the world. Those who live in areas where an advanced class is not available, or those who are homeschooled, would particularly benefit from viewing Sal's videos.

I highly recommend that you take a good look at the website. View some of the instructional videos yourself and take a look at some of the videos explaining more about Sal Khan and his plans for the Khan Academy. The website is a wonderful resource and it is free.

Sharpening Gifted Brains

CFertig — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:01:00 GMT

The SharpBrains blog is run by a market research firm that tracks new research into brain fitness and cognitive health. The website includes a number of articles and sections that may be of interest to parents and teachers of gifted kids.

Interesting articles from the website include:

Working Memory: A Better Predictor of Academic Success Than IQ? This article addresses several important questions such as: How important is working memory for long-term academic success? Which is more important, IQ or working memory? Can working memory be assessed?
Learning about Learning: An Interview with Joshua Waitzkin. In this article, the chess prodigy featured in the film Searching for Bobby Fischer is interviewed.
Arts and Smarts: Test Scores and Cognitive Development. This article highlights the connection between the arts, academic performance, and improved cognition.

Activities highlighted on the website include:

Brain Teasers. More than 50 brain teasers are divided into categories such as “attention,” “pattern recognition and planning,” and “visual illusions.” Many of the brain teasers are interactive and are accompanied by articles explaining the brain research that supports the activities.

Advocating for Your Gifted Child

CFertig — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:01:00 GMT

The Duke Gifted Letter always contains informative articles. The current issue contains a useful article about how to advocate for your gifted child. The article, titled Administrators of Gifted Programs: Paying Attention to the "Man Behind the Curtain," by Rick Courtright, explores the ways in which you can successfully interact with your child's administrator of gifted programs. Remember that the administrator of gifted programs (AGP) could hold any one of several professional roles in a school system. The APG could be:

the designated coordinator of gifted education at the central office,
the superintendent or a principal,
a lead teacher, or
the gifted resource specialist in a school.

In the article, Courtright highlights two different types of advocacy, microadvocacy and macroadvocacy:

Microadvocacy refers primarily to the work of individual parents who are attempting to bring about individual changes for their children. According to Courtright, "Microadvocacy involves seeking an alteration of attitudes, beliefs and practices of those who work most closely with one child: the teacher, guidance counselor, gifted resource teacher or specialist."

Macroadvocacy refers to the work of parents, practitioners, and policy makers who are seeking to change the educational landscape for a large number of children. As Courtright notes, "Macroadvocacy involves the process of bringing change(s) that affect many students—the attitudes, practices, policies and resources at the district, state or national level."

You might decide to try microadvocacy when a teacher does not recognize your child’s high abilities and is not providing enough challenge. Courtright argues that, for a variety of reasons, it is always the best political strategy to begin with your child’s teacher. In the article, he lists several things to remember when working with your child's teacher.

Be sensitive to the fact that the teacher must share his or her time and attention with all of the students in the classroom, including those with disabilities and English language learners.
Offer compliments and let the the teacher know if you admire something that he or she has done inside the classroom.
Mention what you are willing to do as a parent in order to be supportive.
If your child is in the upper grades, consider including him or her in your discussions with the teacher. You may even wish to bring your child along when you meet with the teacher face-to-face.
Offer the teacher some specific strategies that you would like to see implemented, such as giving your child alternative assignments, compacted lessons, or a referral for additional screening and evaluation.
Before you meet with the teacher or with someone else at your child's school, research the school district's rules and regulations so that you can fully understand the district's policies.
Confine the discussion to your child only. Do not discuss other children.
Remember that the teacher is a busy professional. Treat him or her with respect and understand that the teacher may not be available to you at every moment. Schedule meetings ahead of time and plan for them accordingly so that you can use that time efficiently.

Macroadvocacy will be covered in the next issue of the Duke Gifted Letter. To subscribe (free), click here.

What Makes a Great Teacher—Not Just for the Gifted, but for All Students

CFertig — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:50:00 GMT

The January/February 2010 issue of The Atlantic features a noteworthy article titled, What Makes a Great Teacher? Although the article does not focus on gifted education per se, it is still worth a close read. The article discusses specific attributes that excellent teachers with exceptional track records tend to display in the classroom. (It is important to note that these attributes are based on research that was conducted by the nonprofit organization, Teach for America, which advocates for teacher reform. It is also important to note that the group's research focuses solely on teachers who work in underperforming school districts where the primary goal in the general education classroom is to get students to perform at or above grade level.) The article outlines several specific recommendations that the organization makes for recruiting and hiring successful teachers, particularly in underserved communities.

For those of us in the gifted education community, the traits identified in the article may be ones that we should perhaps consider first before we consider any additional teacher characteristics that might be specific to gifted education. (See my previous blog entry titled, Training and Competencies of Teachers of the Gifted.)

Amanda Ripley, the author of The Atlantic article, writes that although parents worry about sending their children to the “right” schools, statistical research shows that the schools themselves do not matter as much as the quality of the individual teachers. Ripley notes: “Teacher quality tends to vary more within schools—even supposedly good schools—than among schools. But we have never identified excellent teachers in any reliable, objective way." Teach for America (a nonprofit organization that recruits college graduates to spend 2 years teaching in underperforming, high-poverty schools) has been working to change this. According to Ripley, the organization has spent more than a decade rigorously studying the educational outcomes of kids in underperforming school districts in an admirable attempt to explain "why some teachers can move those kids three grade levels ahead in one year," while others are unable to accomplish this.

By following students in underperforming school districts and analyzing the techniques and attributes of the school districts' teachers, the organization concluded that the most effective teachers in those school districts displayed five professional qualities. They:

tended to set big goals for their students;
were perpetually looking for ways to improve their effectiveness;
avidly recruited students and their families into the process;
maintained focus, ensuring that everything they did contributed to student learning;
planned exhaustively and purposefully—for the next day or year ahead—by working backward from the desired outcome; and
worked relentlessly, refusing to surrender to the combined menaces of poverty, bureaucracy, and budgetary shortfalls. (para. 26-27)

Teach for America has also carefully studied what to look for when hiring candidates for its program. Many of the assumptions that they held in the early years of the program about which candidates would make exceptionally effective teachers were found to be unreliable. However, three traits stood out as very important. Such traits included:

A history of perseverance. (Recruiters at Teach for America believe that tenacious, goal-oriented individuals tend to "work harder and stay committed to their goals longer.")
A positive, happy attitude. (As Ripley notes: "Teachers who scored high in 'life satisfaction'--reporting that they were very content with their lives--were 43 percent more likely to perform well in the classroom than their less-satisfied colleagues.")
A record of achievement. (Ripley writes: "Recruits who have achieved big, measurable goals in college tend to do so as teachers. And the two best metrics of previous success tend to be grade-point average and 'leadership achievement'--a record of running something and showing tangible results.")

A master’s degree in education was found to have no impact on classroom effectiveness.

Teaching as Leadership: The Highly Effective Teacher's Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap, by Steven Farr, the vice president for knowledge development and public engagement at Teach for America, will be released next month. The book lays out the model that the organization uses. Given the success ratio of Teach for America, this is a book that we should all consider studying.

Friendship and Giftedness

CFertig — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:01:00 GMT

There is a common misconception that gifted children experience more social and emotional troubles than average children. However, research shows that most gifted young people are well-adjusted and have a strong circle of friends. For a clearer understanding of the importance of gifted children's friendships, you will want to consult the following resources:

The Davidson Institute for Talent Development

The Institute's website offers numerous links to articles that expand on this theme, as well as information about a wide variety of books that discuss friendship and giftedness. Articles that may interest you include:

SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted)

"Play Partner" or "Sure Shelter": What Gifted Children Look for in Friendship

The Duke Gifted Letter

Summer Programs for the Gifted: Time to Start Planning

CFertig — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:01:00 GMT

Gifted students enroll in summer programs for a wide variety of reasons. They may choose to enroll in a summer program in order to:

spend valuable time with others who are at a similar intellectual level,
concentrate on a specific area of interest or ability,
enhance their academic study with additional enrichment opportunities,
burnish their credentials so that they have a better chance of gaining entrance to an elite college,
"try out” an academic area of interest, or
earn early college credit.

Cogito is an online community for gifted youth that is sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. As of today, the website has listed more than 430 summer programs in all academic areas. These programs are located all over the United States, as well as the world. Most of the programs listed are designed for middle school and high school students, but some programs are designed for elementary school students, as well. Some programs are residential and some are commuter. Opportunities can be sorted by title or by organization. There is also a search engine built into the website that allows you to sort by grade level, acceptance requirements, and location. You also may want to check out Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page: Summer and Saturday Programs for more summer enrichment ideas.

