2009-2

TEMPOTexas association for the Gifted and talented • Member, National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)

Spring 2009 • Volume XXIX, Issue 2

Critical Issues in Gifted Education

w w w. t x g i f t e d . o r g / 2 0 0 9 a c

FRIDAY: FEATURED SESSIONS What Does The Research Say? Current Views on Best Practice with High-Ability Learners Dr. Dona Mathews, University of Toronto and Psychoeducational Consultant Gifted education is in the midst of a paradigm shift, integrating research about developmental psychology, neural development, and the interplay of cognition and emotion. New findings will be discussed that have practical implications for parents and teachers of gifted learners. Change Your Story, Change Your Life Stephanie Tolan, author Learn how we can help gifted youth empower themselves by taking a positive approach to their experiences, and to look at their uniqueness in a way that builds on their strengths.

WEDNESDAY: PRE-CONFERENCE INSTITUTES Why Are School Buses Always Yellow? Inquiry, Problem Solving and Creative Thinking for the 21st Century Dr. John Barell, professor emeritus at Montclair State University Gifted in the Middle: Challenges, Choices, and Change Dr. Susan Rakow, Cleveland State University A Coordinated, Organizational Approach to Excellence John Samara, The Curriculum Project Components of an Exemplary Program: From Standards to Best Practices Dr. Susan Johnsen, Baylor University and Todd Kettler, Coppell ISD Grow with the Texas Performance Standards Project Marilyn Peebles, ESC Region 13 and others

THURSDAY: KEYNOTE ADDRESS Thinking Big About Gifted Education Jan Davidson, founder, Davidson Institute for Talent DevelopmentAge-based learning is not working, particularly for the gifted population. In today’s world of individualized services, the education system should fit the curriculum to each student, rather than making each student fit into an age-based curriculum. Learn how to think big about gifted education with unique approaches and strategies.

Growingtheir Gifts

For more information visit

This outstanding professional opportunity

includes:

Visit with more than 125 exhibitors offering products and services to the Gifted and Talented Community

A choice of more than 250 informative breakout sessions sharing great instructional strategies

5 full-day pre-conference institutes on targeted topics

More than 3000 parent and professional attendees

National speakers with noted qualifications and expertise on timely gifted & talented topics

Affordable registration fees

Quality and convenient hotel accomodations at the conference site

Mark your calendar and plan to be where the action is!

TAGT Annual Professional Development Conference

December 2 - 4, 2009 in Houston, TXGeorge R. Brown Convention Center Hilton Americas - Houston

John Samara

Spring 2009 • Volume XXIX, Issue 2

TEMPO EdITOrDr. Cindy Little

PrESIdENTDr. Cecelia Boswell

PrESIdENT-ElECTDr. Laura Mackay

FIrST VICE PrESIdENTMichelle Swain

SECONd VICE PrESIdENTMissy Mayfield

ThIrd VICE PrESIdENTJose Laguna

SECrETAry/TrEASurErDr. Richard Sinclair

IMMEdIATE PAST PrESIdENTAnn Studdard

EXECuTIVE dIrECTOrDr. Quentin Christian

TheTexasAssociationfortheGiftedandTalented(TAGT)isanonprofitorganizationofparentsandprofessionalspromotingappropriateeducationforgiftedandtalentedstudentsinthestateofTexas.

TempoistheofficialjournaloftheTexasAssociationfortheGiftedandTalented.ItispublishedfourtimesayearinWinter,Spring,Summer,andFall.ThesubscriptionisabenefitforTAGTmembers.

MaterialappearinginTempomaybereprintedunlessotherwisenoted.WhencopyinganarticlepleaseciteTempoandTAGTasthesource.WeappreciatecopiesofpublicationscontainingTemporeprints.

AddresscorrespondenceconcerningtheTexasAssociationfortheGiftedandTalented(includingsubscriptionquestions)toTAGT,1524S.IH35,Suite205,Austin,Texas,78704.CallTAGTat512/499-8248,FAX512/499-8264.

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED: Please notify TAGT if you are moving or ifyourmailingaddresshaschanged.TAGTpublicationsaresentviathird-classmailandarenotforwardedbythePostOffice.Besuretorenewyourmembership.YouwillnotreceiveTAGTpublicationsormailingsafteryourmembershipexpirationdate.

opinions expressed by individual authors do not necessarily represent official positions of taGt.

TEMPOFrom the EditorCindy Little, Ph.D.

Thoughts & MusingsQuentin Christian, Ph.D.

From the PresidentCecelia Boswell, Ph.D.

Checkmating Advisory and Summer BoredomAlexey W. Root, Ph.D.

Connect Parents and Serve Students Through local GT Parent GroupsSusan W. Sweeney

Critical Issues in Gifted Education: What the research SaysRachel Colvin-Jenkins and Susan K. Johnsen, Ph.D.

updates from the divisions

Finding Academic Peers for your Gifted ChildKimberly Tyler, Ph.D.

IN EVEry ISSuE

579

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FEATurES

COluMNS

3Spring 2009 • Tempo • Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented

texas association for the Gifted and talented2009 executive board

[email protected]

President-ElectDr.LauraMackayIndependentConsultantlaura@texasmackays.org

First Vice-PresidentMichelleSwainRoundRockISDMichelle_Swain@roundrockisd.org

Second [email protected]

Third [email protected]

Secretary/TreasurerDr.RichardSinclairTAMS/[email protected]

Immediate [email protected]

Executive [email protected]

Regional DirectorsI Merrill Hammons

[email protected]

II Tracie RodriguezCorpusChristiISDCollegiateHighSchooltsrodriguez@ccsid.us

III Alexandra Schoenemann

[email protected]

IV Dr. Lynette [email protected]

V D’Lana [email protected]

VI Rebecca [email protected]

VII Ellen [email protected]

VIII Karol AckleyParisISD/[email protected]

IX Bronwen [email protected]

X Marilyn SwansonGiftedStudentsInstitute,[email protected]

XI Mary [email protected]

XII Laura [email protected]

XIII Raine [email protected]

XIV Gaile [email protected]

XV Debbie [email protected]

XVI Susan [email protected]

XVII Vowery [email protected]

XVIII Rebecca SchlosserSulRossStateUniversityEducationDepartmentrschlosser@sulross.edu

XIX Mary Ann [email protected]

XX Priscilla [email protected]

Editorial Board Members

Dr. Mary [email protected]

Karen [email protected]

Tina [email protected]

Todd [email protected]

Dr. Judith [email protected]

Dr. Joyce E. Kyle [email protected]

Jennifer [email protected]

Tempowelcomesmanuscriptsfromeducators,parents,andotheradvocatesofgiftededucation.Tempoisajuriedpublication,andmanuscriptsareevaluatedbymembersoftheeditorialboardand/orotherreviewers. Pleasekeepinmindthefollowingwhensubmittingmanuscripts:

1. Manuscriptsshouldbe5–12pagesonatopicrelatedtogiftededucation.

2. ReferencesshouldfollowtheAPA

styleoutlinedinthefiftheditionofthePublication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

3. Submitanelectroniccopy,typed,12pt.font,double-spacedmanuscript.Usea1½"marginonallsides.

4. Inadditiontothetitlepage,acoverpagemustbeattachedthatincludestheauthor’sname,title,schoolorprogramaffiliation,homeandworkaddress,e-mailaddress,phonenumbers,andfaxnumber.

5. Placetables,figures,illustrations,andphotographsonseparatepages.Eachshouldhaveatitle.

6. Author(s)ofacceptedmanuscriptsmusttransfercopyrighttoTempo,whichholdscopyrighttoallarticlesandreviews.

Pleasesendmanuscriptsandinquiriesto:

Dr. Cindy Little, TEMPO Editor

[email protected]

Guidelines for Article Submissions

4 Spring 2009 • Tempo • Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented

by Cindy Little, Ph.D.

from the editor


C riticalissuesingiftededucation.Imustadmit,whenIstartedthiscolumn, I was stumped. What

arethemostcriticalissuesingiftededucation?Tome,anythingthathastodowithmeetingtheneedsofgiftedchildreniscriticaliftheyaretoreachtheirfullpotential.

NineyearsagoIcreatedawebsiteontwiceexceptionallearners(http://www.twicegifted.net).Overtheyears,I’ve gotten inquiries from teachersandparentswhoarefrustratedanddesperateoverthefactthattheneedsoftheirgiftedchildrenorstudentsarenotbeingmet.Justrecently,thedeanofaprivatemiddleschoolwrotemeand expressed his frustration overwhathecalledhis“frequentflyers”--acatchytermforaseriousproblem.Hewentontoexplainthatthekidsheseesmostinhisofficefordisciplineproblems are those that are giftedand/or identified as twice excep-tional,andwantedtoknowwhattodoabout thisproblem. I answeredmyfrustratedfriendbytellinghimthatittakesagreatdealoftimeandefforttomeettheneedsofgiftedkids;especiallythosethatareatrisk.Alongwithotherstrategies,IrecommendedDr.SylviaRimm’sbook,Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades whichmakesthis point much more eloquentlythanIevercould!Thefactisno mat-ter how dedicated and well mean-ing one administrator, teacher, or parent is, no one person can meet all the needs of gifted learners.Ittakesallofuswithouruniquetalentsandknowledgeofgiftedchildrentoaddress the many critical issues ingifted education. Parents of gifted

childrenbringoneperspectivetothetable,teachersanother,administra-torsanother,legislatorsyetanother,andresearchersstillonemore.Itisuptoallofustoworktogetherforthechildrenwearesopassionateaboutserving.

In this issue of Tempo, criticalissuesfacingparentsofgiftedkidsarehighlightedinarticlesbyDr.AlexeyRootandSusanSweeney.

Dr. Root’s article, Checkmating Advisory and Summer Boredom,explains how she noticed that ather daughter’s middle school thehomeroomoradvisoryperiodatthebeginningofthedaywasawasteoftime—especially for thegiftedstu-dents.Dr.Rootdecidedtostepinandmakethemostofthistimebyteach-ingchesstoagroupofstudents.Thisonesimpleactgrewintoaschoolwideefforttoabilitygroupstudentsduringadvisoryperiodandofferenrichmentactivitiestothegifted.

Susan Sweeney, President ofKatyParentsofGiftedandTalentedStudents, Inc., recounts her owninvolvementinagiftedandtalentedparentinggroupwitha20-yearhis-toryinherdistrict.Shewassurprisedto find that many districts, unlikeherown,donothaveactiveparentgroups.Toaddressthisneed,Susanwrotethisverytimelyandveryprac-ticalarticlethatoffersstrategiestoparentsofgiftedchildrenwhomaybeinterestedinstartingparentgroupsoftheirown.

Ontheresearchsideof things,RachelColvinandDr.SusanJohnsenarebackwiththeirWhat the Research Sayspieceoncriticalissuesingifted

education.Theybegintheirreviewof the research by identifying fourcriticalissuesingiftededucationthatwereoriginallyrecognizedbygiftededucationpioneerLetaHollingworth.Theseinclude:identifyingandserv-inggiftedstudents,acceleratinggiftedstudentsthroughthegrades,provid-ingaccelerationand/orenrichmenttogiftedstudentswithoutseparatingthemfromtheiragepeers,orprovid-ingaccelerationand/orenrichmenttogifted studentswhile separatingthemfromtheiragepeers.WhatMs.ColvinandDr.JohnsenfoundintheirreviewisthatthesesameissuesarejustascriticaltodayastheywereinDr.Hollingworth’sday.

Asidefromourfeaturearticles,Dr.KimTylerisbackwithherparent-ingcolumnthataddresseshowpar-entscanfindacademicpeersfortheirgiftedchild.Herpracticalstrategiesprovideaspringboardforparentsandtheirgiftedchildrentomeetothersoflikekindandforgenewfriendships.

Wearealsolaunchinganewcol-umninthisissueofTempo:Updates from the Divisions.ThiscolumnwillprovidereaderswithinformationonwhatisgoingoninTAGT’sResearchDivision, Coordinators Division,and Dual Language/MulticulturalDivision. If you are interested ingetting involved inoneormoreofTAGT’sdivisions, this column is agreatplacetostart.

I hope you enjoy this issue ofTempoandreflectonyourownspe-cialgiftsandtalentsthatcanbeusedtotacklesomeofthemanycriticalissuesingiftededucation.


Contact: David EstlundPhone: 512-499-8248 x202Email: [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE(March 16, 2009)

* * *

Quentin A. Christian Joins TAGT as New Executive Director

The Executive Board of the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT) has recently named Quentin A. Christian, Ph.D. as the organization’s new Executive Director. Dr. Christian has an extensive background in association management, having successfully led other statewide educational organizations of similar size, function, and scope to national prominence. He served for seventeen years as Executive Director of the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (TAHPERD), and more recently at CAHPERD, a sister organization in California.

