Saturday, December 10, 2011

Call for Award Nominations

Nomination for the 2012 PAGE Awards

Each year the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education presents a series of awards to truly outstanding individuals who, involved in gifted education in Pennsylvania, are making a difference in the world. We encourage you to consider nominating a deserving student, educator or parent to be recognized for his/her outstanding achievements during the 2012 PAGE Conference. Awards this year include: Distinguished Parent, Outstanding Educator, Young Humanitarian (for students grades 7-9), Service and Scholarship (for students grades 10-12) and the NAGC Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Award (for students grades 3-6). Qualification criteria for each award is listed on its respective nomination form, so please feel free to download and review each form.

For more information and downloadable forms go to: www.giftedPAGE.org






Thursday Half-Day Sessions, May 3, 2012


A.M. 8:30-11:30
P.M. 1:00-4:00
Session A  Susan Winebrenner
Grades K-5
Grades 5-12
Session B  Brian Housand
All grades
All grades
Session C  Lori Lennon
Middle school
Elementary
Session D  Linda Sheffield
Grades K-5
Middle school
 

Session A: A Model for Success: Using Cluster Grouping for Differentiation:   A.M. Grades K-5, P.M. Grades 5-12 – Half day

The Schoolwide Cluster Grouping Model (SCGM) is both a practical and innovative approach  for extending real challenge to gifted students in the regular classroom. It allows for increased flexibility in meeting a wide range of student GIEP needs, and does so in a manner that doesn’t break the bank. Implementing this model has the potential to raise achievement for all students. This workshop is equally interesting and useful for both administrators and teachers.

Susan Winebrenner is an internationally recognized leader in the field of gifted education. What Susan does best, and in the most engaging manner, is help educators to translate educational research into classroom practice. Her ideas and hands-on suggestions for making the classroom come alive for gifted kids really work, and are based on solid research and her own rich experiences. She is the author of several books and teaching resources, including Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom, and her latest best seller, The Cluster Grouping Handbook with Dina Brulles.

Session B: Technology with Purpose: The Gifted Learner Connection: A.M. and P.M. – Half day

Gifted students typically possess skills that are particularly effective when using today’s technology, specifically for abstract thinking and rapid processing. This timely workshop will describe how to prepare gifted students to use technology in an academic and thought provoking manner. It will demonstrate substantive ways to get students to think critically, and use this key tool to become the creative problem solvers they should be – in other words, to develop the 21st century tech literacy skills and habits.

Dr. Brian Housand is an assistant professor in the department of Curriculum and Instruction, and coordinator of the Academically and Intellectually Gifted Program at East Carolina University. Dr. Housand earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut’s National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented with an emphasis in both gifted education and instructional technology. His column, “Technology Untangled,” appears in the NAGC publication Teaching for High Potential.

Session C: Understanding Executive Functioning: Unlocking Potential for the Gifted Underachiever: A.M. Middle School - P.M. Elementary

What is Executive Functioning? Why is it important for both educators and parents of the gifted to understand its role when dealing with the self-regulating, underachieving, and the sometimes frustrating aspects of their behaviors? This presentation will provide an overview of executive functioning deficits as they relate to gifted learners, and explore some practical strategies to unlock potential and improve achievement. Come learn about the complex neuropsychological concept of executive functioning and its everyday connection to classroom learning and home life tasks.

Dr. Lori Lennon is a nationally certified School Psychologist with the Central Bucks School District since 2000.  She currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the graduate School Psychology Program at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.  Dr. Lennon regularly conducts psychoeducational and gifted student evaluations, and provides consultation with school staff and parents in developing academic, behavioral and affective interventions. She is often called on to share her expertise and present workshops about the underachieving gifted students to parents, teachers, other school psychologists and counselors. 

Session D: Mentoring Young Mathematicians: How to challenge the K-5 Gifted and Advanced Learner: A.M. only

The presenter of this workshop has been at the forefront of the Javits-funded Project M3 and the NSF-funded Project M2 initiatives. This session will demonstrate how to use these projects’ key instructional principles, examples, up-to-date practices, and assessments as resources for increasing math challenge. A must attend workshop for both general and gifted education teachers.

Dr. Linda Sheffield, Regents Professor Emerita of Mathematics Education at Northern Kentucky University, is a co-author of Math Innovations, a middle grades mathematics series, the Javits-funded Project M3: Mentoring Mathematical Minds and the NSF Project M2: Mentoring Young Mathematicians. Dr. Sheffield is nationally recognized for the many years of work, research, and classroom applications she has accomplished in the field of education for the gifted, and for raising the bar in mathematics for these students. Among the approximately 50 books that she has authored and co-authored are The Peak in the Middle; Extending the Challenge in Mathematics and Awesome Math Problems for Creative Thinking.

