November 2010 Archives

As late as I was up Friday night finishing my Day 3 report for y'all, I'm impressed I still managed to not only get up before the sun but also attend a 7:30 a.m. session! Here's the Atlanta sunrise:

1) A huge motivating factor to get up early today and attend the 7:30 session I had chosen ("Organizationally Challenged? How Developing Executive Function Can Help the Gifted") was one of my 6th graders. A couple weeks ago, she confided in me that she had failed a few assignments because even though she had done the homework (and probably well), she had no idea what she had done with it and was therefore unable to turn it in. "Things like that have been happening to me a lot lately. I'm really struggling with organization. Will you help me?" I gave her a few suggestions in the moment and also gave her a couple little things to read, but promised her I would track down more detailed and informative strategies. So I was thrilled to not only find a session on this topic, but also that it was so informative, thought-provoking, and practical. Presenters Ellen Fiedler and Michele Kane began by discussing executive function (things like planning, prioritizing, time management, etc.) and reasons gifted kids can struggle mightily with organization. Some of those (many) reasons include:

* They don't have study skills because they're used to "just knowing"
* They are intuitive problem solvers and so often don't realize the steps (and leaps) their brain has taken
* Homework isn't always relevant for them (they often don't need it for practice or mastery), therefore they place little importance on it
* At least through elementary school, they can often complete long-term projects at the last minute and still earn a good grade
* They rely on their good memories, then life gets more complicated and they don't have other tools in their toolbox
* Organization takes mundane work
* They have so many interests and so much going on that their ability to manage all of that can get out-of-control (and this chaos can really sneak up on them)

What are some strategies teachers and parents can offer to these students?
* Find an organizational system that works for that child
* Make use of available technology
* Color-code - and let the child choose the colors and the categories
* Make use of timers and alarm devices (If your child's school bans cell phones or other hand-held digital media, try a watch with an alarm system built into it)
* Have a regular (such as weekly) backpack clean out session
* Look to history - How did someone who was similar to that child organize his or her life?
* Help them learn about how their brain works
* De-emphasize phrases that exacerbate perfectionism (like "do your best") which for some kids actually contribute to their anxiety about a task - which in turn can mess with their ability to regulate their emotional state regarding the task or situation
* Mental rehearsal and role-playing to help them develop plans of action for potential situations
* Give it a trial run and then re-evaluate (obviously with the child as the key participant in that evaluation) a week or so later
* Try using a mind-mapping or webbing tool, such as FreeMind (Scroll to the Download section at this link to download FreeMind for free. Scroll to the Alternatives section for even more suggestions similar to FreeMind)

2) The opening act for today's keynote was a kid rock band! And they were really good!

3) Carol Dweck of Stanford University offered a highly-thought-provoking keynote today about her research on Fixed vs. Growth Mindsets. I highly recommend the book for further details, but in a nutshell, the terms "fixed" and "growth" describe the level of malleability a person believes is possible regarding his or her own talents and learning abilities. Someone with a fixed mindset is likely to believe s/he must look smart at all times at all costs, that learning should come naturally, and that mistakes are to be hidden and deficits concealed. Someone with a growth mindset is likely to believe in learning for the sake of learning, the value of work ethic, and the importance of capitalizing on mistakes and confronting deficiencies. In all of her research on this topic, she has consistently found that those with a growth mindset show greater learning growth than those with a fixed mindset. She also found that those with a fixed mindset were dramatically more likely to lie and misrepresent their own performance.

Praising intelligence makes kids fragile. She suggested that we (all parents and teachers) praise process traits (such as hard work) rather than person traits (such as intelligence). Praise the strategies and choices the student makes. Praise their effort, struggle, and persistence. Praise actual learning, praise improvement. She suggested incorporating information about mindset into study skills classes. (Increased effectiveness of the study skills taught was found when presented in combination with information about mindsets.) One great tool for helping kids learn about mindsets is Brainology.