Prior to his work and leadership with associations, Dr. Christian was a Professor of Health and Physical Education at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. There he coordinated the department’s graduate program and taught classes in the area of teacher preparation. He has additional years of experience both in education and with not-for-profit organizations, having held a wide range of voluntary and professional roles. Most notably was his service as President of the 40,000 member American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. He is a native of Wolfe City in northeast Texas and holds degrees from Texas A&M – Commerce.

Headquartered in Austin, The Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is among the largest not-for-profit organizations of its kind, serving more than 3,000 educators and parents dedicated to meeting the unique needs of gifted and talented students. For information about membership or services to the gifted population check our website: www.TxGifted.org

* * *


There is a new kid intown!Thatisthewayweusedtosayitwhen

anewfaceappearedinourmidst.Inthiscase…it’sanewExecutiveDirectorforTAGTandIamsoexcitedaboutthisnewjob.Alittlepersonal background isprovidedforyouraware-ness elsewhere in thisissue,andalthoughIhavelotsofassociationmanagementexperience,IcantellyouthatIreallylookforwardtotheopportunitiesandchal-lengesthatthisnewgroupaffords.

Gettingsettledintothispositionhasbeenbothbusyandinteresting.InthesefirstfewdaysIhavetraveledtoDallas,San Antonio, and Washington D.C. to work with andsupportTAGTefforts.

IamimpressedwitheagerandexcitedparentsthatImetattheannualParentConferenceinSanAntonio.Severallocalparentgroupsaroundthestatehavesuccessfullyenlistedmanyenthusiasticmemberswhoareworkingtostrengthengifted/talentedprogramsfortheirchildren.Icommendyouforthatandlookforwardtobecominginvolvedinyourefforts.

IwasalsodelightedtoseethatyourBoardofDirectorshascommissionedaTaskForceofTAGT’smostpassionate,experienced, and competent leaders to review thegovernanceandstructureofthis31-year-oldorganization.Theywerecharged,Iamtold,tomakerecommendationsforpossiblyredesigningtheassociationtomoreefficientlycarryoutourmissionintoday’schallengingbusinessandsocialsettings.Again,Iwasimpressedwiththepeopleandtheirwisdomastheyapproachedtheirtask…Iwasimpressedthatconsultationwith“experts”inassociationstructurehadbeenapartof theprocess…and, I lookforwardtotheirreporttotheBoardinthenearfuture.

Forthefirsttimeinseveralyears,TAGTthisyearhasemployedalobbyist–Mr.MartyDeLeon.HeandTracyWeinbergfromourstateofficeareworkingwiththestaffsofRepresentativeScottHochbergandSenatorFlorenceShapirotoprepareimportantlegislationthatwillbeofinteresttoourmembersandsupportiveofgifted/talentededucation inTexas.CurrentlyknownasHB1692andSB1998,theproposedbillsaredesignedtostrengthen

accountability for giftedprograms at the localdistrictlevel.

Specifically,althoughourschools currently receiveandsharemore than$80million in state fundingforgiftededucation,thereis little or no oversightof those funds and noaccountability as to how

theyarespent.ThisconcernforaccountabilityissharedbytheNationalAssociationforGiftedChildren(NAGC)aswell.PresidentCeceliaBoswellandIwerejustrecentlyinWashington,D.C.meetingwithTexascongressmentoaskfortheirsupportwhentheissuecomesbeforethem.

AsHB1692andSB1998,andpossiblyothersimilarbills,worktheirwaythroughourTexasLegislature,wewillbeseekingyoursupportasTAGTmembers.Wewillberequestingthatyoucontactthehouseandsenatemembersthatrepresentyouandurgetheirsupportandvote forthislegislation.Insimilarfashion,theremaybeotherpiecesoflegislationthatwouldimpedequalityprogramsandwhichyouwouldbeaskedtohelpusoppose.

Iamconvincedthatgoodteacherswanttobeaccountableandtheprocessinmostdistrictswillcertainlyimproveprograms forourgiftedyoungsters.Wewillkeepyouinformedasthislegislationmovesforward.

Finally, as an Executive Director I am accustomed toreportingtomembers.AndthroughthiscolumnthatIhaveentitled“Thoughts&Musings”Ihopetoshareideasandkeepyouapprisedoftheworkofyourleadersandstaff.Iinviteyouasmemberstobecomemoreinvolvedinassociationwork…acceptleadershiproles…shareyourownideasinourworkshopsandconferences…andencourageyourcolleaguestojoinyouaswegrowthisassociationtobetterservethegiftedandtalentedamongus.

QuentinA.Christian,Ph.D.ExecutiveDirector

THOUGHTSMUSINGS


Unique learning for unique kidsFor gifted kids, the four walls of a classroom can feel like the four sides of a box. At K12, we understand that academically gifted students don’t fit into a box—whether it’s a classroom or a one-size-fits-all education program.

As the nation’s leading online curriculum provider for students in grades K-12, we know that teaching gifted kids is about challenging their young, talented minds. That it’s about allowing these students the freedom that comes from flexible, individualized learning approaches, and the challenge that comes from an exceptional, engaging curriculum—both of which K12 provides.

Our patented, award-winning system for online schooling is based on decades of cognitive science research about how minds really work and how learning happens. It includes challenging lessons, built-in assessments, planning tools, and traditional materials like books, art supplies, and scientific equipment. You can even get support from a certified teacher.

Here are just a few reasons why the K12 curriculum works so well for academically gifted students:

• The curriculum for grades K-8 is mastery-based, so students work at their own pace.• Our high school courses include honors and AP® classes, along with exciting electives.• All K12 courses meet or exceed state standards and can include certified teacher support.• Full- and part-time programs are available.• Tuition-free options are available in many states!

Gifted kids think and learn out of the box with K12.

Visit K12.com/gt or call 866.968.7512 to learn more.

Not Your Traditional

Classroom

by Cecelia Boswell, Ph.D.

from the president


The gifted never outgrow beinggifted.Parentsmeettheirneedsbeforeandduring their school

years. Educators meet their needsduringtheirschoolyears.Andaftertheschoolyears?OneofthecriticalissuesingiftededucationismakingsurethatservicesfromKindergartenthroughgrade12preparethemforalifeoflearninginaworldthatmayormaynotappreciatetheirgifts.InwhatwayscanTAGTensurethegiftedarereadyfortheirposteducationworld?Ourassociationhassecuredtheser-vicesofaprofessionaltohelpwithlegislativepolicyatthestatecapital.His focus is accountability for ser-vices provided to our state’s giftedlearners.AsIwritethis,Mr.DeLeonisworkingtowardanincentivepro-gramaimedattheTexas Performance Standards Project© or any similareffortdevelopedbyadistrict.Bythetimeyoureadthis,myhopeisthatwehaveaccomplishedourgoal.

The legislation will contrib-uteto“Andafter?”TAGTfeelsthatthisstepisvitalforthegifted.Withaccountabilitytossedandfundingatanall-timelow,giftedstudentsandtheirteachersareleftwithlittlebutfrustration.

Askyourself,yourfellowteachers,youradministrators,andyourgiftedstudents’parentsthesequestions:

• Isabrownbaglunchtimeenoughtomeettheneedsoutlinedabove?

• Istheunfulfilledteachers’desiretoget to the giftedafterthelowachievers and bubble studentsenough?

• Is commended performanceenough?

Next,askthemthesequestions:Whatifweprovide• anopportunitytoexploreasub-

jectofpassion?• thetimeforthedevelopmentofa

newinventionoranewidea?• opportunities to learn how

to make a presentation toprofessionals?

Thislegislativeeffortwillprovideopportunitiesforthegiftedtopar-ticipateintheseendeavorsthatwillmeettheirlearning,social,andemo-tionalneeds.Whilethestudentsandthedistrictsbothwillbeevaluatedthroughstudentproducts,itwillbethecontentandprocessthatwillmakethedifferenceforourstudentsaftertheyleavetheeducationalsetting.Asstudentshavetheopportunitytofol-lowtheirpassionswiththeguidanceofadultswhohavethewisdomborneofexperience,theywillgainabilitytostructuretheexplorationofaninter-est.Theywillgainknowledgeofrel-evantcontentandlearnprocessesthat

leadtodeepandmeaningfulexperi-ences.Theywilllearntoapplytheircriticalandcreativethinkingcapabili-tiessothatintuitivetalentsaregivenformandfunction.Theywilllearntoproduce inwaysthatcontributetotheircommunityandstate.Theywilllearnthattheirgiftsareapartofwhotheyareandhowtheyexpresstheirideas.Theywillaccepttheirgiftsasapartoftheirlife-longadventure.

Mr. De Leon suggests that weapproachourlegislatorswithinfor-mation about what our gifted stu-dents do for our communities andourstate.Ibelievethatwecaneasilytellthatstorytoourlocalschoolandcommunityleaders.ThisspringyourTAGTboardwillpublisharticlesinlocal newspapers that tell the G/Tstory. When you see one, respondtoitwithalettertotheeditoraboutwhatthegiftedinyourareadoforthecommunityandstate,andwhygiftededucationisvitaltoourcommunitiesandourstate.Whenyouseeone,cutitoutandsendittoyourlocallead-ersorobtainitfromthenewspaper’swebsiteandforwardittoeveryoneyouknow.

Whengiventheopportunitytoexpresstheirgiftedabilities,ourstu-dentswillshineinourcommunities,ourstate,ourcountry,andourworldfornow,andforalltheirlives.

checkmatinG advisory and summer boredom

Alexey W. Root, Ph.D.



Advisory Experiences

When my daughter ClarissaattendedStricklandMiddleSchool (SMS) in Denton,

Texas, students had a daily, forty-minuteadvisory(homeroom).Likeadvisory at many middle schoolsacrossthecountry,SMSadvisorywasforannouncements,administrativetasks,preparationforstatestandard-ized testing, and doing homework(Galassi, Gulledge, & Cox, 1997).NowahighschooljuniorwithaPSATscoreinthetop1%nationally,Clarissalearnednothingduringadvisory.Sheregretsthatwastedtime. To improveheradvisoryexpe-rience, I began teaching chess onFridaysinthespringofherseventhgradeyear.Over40students,includ-ingClarissa,attendedthefirstFridayadvisorychessmeetingorganizedinClarissa’sEXPO(giftedandtalented)teacher’sclassroom.TheEXPOroomhadonly25chairs,sothecrowdwasstandingroomonly.Withnospacetounpackthechesssets,Idirectedstudentsto,“Steptotherightsideoftheroomifyouthinkitisimpossibletocheckmatewithakingandarookagainstaking.Movetotheleftifyouthinkitcanbedone.”Thebeginners(rightsideoftheroom)hadchessthenextFriday.Theadvancedstudentsgot the Friday after, and so forth,until the end of Clarissa’s seventhgradeyear.IrepeatedthepatternofalternatingFridaysforbeginningandadvancedstudentsinthespringofhereighthgradeyear. Chessstudentsweredisappointedthattheirchessclasswasonlyonceevery two weeks. And sometimes,on“their”Friday,studentscouldnotobtainhallpassesfromtheirregularadvisoryteachers.BecauseIcouldnotpredictwhowouldattend,trackingprogressandplanninginstructionwasproblematic.Nevertheless,inMayof2005,ClarissaandSMSeighthgraderAaronDohanichtiedforfirstintheDenton I.S.D. middle school chesstournament.SMSwasthetopteam.InMayof2006,Clarissatookthefirst

placeindividualtrophyandSMSwasagainthetopteam.Icontinuedvol-unteeringduringmy“gap”springof2007,whenClarissawasatDentonHighSchoolbutmysonWilliamwasstillatEversElementary.ThatMay,Crownover MS was the top team.SMSeighthgraderKennethBallomwonthefirstplaceindividualtrophy.

Advisory restructuring WilliamstartedatSMSinthefallof2007.Thenewprincipal,KathleenCarmona, reorganized advisory.Students who needed homeworkassistanceorTAKSpreparationweregroupedwithadvisoryteachersspe-cializing inhelpingthemcompleteassignments and master essentialskills. For more capable students,Carmonaimplementedenrichmentadvisory,anideathathadbeensuc-cessfullytriedatothermiddleschools(Godfrey, 2007; Renzulli & Reis,2008).NewSMSenrichmentadvisoryclasseswereforstudentswho: 1.Scored 2200 or higher on all

sectionsoftheTexasAssessmentofKnowledgeandSkills(TAKS)onthelastTAKSadministered.OntheTAKS,2100isthepass-ingstandard,andacommendedperformanceis2400orhigher.

2.Maintained passing grades.Afterenrichmentadvisorybegan,if a studenthada failinggrade(less than70),ona three-weekprogress report or a six-weekreportcard,thenthatstudentwasassignedtostudyhalluntilhisorhergradesimprovedtothepass-inglevel.

3.Were not already in an audi-tion-onlyadvisorysuchasJazzBand,ShowChoir,orOrchestra.

