Conference Schedule

Thursday 8­10 1. Karen Rogers­­Keynote ­­“An Update on Gifted Education Research: What does the Research Tell Us We should be Doing for Learners with Gifts and Talents” In a recent 2014 update, Karen Rogers found additional evidence of our :best practices: in the field ­ the strategies we need to organize the learning of these students, the strategies for truly differentiating the way we teach them, and strategies for adapting or common core curriculum standards for more depth, breadth, and complexity. This session will talk about what is involved in making these changes in how we work with these learners and how we will know that we have been effective in doing so. 10:30 ­ 12:00 1. Karen Rogers­­Making “Best Practices in Gifted Education” Practical, Can One Teacher Do It? ­ Using the “lessons learned” in the breakout session, the details of how to implement these changes, when changes are required, will be shared. The audience will be encouraged to contribute their own ideas for those strategies they already are implementing in their own classrooms or schools. It is suspected a great deal of “creative problem solving” will be going on in this session! 2. Tim Johnson­­The Soul of Public Ed: Retooling a culture to reveal and empower the gifts/talents of all This presentation will outline the DRRL model and strategies to develop a culture promoting integrated gifted and talented programming. This retooled culture impacts professional development and the daily practices of all staff. The DRRL model enables learners from all abilities and backgrounds to discover their gifts and talents. 3. Nikki Vradenburg­­Technology for the Differentiated Classroom Technology is a fun and engaging tool for differentiating content for ALL learners in your K­5 classroom. Come learn about a variety iPad apps, web tools and devices to differentiate for the students in your classroom. Bring your favorite device and come ready to get techy!Appropriate interest group(s): Classroom Teacher Parent Administrator GT Specialist Counselor 4. Jodi Delaney­­Becoming History: First Person Interpretations ­ Be your own guest speaker using historical interpretation ­­ acting as someone from history! Learn how to present informative interdisciplinary, and engaging lessons on any topic from historic figure’s point of view. Students will love seeing you step into character­­ Common Core doesn’t have to be a common bore! 5. Estee Aiken­­Socratic Discussions: Seminars to Circles to Fishbowls & Beyond­ Socratic seminars can be powerful tools that engage higher order thinking and communication skills in order to challenge gifted students, particularly in regular education settings. This session will present multiple methods to approach and extend Socratic discussions in order to meet both the teacher’s and gifted learner’s unique needs. 6. Holly Kincaid ­­ Critical and Creative Thinking ­ This presentation will focus on a variety of strategies for educators to create a critical and creative thinking environment for their high­ability learners. 12:00­1:00 Lunch 1­2 Breakouts 1. Dr. Erik Guzik ­­ “Beyonders”: A New Cloud­Based Creative Problem Solving Program ­ The term Beyonders is meant to designate students who exhibit advanced development and application of creative thinking and problem solving abilities. The main goals of the Beyonders program are: a) To engage students in real­world creative problem solving projects using advanced, cloud­based technology b) To develop the creative capacities of 6th­8th grade students so that they realize their abilities to realize creative outcomes and initiate positive individual and social change c) To systematically research the creative capacities of 6th­8th grade gifted and talented students before and after participation in the Beyonders Program 2. Julie Cruse and Michael Hall ­­ Montana Revised Planning Guide and Strategies for Gifted Education Topics include~~Process to develop/revise district gifted education programs,Process to identify students,Curriculum, including differentiated instruction and the RtI/ MTSS approach, and Successful gifted education strategies. 3. Anne Keith ­­ Genius Hour: Give Students ownership of 20% of their Learning“Genius Hour” (aka “20% time, Plan­Do­Review, Passion Projects) is a simple structure being used in K­12 classrooms to increase student engagement, ownership and enthusiasm. Come hear “lessons learned” from teachers piloting Genius Hour and ideas of how you can incorporate this idea into your school and/or classroom tomorrow. 