A couple things crossed my mind during her presentation... First, while I understand and agree with and am excited by her work, I think those of us in the field of Gifted Education in particular need to point out (to those outside gifted ed) that there's a difference between praising intelligence and acknowledging intelligence. Some will take her work and say, "SEE. We shouldn't be telling these gifted kids they're gifted!" But that's really not the point Carol makes with her work, and it would be a misinterpretation of her work. Acknowledging intelligence ("your learning needs are going to be different from other kids at times, which might require some accommodation") is a very different thing from praising intelligence ("well, aren't you just the smartest little thing ever!") It's a fine distinction, and I think an important one that we need to make sure doesn't get overlooked.

Something else that crossed my mind during her keynote was a question. She showed so much data in her presentation about how developing a growth mindset in a child increases their learning growth rate. She also did a stellar job of demonstrating how and why gifted kids can fall prey to developing fixed mindsets (we praise them for being a smarty pants and they in turn fear being seen as anything but). Many sources of recent research show stagnating learning growth rates among the top 10% of learners in America (here is info about one such study). While some possible reasons for this flatlining have been discussed and probably researched (see the list at the link above for multiple examples), one thing I don't think anyone has researched is the role of fixed mindsets contributing to this stagnation. Given the big push for developing and nurturing self-esteem in the 90's, could flattening learning progress rates for the top 10% in the 2000's be, at least in part, a result of all the "person praise" directed at these same kids in the 90's?

4) I next attended a session by Cindy Sheets on Podcasting. I have students interested in podcasting and have recently contemplated that it's something I could explore creating for professional development purposes. Suggested resources to aid students in creating podcasts were:
GarageBand (Mac sound editor)
Audacity (free download sound editor)
Aviary (web-based, free)
Myna (Aviary's audio editor)

Great places to check out some student podcasts:
OurCity
Across the Ocean
Digital Divas (which actually was the next session I attended - presented by one of my UConn classmates and her daughter)
Cindy's Students

5) Random chuckle moment of the day - the ribbon on this man's nametag:

6) Spent a little time wandering the Poster Sessions:

There just aren't enough hours in these days! I will have to post Part 2 of Day 4 later, lest this post stretch on for miles. Sleep is also becoming less optional at this point, too...!

Posted by Tamara Fisher at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Oh, it has been a loooooooooong and amazing day here at the NAGC convention! My brain is a little foggy after such an intense day, so I hope this all comes out right :o) Here's the scoop on Day 3:

1) The early hour of 7:00 a.m. saw myself and about 70 other leaders from NAGC's state affiliates (our state GT associations) gathering for a breakfast meeting/discussion. This yearly event affords us an important opportunity to meet those from other states who do what we do, share ideas, and hear from NAGC leaders about topics relevant to us on a state-affiliate-level.

2) Three mini-keynotes were offered during the second session and I chose the one on using technology to differentiate for gifted learners. (The other two were on creativity and best practices for working with underrepresented youth.) The tech mini-keynote consisted of a panel of four well-known individuals from the field of gifted education who each also have an excellent background in technology and its possible uses with gifted students. Brian Housand, Kevin Bosnoy, Jann Leppien, and Del Siegle enlightened us with thought-provoking discussion about the potential and the implications of expanded tech use for gifted learners. In addition to cautions about falling prey to "the foolishness of toolishness" and to remember to teach our students that there are dark alleys on the internet as well, they offered a wonderful array of digital tools that teachers can use to assist in their aim of differentiating classroom content, process, and product. My favorites:

Kahn Academy, an online and open source project that allows for user-paced learning.
OpenCourseWare Consortium, a collection of online knowledge and courses made available by colleges and universities from around the world.
MusicMasterWorks - You sing into the computer's microphone and it writes the notes for you!
SocialGo - Build your own social networking site! For example, you could create a closed-community for the gifted students in your school or GT program, a place for them to interact outside of school.