Enriching Choices Enrichment advisory optionsincluded6thgradesports,7th&8thgradesports,Art,Chess,Computer,Handbells, Library, Puzzles andGames,Rachel’sChallenge,Spanish,andTheater.Atthemid-September

assembly for students to choosetheiradvisory for theyear,eachoftheadvisoryinstructorsgaveashortpresentationtotheapproximately330eligiblestudents.MyfavoritepitchwasbytheHandbelladvisoryinstruc-tor,Mrs.CarolLynnMizell.AbandteacherduringtheotherperiodsofherSMSday,Mrs.Mizellhadseveralofherbandstudentsperformaone-minuteHandbellpiece.Mrs.MizellistheconductoroftheHandbellChoirsatFirstUnitedMethodistChurchinDenton,isacomposerofHandbellmusic, andhashosted theDentonAreaBellJam.Thejoyofenrichmentadvisoryisnotjustthatthestudentsparticipateinanactivitythatinter-eststhem.Itisalsothattheinstructorhastheprofessionalfunofteachingafavoritehobbyorsporttointerestedstudents(Renzulli&Reis,2008). Moststudentsgottheirfirstadvi-sorychoice,butthosethatdidnotwereplacedintheirsecondorthirdchoices.Eachweek,threedayswereforthatparticularenrichment,andtheothertwodayswereforcharac-tereducationandstudyskills.IwastheonlyadvisoryinstructorwhowasnotalsoanSMSemployee.EachweekItaughtjustonthethreechessdays.Teachingthechessadvisorystudentson theother twodayswereEXPOteacherChristinaDearman(forthe2007-2008 year) and math teacherSteveMcClanahan(forthe2008-2009year).

literacy and Social Studies

Instruction When I vol-unteered at EversElementary from1998-2007, I usedchesstoteachprob-lem solving (Root,


2006)andmathandscience(Root,2008).For2007-2008,atSMS,Itiedchesstoliteracy.Myadvisorystudentswroteachessbookusingthefollowingsteps.Eachstudentorpairofstudentswas assigned a topic (pawn, rook,checkmate,etc.).Theyreadarticlesabouttheirtopic,wrotedrafts,createdchessdiagrams,andfinalized theirwordsanddiagramsinacomputerlabusingMicrosoftWordandChessBaseLight (a freesoftware,http://www.chessbase.com/download/index.asp).Mystudents’bookbecamechapter5inRoot(2009).ExamplesofK-12stu-dents’publications,andhowteachersfacilitatedpublishing,areinKingandStovall(1992). For 2008-2009, my theme wassocial studies and chess. Studentsdramatized how chess might havebeen transmitted along the SilkRoad,solvedaninth-centurychessproblem,comparedchessbeforetherulechangesof1475withchessafterthat date, discovered a connectionbetweenColumbusandchess,ana-lyzedtheapplicabilityofThe Morals of Chess (Franklin,1987)tobehaviortoday,andmadeachesssetofU.S.Federalpoliticalfigures.TheselessonplansareinRoot(inpress).

Chess Equipment In both my literacy and socialstudies-themedyears,studentsalsoplayed chess. Proper chess equip-mentisimportantandinexpensive.Chessboards for instruction andtournamentplayhavealgebraicnota-tionalongtheborderstohelpplay-ersfindsquaresusingcoordinates.Algebraicnotationmakestheread-ingandwritingofchessgamespos-sible. Figure 1 shows my children,ClarissaandWilliam,athome.TheyhadbeenplayingaPawnGamewithStaunton-styleplasticpiecesandanalgebraically-labeledboard.(SeetheChessActivitiessectionofthisarti-cleforPawnGamerules).Qualifyingschoolsgetfivesuchsetsandboardsfor free from the U.S. Chess Trust

Chess for Youth Program (http://www.uschesstrust.org/WP/). SMSboughtchesssetsandboardsfrom American Chess Equipment(http://www.amchesseq.com/). Iforderedinbulk,eachsetandboardcombinationisaround$6includingshipping.AmericanChessEquipmentand other chess retailers also selldemonstrationboardswhichhangonamaphookoreasel.Figure2showsKennethBallomnexttomydemon-strationboard.Demonstrationboardsare largedisplayboards forwhole-classinstruction.Ofmythreechessdays per week, two days were forinstructionandonedaywasforladder

games.LaddergamesareexplainedintheChessActivitiessectionofthisarticle.

Marvelous Summer Courses

Past articles in Tempo havehighlightedmanyexcitingsummeropportunitiesforgiftedandtalentedstudents(WitteandJohnsen,2008;Pluemer,2007).TAGTlistssummerprogramsinthisdocument(http://txgifted.org/files/2009/Insights-2009-summer-programs.pdf ). Parentsmight also check with their local

fiGure 1. PastandcurrentDentonMSchesschampionswithstan-dardchessequipment.


parent-teacherorgiftedassociations,orvisittheWebsitesofcollegesoruniversities,tochooseintellectually-stimulating summer programs fortheirgiftedchildren. In2007and2008ItaughtchessatMOSAIC(MarvelousOpportunitiesScheduled as Individual Courses)summerenrichmentorganizedbytheCoppell Gifted Association (http://www.coppellgifted.org). Like SMSenrichmentadvisory,MOSAICoffersstudents diverse opportunities. FortheJune8-12andAugust3-7,2009sessions, MOSAIC Director TracyFisherstatesthatcourseswillincludeChess,CreativeWriting,Engineering,Calligraphy,Rocketry,Puppetry,WorldMusicTour,Masks,TINSpire,Money,andK’NEXBuildingandStructures.Eachcourselastsfor1.5hours,soeachstudentmaypickonecoursefrom9to10:30a.m.andthenanothercoursefrom10:30a.m.tonoon. IwillreturnastheMOSAICchessinstructor in2009.MOSAICis forstudentsenteringgradesfourthrougheightintheupcomingfall,i.e.“risingfourththrougheighthgraders.”

Chess Activities Though having students fromdifferentgradesandwitharangeofchess abilities in one class is chal-lenging, certain activities keep allstudentsengagedandlearning.Forexample, the Pawn Game is idealforeverychesslevel.Beginnerslikeitbecausetheygettostartplayingwith thechessmenrightafter theylearntherulesforpawnmovement.YetbeginningandadvancedstudentscompeteequallyatthePawnGame.ThoughIamaformerU.S.Women’sChessChampion,Ihaveoccasionallyplayed chess beginners who figureouthowtodraw(tie)meinthePawnGame.Butinagameofchessplayedwithallthechessmen,Ialwayswinagainstbeginners.RulesforthePawnGamecanbefoundonlineathttp://www.chesscorner.com/tutorial/basic/pawngame/pawngame.htmandales-

son plan for the PawnGame is in Root (2008,pp.16-21). Laddergamesarethebestchoicefororganizingcompetitionifchessstu-dents meet consistently,but for short periods oftime. I learned how torunaladderfromjuniorhigh teacher ElizabethVicary(Shahade,2007).Iinformedstudentsoftheladder game procedureby creating an overheadtransparencywiththefol-lowingfivesteps: 1.Find someone to

playthatyouhaven’tplayedrecently.

2.Pick for color.[Hide a white pawnin one hand, a blackpawn in the otherhand,andotherper-son picks a hand todetermine the colorheorshewillplayinthegame].

3.Write on yourindex card the dateandthenamesofthepeopleplay-ing,white’snamefirst:i.e.9/27/08WilliamRootvs.AlexeyRoot.

4.Play the chess game. Circlethenameofwinner,orcirclebothnamesifadrawresulted.Movecardsontheladderifapplicable.

5.If your game is not done byclean-up time, save the scoresheetorrecordtheposition.

Asmentionedinstep5,mystu-dentskeptwrittenrecordsofchessgames.Writingnotationonascoresheetandrecordingachessdiagramare covered in Root (2008, 2009).Often,studentsfinishedthatgameduringasubsequentnon-chessadvi-soryiftheyquicklycompletedtheircharacter educationor study skillslesson. Ifaplayerdefeatedsomeoneontheladder,thewinnermovedhisorhercardtotheloser’sspotontheladder.Non-ladderplayerswholost,orladder

playerswholosttonon-ladderplayers,storedtheircardsintheirfolders.Thusthecurrenttop11playerswereonour11-slotladder,andeveryoneelsewasnot.Becauseweusuallyhadabout20studentsinchess,“theworstplayer”inclasswasunknown.Buteveryoneknew,andcouldchallenge,the11best.Sinceeachmiddleschoolisallowedaneight-playerteamattheannualDentonISDtournament,theladderdeterminedourteam(andouralternates)fortheMayof2008competition.WilliamwonthetopindividualtrophyandSMSwonthetopteamtrophy.

recommendations Whether you are a beginningoradvancedchessplayer,or some-where in between, consider chess.Chess appeals to many gifted stu-dents(Root,2006).Orteachanotherhobby,sport,orsubjectaboutwhichyouareknowledgeableandpassionate.

fiGure 2. 2007DentonMSchesschampionwithdemonstrationboard.

1/2pgMallettad


Ifyoudo,advisoryandsummerwillbecomemoreexcitingforyouandforyourgiftedstudents.And,yearslater,yourgiftedstudentswillbethankfulthatyoudidnotwastetheirtime,but,instead,educatedthem(Prober,2008).

referencesFranklin,B.(1987).Themoralsofchess.

InJ.A.L.Lemay(Ed.),Selections(pp.927-931).NewYork:Viking.

Galassi,J.P.,Gulledge,S.A.,&Cox,N.D.(1997).Middleschooladvisories:Retrospectandprospect.Review of Educational Research, 67(3),301-338.

Godfrey, A. (2007). The homeroomenrichment program at Midvalemiddleschool:Anevaluationstudy.(Doctoral dissertation, Universityof Utah, 2007). Retrieved January25,2009fromhttp://www.ed.utah.edu/elp/Programs/EdD/Capstone/AnthonyGodfrey.pdf

King,L.&Stovall,D.(1992).Classroom publishing: A practical guide to

enhancing student literacy.Hillsboro,OR:BlueHeron.

Pluemer,H.(2007).Aparent’sperspec-tive…Enrichment opportunities.Tempo, 27(2),10-11.

Prober, P. (2008). Counseling giftedadults:Acasestudy.Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association,11(1).10-15.

Renzulli,J.S.&Reis,S.M.(2008).Enrich-ing curriculum for all students.Thou-sandOaks,CA:CorwinPress.

Root,A.W.(2006).Children and chess: A guide for educators.Westport,CT:TeacherIdeasPress.

Root,A.W.(2008).Science, math, check-mate: 32 chess activities for inquiry and problem solving.Westport,CT:TeacherIdeasPress.

Root,A.W.(2009).Read, write, check-mate: Enrich literacy with chess activities. Westport, CT: TeacherIdeasPress.

Root, A. W. (in press). People, places, checkmates: Teaching social studies with chess.Westport,CT:TeacherIdeasPress.

Shahade, J. (2007). E.Vicary on chess,girlsandgenius.Chess Life Online.Retrieved January 26, 2009 fromhttp://main.uschess.org/content/view/6571/357/

Witte,M.M.&Johnsen,S.K.(2008).Col-laboratingwithuniversitiestoprovidespecialprogramsforgiftedandtal-entedstudents.Tempo, 28(3),13-17.

AlexeyW.Root,Ph.D., isasenior lecturer intheSchoolofInterdisciplinaryStudiesatTheUniversityofTexasatDallas (UTD).Shehastaught UTD education classes, tutored pro-spectiveteachersforcertificationexams,andsupervisedstudentteachers.SheservedastheAssociateDirectoroftheUTDChessProgram,the#1collegechessteamintheUnitedStates.UTDisoneofseveraluniversitiesthatawardfull-ridecollegescholarshipsforchess.RootcurrentlyteachesUTD’sChessinEducationCertificatecourses,availableworldwideforcollegecreditviatheUTTeleCampusonlineplatform(http://www.uttc.org). Root has been a tournamentchessplayersinceshewasnineyearsold.Hermostnotablechessaccomplishmentwaswin-ningtheU.S.Women’schampionshipin1989.HernextarticleforTempowillbeonChessinGTClassrooms.Pleaseemailyourchessinedu-cationexperiencestoaroot@utdallas.edu.

Administrator TrainingProgram DevelopmentLearning Styles InclusionStress ManagementMulticulturalUnderachievers

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Deborah G. Mallett, Ed.M., CEO

Celebrating 11 Years of Service


updates from the divisions

“The Division offers the avenue ofnetworkingforGiftedandTalentedCoordinatorsthroughoutthestate,and provides a support system foreducatorsinvolvedinthedeliveryofgiftedprograms.” TosupporttheTAGTvision,thegoalofthisyear’sdivisionleadershipistocreateastate-widementorco-oplist for new coordinators. Mentorswillprovidecoaching,counsel,andsupportforcoordinatorsnewtothepositionasrequestedandserveasaresourceandempatheticear.Effortswillbemadetopairnewcoordina-torswithdistrictsofsimilarsizeanddemographics. PleasewelcometheleadershipoftheTAGTCoordinatorDivision.

