KAGE 30th Annual Conference CELEBRATING 30 YEARS AND LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

Monday, February 8 and Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Marriott Griffin Gate, Lexington, KY

MONDAY MORNING SESSIONS, 9:30 - 11:45 am, February 8, 2010 M1. THE UNDERACHIEVEMENT DILEMMA: MOTIVATING GIFTED AND HIGH POTENTIAL LEARNERS - Underachievement of gifted students is one of the most frustrating issues that teachers encounter. What causes underachievement? How can parents and teachers help develop talents in students who underachieve in school but not in creative outlets outside of school? What interventions work for what types of underachievement? How can we motivate gifted students to achieve? These and other questions will be explored in this session. SALLY M. REIS, Ph.D., Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor & past Department Head of the Educational Psychology Department at the University of CT, a Principal Investigator for the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. M2. STRATEGIES FOR DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION: BEST PRACTICES FOR THE CLASSROOM - This workshop offers practical strategies for teachers to use in the classroom-strategies that allow all students to learn at appropriately challenging levels and make continuous progress. Strategies focus on various levels of student knowledge and readiness to learn and address interests and learning preferences of students in order to motivate them to produce their best work. The strategies can be used in any classroom to ensure that student needs are addressed. Designed specifically for teachers new to the differentiation adventure or those who wish a refresher course, this session offers sound, practical advice for preassessing students, implementing differentiation strategies, and managing and assessing student learning. TRACY FORD INMAN (Associate Director of The Center for Gifted Studies, WKU and co-author of the recently published book, Strategies for Differentiating Instruction.) M3. I'M NOT SUPERman!!! - DEBUNKING THE MYTHS AND ADDRESSING THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF THE GIFTED THROUGH MANAGEABLE INTERVENTIONS - Though some are often slow to intervene because "gifted students make it on their own," the reality is that gifted children often face issues surrounding Self-actualization, Underachievement, Perfectionism, Emotional Issues, and Responsibility. The unique social-emotional needs of gifted individuals require specific attention in order to maximize the positives and address the barriers to success. Participants in this session will identify characteristics that place gifted students at risk and explore the relationships among those characteristics and their interactions with the home and school environments. Each participant will leave with a range of strategies to address student needs at home and at school. Ms. Jan Lanham (Principal at Cox's Creek Elementary in Nelson County, Chair of the Kentucky Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented, and President-Elect of the KAGE Board). M4. SUCCESS, ACHIEVEMENT AND THE GENERAL INTELLECTUAL STUDENT - - Do you know a persistently curious and creative child, an intense or super-sensitive child, a child who continually challenges authority and questions rules, a perfectionist, or one who remembers everything? It could be you've met a General Intellectual Gifted child. These children may go unnoticed as gifted individuals among academically gifted students, high-achievers or even the general classroom student. They may have difficulties with personal success and school achievement. This session will help you to recognize these children, help support their gifts and talents and learn ideas to help them to be successful and stay motivated to achieve. LEAH M. ELLIS, M.Ed., (Gifted Education specialist and former Kentucky Department of Education Consultant for Gifted and Talented Education.) M5. WHAT ADMINISTRATORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GIFTED EDUCATION - Too often young people are not participating in a rigorous and relevant curriculum. Too often, young people who are gifted and talented are not challenged. School and district leaders play a critical role in ensuring that the needs of all students are addressed - including the gifted and talented. Designed for school and district leaders, this session provides practical information that, when embraced by a school or school system, provides a more appropriate education for gifted and talented children. In this session, information needed for understanding the needs of gifted and talented children and for making decisions about them will be explored. MARY EVANS, Ed.D., ((Principal, Warren County Schools and member of the Kentucky Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented ) and ) JULIA LINK ROBERTS, Ed.D., (Executive Director of The Center for Gifted Studies, Professor in the College of Education and Behavioral Studies at WKU, co-author of Strategies for Differentiating Instruction). MONDAY AFTERNOON SESSIONS, 1:15 - 3:45 pm M6. CHALLENGING TALENTED READERS - Little research has been conducted on talented