Selecting an appropriate summer program for your student can seem like a daunting task. NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children) has several articles that you may find helpful as you sort through your list of choices.

Remember that many of these programs have strict deadlines for admission. Whatever your reason for enrolling your student in a summer program, be sure to start the process now before it is too late.

What Does It Mean to Be Gifted?

CFertig — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:01:00 GMT

I am often asked the question, "What does it mean to be gifted?" and my standard answer usually is, "I have no idea." I realize that is a rather strange response from a gifted and talented specialist, but it is an honest answer. I will then expand my reply by stating that although there isn't a universal definition of giftedness, I still consider myself an advocate for students who have strong interests and/or strong abilities in one or more areas.

I am not alone in realizing that there is not a universal definition of giftedness. Even the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) acknowledges this.

For a broad discussion of the many definitions of giftedness, you can consult previous blog entries on this website, including:

The Label of Gifted--Is There a Better Way? April 16, 2005
The Label of Gifted Education, September 21, 2007
Concomitant Characteristics of the Gifted, November 2, 2007
Profoundly Gifted, December 26, 2008
The Evolving Definition of Giftedness, February 20, 2009
David Shenk's Giftedness Controversy, July 31, 2009

As you can expect in the evolving world of technology, a few of the links in these blog entries are no longer valid. Nevertheless, you will find a rich exploration of the various theories of giftedness.

We shouldn't get too hung up on the definition of gifted. No one is denying that students need educational paths that suit their strengths and interests (and some of these needs are quite high). However, we also shouldn't let the definition of a word cause stumbling blocks that hinder the process of those needs being met.

Interactive Opportunities for Gifted Math Students

CFertig — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:01:00 GMT

If you are an advanced math student, teacher, math contest sponsor, homeschooling parent, or math mentor, you may be interested in today’s blog entry.

The Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) website was founded in 2003 to create interactive educational opportunities for avid math students. The website offers textbooks, online classes, and other online resources for the top middle and high school math students in the English-speaking world. AoPS is run by highly qualified specialists who have graduate degrees from some of the best schools in and out of country. Included among the website's many student users are winners of major national contests such as MATHCOUNTS, ARML, and the USA Mathematical Olympiad.

Bookstore

The bookstore on the AoPS website has several excellent features. For example, the bookstore offers online pre- and posttests for each of the texts in the AoPS introduction series. This feature helps students evaluate their current skill set, and choose the most appropriate text level as they move through the series. The bookstore also offers many excellent books for math contest preparation. In addition, the bookstore offers recommendations for math materials for children as young as 2 years old.

Online Classes

AoPS online classes are designed for high-performing math students in grades 6-12. In these classes, students learn from instructors who have won national mathematics competitions and who have trained others to do the same. Detailed information about each of the instructors is provided on the site. Online opportunities are also offered for math students who wish to interact with others of their own ability.

Other Online Resources

Additional resources include the following:

An online forum and individual blogs so that students can chat about math and other topics.
Free virtual classrooms called Math Jams that provide improvisational problem-solving sessions, reviews of major math contests, and informational sessions about prominent programs, college admissions, and other topics.
Alcumus, a (currently) free, customized learning experience that adjusts to student performance in order to deliver appropriate problems and lessons. Alcumus includes more than 1,100 problems with solutions, more than 60 video lessons, and detailed progress reports. As a student gets stronger, Alcumus automatically provides more challenging material. Conversely, if the student is having difficulty with a particular topic, Alcumus provides additional practice problems.
For the Win!, an online multiplayer math game, based on thousands of problems from MATHCOUNTS, AMC, and other sources.
A wiki that supports educational content that may be useful to students of mathematics, science, computer science, technology, and other problem-solving subjects.
A resource section that has additional articles, books, and excellent Internet links.

Educate Yourself about Gifted Education by Attending a Conference

CFertig — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:01:00 GMT

One of the best ways to learn about gifted education is to attend a conference dedicated to the subject. These conferences offer sessions of interest for parents, teachers, beginners, and experts alike. They are also great places to meet like-minded people with similar interests.

Every month of the year, a gifted education conference is held somewhere in the United States. However, the size and nature of these conferences tend to vary widely. Some of the smaller conferences cater to strictly regional or state-specific interests, while many of the larger conferences cater to national, or even international, audiences. Some conferences simply cover the general subject of gifted education, while others cover very specific topics such as curriculum, advocacy, science, math, or social-emotional issues.

No matter how big the conference may be, however, you can almost always count on finding a vendor area full of books, magazines, and journals dedicated to gifted education, as well as educational games, toys, and kid-friendly computer programs. In addition, you can often find a plethora of information about programs, classes, and camps for gifted kids.

There are several ways to find out where and when to attend a gifted education conference. Probably the two most comprehensive lists can be found at:

The Prufrock Press website. Here, under the "Parenting Gifted Children" section of the website, you will find a comprehensive list of events compiled from the “Meetings” listing that appears in each issue of Gifted Child Today.
Hoagies' Gifted Education Page. On this website, you will find an extensive list of upcoming conferences stretching out several years.

So treat yourself to the experience of learning along with others who share your interest in gifted education. Plan to attend a conference this year and/or plan in advance to attend one next year. Better yet, make it a goal to attend at least one conference every year. You will walk away feeling stimulated and full of fresh, new ideas.

Is the Overscheduled Gifted Child Just a Myth?

CFertig — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:01:00 GMT

For years, parents have been warned about the dangers of overscheduling their kids. Critics of overscheduling say that it leads to stress and burnout. But is that true for all young people?

Laura Vanderkam's recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, The Myth of the Overscheduled Child, argues that many kids like being challenged and busy. And, often, it's quite good for them. Like many of us, students are happiest when they throw themselves into meaningful projects such as practicing with a sports team to improve their game, or performing independent computer science research. They enjoy making progress toward their goals.

In USA Today's College All-Stars Gifted in Class and Beyond, plenty of examples are provided of gifted college students who excel not only in academics, but also in outside interests. The college students profiled in the article keep busy with hobbies, sports, and community service, and they all juggle these activities efficiently.

Perhaps the success of a highly scheduled child is at least partially due to his or her ability to self-regulate. Laura Vanderkam notes in her USA Today op-ed, The Secret of School Success, that self-regulation is the ability to stop, think, make a plan, and control one’s impulses. These skills are necessary for success in school and in life. They can also help a young person manage a busy existence. After all, the ability to control one’s impulses is critical for choosing constructive projects over nonconstructive activities. The capacity to problem solve is also essential to productively organizing those activities.

However, certain widespread practices of modern parenting don't help older children learn to master themselves. We hate to see children make mistakes or, worse, fail, and so rather than challenge children and teens to self-regulate, parents often choose to make decisions themselves and “rescue” young people from their mistakes. Parents will often "help" their kids with science fair projects, and check their homework before it's turned in. Rather than allow kids to plan their own course of study, they will mark kids' tests on their calendars. When a child forgets her homework at home, well-meaning moms and dads will race to school with the forgotten assignments, rather than take the opportunity to coach the child to solve her own problems. All of these common actions have positive immediate outcomes, but they undermine kids' self-regulation skills.

Perhaps by improving self-regulation in children, we will not need to worry about their overscheduled lives. Instead, we can allow young people to fit a variety of challenging academic, community, and personal interests into tight schedules, and feel confident that our kids understand how to do this in a positive, satisfying manner.

Legacy Book Awards for Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:01:00 GMT

I’m pleased to let you know that my book, Raising a Gifted Child: A Parenting Success Handbook, has received a 2009 Legacy Book Award in the category of Parents/Family. The award honors “outstanding books published in the United States that have long-term potential for positively influencing the lives of gifted children and/or youth and contribute to the understanding, well-being, education, and success of students with gifts and/or talents.”

Raising a Gifted Child is a compilation of the first 3 ½ years of this blog, woven together with real stories about real kids and parents. It is packed with resources that are useful for not only students and parents, but also for teachers. The book takes a positive approach to education, empowering those who are interested in helping kids with strong abilities and strong interests. As one reviewer stated, “Chapter Seven, ‘Specific Subjects’ is full of many suggestions and links for parents and children to explore. Various programs, competitions, print resources and clubs are mentioned, and all are categorized by subject and described by the author. This section in itself is a good reason to buy this book.”