Chair:PamCooperisaGiftedandTalentedCoordinatorforKellerISDandholdsanAssociate’sdegree,2BachelorofArtsdegrees,aLiberalArtsMasterdegree,aGTEndorsement,ESLandMontessoriCertifications,andcom-pletedadditionalgraduatelevelstudy

ingiftededucation.ShehaspresentedresearchattheWallaceSymposium,ispublishedinTEMPO,servedasaresearcherinawardingaJavitsGrantforthegiftedandtalentedandEnglishlanguagelearners,ispublishedintheIllinoisJournalforGiftedandTalented,haspublishedaPre-Ktalentdevelop-mentinstrument,isanationaltrainerforSusanWinebrenner,andhasbeenanational,state,andregionalpresenteratNAGC,TAGT,NABE,andTABE.

Vice Chair:JanDelisleiscurrentlyaGiftedandTalented Coordinator for LovejoyISD.ShewasformerlytheGiftedandTalentedCoordinatorforMcKinneyISD.JanholdsaBachelorofSciencedegree, a Masters of Liberal Artsdegree, and a Gifted and Talentedendorsement through Universityof North Texas. She is currently adoctoral student at the UniversityofNorthTexas inCurriculumandInstructionwithaminor inGiftedEducation.Inaddition,sheisapre-senter at TAGT annual and lead-

ership conferences, NAGC annualconferences, and several RegionalEducationalServiceCenters’summerandbilingualseminars.

Secretary:Bettye Edgington is Hurst-Euless-Bedford’s Advanced AcademicsCoordinatorandWorldLanguagesCoordinator. She taught second-aryGiftedandTalentedEnglishandhumanitiesclassesfortheHEBdis-trictfor30yearsbeforejoiningtheadministrativestaff.Ms.Edgingtonearned her Bachelor of Arts andMaster of Education degrees fromUniversityofNorthTexasandholdsaGiftedandTalentedendorsementandTexasGiftedandTalentedcertifi-cation.SheistheauthorofalanguageartsancillarycalledThe Multi-genre Research ProjectpublishedbyPearsonLearning,andhasservedforadecadeasawritingconsultantfortheNewJerseyWritingProjectinTexas.Bettyehasalsobeenapresenteratconfer-encesforTJCTE,NJWPT,TAGT,andTASCD.

Coordinators’ DivisionPam Cooper, Chair


Coordinators’ Division, continued

Publications:Patti Cryer is a K-12 Gifted andTalented Coordinator for MarbleFalls ISD. She holds a Bachelor ofArtsdegreeinEnglish,aMasterofEducation degree in EducationalLeadership, Gifted and TalentedCertification,PrincipalCertification,andiscurrentlypursingaDoctorateinEducationalLeadership.PattihasalsoservedonDiscussionPanelsatTAGTLeadershipConferences,andis a three timepresenteratTAGTconferences.

Past Chair:MerrillHammons

Board Liaison:MaryChancellor

TheResearchDivisionofTAGTbelievesthatidentificationandservicesforgiftedchildren,guid-anceforparentsofgiftedlearners,andtrainingforteachersofgiftedstudentsshouldbesupportedbyresearchinthefield.Additionally,theresultsandconclusionsdrawnfromsuchresearchprovideevi-denceforadvocacyeffortsandencourageimple-mentationofeffectiveprograms.Thus,themissionoftheResearchDivisionistoencourage,evaluate,anddisseminatecurrentresearchinthefieldofgiftededucation.

Themostsignificantprojectof theresearchdivisionforthepastyearhasbeenthecompletionofThe State of Gifted Education in Texasreport(avail-ableonlineatthewww.txgifted.org).Thereportreflectsdatagatheredfromschooldistrictsacrossthestatetodescribeprogramsandservicesavailabletogiftedstudents.ThisresearcheffortculminatedinapresentationattheannualTAGTConferenceinDallas,andfollow-uppresentationsonthedatahavebeguntoaskhowwecaninterpretthefindingstoimprovegiftededucationacrossthestate.Asisoftenthecase,thedataleadstomorequestions.Howcanweimproveprogrampractices?WhatarethebestpracticerecommendationsformovingfromacceptabletorecognizedandexemplaryaccordingtotheState Plan?Theworkoftheresearchdivi-sionistoactivelyengagethesequestionsandsharewhatwefind.

Oneoftheinitiativesthatweareemphasizingthisyearisconnectingaresearchcommunity.TheResearchDivisionislookingatdigitalnetworkingtoolstocreateacommunityofgiftededucationpro-fessionalswithaninterestinconductingresearchandapplyingthebestpractices.Weareexploringwaystoconnectschoolswhohaveresearchoppor-tunitiestouniversityresearchersanduniversityresearcherswhohave research ideas to schoolswanting topartner in theprocess.Theconnec-tionprocessthroughdigitalnetworkingwillfacili-tatediscussionandcollaborationacrossthestate.Webelievethatactivelyfacilitatingpartnershipsbetweenschooldistrictsanduniversitiesaswellasamongresearchmindedindividualsacrossthestatecanimprovetheimplementationofresearch-basedpracticesandservicestoourgiftedstudents.

MembersofTAGTwhohavean interest inparticipatingintheseprocessesorwrestlingwiththesetypesofquestionsareencouragedtojointheresearchdivision.

Research Division Todd Kettler, Chair

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“Butseedsareinvisible.Theysleepinthesecrecyofthegrounduntiloneofthemdecidestowakeup.Thenitstretchesandbeginstosprout,quitetimidlyatfirst,acharming,harmlesslittletwigreachingtowardthesun.”“Grown-upsneverunderstandanythingbythemselves,anditisexhaustingforchildrentohavetoprovideexpla-nationsoverandoveragain.”

The Little Prince , Antoine De Saint-Exupéry

LittledidIknowthatwhenImadethedecisiontobeginteachinginabilingualthirdgradeclassroom,IwasbeginningalifelongjourneyofadvocacyforthegiftedEnglishLanguageLearnerandchildofpoverty.Today,Iamgladtosaythatallacrossthestate,fromlargetosmalldistricts,onewayandtwowayduallanguageprogramsaresproutingallovertheplace.Thebiggestgrowthtowardsthesunisinthewaydistrictsarestructuringtheirpro-grams.Theyarebeginningtospeakofbilingualeducationasanenrichmentprogram,andnotjustasaremediationstrategytoacquireEnglish.Thepropositionthatstudentsshouldhavetheopportunitytobecomebiliterateaspartofanenrichmentbilingualprogramhasbeenpartofgiftededucationforovertwentyyears.Iknowformanyithasbeen“exhausting….tohavetoprovideexplanationsoverandoveragain.” Itisexcitingtoseethegrowthandacceptanceoftheseprograms.TAGT’sDual-LanguageMulticulturalDivisionhasbeenpartofthischangeandcontinuestoprovidesupporttoparentsandeducatorsresponsibleforimple-mentingandcoordinatingtheseprograms.Ourvisionistoensurethatthepotentialofthegiftedlearnersinthesepro-gramsisnurturedandsupported.DuringTAGT’sannualconference,thedivisionprovidedseveralpresentationsthatmanyparticipantsfoundhelpfulinequippingthemtocarryonwiththeireffortsinprovidingservicesforthestudentofdiversebackground.Thefollowingareafewofthesessionsthatwereofferedduringtheconference:Nurturing the Gifted Potential in children of Poverty and Diversity; Differentiating the Core Curriculum with Depth and Complexity; Bilingual, Biliterate, and Gifted, Too!; Identification and Service of English Language Learners: Do We Mean It?Inourinformalsession,Iwaspleasedtoseehowmanypeoplecametofindmoreinformationortoshareideasofhowtoimplementsuccessfulprograms.Itwasclearthatmanydistrictshavefoundpracticalwaystoensurethatstudentsfromdiversebackgroundsareidenti-fiedandincludedintheirgiftedandtalentedprogram,andsomedistrictshavebeguntomirrorthepopulationintheprogramtothedistrictwidepopulation.Afewdistrictsvoicedtheimportanceoflocallynormedtesttoensure

moreaccessandequityintheprocessofidentificationforthegifted.Thereis,ofcourse,moreworktobedoneinthisarea,butwearemovingintherightdirection.

Aswemakeprogressintheareaofidentificationandassessment,ourattentionalsoneedstoshifttowardstheinstructionalservicesprovidedtostudentsoncetheyareidentified.TheDual-LanguageMulticulturalDivision’sfocusduringTAGT’sLeadershipConferencewasondif-ferentiationofinstructionforgiftedlearnersofdiversebackgroundsandthesocio-emotionalsupportthatthesestudentsneedinthesecondarysettingtoremaininthegiftedandtalentedprogramandsucceedinadvancedaca-demiccourses.

Seedsareindeedinvisible.Oneneverknowswhenoneofthemwillwakeupandbearmuchfruit.Inoureverydayefforts,wemaynotrealizethedifferencethatwearemaking.However,Ihaveconfidencethatbecauseofouradvocacymanyofourchildrenaregrowingtotheirpotentialandreachingtowardsthesun.

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Patry Marcum-Lerwick, Chair


Connect Parents and Serve StudentsThrough Local GT Parent Groups

SusanW.Sweeney


When your child was identi-fiedasgifted,didyouputasign inyouryard?Doyour

friends and neighbors think thathavingagiftedchildmeansthatyouhavenosignificantparentingchal-lenges?Parentingagiftedchildcanbeanisolatingexperience.Doesyourchildrequireyoutocutthetagsoutoftheirclothingbeforetheycantoler-atewearingit?Haveyoumademul-tipletripstothestorebecauseyourchildcanonlytolerateacertaintypeofsocks?Parentingagiftedchildisfull of unusual challenges. Wereyourelievedwhenyourgiftedchildstartedschoolbecauseyouthoughttheprofessionalswouldquenchherthirstforknowledge?Wereyoudisap-pointedwhenthesystemonlyofferedcurriculumbasedonherbirthdateinstead of who she was and whatsheknew?Parentingagiftedchildrequires informed advocacy. Doeseachnewschoolyearbringanotherhill of advocacy to climb - a newteacher,anewclass,andnewobsta-clestotheprogressyoumadetheyearbefore?Advocacycanbemoreeffec-tiveinlargenumbers.

Localgiftedparentgroupscanhelpwiththeisolation,thechallenges,theresourcesandtheadvocacythatgohandinhandwithbeingaparentofagiftedchild.Youmayalreadybethinking–“Group?Thatsoundslikework!”Itcanbe,butyoudon’thavetodoitaloneandtherearepricelessrewards.Ofcourse,ourkidsbenefitfromsucheffort,butthereareben-efitsforparentstoo.IhaverarelyfeltmoreathomeinagroupofadultsthaninaroomofGTparents.Theretends to be a stimulating level ofintensity,acommonexperience,andahighlevelofcommitment.WhenparentsconnectwiththewisdomofaGTexpertorwiththeexperiencesofanotherparent,itisgratifyingtohaveprovidedtheopportunity.ConvincinganentireschooldistrictthatGTpro-gram improvements are necessarywouldbeadauntingtaskforaloneparent.Ourdistrict’sGTprogramshaveimprovedbecauseofourcollec-tiveinput.Localparentgroupsimpact

thekids,theparents,andthedistrictinsignificantways.

Youmayfeelself-consciousaboutsteppingoutinpublicasaGTpar-ent.Noonewantstobethoughtofaselitist.Noonewantstobeconfusedwith“thoseparents”whogetpersonalsatisfactionbywearingtheirchild’slabel.Ittookmeawhiletogetoverthisself-consciousness–especiallyaspresidentofthegroup.Ithelpsto

rememberthatourchildrenarenotbetterthanothers–theyarejustdif-ferent.Theyhavedifferentneeds.Ifyoubelievethat,yourgenuinenaturewillbeapparenttoothers.

Ourkidscannotunderstandandmeet theirowneducational, socialor emotional needs without ourhelp.Itisourroleasaparenttobeinformed,involved,andtoseekwaystomeetthoseneedssoourkidscandevelopintohealthyandproductiveadults.Withtherightattitude,apar-entadvocatecanbeastrategicallyforaGTcoordinatorwhomaybefrus-tratedbythemisinformation,officepolitics,andbudgetconstraintsthatcanprevailinaschooldistrict.

Weare fortunatetohaveaGTparentgroupwitha20-yearhistoryinmydistrict.Afewyearsago,IjoinedasoneofthemoreimpatientvoicesintheroomandeventuallyfoundmyselfservingasPresident.AsIreachedouttocollaboratewithothergroups, Iwassurprisedtolearnthatmostdis-trictsdonothaveanactivegroupandthatwearedoingthingsthatmanyarenot.Someofourpracticeswere

established longbeforemy tenure.Inthosecases,mycontributionhasbeentosustainthemandsharethemwithyou.

IfyoudonotalreadyhavealocalGTparentgroup,youcandoafewsimple things that will put you intouch with other parents like you.Start by seeking the support of a district GT coordinator, a princi-pal or a teacher (your educator ally).Thatpersoncanhelpyoumakecon-tactwithotherparentsthroughtheschoolwithoutcompromisingconfi-dentialityrules.Youmaybeabletogetflyersandothercommunicationssenthomewithidentifiedstudents.Youreducatorallymayalreadyhavecol-


lectedcontactinformationforotherparentsinterestedinconnecting.