I got a kick out this little moment during the mini-keynote. Here is panelist Del Siegle, whose first career was as a photojournalist for a newspaper in Montana, stepping out of his panelist role and into his photographer skin:

My FAVORITE moment of this mini-keynote was the following slide created by Brian Housand:

3) Next I attended a session by Kristen Stephens of Duke University about student products. She made an important point about product development being a means of acquiring and developing 21st Century Skills (things like creativity & innovation, collaboration, and critical thinking). She talked about the value of assessing not just the student's product, but also the *process* undergone to create that product. I completely agree with the point she made that as teachers we are often so concerned about product that we neglect the importance of process... and in turn our students pick up on this and will neglect or ignore their process, focusing only on the minimum-necessary-for-the-best-grade bells and whistles while ignoring the multitude of steps that make up the successful creation of a relevant and innovative product.

4) Lunch found me wandering the Exhibit Hall where I had the pleasure of being introduced to the Hoagies lady ("all hail the Hoagies lady!"). I also discovered Scopey the Dog, the coolest little interactive book ever! Your young scientists will be hooked! An additional fascinating find was Donate a Wrinkle, an online platform whereby students can not only post their work (products) online and receive feedback from peers and teachers, but they can also receive feedback from professionals and experts in the field! Donate a Wrinkle has been created by a former teacher of the gifted and her son.

[I also locked horns with another-vendor-who-shall-remain-nameless and got my notoriously low blood pressure up a bit. Great products... but wacky, classroom-UNfriendly marketing... at a teacher convention, no less!]

5) You might recall that I told you last year about a revolutionary professional development format for the delivery of gifted education content and philosophy to teachers in Illinois (created in part by one of my UConn classmates, Diane Beedy, together with Bertie Kingore and many others). What was originally envisioned as simply a means of providing PD to Illinois teachers has been seen for the potential I knew it had a year ago - and come January it will be available for ALL! It is 45 hours of very high quality PD in gifted ed and is adaptable (depending on the teacher-learner's needs) to face-to-face delivery, digital delivery, or a combination of both face-to-face and digital delivery of the modules. It includes two texts and a flash drive with all content, activities, materials, and resources. It even includes an option for closed-captioning for those who need it. After piloting and implementing over the last year, the creators have found a higher rate of actual implementation of differentiation and other support-for-gifted strategies in the classroom compared to traditionally-delivered PD. It's so different that once again words fail me in trying to describe just how amazing and revolutionary it is. I encourage you to look at their PowerPoint, which will be available here in NAGC's Live Learning Center in a few days. Check back if it's not there right away. They probably have to wait until the conference is over before posting all the handouts. (You might have to sign in with your last name and NAGC membership #, and unfortunately, it may only be available for those who actually registered for the conference - including the virtual conference). In January, you'll be able to find and purchase this amazing opportunity through Professional Associates Publishing. Finally, a PD format for gifted ed that practices what we preach when it comes to differentiation. The training itself models what is being taught.

6) Next was an enjoyable hour of enlightened ideas presented by Joe Renzulli. He wowed a standing-room-only crowd with a thought-provoking presentation on his Operation Houndstooth, an examination of what makes the difference in whether a gifted individual uses his/her talents for good or for evil. Among the details that make a difference: optimism, courage, passion for a topic or field, sensitivity to human concerns, physical/mental energy, and vision or a sense of destiny.

7) Witnessed a flash-mob-dance in the Exhibit Hall! I'll post a link when the video gets uploaded by NAGC.

8) Saw teachers testing out brain games.