Prufrock Press walked away with winners in every category of the Legacy Book Awards this year. In the category of Educators, Strategies for Differentiating Instruction: Best Practices for the Classroom (2nd ed.), by Julia L. Roberts and Tracy F. Inman, won the prize. In the category of Scholars, Social-Emotional Curriculum with Gifted and Talented Students (Critical Issues in Equity and Excellence in Gifted Education), by Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Tracy L. Cross, and F. Richard Olenchak, won the award.

Prufrock Press is to be congratulated for its dedication to gifted education through the many excellent books and periodicals that it publishes and the resources that it offers on its website.

Helping Gifted Students Analyze Literature

CFertig — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:01:00 GMT

The website Guidelines for Reading and Analyzing Literature was compiled by Dr. Tina L. Hanlon, associate professor of English at Ferrum College in Virginia. Although the guidelines were originally assembled for college students, they are equally applicable to gifted high school students and, with some minor adjustments, also can be used by gifted youngsters in middle school and upper elementary school.

The higher level thinking skills presented on the website provide an excellent model for teachers to use with almost any piece of literature. The guidelines also are helpful for parents who want to have in-depth book discussions with their kids. And homeschoolers: I know that you too will appreciate the useful information provided on this site. Hanlon breaks down the process of reading and analyzing literature into five steps:

First Impression
Types of Literature
Literary Techniques
Themes
Evaluation and Review

I like this particular website because the information, while extensive, is presented in a form that is very easy to scan quickly. It also contains universal ideas that can be used immediately.

Social Networking and Gifted Education

CFertig — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Although social networks on the Internet started out with connecting friends for purely social reasons, they have since grown into valuable networking tools for adults. Now, parents, teachers, and other professionals interested in the field of gifted education can easily connect with one another over the Internet.

Twitter, Facebook, and online message forums seem to have the most to offer gifted education right now. Educators post information about curriculum, classroom techniques, and upcoming conferences, while parents post interesting family activities, places to visit, and useful links. Questions are often posed through online forums, and answers from online users around the country, or even world, are quickly offered.

Deborah Mersino has an excellent three-part series on her Ingeniosus blog that explains how Twitter can promote advocacy and learning. She does an excellent job of explaining exactly how Twitter works and offers step-by-step instructions on getting started.

The Davidson Institute for Talent Development also has a growing collection of gifted groups on both Twitter and Facebook.

You may want to consider becoming part of the following discussion forums, as well:

Social/Emotional Activities for the Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:01:00 GMT

What a surprise! For this week’s blog, I chose the topic of social/emotional activities for the gifted. I like to provide free information to readers, and I thought that it would be easy to find material about this topic to post on the blog. However, it wasn’t easy at all!

There is a lot of information available about why gifted kids may need support, and there are also basic guidelines for setting up support groups. In addition, there are several books available on the subject, but these books can be costly.

When it comes to finding actual, hands-on strategies that a parent or teacher can use with gifted kids, it can be very difficult. My guess is that there are readers out there who have developed their own successful strategies for working with gifted kids. I invite you to share those ideas by adding a comment to this blog entry. There is obviously a strong need for your suggestions. Meanwhile, below are a few links that I did find.

The following links can be used as jumping off points for your own discussions about issues that gifted students may struggle with over time. Frequently, young people may not be able to attach names to some of their issues, and they may not realize that others wrestle with the same concerns. Don’t hesitate to modify the information provided below to suit your group of students.

Emotional Intelligence Activities for Children Ages 8-10: Thirty-three pages of activities for elementary students. Gifted kids will be able handle these issues at even younger ages.
Emotional Intelligence Activities for Teens Ages 13-18: Thirty-four pages of activities for teenagers. These activities can also be used with younger gifted students.
Teaching Social Skills: Six steps to teaching social skills, plus a list of 24 social skills to teach gifted kids.

If you are interested in actually purchasing books, here are a few resources:

Free Spirit Publishing specializes in social and emotional issues and strategies.
Prufrock Press also has books on the subject. Search using the words “social emotional” for a list of possibilities.
SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) lists recommended books under the link to “Articles and Resources.”

Helping Gifted Students Find Their Passions

CFertig — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Passion drives an individual and creates self-motivation. Some students easily develop strong interests that motivate them. However, for many others, discovering their passion is not always so simple.

How can we, as adults, help these kids uncover their desire to learn? I suggest that this can be accomplished in two ways: first, by exposing kids to a wide range of subjects, interests, and experiences, and second, by allowing kids to observe first-hand another person’s excitement for a topic.

Parents and teachers may assume that a student's passion must be academically driven in order to be important. However, this is not true. A student's profound interest in just about any socially acceptable area can be very significant. For example, when a student is driven by an extracurricular passion, they will often find reasons to work harder on academic areas that support that interest.

Eleven-year-old Tyler Befus found his passion in fly fishing. (Listen to this interview to get a sense of Tyler’s intensity, and his ability to articulate his passion.) Fly fishing led Tyler to write two books about the subject, develop his marketing skills, and practice public speaking at a very young age. It also motivated him to study entomology, and master the fine art of fly-tying. In addition, Tyler developed skills through fly fishing that would serve him well throughout his life, such as the ability to organize information and see patterns, as well as the ability to persist in the pursuit of his goals and overcome obstacles. Tyler’s father exposed him to fly fishing at a very early age, and, luckily for Tyler, one of the first interest areas that he was exposed to was one that stuck. Most people need to be exposed to a large variety of topics before they latch on to one that suits them.

Adults should expose kids to a wide variety of experiences, and realize that youngsters may develop interests that are quite different from those enjoyed by the rest of the family. It is also important that adults supplement kids' academic pursuits by introducing them to different types of music, dance, theater, film, sports, hobbies, and people. After all, if a student's exposure to different experiences is limited, then how can they be expected to develop an interest in something suited to their personality?

Once your kid does find a topic that she wants to pursue, support their interest by increasing their exposure to that subject through books, extracurricular clubs, information on the Internet, supplemental classes, or perhaps summer camps devoted to that interest. You may also want to introduce your kid to mentors that have excelled in their area of interest.

Don’t be upset if your kid seems passionate about one topic, and then suddenly wants to move on to something else. This is a time for experimentation, and it may take a while for them to find a passion that sticks. After all, even you may find that your interests wax and wane at different periods of your life.

Free Gifted Webinars on Wednesdays (WOW) from NAGC

CFertig — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Beginning August 26, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) will offer Webinars on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month (plus a monthly “Parent Night”). These Webinars on Wednesdays (WOW) will be free through 2009! This is a fantastic opportunity to get high-quality, professional development without leaving your home or office. Sessions will be broadcast over the Internet with the ability to listen, view slides, access handouts, and pose questions. Presenters will be experts in the field who will share practical advice, as well as updates on the latest issues in gifted education.

The Webinars are designed for classroom teachers, counselors, graduate students, parents, G/T coordinators, and administrators. Although WOW is free through 2009, you must register, as a limited number of “seats” are available for each session.

Registration for each session opens about 2 weeks before the event and closes when capacity is reached. You will want to register as soon as possible for each session as they are certain to fill up quickly. As you will see, the first session is already at capacity.

Here is a list of upcoming topics.

Date & Time	Title	Registration Opens
August 26 7 p.m. EST	Classroom Indicators of Giftedness with Mary Slade, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA Moderator: Nancy Green	Registration Is Closed - Capacity Reached
September 9 12 p.m. EST	Differentiation Overview with Jennifer Beasley, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR	August 27
Parent Night September 16 7 p.m. EST	Back to School. Back to Gifted with Robin Schader, NAGC Parent Resource Advisor	September 3
September 23 7 p.m. EST	Things Administrators Should Know about Gifted Education with Joyce VanTassel-Baska, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA	September 10
October 14 12 p. m. EST	Pre Assessment: What Are the Tools?	September 24
October 28 7 p.m. EST	Examining the Myths and Truths of Gifted Education	October 15

Training and Competencies of Teachers of the Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:01:00 GMT

In the Duke Gifted Letter article, Teaching Gifted Children: National Guidelines and State Requirements, Sarah Boone points out the following: “Since no national degree or certification requirements for gifted educators exist, all policy and funding mandates come from the state and local levels. As a result, requirements for teacher training and ongoing professional development vary widely from state to state and in many cases from district to district within a given state.”