Youwillgetmorehelpfromaneducatorallyifheorshecanbecon-fidentthatyouarenottryingtoorga-nizeanangrymob.Youneedtobeconfidentofthattoo.Angerandfrus-trationissomethingwealldealwithasweconfronttheinabilityofschoolstocustomizeeducationtomeettheuniqueneedsofourchildreninthecontextofcompetingprioritiesandlimitedresources.Yourmostimpor-tantgoalsmustbetoconnectparentswithsimilarneedsandtoservethekidswhohavesimilarneeds.Positivechange intheschoolscanbeaby-productofconnectingandserving,butcharging“theBastille”cannotbethefoundingprincipleofasustain-ablegroup.Ifyouhaveeverchargedintobattlewithanangrymob,youhaveprobablywitnessedhowquicklyeveryonecanscatterassoonasthepassion and hope for immediatechangefades.Itisimportanttomain-tainapositivefocus–connectandserve. Change can come after youhaveestablishedadurablegroupwithcredibility.

With the endorsement of youreducatorally,offeropportunitiesforparents and families to gather. Wehave had success with parent cof-fees inhomesand in schools.OurFamilyFunNightshavegatheredourGTfamiliesatlocalbowlingalleys,connectedthemovertheirfavoriteboard games in school gyms, andbroughtthemoutforpotluckpicnicsincommunityparksandonschoolplaygrounds (see photos 1 and 2).Itdoesn’thavetobecomplicatedorexpensive.Justarrangeaplaceandsendhomeaflyerthroughtheschool.

Communications are key!Youneedtobuildalistofemailaddresses.TheschoolisnotsupposedtogiveoutthenamesofGT-identifiedchildren.(Ihavebeentoldthatwhatstandsinourwayisafederalprivacylaw.Itisonmy listofwindmills tocharge.)Onceyouhaveanemaillist,youwillhaveaneasiertimesharingresourcesandadvertisingyourevents.Ateachofyourinformalgatherings,circulate

anemailaddresssign-upsheetsothatyoucancontactthesamepeopleinthefuture.Besureyoualsoaskforaphonenumberincaseyoucan’treadtheirhandwrittenemailaddress.

Noonelikesspam,sowereas-sure people that we use an emailservicethathandlesallunsubscriberequestsimmediately.WeuseVerticalResponsebecausetheyoffer10,000emailspermonthforfreeto501(c)(3)non-profits,butothershaveusedConstant Contact. Both servicesseparate your list into individualemails and automatically processyourbouncedemailsandunsubscriberequests.Betterstill,yourpersonalemailaddressdoesnotgettaggedasasourceofspamandtheyhavetoolstoevaluatehowwellyouremailsarebeingreceived.

Youmightalsostartaone-pagenewsletteriftheschoolsarewillingtodistributeitorhelpfundthecopyingcosts.Ifyougothisroute,youmustunderstandthattheschoolmayneedtoapprovethecontent.Ournewslet-terhasgrownto8-10pagesandisdistributedfourtimesperyear.Forourheadlinearticle,wesecurereprintpermissionforanarticleaboutsomeaspectofgiftedness.Whileittakessomeplanningaheadandsometimetofindjusttherightarticles,wehaverarelybeenrefusedreprintpermis-sionbecausewearenotsellingournewsletter.WedosenditthroughtheschoolstoallelementaryGTfamilies(notjustmembers)andweannounceviaemailthatitisalsoavailableasaPDFonourwebsite.CommunicatingtoeveryoneispartofourmissiontosupporttheentireGTcommunity.

Awebsiteisanessentialpartofcommunicationstoday.Youneedawebpresencesoparentscanfindyouwithout attending an event. Therearemanywaystogetfreeandlow-costwebsites,domainnames,andeasytousesoftwaretodesignthem.Theimportantpartistohaveaplacewhere you can post a calendar ofevents,eventdetails,contactpeople,andotherresourcesforyourcommu-nity.Avoidthetemptationtoletper-

fectionstandinthewayofthegood.Justgetthebasicsoutthere.

Ifyouhavesecuredthesupportofaneducator,heldsomeinformalpar-entorfamilyevents,andhavebeguncommunicatingwitheachother insomeway–congratulations!Youarealreadymeetingneedsthathavenotbeenmetbefore.Ifyouwanttogofurther,youcanexplorethefollowing:

Organizational Structure:Ifyouwanttoactuallyformagroup,youwillneedaname,bylaws,andincorpora-tionpapers.Don’tdoitalone.Lookatwhatothergroupshavedone.Seekthe help of parents who may haveexpertiseorexperienceintheseareas.Itisreallyhelpfultofilefora501(c)(3)designation.Bydoingso,youareeligiblefortax-deductibledonations,employer matching gifts, and thefreeemail service throughVerticalResponse.IwishIcouldadviseyouonthedetailsofthoselegalities,butIamjustthebeneficiaryoftheworkofourfoundingparents.

OurgrouphasaBoardwithfiveelected officers who serve 2-yearterms.Noofficerisallowedtoservemorethanoneconsecutiveterminthe same position. The remainingmembersoftheBoardincludeourdis-trict’sDirectorofGTandAdvancedAcademic Studies and others aselectedbytheofficers.WetrytohaveatleastoneCampusLiaisonateachcampusacrossthedistrict.OurmostactiveLiaisonsarefromelementaryschools,butweareworkingtowardbetter support of our secondaryLiaisons.TheLiaisonsmeetoncepermonthtostayinformedaboutdistrictchanges,campusneeds,andupcom-ingevents.TheBoardhasaseparatemonthlymeetingtodirecttheoverallfunctionoftheorganization.GeneralmembershipbrieflymeetsoncepersemesterincoordinationwithanotherGTeventorguestspeaker.

Enrichment Events:Enrichmentisanimportantpartofsupportingtheneedsofourkidsoutsideofschool.Our events give kids an opportu-nitytoengagewiththeirpeerswhileexploringaninterestordiscoveringanewone.Atfamilyevents,parents


haveachancetovisitand learnaswell.Ourlongestrunningandwell-known event is our annual SuperSaturday.Foranafternoon,400-500ofouridentifiedstudents(currentlyjustgrades1-6)havetheopportunityto experience a couple fun classesanda largersessionwithkidswholove learning like theydo.Acom-pleteclasslistisavailableonourwebsite,butexamplesare:anintroduc-

tiontothescienceofmotionthroughbuildingrollercoasterprototypes;liveanimalandreptileexperiences;dis-sectionofchickenfeet;geo-caching;robotbuilding;origami,rocketsandchess(seephoto3).ThekidslightupafteranafternoonoffunlikeSuperSaturday!

Financial co-sponsorship fromthe district, inexpensive or volun-teerpresentersplusahundredgen-eralvolunteersmakeitafreeevent.OneofthebenefitsofmembershipinourgroupisearlyenrollmentforSuperSaturday.Earlyenrollmentisthebestwaytosecureachild’sfavor-iteclasschoices.Eventvolunteersarerewardedwithanextraclassfortheirchild.Parentswhoarenotbusywithavolunteerassignmentcanchoosefromahandfuloffreeparentsessionswhiletheirchildishavingfun.

Thisyear,weinvestedinsetsoftheZomebuildingtool.(ThankstoTPPGfounderStaciaTaylorfortheidea).WebasedsomeofourFamilyFunNightsonaBuildingandBrainTeasers theme.Our liaisonspassaplastictubofeventsuppliesbetweenthemthatcontainseverythingtheyneed.Bydoingthis,wemakeitmorelikelyfortheeventstohappenbecauseitiseasierfortheLiaisons,weuseourresourceswisely,andwereachmorestudents.Wehavefoundthatabulkofourmembershipscomefromaneventthatachildattends.Ifyouarenotpro-

vidingeventsofinteresttothekids,yourmembershipswillsuffer.

Member recruitment:Becauseoftheprivacylawsmentionedabove,finding GT parents is a constantobstacle.Wecanreachthematourownevents,butwealsotrytoattendeverypublicGTinformationmeetingsponsoredbythedistrict.Ifgiventheopportunity,wemakeashortpitchforourgroupateachgathering.Wealsohaveadisplayboardwithphotosanddescriptionsofwhatwedo,member-shipforms,andemailsign-upsheetstomaximizetheuseofourtime.Ourmembershipsare$15perfamilyeachschoolyearandhavebeenatthatlevelformanyyears.Educatormember-ships are often sponsored for $10.Evenifwemostlygetemailaddresses,itisworththeeffortbecausetherearesofewgatheringsofGTparentsout-sideofourownevents.

Guest speakers:Thecommunityofgiftededucationischaritable.Ihavefoundmostlocalexpertswillspeaktoparentgroupsforareasonablehonorar-iumorevenforfree.Youmayeliminatetravelexpensesbyinvitingaspeakerwho will be in your area for a staffdevelopmentworkshop.Wehavebeencharginganominaladmissionof$5fornon-membersandadmittingeduca-torsandmembersforfree.EducatorsmaybemorelikelytoattendifyourdistrictiswillingtograntGT-updatecreditforattending.Becausethereare

photo 1. AkindergartenerdelightsinaddingsprinklestohericecreamataFamilyFunNight.PhotobySusanSweeney

photo 2. ThisstudentfoundanunconventionaluseforherZomebuildingtoolcreationataFamilyFunNight.PhotobyMelissaFurman

photo 3. TwoboysplayingchessataSuperSaturdayevent.PhotobyMelissaFurman


alwaysconflictingevents,wehavebeenrecordingourspeakereventssopeoplecanviewthemonourwebsite.Somespeakerspermititandsomedonot,butwealwaysask.Itisalsoagreatideatoinviteyourdistrict’ssuperintendentandschoolboardmemberstoyourspeakerevents.Bydoingso,youmagnifytheimpactofoneevent.Guestspeakersraiseawarenessamongeducators,par-ents,andourcommunitythatgifted-nesshasitsownsetofchallengesthatneedtobemetathomeandatschool.

Teacher Support and Appreciation:Parentsandparent-teacher organizations sometimesoverlookGTSpecialists.OurCampusLiaisonsoftenserveasroomparentsforelementaryGTpulloutteachers.Asanorganization,wearefindingmoreandmorewaystoexpressourappreciation to our GT specialiststhroughawards,treats,andgifts.ItistheGTspecialistswhooftenmakethemostpositiveimpactontheschoolexperienceofourGTchildrenandtheyshouldbeappreciatedandrecog-nizedfortheirdedicationandeffort.You might be surprised how oftentheyareoverlooked.

Grants: Formanyyears,wehaveofferedgrantstoapplicantswhocoulddemonstratethereachandbenefitofapurchaseforourdistrict’sGTstu-dents.Inrecentyears,wehavesoughtopportunitiestofunditemsthatben-efitmanycampusesinthesamewayinsteadofwaitingforindividualstoapplyforafewcampuses.Wehaverecentlyfundedbooksforadistrict-widebookstudy,physicssoftwareforSMARTBoards,anddifferentiationtools for teachers. Budgets alwaysseem to be tight for schools. Ourgrants make fantastic educationalopportunitiespossible forourkidsandtheystrengthenourreputationasaconstructiveeducationpartner.

School Board Candidate Forum:Formorethan10years,wehavesponsoredthiseventasaservicetoourcommunity,butitalsobenefitsourorganizationandourkids.Eachyear, as candidatesfile their inten-tiontorunforaseatonourschoolboard,weinvitethemtoparticipate

inourforum.Wealsosendthemapacketofourrecentnewslettersandother information about our mostimportantissues.Ourparentgroup’sboardwritesthefirstfewforumques-tionsandthat isastrongincentiveforcandidates toprepare fromtheinformationwesend.Theremainingquestionsarewrittenbytheaudienceandaresortedbyatableofourvol-unteerssothatthebroadestrangeoftopicscanbecovered.Recordingtheforumandpostingthevideotoourwebsiteincreasedthereachofthis

eventlastyear.Alocalhighschoolstudenthelpeduswiththetechnol-ogy.Ourschoolboardmembersknowwhoweareandwhatissueswehave.Thatisanimportantadvocacybenefitfromoneannualevent.

Publicity:Sendingpressreleaseswith photos after your eventsincreases communityawarenessofyourgroupandgeneratesinterestinyouractivities.Itcanbeeasytoforgetintheafterglowofabigevent,butifyouforget,yourgroupmissesoutonanopportunitytoreachnewpeople.Wehavebeenimprovingonthisandhavefoundthatourgroupisbecom-ingbetterknownbecauseofit.Don’tforgettofindsomeonewhowillsaveyourpressclippingsforposterity.Itwillbeimpossibletorecreatelater.

Connecting to other groups:IencourageyoutobecomeanaffiliategroupofTAGT(TexasAssociationfortheGiftedandTalented)andNAGC(National Association for GiftedChildren).Theyarebothimportantorganizationsthatareincreasingtheirfocusonandsupportofparentsand

localparentgroups.Theirconferencesandcommunicationswillhelpyourgroupbeabetterresourceforyourmembers and inspire new ideas. Iwouldliketoseeparentgroupsspendmoreenergycollaboratingandshar-ingthebestpracticesthroughTAGTand NAGC. If our groups worktogether,wecanallbemoreeffectivewithfewerresources.