4. Toni Bender, Deb Carlson, Denise Lemke, Savanah Smith, and Cindy Gopp ­­ What Do you Do with Gifted Kids When There is No Gifted Program ­ Place them all in one classroom with high­achieving students, and hold on for the ride! Lockwood School created an advanced class in grades K­5. Listen to four teachers share their experiences with this model. 5. Gregg Switzer ­­ Introduction to Lego Mindstorms EV3 Robotics (3 hour sectional 1:00 ­ 4:00) Lego Mindstorms EV3 is ideal for middle schoolers and up wanting to explore robotics. Join this hands­on workshop to build and program a working robot from the ground up and soon you will see why this the most popular robotics platform out there with seeming limitless possibilities. 2:30­4 Breakouts 1. Karen Rogers ­­ Empire Builder ­ How Do We manage to Develop a Twice Exceptional Learner’s Talent Development when we need to attend to their “Other Exceptionality” as Well? ­ In this session, Karen Rogers will share the strategies she trained 24 teachers in four Minnesota school districts to use with their twice exceptional learners, clustered within self­contained gifted classrooms. What these teachers did resulted in improved math and reading performance (even for those with severe math or reading/writing difficulties), improved motivation to learn, and improved self­efficacy and self­advocacy. The audience will be encouraged to share their own successes both with the strategies used in the Javits funded research project that allowed for this teachers training, as well as additional strategies they have developed that work! 2. John Nielson ­­ Problem Based Learning? No Problem ** Thursday only needs to follow Anne* Project Based Learning (PBL). Come experience a PBL and see how to plan and manage your own. Tools and examples will be shared. Allow your classroom to be integrated, hugely engaging, differentiated, standards based, and fun (for both you and the students). 3. Tracie McCrossin and Jessica Dufresne ­­ “Appy” Gifted Kids ­ This workshop will explore ways to create critical thinkers able to navigate technology and move beyond proficiency in information recall, rote skills or single app use. The focus will be on apps that challenge students to push their learning further. Be ready to unlock creative potential with “appsmashing”! 4. Gregg Switzer ­­ Introduction to Lego Mindstorms EV3 Robotics (3 hour sectional 1:00 ­ 4:00) Lego Mindstorms EV3 is ideal for middle schoolers and up wanting to explore robotics. Join this hands­on workshop to build and program a working robot from the ground up and soon you will see why this the most popular robotics platform out there with seeming limitless possibilities. 7:00­ 8:00 pm Parent Session ­ Ask the Expert Panel Friday 8­10 1. Ian Byrd ­ Keynote: So Much More Than Smart Kids ­ Our gifted students are often thought of simply as "smart kids." We'll explore their layered needs, including unexpected sensitivities, unusual personality traits, and doubts about their own abilities. As we learn more about our gifted students' needs, we can equip them with tools to better themselves. 10:30 ­ 12:00 1. Ian Byrd Breakout 1­­Six, Quick, Open­Ended Activities Walk away with six, open­ended activities to promote discussion and creative thinking. Some are perfect morning warmups, some kick off the year, and some are ongoing tools for deeper thinking. Each emphasizes creative, high level thinking, collaboration within groups, and communication to justify responses. 2. Tad Drake ­­ Launching, implementing, and sustaining a school garden to engage all learners and engages all ­ This presentation will share experiences of how starting a school garden can serve as a powerful teaching tool to ignite learners of all ages and styles. We will cover how little to no gardening experience is required to empowered students to raise funds and locate materials and supplies for a prideful outdoor learning space that can cultivate a community of learners. A number of gardening related songs will also be performed. 3. Tamara Fisher ­­ Amazing Online Resources ­ Technology has expanded opportunities in ways unimaginable even five years ago. This presentation will highlight a wide range of online resources, tools, software, and tutorials that students, parents and teachers can use to knock down the “walls” of school and make inspired possibility a reality. 