9) The final session I attended today was on Credit Flexibility. I will definitely be covering this topic in more depth in the coming weeks. I somehow discovered something about this recently and was so excited to see a presentation on it! Credit Flexibility is happening in all Ohio high schools due to a law passed by the Ohio Legislature a couple/few years ago. The law states that Ohio high schools have to allow flexible means for a student to earn credit, including receiving credit for "simply" being able to prove mastery of the content even if they've never taken the class. I told my high school class about this a week or two ago and they were drooling with excitement over the possibilities. This means that earning credit in Ohio high schools is now being based on demonstration of competency and mastery, not on reaching a minimal standard after sitting one's butt in a chair for 180 days. This concept is exploding the box of education. It is the free market for education! A student can test-out of a class and receive credit for having proven mastery of the content. It's credit for KNOWLEDGE and learning, not credit for being present a required number of hours. Many students still take "traditional" classes to earn their credits, but students now ALSO have the option of earning those credits through a multitude of other means. And it all applies to high school credits, not high school students - which means any student of any age who is able to demonstrate high-school-level mastery and competence in that subject receives credit. (Now my middle school students are drooling...!) Here is one Ohio district's plan for implementation. Credit Flexibility is a complex but very intriguing option and I look forward to opening the window wider for you on this topic in the near future.

10) Eight of my UConn Masters program classmates are here, the largest number of us that have been together since our graduation in 2004. We gathered for dinner together and then enjoyed time at the UConn party. I'm so blessed to have had them for classmates! What an inspiring, hard-working, thought-provoking, innovative group! (Yes, I know one is missing from the photo...)

Join me here tomorrow for a report on Day 4! :o)

Posted by Tamara Fisher at 11:51 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Greetings from Day 2 of the 2010 National Assocation for Gifted Children convention!

Thursday's program, as you might recall, consists of half-day, in-depth sessions presented by leaders in the field as well as half or full day Action Labs (i.e. field trips for grown ups!) The day is then capped off with the opening keynote and the opening of the exhibit hall.

The first Expert Perspectives session I was scheduled into today was "Unleashing Your Own Leadership Style." The overall focus of the session was on strategies for Consultation, Communication, and Collaboration, and the session presenters guided us in deep analysis of specific sub-topics under each skill set. Among the MANY leadership-related skills, topics, strategies, and ideas discussed and debated were the following snippets:
* The value of sharing humbling experiences
* Helping others find their own best way
* "Why do I ask the questions I ask?"
* "Why am I silent when I'm silent?"
* The value of being a connector to others (how we in GT can reach out to other education groups and offer to show how what we do and what we know connects to their area in education... Since they don't always come to us, how about we go to them?)
* "The fool persuades me with his reasons; the wise man persuades me with my own." (Aristotle)
* Developing expecations
* Surveying stakeholders
* It all boils down to being genuine