Book Clubs:Manyparentgroupshave had success with book clubsbasedonvariousGTparentingbooks.Wehavenotlaunchedoneyet,butweareconsideringit.SENG(ServingtheEmotionalNeedsofOurGifted)hasdesignedagreatsmallgroupmodeland securing a SENG facilitator isa worthwhile goal. Book clubs canbreakthroughthefeelingofisolationparentshaveandcandirectlyimpactgiftedkidsbyhelpingthembebetterunderstoodathome.

If you do not have an existinggroup, you will not be able to doeverything at once. Remember tostartsmallwithacoffeeorgamenightandseeifotherparentsareinterestedindoingmore.Ihopetheexamplesabovewillbeaninspirationtoyouasyourgroupgrows.

In June, my time as Presidentofourlocalgroupwillend,butmycommitment will continue. I amdetermined tomentornewgroupsinotherareasandconnectexistinggroups.Therearesomanydetailsofwhatwedothatcannotbecoveredinthespaceofthisarticle.IfIcanhelpyouorprovidedetails,pleasecontactme.IwouldbehappytoworkwithGTcoordinatorsanddirectorswhoaresearchingforlike-mindedparentsintheirdistrict.ItistruethatIhavebeeninfectedwithwhatanotherGTadvocatecalled“missionaryzeal.”

Susan Williams Sweeney is married and theproudmotheroftwogirls(4th&7thgrades).HerpassionforgiftedadvocacycomesfromherparentswhoalwayssoughtthebesteducationalopportunitiesforherasshegrewupinMichigan.SheisfinishinghersecondyearasPresidentofKatyParentsofGiftedandTalentedStudents,Inc in Katy, Texas. She can be contacted atGTParentGroups@gmail.comformoreinforma-tionabouttheprogramsdescribedinthearticle.

Our kids cannot

understand and meet

their own educational,

social, or emotional

needs without our help.


by Kimberly M. Tyler, Ph.D.

findinG academic peers for your Gifted child

“I feel like a puzzle piece with no puzzle to fit into.”

Third grade gifted student

When it comes to educatingour students in most K-12schools,rarelydoestheidea

ofabilitycomeintoplayintermsofplacement in regular classrooms.Studentsareoftenrandomlyplacedwithclassroomteachersinheteroge-neousclassroomsbasedstrictlyonthemonthandyeartheywereborn.Theideaofhomogeneouslygroup-ingstudentsbasedonabilityaloneisapracticemostschooldistrictssteeras far away from as possible. As aresult,giftedstudentsareplacedinclassroomswith studentsat abilitylevelsandmaturitylevelsmuchdif-ferentfromtheirown.Asaresult,itisdifficulttofindpeerswithwhomtheyhaveverymuchincommon. What is a peer? According toWebster’s Dictionary, a peer is “apersonwhoisofequalstandingwithanotherinagroup.”Intermsofedu-cation,thistermwasinterpretedtomeansomethingmorealongthelinesofanage-mate, andgroupingprac-ticesbegan(Schultz&Delisle,2003).Unfortunatelythestudentswhoben-

efitleastfromthistypeofgroupingarethosewhoaregifted.Thebeliefthat gifted children need to relatesociallytochildrenoftheirownagewithoutregardtoabilityisadamag-ingconstructthatoftenleadstofeel-ingsofisolationforthesechildrenasmostgiftedchildrendevelopfriend-shipsbasedonsimilarinterestsandmentalage(Gross,2002;Kerr,1991;Silverman,2000).Infact,Silverman(2000)reports,“whengiftedchildrenareaskedwhattheymostdesire,theanswerisoften‘afriend’”(p.72).Itisnotuncommonformanygiftedchil-drentofeelisolatedfromsame-agepeersduetoalackofcommoninter-estsandadesiretoperformathigherlevels. Sowhatcanparentsdoinordertohelptheirgiftedchildrenfindtruefriendshipsandacademicchallengewiththeirintellectualpeers?Thefol-lowingisalistofsuggestionsthatareaimedatgivinggiftedchildrentheopportunitytoworkwithotherswithsimilarinterestsandabilities,regard-lessofchronologicalage:• Saturday/Summer Enrichment

Programs.Oneofthebestwaystohelpyourchildfindothergiftedchildrenwithsimilarabilitiesis

toenrolltheminaSaturdayorsummer enrichment programdesignedforgiftedlearners.TherearemanyuniversitiesacrossTexasandinotherstatesthatofferpro-gramsinavarietyofareas.Manyof these programs offer schol-arship opportunities and canbebothdayand/or residential.Allowinggiftedstudentstimetobewithothers“likethem”allowsthem the opportunity to sharepassionswithothersthatarejustasinterestedwithoutfearofrejec-tionorridicule(VanTassel-Baska,1998;Rimm,2002).Therearealsoopportunitiesforchallengeasthecurriculafortheseprogramsaredesignedwiththespecificneedsofgifted learners inmind. It isimportantthatparentsencourageandallowfriendshipsdevelopedin these programs to continue,whether it is through email,phonecalls,orgettingtogetherinperson.Often,itonlytakesonefriend,regardlessofthedistance,tohelpagiftedchildfeelmoreacceptedandappreciated.JustafewoftheseprogramsthroughouttheTexasinclude:

Although the educational system in America may not

provide opportunities for your gifted child to form bonds

with intellectual peers and to explore areas of passion,

there are many opportunities within your community for

you to provide your child with the necessary experiences for him/her to reach his/her full

potential.


Baylor’s University for Young People (UYP);Waco,Texas www.baylor.edu/soe/ccleS o u t h e r n M e t h o d i s t University’s Talented and Gifted (TAG);Dallas,TX www.smu.edu/tagTexas Tech University’s The Institute for the Development and Enrichment for Advanced Learners (IDEAL);Lubbock,TX www.depts.ttu.edu/diversity/Ideal%20.phpUniversity of Houston’s ScienceCamp;Houston,TX http://www.compucamp2008.com/html/sciencecamp_2008.htmlFormoreopportunitieswithinTexas and across the UnitedStates, visit http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/summer.htm.

• Local Museums/Exhibits.Manymuseumsofferspecialprogramsforstudentsofallabilitylevelsinanareaof interest.While suchprogramsarenotdesignedsolelyforgiftedlearners,thebenefitsoffindingsomeonewithasimilarpassioncanbeextremelybenefi-cialforbothparties.Checkwithlocalzoos,aquariums,fineartsvenues,museums,andotherloca-tionsinyourareatofindoppor-tunities in the area of interestyourchildpossesses.Checkbackperiodicallyasprogramofferingschangefrequently.

• Bibliotherapy.Booksareawon-derfultooltohelpgiftedlearnersfindacademicpeers.Usingbooksthatfeaturecharactersthataregiftedhelpsgiftedstudentslearnaboutthemselvesandtheirareasofinterest.Giftedchildrenoftendiscoverabondwithcharacters,bothrealandfictional,whomaybeexperiencingsimilarfeelings,ideas,andpassions.Parentscanread and discuss these issuesthrough the context of the lit-eratureasawayofopeningthelines of communication withtheir child (VanTassel-Baska,

1998;Schultz&Delisle,2003).Asimilarapproachcanbeusedwith movies featuring giftedindividuals.

• Finding Mentors. Researchstrongly supports the use ofmentorsasrolemodelsforgiftedstudents.Thispracticehelpsstu-dentslearnbothlongandshort-termgoal-settingskills,exposesthem to career opportunities,andallowsthemtheopportunity

toexperiencefirst-handwheretheir passions can lead them.Mentoringisespeciallybenefi-cialforgiftedgirlsinregardstodevelopingself-esteemaswellaslearninghowtobalancefamily-life with career opportunities(VanTassel-Baska,1998).Talktoyourchild’steacheraboutsome-oneintheschoolordistrictwhomightbewillingtobeamentortoyourchild;contactlocaluni-versities to locate a professorintheareainwhichyourchildexhibitshis/herpassion;checkwithlocalbusinessesorcompa-niestolocateprofessionalssuchasengineers,doctors,scientists,veterinarians,etc.whomightbewillingtogiveyourchildatourand/orsharetheirownexperi-ences.Mentorshipsdonothave

tobeinperson;amentorcanbesomeonewillingtocommunicatewithyourchildthroughemailorbyphone.Therearealsomanyopportunities through manyon-line mentoring programs.When a person is passionateaboutacertainsubject,theyareoftenmorethanwillingtoshareitwithothers–especiallyyoungpeopleinterestedintheirfieldorprofession.

AlthoughtheeducationalsysteminAmericamaynotprovideoppor-tunitiesforyourgiftedchildtoformbondswithintellectualpeersandtoexplore areas of passion, there aremanyopportunitieswithinyourcom-munityforyoutoprovideyourchildwith the necessary experiences forhim/hertoreachhis/herfullpotential.

referencesGross,M.U.M.(2002).Socialandemo-

tionalissuesforexceptionallyintel-lectually gifted students. In. M.Neihart,S.M.Feis,N.M.Robinson,&S.M.Moon(Eds.),The social and emotional development of gifted chil-dren: What do we know?.Waco,TX:PrufrockPress.

Kerr,B.(1991).A handbook for counseling the gifted and talented.Alexandria,VA:AmericanAssociationforCoun-selingandDevelopment.

Rimm,S.(2002).Peerpressuresandsocialacceptanceofgiftedstudents.InM.Neihart,S.M.Reis,N.M.Robinson,S.M. Moon (Eds.), The social and emotional development of gifted chil-dren: What do we know? Waco,TX:PrufrockPress.

Schultz,R.A.&Delisle,J.R.(2003).Giftedadolescents.InN.Colangelo&G.A.Davis(Eds.),Handbook of gifted edu-cation(3rded.,pp.483-492).Boston:Allyn&Bacon.

Silverman,L.K. (2000).Counseling the gifted and talented.USA:LovePub-lishingCompany.

VanTassel-Baska,J.L.(1998).Excellence in educating gifted and talented learn-ers. Denver, CO: Love PublishingCompany.


by Rachel Colvin-Jenkins and Susan K. Johnsen, Ph.D.

critical issues in Gifted educationWhat the Research Says

SeventyyearsagoLetaHolling-worth(1931)identifiedfourcriti-calquestionsingiftededucation:

Can American public schoolsidentify and recognize giftedchildren and make provisionsfortheireducation?Shouldtheproblemofappropriateworkbesolvedbyaccelerationatarapidrate through school grades?Should the problem be solvedbyenrichmentoftheprescribedcurriculumwithoutaccelerationandwithoutsegregation?Shouldgiftedchildrenbesegregatedinspecialschoolsorclasses,andbeeducatedbycombiningenrich-mentwithamoderatedegreeofacceleration?”(p.196)

Havethesequestionsbeenanswered?Do they continue to be debatable?Whatarethecurrentissuesincur-riculum?inprogramming?inassess-ment?Thisarticlewilladdresssomeofthesequestionsandfocusoncriti-cal issues identified by researchersthat have had an impact on giftededucation. This review included articlespublishedinGifted Child Quarterly,

Journal for the Education of the Gifted, andRoeper Reviewduringthepasttenyears.Weincludedempiricalstudiesaswellascommentariesthatfocusedoncriticalissues,concerns,orques-tionsingiftededucation.Internationalsampleswereexcluded.Theseselec-tioncriteriaidentified14articles.Ofthese,seven(50%)wereempiricalorresearch-based,one(7%)wasa lit-erature review, and six (43%)werecommentaries.Themajorityof thedata-basedarticleswerequalitativeinnaturewiththeremainderusingques-tionnaires,surveys,orassessmentstoreportdescriptiveresultsand/orcom-parisons.Noexperimentalorquasi-experimentalstudieswerereported(e.g.,thosethatusedcontrolgroupsorcomparisongroupstoidentifyeffec-tiveinterventions). Criticalconcernsinthefieldofgiftededucationhaveevolvedwithtime;however,manyofthequestionsposedduringLetaHollingworth’slife-time(1886-1939)remainunansweredtoday(Klein,2000).Frequentlycitedcritical concerns from the latestresearch in gifted education werepolicy,accountability,identification,programming,teachertraining,anddevelopment.