Some teachers are naturals when it comes to teaching gifted students, intuitively understanding the individual needs of this group. Much more often, special training is required for teachers to understand how these kids think and learn, what methods and materials are available to use with them, and how to work positively with their parents. Unfortunately, many gifted programs employ teachers who have no training in gifted education.

Do you know the qualifications of the person who teaches your gifted child? Do you know where your state stands on gifted education policies?

Gifted education policies are determined by states and often individual districts. Some states or districts have specific requirements for educators to fulfill before they are allowed to teach gifted students, but most do not.

In an effort to offer guidelines, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) created a position statement titled Competencies Needed by Teachers of Gifted and Talented Students. The competencies they list include:

knowledge of the origins and nature of high levels of intelligence, including creative expressions of intelligence;
knowledge and understanding of the cognitive, social, and emotional characteristics, needs, and potential problems experienced by gifted and talented students;
knowledge of advanced content and ideas;
ability to develop a differentiated curriculum appropriate to meeting the unique intellectual and emotional needs and interests of gifted and talented students; and
ability to create an environment in which gifted and talented students feel challenged and safe to explore and express their uniqueness.

While these competencies are very important, they also are vague.

NAGC also has developed Pre-K–Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards and NAGC-CEC (NCATE) has developed Teacher Preparation Standards. These sets of standards offer guidelines for states, districts, and universities to provide minimal and exemplary preparation of teachers and of programs to meet the needs of gifted students.

For more information on your state's standards regarding gifted education click here.

Music Appreciation for the Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:01:00 GMT

The Interactive Resources at the Carnegie Hall Web site provides a range of music appreciation instruction for young learners through advanced musicians. Here is a sampling of what is available.

A History of African American Music

Here you can trace the musical contributions of African Americans from the time of slavery to today’s popular styles. An interactive timeline organized by year and genre includes notable Carnegie Hall performances. Photos and historical information are partnered with streaming audio.

Listening Adventures

This section was designed to teach kids, ages 6–12 about sound, music notation, text, and instruments in a fun, interactive exploration. Teacher resources are included along with the following adventures:

“The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, by Benjamin Britten” where students join Violet as she embarks on an instrument safari, guided by her uncle Ollie, collecting all the instruments of the orchestra.
“Carnegie Hall Animated History” hosted by Gino the cat who leads an adventure through Carnegie Hall from its founding in 1891 to the present day. It includes a game featuring important figures from this landmark music venue's past.
“Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9” teaches kids about the structure of the symphony as well as the instruments that are played. This is done with help from Dvořák himself via excerpts from his letters and instructive comments about his life. Engaging activities are also included.

Interactive Performance Guides

This section is suited for more-advanced learners, exploring issues of technique, interpretation, and composition.

Leon Fleisher's master classes focus on technique, interpretation, and performance in the four late Schubert piano sonatas. This section will be best understood by advanced piano students.
“The Emerson String Quartet: The Bartók Quartets, A Guide for Performers and Music Lovers” is intended for performers who are preparing these pieces as well as listeners and concertgoers who wish to learn more about the Bartók quartets and about the many musical decisions that must be made in order to perform these demanding works. This section includes video footage, written commentary, and an animated score. Much of the video was taken during a workshop given by Emerson members in 2003 and has been supplemented with additional video of Emerson members and others speaking about the quartets.

In addition to these wonderfully interactive segments, the Sound Insights section of the Carnegie Hall Web site has a wealth of musical information. Additional sections include video, audio, and written material about composers, artists, and other music personalities.

David Shenk's Giftedness Controversy

CFertig — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:01:00 GMT

David Shenk, author of The Genius in All of Us, to be released next year, has created a blog of the same title for The Atlantic magazine. The Genius in All of Us focuses on initiating and perpetuating a research-based conversation about the nature of giftedness and the institutional responses that are filtered through gifted education. Many will find Shenk’s research and resulting conclusions controversial. Some will find him threatening to their view of giftedness; others will find his views heartening. But this controversy is what makes him interesting, creating potential for field-enhancing questioning and discussion.

Shenk hopes to post blog entries several times a week and is off to a good start with the following titles:

The End of Giftedness
How Genes Really Work
The Truth about IQ
Should Kids Know Their Own IQs?

Some of the broad areas he plans to cover in the future include:

How brains work
Where child prodigies come from
What nature/nurture really means
The creative process and work habits of high achievers
The roles of parents, schools, culture, and technology

I am curious to see where Shenk goes with all of his ideas—if he makes convincing arguments for his view of intelligence, what implications this will have for future research in gifted education, and what suggestions he will make for parents and educators.

Helping Gifted Kids Become Resilient

CFertig — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:01:00 GMT

We all know people who have been through a lot but are able to bounce back—emotionally strong, physically healthy, happy, and able to achieve. We also know individuals who appear to have every advantage but fall apart at the first sign of trouble. The difference is resilience. Resilient people are able to adapt, despite risk and adversity.

When things happen unexpectedly or take a wrong turn, gifted children are just as susceptible to the intense vulnerability that accompanies struggle and tragedy whether it results from something beyond their control or is simply caused by errors in judgment. Given the right tools, young people can gain control over how they react to situations. Children can learn to be more resilient by becoming more optimistic in response to difficulty.

"Seven Parenting Solutions to Help Kids Rebound from Mistakes," an article in Michele Borba's blog, Reality Check, offers some great advice for parents (teachers, these are good techniques for the classroom as well). Using colorful anecdotes, Borba lists concrete ways to teach kids to bounce back from difficult situations, see mistakes as learning opportunities, and keep trying. In addition to teaching techniques, she suggests that teachers and parents use optomistic language when addressing students in a vulnerable state. Visit her web site to read the detail behind each of the following suggestions:

Be an example of bouncing back;
Set realistic expectations;
Start a “bounce back!” motto;
Create a “Stick to It” award;
Help children see mistakes as opportunities;
Respond to errors noncritically; and
Offer support only when needed.

Michele Borba's article also appears in her soon to be release book, The Big Book of Parenting Solutions: 101 Answers to Your Everyday Challenges and Wildest Worries (Published by Jossey-Bass).

In Duke Gifted Letter’s article Promoting Resilience, Maureen Neihart discusses how adults can help children develop the ability to bounce back. Neihart recommends:

Praising effort rather than performance;
Reading hopeful, optimistic stories with resilient characters, discussing the challenges the characters face, and the choices they make;
Helping the child brainstorm many possible reasons for a situation to prevent the development of black-or-white thinking; and
Doing anything and everything possible to enhance the child’s relationships with caring adults.

In Mental Toughness, Resiliency, and Endurance, Fernette and Brock Eide recommend:

Modeling resiliency for young people;
Praising effort and perseverance more than accomplishment;
Encouraging risk-taking and boldness; and
Allowing kids to fail, but being ever ready with unconditional emotional support, context (failure is one of the best ways to learn), and redirection toward the future.

News Sites for Gifted Kids

CFertig — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Kristin Hokanson (elementary teacher turned high school tech coach) maintains The Connected Classroom Web site. Hokanson understands the growing importance of technology in our lives and urges teachers and parents to incorporate technology into their children’s learning experiences. Connected Classroom contains many interesting sections. Today, I’d like to tell you about News Sites for Kids.

News Sites for Kids offers a comprehensive list of links to news that kids can understand. Many of these links also offer lesson plans or teaching ideas such as the following listed on The New York Times Learning Connection:

In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," Atticus Finch tells Scout, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." And the Buddha is supposed to have said, "You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger." Choose one of these quotations or find another expression about human nature by searching an archive of quotations, such as About.com's Quotations page or Bartleby.com. Then read The New York Times for a week, looking for articles that support (or refute) the expression you chose. Good starting places are the Opinion, N.Y./Region and U.S./National sections. Then write an essay that explains the degree to which the expression seems to be true, backed by the examples you found.

As always, teachers should check sites out first to make certain they are appropriate for the learning levels of their students.

Links for the younger set include:

For upper elementary and older:

CNN Student News
New York Times Learning Connection
PBS Newshour for Kids
The Internet Public Library Newspapers Collection
National Geographic News
EconEdLink

Hokanson has including additional links to visual sites using world maps to organize the day's headlines, world newspapers, commercial newsites, and sites that help teachers develop lesson plans about current events and the nature of journalism.

Free Online Mathematics Instruction for Gifted Students

CFertig — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Mathematics education in the United States is often criticized as ranking behind that of other countries. For a sampling of such evidence, you can review a study conducted by the American Institutes for Research or highlights from TIMSS 2007.