4. Darci Herbstritt ­­ Mindset: Boost Achievement & Fulfillment ­ What is talent ­ and how important is it? What lies behind great achievement? What stops people from pursuing their dreams? Learn how developing a growth mindset in your students can have an impact on their talent development, achievement, and joy of learning. This presentation is based on research by Dr. Carol Dweck 5. Joe Helbling ­­ The Schoolwide Enrichment Model – Reading Framework ­ Assessment and instruction in the differentiated classroom is a hot topic in Montana classrooms. The Schoolwide Enrichment Reading Model focuses on enrichment for all students through engagement in challenging, self­selected reading, accompanied by differentiated instruction in higher­order thinking during individualized conferences. The SEM­R is backed by over a decade of solid research, from grades 1­8, documenting positive effects on reading achievement and attitude among all students, particularly advanced readers. Participants leave with ready­to­go assessment tools and guidelines for strategy­focused reading conferences. 12:00­1:00 Lunch in the Western Star 1­2:00 Breakouts 1. Dr. Erik Guzik ­­ The Digital Torrance Test: An Automated Assessment of Creativity and Imagination Creativity testing developed by E. Paul Torrance, including the Torrance Test for Creative Thinking (TTCT), currently serves as the gold­standard for measuring creative ability. This presentation shares research into the automated evaluation of student creativity and imagination, what we refer to as the Digital Torrance Test, based on identified creative abilities 2. Sally Bell and Wendy Morical ­­ Serving Students through Independent Study ­ Gifted students need opportunities to develop autonomy, persistence, problem­solving skills, organization, and flexibility. Hear how one school has created and fostered an independent study program to engage, motivate, and challenge its gifted learners. You can do much with little time or money! 3. Chris Seifert ­­ Another Look at Conflict in the Classroom ­ We will look at how temperament, experiences and investment add to conflict and how that tattle­tale who bugs you might be a great ally! Or why it may take a few days for good solutions! 4. Terri Porisch ­­ Why children underachieve & what you can do! This sectional will review 6 different types of underachievers according to Mandel, Marcus, & Dean. Within each type, the characteristics, a course of action, a summary of principles, and what to expect will be shared. Handouts/Google docs are available. 5. Deena Miller ­­ Let’s /shun/ Around a Challenge Ever wonder why /shun/ can be spelled –tion vs. –sion? Probably not, but this session will be a presentation on a new perception that can lead to a passion and determination to find out! Oh, did I mention the satisfaction one finds in finding conviction and dimension in what they love to do? Abstract of presentation: Participants attending this session will be looking at verbs that end with the letter –d and –de that use the –sion ending thus turning the word into a noun. 2:30­4 Breakouts 1. Ian Byrd Building­­Differentiated Math Projects Learn to develop intriguing and complex math projects for your gifted learners. We will begin with authentic data, find motivating conflict within the data, add an expert's perspective, and build on students' talents to finish with an interesting product. This framework is flexible and adaptable to many math topics and age levels. Sample projects will be shown. 2. Estee Aiken and Nikki Vradenburg­­ Differentiation in the K­8 Classroom ­ Do you need differentiation strategies and resources you can implement in your classroom on Monday morning? Join Estee Aiken and NIkki Vradenburg for a session loaded with practical tips and tricks for differentiating content for students in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade. 3. Wendy Morical ­­ Gifted from the Get Go: Gifted Students in the Primary Grades Young gifted children can be challenging in primary classrooms, yet we must find ways to nurture their early talent. This session will discuss gifted traits and behaviors in early childhood, establish a mindset for working with these students and their parents, and share classroom strategies to encourage talent development. 4. Joe Helbling ­­ Winning Moves for Life: Teaching life lessons through turn­based strategy games ­ Plato said, You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. These words of wisdom are applied as we explore the unique qualities of turn­based abstract strategy games and the lessons that can be taught through them. Learn how to promote Habits of Mind (Arthur Costa), Growth Mindset (Carol Dweck), creative­productive giftedness (Joseph Renzulli), and the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin in this information­packed session. This session is especially relevant for anyone who works with twice­exceptional children. 7:00 SAT Challenge and Summer Scholarship Banquet and Award Ceremony ­ Empire Builder