The implementation of policiesin gifted education has been influ-enced by national reports, legisla-tion, resources, and accountability.Professional educators and parentsneedtobeawareofvariouspoliciesandlegislationthatnotonlyconcerngiftededucationatalocallevel,butalsoevaluatetheeffectsofpoliciesatanational level (e.g.,NoChildLeftBehind Act)(Gentry, 2006). Thesepoliciesmaybecloselyconnectedandhaveunintendedandnegativeeffectsforgiftedstudents.Forexample,fol-lowingthe National Excellence Report,Landrum,Katsiyannis,andDeWaard(1998)reportedthat33statespassedlegislationaddressinggiftededucation.However,only23raisedcurriculumstandardsorprovidedmorechalleng-ingopportunitiesforthegifted.Thisinconsistencywascorroboratedinastudyanalyzingstatepolicies(Brown,Avery, VanTassel-Baska, Worley II,& Stambaugh, 2006). The authorsobservedalackofcohesiononissuesthatincludedidentification,program-ming,andprofessionaldevelopment.Theauthorsnotedthatleadersinstateeducationneedtoreachaconsensussotheymighttakeamoreactiveroleinadvocatingforprogramsandservices


thatarebeneficialandofqualityforgiftedstudents.Theyaddedthat“pro-gramsatlocallevelswillnotimprovewithoutappropriateincentives,levers,andsticksfromthestatelevel”(p.22).AccountabilitywasalsoseenasakeytobetterprogrammingbybothGallagher(2000)andPeine(1998).Theyagreedthat programs needed to be moredefensibleforchangetooccur.Ontheotherhand,Swanson(2007)didfindthatchangeoccurredwhencollabora-tioninvolvedmultiplelevelsofconstit-uencygroups.ShestudiedasuccessfulSouthCarolinapoliticalendeavorinwhichteacherandadministratorrela-tionshipswithgovernors,statesuper-intendents,andkeystatelegislatorsinfluencedpositivechangesforgiftededucation.Anotheraspectofpolicyimplementationwasthattheytendedtocreatemore issues.For instance,Hertzog(2003)notednewissuessuchasequity,quality,accountability,pro-fessional development, and reformwereraisedafteranadvocacyevent. Nineof thearticles stated thatconceptions,definitions,and iden-tification of gifted students werecritical issues in gifted education.Cohen(2006)discussedtheneedforthedevelopmentofametatheoryforgiftededucation,whileothersarguedfor a simple, usable definition thateveryonecouldagreeupon (Peine,1998;Pfeiffer,2003)andaconcreterepresentation of the gifted child(Peine,1998).Inabilitytoreachcon-sensusonadefinitionof“gifted”per-petuatestwomajorcriticismsingiftededucation:inappropriateassessmentandunderrepresentationofdiverseminorities(Bernal,2002;BonnerII,Jennings,Marbley,&Brown,2008;Chamberlin, 2008; Klein, 2000; &Pfeiffer,2003).Onestudysuggestedthatprogramsexpandidentificationmeasurestoincludeleadership,whichmightincreasethenumberofAfrican-Americanmalesingiftedprograms(Bonner II, Jennings, Marbley, &Brown,2008). While programming for giftedstudentswascitedasanothercriti-cal issue ingiftededucation,manyof the authors suggested possible

solutions. Improvements to giftedprogrammingconsistedofprovidingchallengingopportunities, increas-ingearlyaccesstogiftededucation,andfocusingontalentdevelopment.Potentialchangeincurriculumforthegiftedwasalsodiscussedandincludedincreasing options for curriculumthatallowaccelerationandenrich-mentaswellasincreasingbreadth,depth, and specificity of advancedcurriculapairedwithupdatedstan-dards(Gallagher,2000;Hertzog,2003;Klein,2000;Landrum,Katsiyannis,& DeWaard, 1998; Peine, 1998; &Pfeiffer,2003).AveryandVanTassel-Baska(2001)didnoteevaluationsofprogramsweremostusefulwhen(a)resourcesareavailablethatwillpropelgiftedprogramsforward,(b)leader-ship expertise to administer giftedprogramsexists,and(c)professionalsviewevaluationsasusefulinprogramdevelopment. Underrepresentationofminori-ties isnotonlyviewedasacriticalissueinidentificationbutalsoinpro-grammingandcurriculum(Bernal,2002; Bonner et al., 2008). Bernal(2002)maintained thatgiftededu-cationneededmoreminorityteach-ers,amulticulturalcurriculum,andabilingualgiftedandtalentedpro-gram.Similarly,Bonneretal.(2002)suggestedthatblackmalesbecomemoreinvolvedinculturallyspecificprograms.Giftededucationandmul-ticulturaleducationmustsupportoneanotherthroughintelligentdialogueand research so they may one dayceasetoexistseparately(Chamberlin,2008). Teachertrainingandprofessionaldevelopment were also mentionedascriticalconcernsingiftededuca-tion.Manyof theauthorsbelievedthat extra, specialized preparationwasneededtoteachgiftedstudents(Brown, Avery, VanTassel-Baska,Worley II, & Stambaugh, 2006;Gallagher,2000;Hertzog,2003;Klein,2000;&Peine,1998).In1998,how-ever,only24statesrequiredaspecialcertificatetoinstructgiftedstudents(Landrum,Katsiyannis,&DeWaard,1998). Did these certificates result

inhighlycompetentandconfidentteachers of gifted children? Again,resultshavebeeninconclusive.Peine(1998)claimedthatsignificantissuesinteachertrainingwere(a)alackoftraining,(b)littleknowledgeaboutadvocatingeffectivelyforthegiftedpopulation,and(c)aneedformeth-odstoworkproductivelywithothereducators. In conclusion, critical issuesrelatedtoconceptionsofthefieldofgiftededucation,policy,accountabil-ity,identification,underrepresenta-tion,programming,curriculum,andprofessionaldevelopmentcontinuetopersist.Moreresearchisneededsothatprofessionalswillknowwhatworksandwhatdoesnot,whichwilllaythefoundationforstatestoexer-cisequalitycontrolofbothprogramsandservices(Brownetal.,2006).

reference:Hollingworth, L. S. (1931). How

should gifted children be edu-cated?Baltimore Bulletin of Edu-cation, 50,196-198.

Avery,L.D.,&VanTassel-Baska, J.(2001).Investigatingtheimpactofgiftededucationevaluationatstateandlocallevels:Problemswithtraction.Journal for the Edu-cation of the Gifted, 25,153-176.

Theauthorsidentifiedprogrameval-uationanditsuseascritical issuesin gifted program development.Theirstudy,usingamixedmethodsapproach,describedhowtwogiftedprograms were implemented at astateand local level.Theresearch-ers collected data using surveys,classroomobservations,documentreview,andfocusgroups.Thestatesurveyreceiveda63%responseratefrom educators, with 1,500 parentresponses;whereas,thelocalsurveyreceiveda43%response rate fromeducatorsanda28%responseratefromparents.Theauthorsreportedthat there was an absence of data


onstudentlearning;aneedforpro-gramexpansionanddepthofcontentcovered; limitedstaff-developmentoptions; and a need for parentinvolvement.Followingtheirevalu-ation,theresearchersmaderecom-mendationsforthedevelopmentofevaluation plans on the state andlocal level. A six-month follow-upcasestudywasusedtodeterminetheextenttowhichtheevaluationplanswereimplemented.Fourstakeholderswereinterviewedandadministereda short rating scale. As a result ofthisfollow-up,fourthemesemergedregardingtheevaluation:(a)itwasaconsciousness-raisingexperience;(b)itwasanimportantprocessineffect-ingchange;(c)itresultedinvariousstrugglesincludinglackofresources,changes in leadership, lackofcon-sensus, and the intrusion of otherpriorities;and(d)itneededtocon-tinue through the planning phaseandbeyond.Theauthorsconcludedthat these elements are needed inmakingprogramevaluationsuseful:(a)resourcesthatwillpropelgiftedprograms forward, (b) leadershipexpertise toadministergiftedpro-grams; and (c) professional viewsthatevaluationsareusefulinprogramdevelopment.

Bernal, E. (2002). Three ways toachieveamoreequitablerepre-sentation of culturally and lin-guisticallydifferent students inGTprograms.Roeper Review, 24,82-88.

InBernal’scommentaryconcerningthecriticalissueofunderrepresen-tationingiftededucation,henotedlitigiousconfrontationstohighlightthesocialandpoliticalreasonsforthedisproportionatenumberofminoritychildreningiftedclassesacrossthecountry.Hesuggestedseveralsolu-tionsforaddressingunderrepresen-tation:(a)increasingthenumberofgiftedandtalentedminorityteach-ers;(b)creatingamulticulturalcur-riculumthatemphasizesculturalandlinguisticdiversity;and(c)compilingevaluationdatathatsupportsmul-

ticulturalteachers,curriculum,andstudentsuccessingiftededucation.BernalthendescribedtheBilingualTeachersforGTProgramsModelandtheModernTwo-way,Dual-languageGTProgramModelasaviablepro-gramoptionforencouragingmorerepresentationofbilingualgiftedstu-dents.Henotedthebilingualgiftedclassshouldbeafeatureaddedonlytoapreexistingmulticulturalgiftededucationprogram.

BonnerII,F.A.,Jennings,M.E.,Mar-bley,A.F.,&Brown,L. (2008).Capitalizingonleadershipcapac-ity: Gifted African-Americanmales in high school. Roeper Review, 30,93-103.

Inthisreviewofthe literature, theresearchers examine (a) defini-tionsofgiftedness;(b)schoolcon-text and environment; (c) identitydevelopment;(d)thecultivationofresilience;and(e)leadershippoten-tial as possible factors that affecttheunderrepresentationofAfricanAmericanmalesingiftedprograms.The federal definition of the termgifted accountsforgiftednessacrosscultures and includes a leadershipcomponentthatcouldincreaseiden-tificationofblackmalesasgifted.Theresearchersalsoreportedthatiden-tity development and self-conceptarecriticaltoconfidenceinacadem-icsandgainsinleadershipability.Theauthorsadvocatedthatblackmalesbecomemoreinvolvedinculturallyspecific Rites of Passage programstodevelopethnicprideandidentity,learnleadershipskills,andhavemen-toringopportunities.

Brown,E.,Avery,L.,VanTassel-Baska,J.,WorleyII,B.B.,&Stambaugh,T.(2006).Afive-stateanalysisofgiftededucationpolicies.Roeper Review, 29,11-23.

This descriptive study examinedtheeffectsofstatepoliciesingiftededucationonpractice.TheCollegeofWilliamandMaryteamselected

states thathad(a)a full-timestatedirector; (b) stategiftededucationlegislationand/ormandateinatleastonearea;(c)fundingthresholdsabove$5million;and(d)comparabilitytoOhiointermsoflocalcontrol.Datawerecollectedthrough(a)documents(regulations,guidelines,andstatepol-icies);(b)structuredinterviewswithDepartmentofEducationpersonnel;(c)focusgroupswiththestate’sadvi-sorygroupingiftededucation;and(d)ananalysisofthestate’swrittenpoliciesascomparedtotheNationalAssociation for Gifted Children’sK-12programstandards.Theycom-paredthesecomponentswithinandacrossstates:definitionandidenti-fication,programming,curriculumandinstruction,professionaldevel-opment, program monitoring, andsupplementary policies. They con-cludedthat“programsatlocallevelswillnotimprovewithoutappropri-ateincentives,levers,andsticksfromthestatelevelasmostdistrictsstilldependonstatesfor90%ormoreoftheir funding for gifted education.Knowingwhatworksandwhatdoesnotiscrucialforstatesinexercisingbothqualitycontrolofprogramsandservices”(p.22).

Chamberlin,S.A.(2008).Anexami-nationofarticlesingiftededuca-tionandmulticulturaleducationjournals.Journal for the Educa-tion of the Gifted, 32,86-99.

Thestudyidentifiedthenumberofgiftedarticlesinmulticulturaleduca-tionjournalsaswellasthenumberof multicultural education articlesfoundingiftedjournals.Theresearchspanned from 1995 to 2004. Thegiftedjournalsinthisstudyincluded:Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, and Roeper Review. The multiculturaleducationjournalsusedinthisstudyincluded:Multicultural Perspectives, Multicultural Education,and Urban Education. Selectedarticleswereiden-tifiedthroughkeywordsearches.Keywordsforthegiftedjournalsearchesincluded:culture, gender, culture-gen-


der, socioeconomic status,and sexual orientation.Keywordsforthemulti-culturaleducationaljournalsearchesincluded:gift, talent, intellect, achieve-ment,and academic. Theresultsindi-catedthat0.9%ofthe877articlesfromthe threemulticultural educationaljournalshadagiftedfocus,whereas15.7% of the 937 articles from thethreegiftedjournalshadamulticul-turalfocus.Theauthorconcludedthat(a)leadersinthefieldofmulticulturaleducationalresearchoughttofocussomeresearcheffortsongiftededuca-tion,and(b)bothmulticulturalandgiftededucatorsmustworktogethertoinfusegiftededucationtopicsintomulticulturaleducation.

Cohen, L. M. (2006). Conceptualfoundationsforgiftededucation:Stock-taking.Roeper Review, 28,91-112.