Online mathematics learning offers one possible solution for advancing math abilities in highly engaged and self-motivated students. Global Education is an organization that endeavors to raise the proficiency level of capable students so that they will be prepared for the world’s elite universities. The main goal of the program is not to educate mathematicians but to help students acquire as much useful analytical ability as possible to be successful in the future. Though Global Education was established in 2003, it employs proven teaching methods developed to support math education in the 1960s.

Predicated on the premise that mathematically gifted students (from about Grade 6) should be allowed to pursue math education outside the strictures of a traditional classroom setting, Global Education presents rich content in an interactive forum that naturally facilitates individual enrichment. Four to five 50-minute sessions weekly supplant the traditional text book, challenging gifted students to acquire additional math skill by relying upon previous knowledge and their own innate abilities.

Using live video and audio, the program was developed by and is taught by many of the foremost mathematics experts in the world, including contributors from the Ivy League, Russia and Central and Eastern Europe. All of the teachers are able to instruct in English.

Here’s the part that may really catch your attention: In an effort to promote this program, no tuition will be charged through the summer of 2010. Please be aware that specific, upper-end hardware is required for participation.

If you have a very capable student, you may want to look at the Global Education Web site and contact them for more information.

Wiki on Great Books for Gifted Kids

CFertig — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:49:00 GMT

Here’s a new idea—a wiki hosting literature and related lesson plans that focus on both intellectual and emotional development in gifted kids. Newly created by Lynette Breedlove, GTKidsBooks provides a place for educators and parents to recommend and share books with gifted children. Breedlove anticipates the wiki to include great lesson plans posted by teachers using the books suggested.

You can join the wiki and contribute. To be included, a book must:

feature a character who exhibits gifted and talented characteristics
deal with some issue that gifted children often face

A chart summarizes book titles categorizing them as adult or young-adult novels, chapter books, picture books, or self-help. At present detailed information for specific books is limited, however, as the wiki is fleshed out, book data will possess rather comprehensive detail including recommended ages, themes related to giftedness, and linked lesson plans.

As always, wikis grow through the participation of followers, so join GTKidsBooks and contribute to the process. With your help this could become a great resource.

Notes That Apply to the Gifted from The Last Lecture

CFertig — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:01:00 GMT

When I read a book that has special meaning for me, I often write down quotes that I feel are important. Such was true with The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow. Pausch was a very successful professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. When he wrote the book, he knew he would die in a matter of months. He wanted to leave something for his young children that would show them who he was and teach the things that he would not be there to teach them as they grew up. The book is filled with wonderful stories of the author’s childhood and sprinkled with bits of wisdom that he gleaned over the years. While Pausch was an accomplished computer scientist, the things he says about parenting and education are very applicable to the gifted community. Some of my favorite quotes are…

We didn’t buy much. But we thought about everything. That’s because my dad had this infectious inquisitiveness about current events, history, our lives. In fact, growing up, I thought there were two types of families:

1. Those who need a dictionary to get through dinner.

2. Those who don’t.

We were No. 1… “If you have a question,” my folks would say, “then find the answer.”

The instinct in our house was never to sit around like slobs and wonder. We knew a better way: Open the encyclopedia. Open the dictionary. Open your mind. (p. 22)

All my life, she (his mother) saw it as part of her mission to keep my cockiness in check. I’m grateful for that now. Even these days, if someone asks her what I was like as a kid, she describes me as “alert, but not terribly precocious.” We now live in an age when parents praise every child as a genius. And here’s my mother, figuring “alert” ought to suffice as a compliment. (p. 23)

Coach Graham worked in a no-coddling zone. Self-esteem? He knew there was really only one way to teach kids how to develop it: You give them something they can’t do, they work hard until they find they can do it, and you just keep repeating the process. (p. 37)

Getting people to welcome feedback was the hardest thing I ever had to do as an educator…It saddens me that so many parents and educators have given up on this. When they talk of building self-esteem, they often resort to empty flattery rather than character-building honesty. I’ve heard so many people talk of a downward spiral in our educational system, and I think one key factor is that there is too much stroking and too little real feedback. (p. 113)

There are no better role models than people like Jackie Robinson and Sandy Blatt. The message in their stories is this: Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier. (p. 139)

This is an excellent book to read with older kids, perhaps starting at upper elementary school through high school. Take a look at The Last Lecture Web site, click on Online Extras and then The Last Lecture Educator’s Guide for some excellent discussion questions and writing ideas.

Science Friday for Gifted Kids

CFertig — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Every Friday I look forward to listening to Ira Flatow’s program, Science Friday, on NPR. Each week, the program focuses on interesting science topics in the news and provides an educated, balanced discussion of the issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join Flatow, himself a veteran science journalist, to discuss these topics and to answer listener questions during the call-in portion of the program.

Science Friday Kids’ Connection is an educational resource based on Flatow’s Program. A database created in partnership with McREL (the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning in Denver, Colorado), Kids’ Connection incorporates a variety of programs, available via podcast or streaming, that satisfy benchmarks selected from national science standards for grades 6-8. The database utilizes these standards along with Science Friday program content to optimize search results, enabling students, parents, and teachers to locate programs that best address specific subjects. For example, if you choose the topic “Characteristics of the Earth System,” three benchmarks pop up. The resource page for Benchmark 1—Knows that the Earth is comprised of layers including a core, mantle, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere—links to Science Friday’s program on “Preparing for Natural Disaster.” In addition, these benchmarks are supplemented by numerous (notice that I underlined “numerous”) linked curriculum activities.

Kids’ Connection is an excellent resource for teachers, parents who want to learn with their children, homeschoolers, and other kids who wish to explore topics in-depth. Teachers can use this resource to extend or differentiate their curriculum, providing an engaging alternative for students who have already mastered the fundamentals. These students, along with children exploring the site from home, will be able to participate in the further study of a subject of interest while being introduced to new topics.

Parents—if you have a child who loves science and is not challenged in school science classes, I encourage you to spend some time with your son or daughter and this resource during the summer. If it works for you, suggest it as an alternative for independent study in the fall. This is a Web site well worth exploring.

Summer Apprenticeship Program for Gifted Students

CFertig — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:01:00 GMT

The Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA) offers three- and four-week summer apprenticeship programs for gifted high school students. Each year, the program places high school freshmen, sophmores and juniors in challenging, hands-on learning experiences provided by an esteemed group of participating mentors in various professions. This year's participants are located at several sites in Southern California and include the Los Angeles Superior Court, Art Center College of Design, and the Japanese American National Museum.

The programs run from July 12 through August 8. During this time, apprentices spend weekdays working with their mentors on pre-arranged projects. At the end of the program, they will present their work to fellow participants and other interested parties. Apprentices live on the Occidental College campus and IEA staff transport the students to and from apprentice locations. In addition, IEA will provide enriching evening and weekend activities, as well as other general opportunites for apprentices to socialize with their intellectual peers. Past program participants rave about their experiences and many have gone on to attend prestigious universities.

The original application deadline for this program has past, but there are still some spaces available. Call 626-403-8900 if you are interested in applying. IEA will continue to accept applications until all spots are full.

Specific information on the program, including apprenticeship sites and participating mentors can be found here. Financial aid is available.

This truly sounds like a wonderful opportunity. I urge you to explore this program.

Arts Education and Brain Research

CFertig — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Earlier this month, Johns Hopkins School of Education hosted a summit and roundtable discussion titled Learning, Arts, and the Brain. Much of the information from this summit and roundtable can be found at the Dana Foundation Web site. Included are the following:

Music Training Changes Brain Networks Research by Ellen Winner, professor of psychology at Boston College; Gottfried Schlaug, professor of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School; Michael Posner, professor emeritus at the University of Oregon; and Elizabeth Spelke, professor of psychology at Harvard University.
Why the Arts Matter: Six Good Reasons for Advocating the Importance of Arts in School Jerome Kagan, Daniel and Amy Starch Research Professor of Psychology, Emeritus at Harvard spoke about the importance of the arts in education.
The Arts Will Help School Accountability Comments by Mariale Hardiman, Assistant Dean, Urban School Partnerships, and Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education at the John Hopkins University School of Education.
Learning, Arts, and the Brain from the Dana Press Blog Contains numerous posts about the Learning, Arts, and the Brain summit and roundtable. The blog also contains many additional posts of interest on the importance of the arts in education.
Arts Educators Should Be Asking One Key Question This article reflects on ways we might incorporate brain research and the arts into the classroom.
Learning, Arts, and the Brain A conversation with Michael S. Gazzaniga, director of the University of California, Santa Barbara’s SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind and its Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience.