readers. This session will summarize research on this population and provide current research about what currently happens to these students in American classrooms. Attention will be focused on the special needs of this group as well as the specific differentiated strategies necessary to help them continue to progress in reading. The results of new research on talented readers will be presented in this session, as will suggestions for helping advanced readers make continuous progress in reading. SALLY M. REIS, Ph.D., Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor & past Department Head of the Educational Psychology Department at the University of CT, a Principal Investigator for the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. M7. IMPLICATIONS OF THE K - 12 COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS IN MATHEMATICS FOR GIFTED EDUCATION - The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a joint effort by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). Governors and state commissioners of education from across the country have committed to joining a state-led process to develop a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. In this session, we will look at those recommendations in mathematics and explore implications for gifted and talented students and feeding the STEM pipeline with highly qualified U. S. students. Participants will be actively involved in exploring curriculum, assessment and instructional practices that are research and evidence-based, internationally benchmarked, aligned with these standards, and designed to challenge, develop and empower mathematically promising students of all ages LINDA SHEFFIELD, Ph.D. (Chair of NAGC Math/Science Task Force and Regents Professor Emerita, Northern Kentucky University, Department of Mathematics) M8. NOW THAT I'VE FOUND THEM, WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM? - G/T SERVICES IN A NCLB WORLD - I know I'm not meeting their needs!" is a common mantra among teachers and administrators faced with designing and delivering instruction that will reduce novice performance and eliminate gaps among subpopulations. The structure of NCLB fails to acknowledge the needs of gifted students as a part of the group, creating the need for G/T advocates to embed services for gifted throughout curriculum development. Participants in this session will examine the components of a rigorous, intentional curriculum intended to assure continuous progress for all. Fundamental differentiation strategies, including various types of grouping and acceleration will be explored, as well as high level questioning and counseling services to enhance the curriculum. JAN LANHAM (Principal at Cox's Creek Elementary in Nelson County, Chair of the Kentucky Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented, and President-Elect of the KAGE Board). M9. RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION (RTI) + THE AUTONOMOUS LEARNER MODEL = THE 21 CENTURY LIFELONG LEARNER - Response to Intervention (RTI) will provide opportunities for gifted and talented learners, but only if we see RTI as a strength model. The Autonomous Learner Model for the Gifted and Talented (ALM) was designed specifically as a basic programming approach for the gifted and talented. The five dimensions of the model: Orientation, Individual Development, Enrichment, Seminars and In-depth Studies are integral for higher level learning for the gifted. Emphasis will be placed on combining RTI with the ALM to provide a process for discovering and developing the needs and abilities of the gifted and talented learners who have been identified and those that will be discovered through this process. Information on the development of Advanced Learning Plans will also be covered. Specific forms for use with the learners are included in the handout. GEORGE BETTS, Ed.D., (Professor & Director of the Center for the Education & Study of the Gifted, Talented, & Creative Learners at the University of Northern Colorado. M10. DIFFERENTIATION THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF PRODUCTS - How do you engage students in high level learning? One powerful (yet easy!) way is to vary products. How, then, do you authentically assess those multiple products without losing your mind? Use a protocol, a standard that ensures ease, consistency, and clarity. The Developing and Assessing Product (DAP) Tool simplifies the assessment process, guides students in product development, encourages differentiation, and takes the ceiling off learning. With its consistent components and vocabulary, its innovative scale, and its varying tiers with different levels of expectations based on student preassessment, the DAP Tool may just be the answer you're looking for. JULIA LINK ROBERTS, Ed.D., (Executive Director of The Center for Gifted Studies, Professor in the College of Education and Behavioral Studies at WKU, co-author of Strategies for Differentiating Instruction). TRACY INMAN (Associate Director of The Center for Gifted Studies, WKU. Ms. Inman works extensively with teachers throughout Kentucky. They are co-authors of the recently published book, Strategies for Differentiating Instruction.)