Thisstudyusedgroundedtheorytobothqualitativelyandquantitativelyanalyzethepast16yearsofConceptualFoundationsprogramabstractsfromtheNationalAssociationforGiftedChildrenConventions.Topicsofthe360 presentations explored the (a)developmentofmetatheory;(b)con-ceptionsanddefinitionsofgiftednessandtalent;(c)philosophicalandethi-calfoundationsofgiftededucation;(d)reviewofhistoricalperspectivesingiftedresearch;(e)trends,issues,and futuredirections ingiftedandtalentededucation;(f )perspectivesfromoutsidethefield;and(g)social,political, and economic consider-ations.PresentationsweregroupedbytheirrelevancetotheDivision’smis-sions,andthemesamongthepresen-tationswereidentifiedanddescribed.Ofthe36presentationsthatrelatedto issues, the author focused onone critical issue: the connectionsbetweengeneralandgiftededucation.“Whatprinciplesandstrategiesfromgiftededucationmightbebeneficialfor all learners? How would theseparticularlyassistimpoverishedandunderrepresentedyouth?Whatwouldhappen,forexample,ifagiftededuca-

tionwerethefocus,ratherthanthegiftedchild?”(p.94).

Gallagher, J. J. (2000).Unthinkablethoughts: Education of giftedstudents.Gifted Child Quarterly, 44,5-12.

In his commentary on the state ofgifted education, Gallagher posedfourquestionsforconsideration:(a)Istherereallysuchanentityasagiftedchild;(b)Istheresuchanentityasgiftededucation;(c)Istheresuchanentityasspecialpersonnelprepara-tionforteachersofgiftedstudents;and(d)Istheapplicationofspecialservicesforgiftedstudentssufficientinscopeandintensitytomakeadif-ferenceintheclassroom?Gallagheralso requested the implementationofvariousactionsforeachquestionrespectively:(a)establishmentofeli-gibility requirements for advancedprogramsinspecificcontentareas;(b)establishmentofadvancedcon-tentstandardsforgiftedstudentsinthegeneraleducationcurriculum;(c)establishmentofstandardsandorga-nizationofsystematicandsequentialexperiencesforteachersofthegifted;and(d)establishmentofminimumtime commitments to services forgiftedstudents.Hestated,“thetrulyunthinkablethoughtisthatwewouldcontinuetogoonthewaywehavebeenwithoutsomerecognitionoftheneedforchange”(p.11).

Gentry, M. (2006). No child leftbehind: Neglecting excellence.Roeper Review, 29,24-27.

This article focused on the effectsofNoChildLeftBehind(NCLB)ongiftedchildren’s education.Gentryidentifiedthesechallenges:(a)focus-ingonremediationtoincreasepro-ficiency of low-achieving students;(b)teachingtothetest;(c)deliver-ingaone-size-fits-alleducation;(d)increasingthenumbersofdropouts,pushedouts,andleftouts;(e)creatingfearamongteachersandadministra-torsinallowingteacherstoteach;(f )increasingcheating,lying,andfuzzy

mathasameansofreportingschooldata;and(g)advocatingalternativepathwaystoschoolsandteachercer-tification.Educatorsandparentswereencouragedto“questionthelawanddoeducationallywhatisbestforthechildren”(p.26).

Hertzog,N.B.(2003).Advocacy:“Onthecuttingedge...”.Gifted Child Quarterly, 47,66-81.

Inthiscasestudy,theWoodhavenCountyPublicSchools,comprisedof125,000students, implementedthe Revised Policy on Gifted andTalented Education, which wasadoptedinNovemberof1995.Thiscasewaspartofalargerstudyspon-soredbytheNationalAssociationforGiftedChildren,whichfocusedonanadvocacyeventthatsoughttoestablishappropriateeducationintheregularclassroomforgradesK-8.Thedesiredoutcomesofthepolicywere(a)anacceleratedandenrichedprogramdevelopedineachsubjectarea;(b)allcapablestudentshavingthe opportunity to accelerate andreceiveenrichment;(c)schoolsusingflexibleandvariedgroupingarrange-ments;and(d)theclassroom,orga-nizationoftheschool,andteachingstrategies accommodating thediversity of students backgroundsand interests.Theadvocacyeventraisedtheseissues:equity,quality,andaccountability;teachertraining;andtheprocessofreform.

Klein,A.G.(2000).Fittingtheschooltothechild:ThemissionofLetaStetterHollingworth,founderofgiftededucation.Roeper Review, 23,97-103.

ThisarticlewasacelebrationofthelifeandworkofLetaHollingworth,researcherandpioneerforgiftededu-cation.TheauthornotedthatcriticalissuesinHollingworth’sdaystillexisttoday.Hollingworthclaimedthefourmostcriticalquestionsingiftededu-cationwerethese:

1/2pgSIGad


1. Canpublicschoolsidentifygiftedchildrenandmakeprovisionsfortheireducation?

2. Isaccelerationtheanswertotheproblemofappropriatechallengeintheclassroom?

3. Will the problem of appropri-atechallengebebestsolvedbyenrichmentwithoutaccelerationorsegregation?

4. Should gifted students be seg-regated and offered enrich-mentcourseswithaccelerationoptions?

Hollingworth’s questions wereaddressedthroughherownresearchfindings. Hollingworth believedgiftedstudentsoughttobeidentifiedthroughmultiplecriteria,thatenrich-mentandaccelerationwerenecessaryforgiftedstudents,andthatsegre-gatededucationalsettingsinwhichthegiftedcouldlearnhomogeneouslywereoptimal.

Landrum,M.S.,Katsiyannis,A.,&DeWaard, J. (1998). A nationalsurveyofcurrentlegislativeandpolicytrendsingiftededucation:LifeandaftertheNational Excel-lence report.Journal for the Edu-cation of the Gifted, 21,352-371.

Thisstudyexploredthenatureandavailabilityofpolicyandstatelegisla-tureforgiftedstudentsresultingfromtheNational Excellence: A Case for Developing America’s Talentreport,specificallythesevencriticalissues.A survey was mailed to the statecoordinatorsofgiftededucationineverystate.Fortystatescompletedthe survey, and 31 states providedsupplementallegislativeandpolicymaterials.Theresultswerereported:1. 33statesreportedpassinglegisla-

tionaddressinggiftededucation.2. 40stateswereinvolvedinaddress-

inggiftededucationinitiatives.

3. 24stateshadteachercertificationingiftededucation.

4. 23statesclaimedeffortstoraisecurriculumstandards forgiftededucation.

5. 23statesindicatedthattheypro-videdmorechallengingopportu-nitiesforthegifted.

6. 9statesmadeeffortstoofferearlychildhoodgiftedprograms.

7. 10statesmadeeffortstomakegiftedstudentsgloballycompetitive.

These results indicated that someprogresshasbeenmadetowardtheseveninitiatives.Recommendationsincluded(a)trainingandsupportofteacherswhoservegiftedstudentsinthegeneraleducationclassroom,(b)implementingaqualitativestudytoevaluatethegeneraleducationclass-roomopportunities,and(c)increas-ing challenging opportunities forminority and disadvantaged giftedlearners.

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Peine,M.(1998).Practicalmatters.Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 22,37-55.

Inthiscommentaryofoneteacher’sexperience,Peinestatedthreeissuesthathavereceivedfocusedcriticismingiftededucation:identification,programming,teachers,andteach-ing.As the term“gifted”expandstoincludeintelligence,talent,andsocial equity, so too must proce-duresforidentification.Peineaskedthatthenewdefinition,createdbymembersinthefield,beusable—aconcrete representation of giftedchildrenthatisaccessibletolargernumbers of professionals. Peinecalledforaframeworkforgiftednessthatmakesprogramsmoredefensi-bleandaccountable.Withrespecttoprogramming,Peinenotedthelargetaskoffosteringaparadigmshiftinprogrammingthatusesthenotionof talent development in schools.Other deterrents to a successfulgiftedprogramincluded(a)lowfea-sibilityofindividualizedinstruction;(b)lackofsupportforacceleration;(c) difficulty of including enrich-ingexperiencesinthecurriculum;(d)needforcontent-relatedstudyratherthan“cutecontent;”and(e)limiteddirectapplicationofcontent(p. 48). Issues related to teachersandteachingincludedlackoftrain-ing,howtoadvocateeffectivelyforgiftedprograms,andfindingtimetoworkwithothereducators.

Pfeiffer,S.I.(2003).Challengesandopportunities forstudentswhoare gifted: What the expertssay.Gifted Child Quarterly, 47,161-169.

This study explored, through theperceptionofexpertsinthefield,thefutureanddirectionofgiftededuca-tion. Sixty-four experts completedsurveys(aresponserateof46%)offiveopen-endedquestions. Thefirstquestionwas:What are the greatest identification, assess-ment, and/or definitional issues in the gifted field?Threethemesemerged

fromtheresponses:(a)94%oftheexpertsclaimedalackofconsensusonhowtodefinegiftedandtalented;(b)41%oftheexpertssaidproblemswiththe identificationprocess; (c)30%oftheexpertsstatedquestion-ablevalidityofexistinginstrumentsandunderrepresentationofcultur-ally-diversegroups. Thesecondquestionwas:What are the greatest curricula and instruc-tion issues facing the gifted student?From the responses, five themesemerged: (a) lack of curricularbreadth,depth,andspecificity(84%);(b) limited options for curriculum(44%); (c) lack of professionalism(38%);(d)insufficientpolicies(31%);and(e)translationofresearchtoprac-tice(28%). Thethirdquestionwas:What is the most pressing unanswered ques-tion? The top three themes thatemerged for thisquestionwere (a)educationquestions(63%);(b)howtopromotetalent(28%);and(c)howtoimproveassessment(28%). Thefourthquestionaskedwas:What are the most important research findings in the last 5 years?Thetopthreethemesfromthisquestionwere(a)educationalinnovation(75%);(b)identifyingthecharacteristicsofthegifted(34%);andunderstandingtalentdevelopment(28%). Thefifthquestionwas:What are the most significant developments or innovations?Thesixthemesthatemerged from the responses were:(a)enhancedlearningopportunities(56%); (b) new views of giftednessandhumanpotential(50%);(c)meet-ing the needs of underrepresentedpopulations (22%); (d) improvedidentificationprocedures(22%);(e)collaborationwithregulareducators(19%);and(f )appliedresearchandtechnology(19%).

Swanson,J.D.(2007).Policyandprac-tice:Acasestudyofgiftededuca-tionpolicyimplementation.Jour-nal for the Education of the Gifted, 31,131-164.

In her qualitative case study,Swansondescribedthreesignificantgroupsthatimpactedgiftededuca-tionpolicyinSouthCarolinafrom1984 to 2004: the policymakers(thosewhodevelopstatutes,regula-tions,andpolicies),linkers(districtpersonswhoimplementpolicy),andadopters (school-based persons,compriseddatasources).Swansoncollecteddatausingindividualinter-views,focusgroupinterviews,anddocument reviews (law, reports,newsletters,regulations,revisions,manuals,andresourceguides).Themajorinfluencesontheevolutionofgiftededucationpolicywere lead-ership at all three levels, and thedrivetoimprovepubliceducation.Leadershipwasprovidedbythegov-ernor,statesuperintendent,keystatelegislators,statedepartmentgiftededucation directors, local giftededucation coordinators, teachers,and building level administrators.TheauthorconcludedthatadvocacyandpoliticalrelationshipsbenefitedSouthCarolina’sgiftedstudents(p.161).

RachelColvin-Jenkinsisamaster’sstudentintheDepartmentofEducationalPsychologyatBaylorUniversity,specializingingiftededucation.

Susan K. Johnsen, Ph. D., is a professor inthe Department of Educational Psychologyat Baylor University. She directs the Ph. D.Programandprogramsrelatedtogiftedandtalentededucation.She ispast-presidentoftheTexasAssociationforGiftedandTalentedandpresidentoftheAssociationfortheGifted,CouncilforExceptionalChildren.Shehaswrit-tenover100articles,monographs,technicalreports,andbooksrelatedtogiftededucation.Sheisafrequentpresenterat international,national,andstateconferences.SheiseditorofGifted Child Todayandservesontheedito-rialboardsofGifted Child Quarterly, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, and Roeper Review.SheistheauthorofIdentifying Gifted Students: A Practical Guide;co-authoroftheIndependent Study Program and three teststhatareusedinidentifyinggiftedstudents:Test of Mathematical Abilities for Gifted Students(TOMAGS), Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI-3),andScreening Assessment for Gifted Students(SAGES-2).

New video sessions of the Keynote Address and Featured Speakers from the 2008 Annual TAGT Professional Development Conference: Awakening the Gifts Within are available now! The new 3-hour training bundle includes two audio sessions, with written questions:

Dr. Karen Rogers: The Ten Options in Gifted Education That Provide the Most Effect for Effort: A Synthesis of the Research on Best Practices

Dr. James Webb: Motivation and Underachievement

Also Available:Dr. Marcia Tate: Growing Dendrites: Learning Strategies that Engage the Brain

New! Earn 3 hours of professional development credit online

Online Educationwww.txgifted.org/online-education

Their gifts may change the world someday.Your gift can change theirs today.Since 1988, TAGT has awarded nearly one million dollars in scholarships, but donations have only covered a small fraction of the cost. If you value the TAGT Scholarship Program, show your support using the form inside or go to txgifted.org/donate.

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