The Dana Foundation has just started Arts Ed on the Web, a bimonthly feature in which Web sites devoted to arts education are highlighted. You’ll want to bookmark this. In the first posting (May 26, 2009) you will find an arts integration resource site, an education portal for teachers with lesson plans and videos, and a music education project featuring Yo-Yo Ma.

Journalism for Gifted Students

CFertig — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:01:00 GMT

The way in which we get our news is morphing, with a heavy emphasis on technology. As journalism changes, newspapers remain important primary document resources. Archives of print media help us trace trends and ideas in history. There are numerous resources available to teach students about the value of journalism and how to be critical consumers of news. Here are a few.

Newseum is an interactive museum in Washington D.C. that offers five centuries of news history. There are also links at the Newseum Web site that have good teaching tools. Under the Education link, the section titled Teacher Resources has some great lesson plans for grades 6-12 that highlight the headlines and front pages of newspapers. Today’s Front Pages is a very interesting section where you will find the day’s front pages from 767 newspapers, across 72 countries.
High School Journalism: Lesson Archive is sponsored by the American Society of News Editors. Here you will find lots of ideas to teach about advertising, bias, copy editing, critical thinking about the media, decision-making, design, diversity, editing, editorial cartoons, editorial writing, entertainment journalism, features, First Amendment, graphics and design, interviewing, journalism ethics, journalism history, libel, news values, online journalism, photography, reporting, story ideas, and more. If you truncate the URL as I have here, you will find even more great information.
The New York Times Daily Lesson Plan is an archive of lesson plans that blends daily news with higher-level thinking skills. There are some excellent ideas for teaching students to analyze what they read and see.

As always, remember that very bright students are capable of working beyond the suggested grade levels of lesson plans. The Web sites here are designed for teachers, but parents will also get many ideas for working with young people at home.

Is your student interested in a career in journalism? Have him check out some of these sites.

To Label or Not to Label as Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Some schools are doing away with the label of “gifted and talented” yet still attempting to address the academic needs of bright students. Two schools in Maryland are participating in a pilot program in which second-graders are tested to see if they qualify for accelerated and enriched instruction. The qualifying students are then placed in accelerated classes that are tailored to their strengths. The theory behind this concept is that children don’t need to be labeled to get the instruction they need.

I have personally seen schools where students are labeled as gifted but do not receive an education that is appropriate for their academic needs. I have also see situations where young people are not formally identified, yet are subject-accelerated or are taught with the aid of in-depth studies using high-level thinking skills that are well above grade-level expectations. These same students may be linked with mentors or offered intense enrichment classes that are geared toward specific strengths. So I ask: Is the label necessary or even desirable?

Wrestling with Misconceptions: Is the Gifted Label Good or Bad? (scroll down the page to see the article) by Dona J. Matthews and Joanne F. Foster presents some of the pros and cons of the label and how it affects students. It may help you look at the term differently.

The basic questions I ask are:

Is the label of “gifted” necessary to get an appropriate education?
Does the label of “gifted” assure an appropriate education?

On the many listservs and forums to which I subscribe, I frequently see questions from educators asking advice on what methods to use to identify gifted students. I can assure you, that there are no definitive answers given other than that multiple criteria should be used. There is no consensus on which criteria should be employed or what the cutoffs should be.

I am sure I am dating myself when I tell you that when I was in public school, we never heard the word “gifted.” We did, however, know that some kids were smart and some kids were very smart. We also knew that there were students who dedicated themselves to their studies, working very hard. Those who were academically strong and applied themselves were provided with more difficult work or advanced classes. Expectations were high and it was considered an attribute to be asked to take on more challenge.

So I ask you (and would love to hear your comments): Is the label “gifted” necessary? Does it improve education or should we expect that a top-notch education be provided even without the label?

Marketing Gifted Education

CFertig — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Educators and parents often become frustrated in their efforts to promote gifted education. Perhaps it’s time for us to learn some lessons from the corporate world about promoting our field more effectively.

Deborah Mersino has combined nearly 20 years of national marketing communications experience with her passion for gifted education to form Ingeniosus. As part of her work, she has started a blog that contains lots of good ideas for incorporating business sensibilities into the educational realm—specifically in the area of gifted education. Using concrete examples, Mersino cites ways in which school communities unconsciously shut parents out. She is sympathetic to the concerns of both parents and teachers and her goal is to form strong partnerships between the two groups. Among her ideas for creating good, efficient, and informative communication is the use today’s technology.

Mersino’s goal is to create situations in which parents and teachers listen to one another, are both empathetic and pragmatic, and show respect. She focuses on examples, trends, and tactics that help bolster impact and strategies that help alleviate tensions.

Too often, teachers develop wonderful curricula for working with very bright kids, but lack skills to educate parents about classroom activities. When teachers are able to bring parents on board with gifted/talented programs, mothers and fathers will volunteer, spread the word, rally around, and become partners in education.

Teachers and district coordinators should read this blog on a regular basis for innovative ideas to keep parents informed about gifted education in the schools. There is a link at the blog that will allow you to subscribe via RSS feed or you can subscribe directly by emailing Deborah.

Gifted Students and the Role of Exceptional Teachers

CFertig — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Recently there was an article in the National Post (a Canadian newspaper) that discussed the research of Larisa Shavinina, a gifted education expert from the Université du Québec en Outanouais. Shavinina examined the backgrounds of more than 50 science Nobel laureates between 1981-2005 through personal interviews, autobiographies, and public documents. She found that they all had at least one teacher who was very important to them and acted as a role model. These formative teachers were enthusiastic, inspiring, and used “a playful spirit” that sparked a passion for science.

Many of the Nobel Prize winners were not considered gifted when they were young. They were often normal or sometimes underachievers. Some were twice exceptional (gifted with learning disabilities).

Professor Shavinina eventually hopes to include in her study science laureates from 1901-2006. She plans to discover when each winner’s first exceptional scientific talent was identified, the advantages and disadvantages of different educational approaches, and the factors that influenced their successes.

As parents, we need to figure out how to find inspiring teachers. In addition to classroom teachers, mentors can also play a significant role in inspiring students. You will find blog entries on mentors by using the search function in the right column on this page.

On a side note, you can click on this link to find out what various Nobel Prize winners read when they were young. It’s very interesting.

Meteorology for Gifted Students

CFertig — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Do you have a student who is interested in the weather? Weather affects our lives every day, yet it is a subject that few of us understand in-depth.

Meteorology and climatology are sciences that deal with the atmosphere and its phenomena. In addition to predicting the weather, scientists attempt to identify and interpret climate trends, understand past weather, and analyze today’s weather.

Meteorological research is applied in air-pollution control, agriculture, forestry, air and sea transportation, and defense. Meteorologists might analyze or develop numerical models, monitor rainfall and issue river stage warnings, or fly in aircraft investigating hurricanes.

Employers include

Airlines
Armed Forces
Atmospheric Research Centers
Business Corporations
Colleges/Universities
Engineering Firms
Government Agencies
Local, State, and National Weather Services
Manufacturers of Meteorological Instruments
Newspapers
Private Consulting Firms
Professional/Technical Journals
Radio and TV stations
Satellite Research Centers

If you want to teach about various aspects of weather, or if you have a student who is interested in the subject, there are some great resources available on the Internet.

Cogito

This is an excellent science/math Web site for academically talented youth. Search on “Weather” to find articles, Internet links, contests, book reviews, reports, interviews, and information about educational expeditions.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

In the upper right quadrant of this Web site, you will see a couple of rows of rectangular boxes, including Weather, Satellites, Oceans, Climate, Coasts, and Research.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)

Check out the section “Students and Educators,” which contains many good informational resources; classes and quizzes (many of them free); career information; a data base of colleges and universities; digital libraries; teaching/learning modules; webcasts; podcasts; and animations.

Free Curriculum on Investigating Systems

CFertig — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:01:00 GMT

In past blog entries, I have talked about the importance of teaching universal themes and using essential questions. (Use Search Entries button on the right to find and read these previous entries.) I continue that discussion here.

Marion Brady who, over the span of his career, has been a teacher, administrator, and author, is a person with strong ideas about what our educational system should look like. He feels that traditional curriculum is fragmented, emphasizing the need to "cover the material," without providing an umbrella under which students can understand and apply their learning. Brady offers this umbrella through his curriculum titled, Investigating Systems (IS).

In the spirit of the current movement to offer open sourceware (free classroom materials online), the author provides IS for download. (You do have to register, listing personal identification information, to be able to download the curriculum.)

To give you an idea of the content of the curriculum, I am including its Table of Contents.

Organizing Information (Investigating Patterns, Investigating Relationships, Analytical Categories)
Analyzing Systems (Systems with Human Components)
Major Human Systems: Societies
Investigations of Structure
Investigations of Environment
Investigations of Patterns of Action
Investigations of Shared Ideas
The Dynamics of Change
Change and Stress
Constructing New Knowledge

In addition to the free curriculum, there is also a place for online comments and discussions. Rather than viewing this curriculum as fully finished, Brady sees it as a work in progress; therefore, input from those who use the material is valued.

Whether you are a teacher or a parent, whether or not you choose to use the curriculum in its entirety, you will find that this curriculum will help you better understand the concepts of universal themes and essential questions and how to use these in the education of students at home and at school.

Upcoming Webinar on Developing a Gifted Program

CFertig — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:01:00 GMT

Coming up next week is an online seminar that will target program leaders in gifted education—preschool through grade 12. Check it out and see if it is something in which your school/district should participate. It will take place on March 26 from 4:00-5:45 p.m. Eastern Time.

The webinar titled, Develop Your Program Using the National Gifted Ed Standards, will address the following questions:

What are the national standards for preparation of teachers of the gifted?
What is the implication of accreditation standards in teacher preparation programs for Pre K – 12 teachers, schools, and districts?

At the end of the session, participants will be able to

Describe the national gifted education standards.
Identify ways that school districts can use the standards.
Plan specific activities for implementing the standards in professional development.

The presenters are tops in the field: Susan Johnsen, Joyce Van Tassel-Baska, Diana Montgomery, and Margie Kitano.

To participate, one only needs a speakerphone, a computer, and a high-speed Internet connection. Administrators can arrange for as many individuals as they would like to participate for one low price. Teachers and educators can earn .2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

The sponsor of the online seminar is the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), which is “dedicated to improving the educational success of individuals with disabilities and/or gifts and talents.”

Questioning Techniques for the Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:01:00 GMT

As parents and teachers, we want to stimulate the thinking of gifted kids by posing open questions and teaching students how to create their own open questions. A closed question is one that can be answered with either a single word or a short phrase (i.e., "How old are you?" or "Where do you live?" or any question that can be answered with either "yes" or "no"). An open question, however, requires a longer, more involved response and does not have one correct answer; instead, it causes the respondent to think and reflect.

There are several resources available for teachers to create open questions in the classroom. Parents can use these same resources to guide interesting conversations with their children and promote good problem-solving skills.

Open questioning techniques include essential questions and critical thinking questions.

Creating Essential Questions

This Web site lists seven key components that essential questions have in common.

Examples of essential questions include:

What are the ramifications of cloning?
What is intelligence?
Are we really free?
Where does perception end and reality begin?
Does history really repeat itself?
Are there any absolutes?
Are there other more pressing issues that deserve consideration before space exploration?
What was the greatest invention of the 20^th Century?

Promoting and Assessing Critical Thinking

Although the information provided at this site is designed for college students, most gifted students are fully capable of using the techniques. I especially like the generic questioning stems, such as:

What are the implications of …?
How does … tie in with what we have learned before?
Do you agree or disagree with this statement? What evidence is there to support your answer?

There are also very good suggestions for using critical thinking in student writing. The act of writing requires students to focus and clarify their thoughts before putting them down on paper.

Questioning in the Classroom

Although this Web site was developed specifically to identify questions to be asked in science or math, the concepts can easily be transferred to many other subjects. Questions are divided into four groups: direct information, relational, divergent, and evaluation. Questions are also posed to reflect critical thinking.

Examples include:

What can you change to try to make ____ work/happen?
Where have you seen something like this before?
How can you use what you’ve learned?

Question Brainstormer

The form at this Web site can be used to generate essential questions to be used in class.

The Evolving Definition of Giftedness

CFertig — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:01:00 GMT

The definition of giftedness has always been controversial. In recent years, authorities have continued to explore the meaning of the word.

This last fall, a live chat was held by Education Week with three editors (Frances Degen Horowitz, Rena F. Subotnik, and Dona J. Matthews) of the book The Development of Giftedness and Talent Across the Life Span. The following are some of the points made in the chat.

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests giftedness is not static. Instead, gifted behaviors can appear at different points in one’s life, and once in evidence may or may not continue. Rather than thinking about whether a student is “gifted” or not, we should focus on subject-specific programming options that meet advanced learning needs. The more options that are available to support gifted development, the greater the chances that child's learning needs will be met.

Some individuals may have pre-dispositions towards high abilities, which can be nurtured through the environment. In addition to nurturing these pre-dispositions, we also need to foster gifted-level development more broadly in more diverse learners. Both agendas are essential, and we shouldn’t choose one or the other.

Giftedness is developed in three stages:

Helping students to fall in love with the topic or area
Providing advanced skills and knowledge of the topic or area and sharing the values associated with it
Coaching to help refine individual voice and contribution

There is much research that should still be done as we try to understand the definition of giftedness. We need to ask:

How and why do some young children teach themselves to read?
How does a prodigy's brain develop?
What happens when a young person has intense instruction or when a strong ability is ignored?

There should be also be more longitudinal studies of talent development in specific domains and intervention studies of effective instruction and programming in each of those domains.

The Development of Giftedness and Talent Across the Life Span discusses important variables that affect functioning, including:

ethnic minority status and how it can be both an advantage and disadvantage in talent development.
the role of social skills in successful expression of talent.

Summer Arts Programs for Talented High School Students

CFertig — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:01:00 GMT

Do you have a talented high school student who would like to pursue a possible career in the arts? There are a variety of summer programs that are worth considering. Some of these schools also offer programs during the school year. The following is only a sampling of what is available. To find more, use an Internet search engine or talk with a local high school art teacher or counselor.

Boston University College of Fine Arts

Boston, MA

The emphasis of this program is drawing, painting, and sculpture.

Cornell University Summer Programs for High School Students

Ithaca, NY

Classes include Introduction to Architecture and Art as Experience.

InnerSpark at California State Summer School for the Arts

Velencia, CA

This program offers four weeks of exploration, discovery, and hard work designed to unleash creative power. Talented high school students receive intensive training from professionals in music, theatre, video and film, visual arts, dance, creative writing, and animation.

Interlochen Summer Arts Camp

Northwestern Michigan

More than 2,500 of the world's most talented and motivated young people attend this camp each summer. They learn and perform with peers and educators. Areas of focus include creative writing, dance, motion picture arts, music, theatre, and visual arts.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, IL

Here, students expand their creative talents and develop a strong portfolio for college admission while receiving college credit. Students study art, design, and writing.

School of the Visual Arts (SVA)

New York City

This program is designed for high school students who want to enhance their creative skills, learn more about a particular field of art, or develop a portfolio. Course offerings include animation, filmmaking, screenwriting, cartooning, painting and drawing, sculpture, printmaking, graphic design, and photography.

Webinar on Whole Grade Acceleration for Gifted Students

CFertig — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:01:00 GMT

Whole grade acceleration, or grade skipping, is recognized in the field of gifted education as one of the most successful ways to address the needs of students who are advanced in their abilities. However, it is not the answer for all gifted kids. The Iowa Acceleration Scale: A Guide for Whole-Grade Acceleration K-8 (IAS) is a tool to help parents, teachers, and administrators determine if grade acceleration is appropriate for a particular student. The third edition of this instrument has just been released. Training for its use will be offered via the Internet. Here is the information you will need to participate.

Date of Webinar: Saturday, February 21, 2009
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Standard Time)
Cost: $120 (includes the IAS 3rd Edition Manual)
Participation is limited to the first 50 computer registrations. (One computer per registration, but you may have multiple participants viewing that computer.)
Registration deadline: Monday, February 16, 2009 Online registration
Technical Requirements: high-speed Internet access and speakers connected to your computer. To ensure that you have the necessary computer capacity, click here.
Required Materials: IAS 3rd Edition, available for purchase at a reduced rate from the Belin-Blank Center.
Instructors: Drs. Susan Assouline, Nicholas Colangelo, Clar Baldus, and Laurie Croft.
Training Format: Lecture/Presentation, case studies via stream video, and opportunities for Q&A during the training.
Academic Credit(optional): One-semester-hour of credit; multi-media format from February 21 to March 20. Cost to participant: $180 (the Belin-Blank Center is providing participants a $181 scholarship that will cover the remainder of the graduate tuition). Contact Laurie Croft with questions about the credit option or to get a copy of the credit registration form. IAS training is required to participate in the credit option.