My afternoon session, "Professional Development 2.0," was presented by members of NAGC's Professional Development Network. We spent the whole afternoon diving into and exploring a huge variety of new (mostly technology-based) tools available for presenters to use in professional development sessions. And honestly, many of them would work great in the classroom, too! The session's presenters have linked up everything in a single handy location. Check it out! In particular, click on their link on the left side that says "Tech Toolbox" where you can explore each of their many recommendations. The items are arranged into categories by how the tool might be used. A few highlights of tech tools I learned about that I'm excited to try using are the following:
* VoiceThread, where people can respond to a posted item (video, picture, link, etc.), and they can respond in multiple formats (video, recorded voice message, text, etc.) Go to this "browse" page and click on the second item, "Weather Art and Poetry by Mrs. Mattson's Third Grade Class" to see how one teacher has used VoiceThread with her students.
* PollEverywhere, a feature where session participants (or students in a class) can text their responses to a survey question and the results show up live on a webpage in the presenter's PowerPoint (or on the teacher's SmartBoard).
* TokBox, a video-conferencing tool that allows groups up to 20 for free (and more for a reasonable fee). Given that I live in a state where snowstorms can be unexpected and brutal, TokBox could prove to be a valuable Plan B when it comes to having meetings with others who live hundreds of miles away and travel is limited due to weather. DimDim is another good option for video-conferencing, too.
* Jing, a tool whereby one can capture screen shots and/or create a video that incorporates your voice talking while capturing a moving look at your computer screen as you demonstrate something. This tool could be great for creating tutorials for (or by!) students!
* Doodle, a tool for finding out when everyone will be available to meet and collaborate on a project. As an example, I have created a hypothetical sample that y'all can go see and click options on. I didn't even have to create an account to do this and it was free. After you've checked your (hypothetical) availability, click the "return to poll" link to see how the results show everyone's availability for the meeting time options.
* BackNoise and TodaysMeet are both "back channel" features that allow online conversation during and after a presentation. It could be means for a presenter (or teacher) to gather feedback from the audience/students - particularly from the shy ones who aren't as likely to be raising their hands. At BackNoise, you can create a conversation or view one by topic (type your topic, such as "gifted," into the search bar in the top right corner and it will show you any conversations that have used that word. I've created an Unwrapping the Gifted "back channel" at TodaysMeet for all of you to visit to see how it works. (It will close in one week, but have fun testing it out and chatting in the meantime! It reads bottom-up.) TodaysMeet has a 140 character limit. BackNoise doesn't have a limit (that I know of).
* For those of you who do a lot of professional development for teachers K-12, you might want to check out NAGC's National Gifted Education Standards for PreK-12 Professional Development. You might also be interested in Learning Forward.

This afternoon's keynote consisted of a panel discussion with three exceptional examples of STEM talent: Kathryn Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space and also a member of the crew that deployed the Hubble telescope; Niescja Turner, Dept. of Physics and Space Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology; and Joseph Stunzi, a Biochemistry and Science Communications major at the University of Georgia. Panel moderator Camilla Benbow asked what the early experiences were that contributed to their success in STEM, and the panelists responded with the following:
* Being part of a culture (in family, in school) of curiosity and building knowledge
* Teachers and mentors
* Having a safe place to be who they were
* Family influence
* Love of learning
* Adversity and opposition in school and learning how to persist despite it
* Teachers who were willing to go that extra step to challenge them
* The influence of a teacher's passion for the topic
* Being treated like a peer learner by a teacher
* Adopting coping strategies for survival in environments that weren't always supportive

When asked their advice for young innovators, the panelists responded with the following gems:
* Keep exploring
* Find like-minded people
* Read biographies
* Learn to block out the peanut gallery
* GO FOR IT
* Look for a mentor and approach that person with a question that indicates you want to learn how their world works
* PLAY every day
* Do it for YOU
* Blaze your own trail, find/create your own way
* Have an outlet outside of your passion area

The exhibit hall opened tonight and I made a wonderful discovery. One of my classmates from our Masters program at UConn has created a SmartPAL guide for middle school math through the EAI Education company. I rather enjoyed seeing his name in print! Way to go, Kevin :o) [SmartPAL guides are available in math for other grade levels, too, as well as in other subject areas. The SmartPAL guides allow for a "write and wipe-off" format and include a lot of handy tools for the students as they explore the given topic.]

The city of Atlanta is very alive tonight as the Falcons play next door to my hotel. The glowing blob in this picture is the blimp.

Check back tomorrow for a report on Day 3!

Posted by Tamara Fisher at 11:34 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Last week I told my 2nd graders that I'd be seeing them on Monday this week instead of our usual Thursday because I would be going to Atlanta, Georgia, for the national GT conference. Little Abra looked up at me with excited sparkling eyes and gushed, "You get to go to Atlantis?!?!" Pretty cute :o) No honey, not Atlantis. Just Atlanta.

Greetings from Atlanta, home this year to the annual NAGC Convention! Check out this sweet view of the Centennial Olympic Park and city lights from my hotel room:

Today's sessions consisted of a "whole-group" morning session and about 10 self-selected, in-depth afternoon sessions. This morning's session focused on NAGC's new (technically - revised) PreK-12 Programming Standards. Back when the original standards came out in 1998, I used them (together with our state GT accreditation standards) as a helpful reference guide that aided me in the development and implementation of our district's gifted program. The new standards are intended to still assist in that process but to also put a greater emphasis on student outcomes, not just program structure.