Session D: The Peak in the Middle: Developing Mathematically Gifted Students in the Middle Grades: P.M. only

Gifted students need a curriculum that is differentiated by level, complexity, breadth, and depth, and is taught at a more rapid rate. This workshop will provide both the rationale for offering advanced mathematical concepts and content in middle grades. In addition, it will offer valuable information to assist teachers and curriculum leaders in creating a responsive and challenging mathematical experience for the advanced learners-while also attending to the GIEP needs for both acceleration and/or enrichment.

Thursday Evening Mini-Conference

May 3, 2012
6:30-8:30 PM
for
parents, educators and supporters of gifted education
Wyndham Garden Valley Forge Exton
Pottstown Pike, Exton, PA 19341
Cost: $20.00 (prior to April 15)
(Included with the price of any full-day conference registration)

Pre-Session from 6:30-7:00pm

Basic Boot Camp for Gifted Jim LoGiudice and Dawn Settle
For parents and educators new to gifted, this brief will discuss the characteristics of a gifted learner, the identification process, and the positive and potentially challenging cognitive and social emotional manifestations of these gifted traits.

Jim LoGiudice has been involved in gifted education for the past forty years, as a teacher, administrator, and child advocate. A former Supervisor of Programs for Gifted students for the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, he is a past president of PAGE and served on its executive board from 1980-2006. Jim has chaired and assisted with over 80 gifted program evaluations for public and private schools, intermediate units, and American International schools. 

PAGE President, Dawn Settle, has been involved in PAGE for 23 years. During her 18 years as a gifted support teacher, she has been a member of district gifted program review learns and a presenter at district, county, and state level conferences on a variety of topics including how to write an appropriate GIEP, best practices in differentiating and developing curriculum, and meeting the social and emotional needs of gifted learners.
Regular sessions from 7:00-8:30 PM

So Your Student is Gifted: What’s Next? Effective Advocacy and Resources
- Rebecca Coleman,  Family Consultant at the Davidson Institute for Talent Development

The label of "gifted" can be applied to children whose IQ scores fall within a range that starts at 130 but can be as high as 180.  In this presentation, participants will walk away with a better understanding of characteristics within the spectrum of giftedness, manifestations of the gifted child in the regular classroom, and appropriate accommodations, programming options.  FREE resources and ideas for educators and parents will be shared.
As a family consultant at the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, Rebecca Coleman provides support to profoundly gifted Young Scholars, and their families. Rebecca joined the Davidson Institute in 2006, developing individual action plans for profoundly gifted students in the Young Scholars program, assisting with educational advocacy and locating appropriate resources. Rebecca also serves as an Educators Guild Consultant, providing staff development to educators that addresses gifted characteristics and accommodations, and issues educators face in the regular classroom.
Understanding the Social/Emotional Needs of Gifted Dr. Mary Ann Swiatek
The intellectual ability of these students may be "out of sync" with other aspects of their development. Because they are different from their chronological peers, gifted youth may experience unique social and emotional challenges, especially in the school setting.  In this session, parents and educators will become familiar with the issues that can arise for gifted students and will learn how to help provide effective support.
Mary Ann Swiatek, Ph.D., has been doing research on giftedness since the late 1980s. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and Iowa State where she began working with the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY). She has also taught at SUNY Fredonia and Lafayette College, and has been a Research Specialist with C-MITES. A past member of the PAGE Board she continues to be an active member of the PAGE Board she continues to be an active member of the Speakers Bureau.
PLEPs and GIEPs That Make Sense -Tanya Morret
Identifying a student’s needs is necessary for creating a Gifted Individualized Education Plan (GIEP) that is both appropriate and individualized. Learn how teachers and districts can use Pennsylvania’s four assessment types to help establish Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEP) that are current, an accurate assessment of a student’s instructional level, and aligned to PA Standards and the newly adopted Common Core.
Tanya Morret, an Educational Consultant with the Capital Area Intermediate Unit, has served as their Gifted Liaison, as well as a Response to Instruction and Intervention lead. Active with the Statewide PAIU Gifted network, she has presented on a wide range of gifted topics including Responsibilities of General Education Teachers for the Gifted and Differentiation for the high ability. Previously she worked as a gifted support teacher, co-taught middle school social studies.