Cartooning and Animation for Gifted Kids Revisited

CFertig — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:01:00 GMT

Cartooning and animation are great outlets for those who have visual-spatial strengths. They also involve problem-solving skills, especially once one enters the realm of political cartoons or storyboards. There are many jobs available in this field for talented individuals, including film, advertising, video game design, print media, and instructional design.

My June 20, 2008 post on Cartooning and Animation for Gifted Kids has been very popular. Because of this interest, I am writing another blog on the topic with more resources. Here are some good Web sites, arranged in alphabetical order.

Animation & Cartooning

Contains all kinds of information on careers in the fields of animation and cartooning.

Animation Arena

Offers information and advice on careers in animation.

Arts Work: Political Cartooning

Created for older, more mature students, this site offers lessons in political cartooning.

Cartooning Basics

The best part of this Web site is the section on free classroom handouts.

Glossary of Drawing Tips

Includes almost 300 quick tips for drawing cartoon characters and objects.

How to Be a Cartoonist

Written by Chris Browne, who creates the comic strip Hagar the Horrible. He offers advice on how to become a cartoonist.

Jim Gilbert’s Cartoon Factory

Offers regularly updated cartoon drawing lessons.

Learning How to Draw and to Draw Cartoons – for Children

Lists numerous drawing lessons, arranged alphabetically.

Teaching Gifted Students to Analyze Literature

CFertig — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:01:00 GMT

Whether you are a parent or a teacher, there are some great resources to help you encourage students to think analytically about the books they read.

From University of Connecticut’s Schoolwide Enrichment Model Reading program, comes Using the SEM-R Bookmarks. I like the suggestions provided at this Web site because they explain how adults can model the thinking they want to develop in children. For example:

“How would the problem change if the story took place elsewhere?

The teacher could say, ‘I’ll show you how I might answer that question. First I would think of a different place or setting—maybe here in Willimantic. Then I would think about what is different between Willimantic and the setting in the book. (She could talk about some of these differences.) Now I would think about how these differences might change the problem.”

By modeling all behavior, we help students to better understand.

Be sure and download the “Bookmarks” provided at the beginning of the article. These bookmarks provide 28 pages of good higher level questions to pose when discussing books of all types. Even if you haven’t read the book that the child is discussing, you can elicit a conversation with these questions.

Thinking about Thinking: What Makes a Good Question? provides a unit that builds on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Higher Order Thinking Skills. The five session unit helps students understand what makes a “fat,” or open-ended question. Young people then take that understanding and critique existing questions that have been written for literature units. Finally, the kids practice writing their own good questions for books that they read.

Inauguration—January 20, 2009

CFertig — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:01:00 GMT

Don’t miss the opportunity to introduce your students to the historical significance and excitement of the upcoming presidential inauguration. The following Web sites can be relied on for accurate, in-depth information.

Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies

Offers extensive information about all things having to do with the presidential inauguration. The history section is especially detailed and interesting.

Presidential Inaugural Committee

Contains the schedule for the days leading up to, through the days following the inauguration. There is a link to the committee’s Flickr page, with lots of related photos.

United States Secret Service

Information on security at the upcoming inauguration and the role of the Secret Service in protecting government officials.

The Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents

Where you can read the inaugural address from 54 inaugurations.

Profoundly Gifted

CFertig — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 10:01:00 GMT

There are many different levels of giftedness. Profoundly gifted kids are so advanced that they may have a very difficult time finding peers. They often skip several grades and/or begin college before they enter adolescence. This group of students makes up a very small portion of the population and resources are difficult to find. Here are some that you may find helpful:

To better understand various levels of giftedness, read What Is Highly Gifted? Exceptionally Gifted? Profoundly Gifted? And What Does It Mean? Carolyn K. helps us better understand the meanings of each of these terms and how they are determined.
Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Students: An Underserved Population by Miraca U. M. Gross explains the developmental differences of this group of young people, pressures they feel, and provides recommendations for addressing their academic needs.
Raising a profoundly gifted child can be a real challenge. In Profoundly Gifted Guilt, Jim Delisle discusses the frequent concerns of parents of profoundly gifted children.
In Tips for Parents: Helping Parents Understand Their Profoundly Gifted Children, Barbara Clark applies brain research to profoundly gifted children and recommends ways to work with them.
The Davidson Young Scholars program provides free services designed to nurture and support profoundly gifted young people. Students and their parents receive assistance through consulting services, an online community, annual get-togethers, the Ambassador Program, and guidebooks.
The Texas Parents for the Profoundly Gifted provides both planned and spontaneous activities. The organization has an informational e-mail loop to discuss topics of importance.
PG Retreat: A Gathering Of Families With Profoundly Gifted Children is an annual event that provides opportunities for children to meet, socialize, play with, and learn from others who are developmentally advanced. While the children are engaged in their activities, parents listen to speakers. The 2009 retreat will take place July 2–6, 2009, in Colorado Springs, CO.

Free Math Tutorials for Gifted Kids

CFertig — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:01:00 GMT

The Khan Academy is a great, free resource for those students who need help understanding math concepts or for those who want to work beyond what is offered to them at school. The academy was founded by Salman Khan (Sal) with the hope of using technology to foster new learning models. Sal currently is an investment professional in Palo Alto, CA and has held positions in venture capital, product management, and engineering. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He also holds a master's degree in electrical engineering and computer science, a BS in electrical engineering and computer science, and a BS in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked with students of all ages.

Posted on his Web site are more than 600 videos covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, and finance. Singapore Math is included as is SAT preparation. And these videos will cost you nothing. For an overview of the video offerings, check out this YouTube video. This is a great resource for kids who love math or who need a little help or reinforcement.

More and more individuals are posting legitimate math tutorials on YouTube. I found that, when searching, it helps to add the word “tutorial” to your search. For instance, if you search for “calculus tutorial,” you will be more successful than if you just search for “calculus.”

ADHD—A Good Thing or a Bad Thing for Gifted Students?

CFertig — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:01:00 GMT

Many gifted students have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

A New York Times article, A New Face for A.D.H.D., and a Debate, questions whether attention deficit is a good thing or a bad thing, giving experts a chance to thrash out the argument. The viewpoint that ADHD may be more blessing than curse has been brought to the forefront since the world learned that Michael Phelps, the Olympic superstar, was diagnosed in elementary school.

“Children with the disorder typically have trouble sitting still and paying attention," the author states. "But they may also have boundless energy and a laserlike focus on favorite things — qualities that could be very helpful in, say, an Olympic athlete.” Some doctors now pushing for a new view of the disorder that focuses on its potential strengths rather than solely on its challenges cite that, often, children with ADHD are highly creative.

Should ADHD be considered a trait rather than a disability? Perhaps it should be added to the list of concomitant characteristics.

If you do a search on “ADHD Famous People,” you will find long lists of historical figures who are thought to have had difficulty focusing coupled with very high energy. Of course the compilers of these lists can only have made assumptions that the people they included had the disorder.

For more contemporary, inspirational stories, check out this article in ADDitude Magazine.

Amazing Accomplishments of Gifted Science Students

CFertig — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:01:00 GMT

If you want to be wowed by the capabilities of highly gifted, highly motivated middle school, high school, and college students, take a look at News & Views—Young Scientists on the Cogito Web site. These young people are incredible!

Cogito has gathered information on winners of science awards from all over the world, including Davidson Fellows, Global Challenge Awards, Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, Fields Medal, Siemens Westinghouse Competition, USA Computing Olympiad, and more. In addition to competition winners, many more students are presented who are working on very advanced science projects. These are projects that one would expect from only established research scientists. As of this writing, there are 155 articles on the Web site about these young science students. Some examples are

Daniel Burd, who found a way to reduce the time it takes a plastic bag to decompose from 20 or more years to just three months.
Tara Adiseshan, who is investigating a cure for endangered amphibians.
Ahana Datta, who devised a plan to apply nanotechnology to making catalytic converters.
Anshul Samar, who created a chemistry game and a company to produce and market the game.
Tiffany Dinkins, who spent a summer working to uncover the mysteries of how genes affect brain function.
Kayson Conlin, who is working on an electromagnetic invisibility cloak for buildings and vehicles that can be turned off and on at will.