Why were the standards revised? To establish better alignment with the NCATE-approved NACG-CEC Teacher Preparation Standards; to update them to reflect current research; to integrate general, special, and gifted education (because our students are not just in the gifted classroom); to be more specific; and to create a greater focus on student outcomes.

You can view the new standards online at the NAGC site or you can even download your own PDF version.

The new standards focus on Learning and Development, Assessment, Curriculum Planning and Instruction, Learning Environments, Programming, and Professional Development, each of which has its own sub-standards such as Self-Understanding, Socio-emotional Development, Coordinated Services, and others.. Here is just one example that typifies the new format:

Standard 3: Curriculum Planning and Instruction
Student Outcomes 3.3 - Talent Development: Students with gifts and talents develop their abilities in their domain of talent and/or area of interest.
Evidence-Based Practices 3.3.1: Educators select, adapt, and use a repertoire of instructional strategies and materials that differentiate for students with gifts and talents and that respond to diversity.
Evidence-Based Practices 3.3.2: Educators use school and community resources that support differentiation.
Evidence-Based Practices 3.3.3: Educators provide opportunities for students with gifts and talents to explore, develop, or research their areas of interest and/or talent.

As a practitioner in the field, I like the focus on student outcomes and appreciate the intent of helping schools to focus on what is best and needed for the child. This new version is well-designed for that purpose. But also as a practitioner in the field, I will be curious to see how user-friendly the new format is, particularly for those who are looking for a guide in the development of quality programming and services in their school(s). The old standards were structured in a user-friendly format for that purpose and the new version doesn't strike me as being quite such an obvious tool for that need. The '98 standards were program-focused, and the new standards are student-focused. Overall, reading the new (perhaps I should say revised) standards definitely gives one exemplary details of what should be happening for gifted students, but more importantly - what the students should be gaining as a result of those services.

A few suggestions of additional uses for these standards were presented. You could use them to inform stakeholders in your school/district/state about characteristics of effective programming for gifted students as well as learning and social/emotional needs of gifted students. You could use them as an advocacy tool in regards to school and state policies about gifted education. You could use them to identify important skills and knowledge that your school or district might need to devote some professional development to. And ... what are your ideas?

A word of advice for anyone out there who is downloading the standards as you begin (or continue) the journey of developing programming and services for students... It can be overwhelming to read them all at once. What a daunting task it is, especially in the beginning, to actually aim for and reach these lofty yet attainable and important goals. Don't try to eat the whole buffet in one year. Pick a handful of student outcome standards to focus on and then do just that: focus on those. At the end of the year, assess and set new goals for reaching a few more standards. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are superb services for gifted students.

The afternoon session I attended was on Assessment and Identification. In this in-depth session, we learned about and discussed multiple assessment/identification options, content and format bias, evidence-based practices, and phases of assessment/identification. We also examined sample cases of student data and discussed whether or not those students (based on the data shown) would qualify for services in our home districts (or if more information was needed).

I also discovered, at the NAGC booth, a really cool little poster they've created with a summary of common myths and realities about gifted students. You might recall that earlier this year Gifted Child Quarterly (NAGC's journal publication) did a special issue on myths and realities. Well, it is all now summarized into a handy little poster you could hang in your classroom. (Or better yet - the teacher's lounge! :o) I bought one this afternoon ($5) and am debating just how many more to get for the schools in my district. Here are a couple photos so you can see what it's like. Currently, NAGC doesn't have this item listed as available in their online store, but maybe they will list it there after they read this post ;o)

Join me here tomorrow for a report on Day 2! :o)

Posted by Tamara Fisher at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend