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I think you should start by checking out KK’s Creations Website and You Tube Channel (new subscribers are welcome). Once you do, I think you will want to know more about a sixth grader whom I will call KK. She attended virtually all year, and I was so happy to have a chance to be her teacher. In case you are also interested in dragons and digital art, you might want to see her Avery Myst site and YouTube Channel. But wait! There’s more! KK also invented her own fan fiction tribe of dragons, which is featured on her Moonwings site.
Now that you’ve seen KK’s work, I can tell you what we worked on this year in school. I am a sixth grade science and language arts teacher. To call this year stressful is a wild understatement. However, this year also brought me a lot of joy. Case in point: KK. I knew KK and her family from previous experiences in our district. I knew that her parents are both highly creative and successful professionals who are supportive and involved in our district. KK attended an after school STEM course I taught several years ago, and l I was wowed by her ideas. KK was a student I had been waiting for...hoping to have an opportunity to be her full time teacher. This year she was in my homeroom. Jackpot! Since I knew of her interest in rockets and STEM studies, we concentrated on compacting sixth grade science and creating “orbital studies” for the first part of the year. (Orbital studies are studies related to regular curriculum, and extend and enrich it.) Her dad was extremely helpful and valuable with these efforts because he is an aerospace engineer and knows a lot more about rockets than I do! KK and I would chat during our Google Meets and she told me about her drawings and interest in dragons. She was in my Strategy Games elective class and created a spectacularly produced board game based on the Wings of Fire book series, complete with multiple sets of miniature 3D printed dragons. It was incredible. I asked to see more of her work, so we had an after school Google Meet. KK shared her screen and really let me into her world. The sheer volume of KK’s creations and wide variety of media helped me realize that she needed to have this work incorporated into her (virtual) school day. I knew she had a 3D printer in her basement, a small kiln in her garage, and her own Etsy site, but I didn’t realize how much KK was creating during the school day. There was some downtime in the Google Meets and she would draw. KK was also drawing and creating while attending classes. All this indicated that KK had a bigger need for GT programming than just compacting science. We implemented a team process for the rest of the year. The team included our GT Coordinator, KK, her parents, and me. KK and I started to meet regularly to create and set goals for the rest of the year. KK continued to compact science material and we added social studies as another place to “buy time”. KK worked on her social studies course at her own pace and used the time saved in science and social studies to work on her creations during the school day. Our GT Coordinator started meeting with KK regularly to do a book study, using The Gifted Teen Survival Guide. Her parents read the book with KK and were a great support during this process. I had KK create a portfolio-type website to organize and share the work she had already created at home. Her parents helped take and post gorgeous photos featuring each media category on the site. We concentrated on the website and videos, which were posted in our district’s newsletter and tweeted out by our principal. Eventually, the website and videos started to become a grind for KK. HIghly creative people detest that sort of routine, and I sensed that KK was becoming disengaged from our goals. We shifted our focus, created fewer goals for production, and made sure to discuss and value work that she would still produce “just for fun.” We wanted to help KK meet deadlines, but also retain the joy of creation. One important revelation was that KK enjoyed the video production a lot less than creating art. The team realized she needed chances to share her work in a more personal way. We then brainstormed and set new goals. I arranged for non-digital opportunities to share her work. Her parents helped her curate a collection of her art and they brought it in and arranged it in the school’s display case near the office. Check out the slideshow of her art here. The cards beside each piece explain a bit about the work and inspiration that guided her work. I arranged for KK to have one-on-one Google Meets with her friend Julia so that she could share her work and simply talk to her friend whom she hasn’t seen in person for a while. I also arranged for KK to collaborate with another student in our class to co-create a fantasy story. Aubrey would write it and KK would illustrate it! We didn’t have time for them to finish the story this year, but I hope that they can collaborate more in the future. I plan to keep tabs and work with KK in the future. I might not be her teacher anymore, but I hope to stay involved. I will be KK’s advocate and continue to find ways for her to share her creations with the world. Sarah Kasprowicz WATG Board Member
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WATG is proud to announce that 11 scholarships were awarded to students in Wisconsin in grades 2-11 to be used for enrichment opportunities during the summer of 2021. A large number of applications for summer scholarships were received prior to the April 15th deadline and the scholarship committee had a difficult time narrowing down the applications to only award 11 scholarships. Two common themes were mentioned in the student scholarship essays. Many applicants shared the difficulties they and their families encountered this past year due to COVID. The need for additional enrichment beyond what students are able to get during the school year was also repeated throughout the essays. The scholarship committee was impressed by the many talents and accomplishments of the scholarship winners. These talents ranged from playing instruments, including guitar, trombone, piano, bassoon, flamenco guitar, and violin, to a love of sports, including hockey, soccer, baseball, and swimming. Areas of interests were diverse including writing, engineering, bike riding, technology, coding, maple syrup harvesting, science, mathematics, LEGOs, language arts, foreign languages, artificial intelligence, astronomy, finance, rocketry, and robotics. Accomplishments included published books, essay contest winners, high honor roll, forming a jazz group, high school credits while in middle school, Early College Credit Program credits, and national rocketry competition winners. In addition many of the winners find time to volunteer at various organizations that help their communities. Congratulations to the following students for winning a summer scholarship: Ali from Onalaska (Onalaska School District) Annabelle from Waukesha (School District of Waukesha) Lucus from Greendale (Greendale School District) Mae from Madison (Madison Metropolitan School District) Mason from Wales (Kettle Moraine School District) Nathan from Madison (Madison Metropolitan School District) Phineas from Franklin (Greendale School District) Raylea from Hartland (Merton Community School District) Salem from Greendale (Milwaukee Public Schools) Wellington from Madison (Madison Metropolitan School District) Zebediah from Sturgeon Bay (Sturgeon Bay School District) The variety of summer enrichment programs chosen by our winners was also outstanding.  There are a lot of very bright students in Wisconsin who are interested in summer enrichment programs and could use your financial support. If you would like to make a donation to WATG’s 2022 summer scholarship fund, please contact us at watg@watg.org to find out more information. Jessica Schultz WATG Board Member and Scholarship and Awards Chairperson WATG extends a huge thank you to Dr. German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our families and educators who speak Spanish. The translation can be found below. 2021 Becas Estudiantiles de Verano WATG se enorgullece de anunciar que se otorgaron 11 becas a estudiantes en Wisconsin en los grados 2-11 para ser utilizadas en oportunidades de enriquecimiento durante el verano de 2021. Se recibió una gran cantidad de solicitudes para becas de verano antes de la fecha límite del 15 de abril. El comité tuvo dificultades para reducir las solicitudes para otorgar solo 11 becas. Se mencionaron dos temas comunes en los ensayos de becas estudiantiles. Muchos solicitantes compartieron las dificultades que ellos y sus familias encontraron el año pasado debido a COVID. La necesidad de un enriquecimiento adicional más allá de lo que los estudiantes pueden obtener durante el año escolar también se repitió a lo largo de los ensayos. El comité de becas quedó impresionado por la gran cantidad de talentos y logros de los ganadores de las becas. Estos talentos iban desde tocar instrumentos, incluida la guitarra, el trombón, el piano, el fagot, la guitarra flamenca y el violín, hasta el amor por los deportes, incluido el hockey, el fútbol, el béisbol y la natación. Las áreas de interés fueron diversas, incluyendo escritura, ingeniería, andar en bicicleta, tecnología, codificación, recolección de jarabe de arce, ciencia, matemáticas, LEGO, artes del lenguaje, idiomas extranjeros, inteligencia artificial, astronomía, finanzas, cohetería y robótica. Los logros incluyeron libros publicados, ganadores de concursos de ensayos, alto cuadro de honor, formación de un grupo de jazz, créditos de la escuela secundaria mientras estaban en la escuela secundaria, créditos del programa de créditos universitarios tempranos y ganadores de la competencia nacional de cohetes. Además, muchos de los ganadores encuentran tiempo para trabajar como voluntarios en varias organizaciones que ayudan a sus comunidades. Felicitaciones a los siguientes estudiantes por ganar una beca de verano: Ali from Onalaska (Onalaska School District) Annabelle from Waukesha (School District of Waukesha) Lucus from Greendale (Greendale School District) Mae from Madison (Madison Metropolitan School District) Mason from Wales (Kettle Moraine School District) Nathan from Madison (Madison Metropolitan School District) Phineas from Franklin (Greendale School District) Raylea from Hartland (Merton Community School District) Salem from Greendale (Milwaukee Public Schools) Wellington from Madison (Madison Metropolitan School District) Zebediah from Sturgeon Bay (Sturgeon Bay School District) La variedad de programas de enriquecimiento de verano elegidos por nuestros ganadores también fue sobresaliente. Hay muchos estudiantes muy brillantes en Wisconsin que están interesados en los programas de enriquecimiento de verano y podrían usar su apoyo financiero. Si desea hacer una donación al fondo de becas de verano 2022 de WATG, comuníquese con nosotros a watg@watg.org para obtener más información.
Jessica Schultz WATG Miembro de la mesa directiva encargada de la distribución de becas. (La asociación WATG desea extender un agradecimiento especial al Dr. German Diaz de las escuelas publicas de Milwaukee por traducir este artículo en español para nuestras familias y educadores de habla hispana. La traducción también se puede encontrar en nuestros blogs del sitio web.) Unless everyone counts, no one does. Equitable learning environments require analysis of quantifiable evidence when examining all students. Theoretically, this data provides the tools to develop appropriate programming by recognizing both talents and needs. Traditional instruments for identification focus on either math or reading, creating a limited scope of student abilities. On the one hand, this appears logical; schools work primarily in these two academic areas. On the other hand, tools limiting the scope and understanding of abilities foster higher inequity in schools. Utilizing a non-verbal culturally neutral identification tool allows for a greater understanding of student strengths to emerge.
Education is more than a job; it is a calling. People dedicate their lives to this work, believing that helping others master skills opens doors to a greater future. However, the nefarious effects of inequity limit opportunities for our children. A desire for discovering a more equitable identification model created a collaborative project between the gifted and talented department and a kindergarten team in my district. There were three parts to this project: observing students in their daily school environments (classrooms) using a gifted observation tool, leading students in art discussions using higher-level thinking skills, and participating in an internet-based identification activity. Working with these teachers helped foster collaboration and encouraged meaningful discussions around students and their academic needs. For example, during our winter data meeting, kindergarten teachers shared more information about students that might benefit from a math extension. We began a small group that met bi-weekly during January, February, and March. Spending time with the students allowed for the development of familiarity. This familiarity, in turn, made the data collection process smoother and richer. Approximately two weeks before the COVID pandemic, we administered the culturally neutral, non-verbal test online. This test was available for all of our kindergarteners as a universal screener. No one opted out. Leaders in gifted and talented research stress the importance of developing local norms for talent identification. Early identification with local normative data provides a wider pool of students. Local normative data allowed students from various backgrounds to show their potential. The development of normed data framed the intent for administering the online, culturally neutral test. This tool identified sixteen students scoring at the 90% or above in one or more of the subtests. The students represented a broad demographic, including children of color and ELL learners. The gender data, while appearing male-dominated (11) boys to (6) girls aligned with classroom demographics -- there were more boys to girls by a ratio of 2:1. Therefore, this tool did show gender neutrality. Interestingly, the data showed that only five of the students' that teachers identified showed independent strengths in any sub-categories. As a test-site for this instrument, we had the opportunity to collaborate with the developers and learn more about understanding the data. Recognizing the potential in a larger group of students led to rich discussions about needs and services. Within the confines and challenges of a pandemic year, we dedicated ourselves to ensuring that students had opportunities to access learning and enrichment in their identified areas of potential. The plan we developed included an enrichment program for the current first graders. It included:
The students in this cohort show significant growth in measurable academic areas such as math and reading. For instance, further testing for the students showing mathematical readiness identified both students ready for full acceleration and those needing concentrated extensions. Providing services for these children allows them to continue growing in their academic areas. The full math accelerates are completing the second-grade curriculum, and the enrichment students are on par for future acceleration opportunities. Students identified high on the verbal portions of this assessment showed significant growth in reading comprehension. Due to pandemic restrictions, the district utilized an independent, online reading assessment tool. The students identified in kindergarten as advanced in verbal comprehension started first grade reading at either the end of first grade or the beginning of the second. Mid-year data showed that these students now read at the third and fifth-grade levels. Lastly, the students identified as high in the logic portion of this assessment also showed academic growth. This early identification and service model further supported classroom teachers with differentiated instruction. Mapping student data across a continuum of time (kindergarten, first-grade fall, first-grade winter) encouraged teachers to plan for more differentiated work during regular classroom learning. Further, recognizing these children allowed the teachers to advocate for other students in their classrooms showing similar behaviors. Equity requires identifying and providing all students services in both their area of need and growth potential. Recognizing that gifted students and students of high potential exist across all demographics leads to a deeper discussion about content and resources. Utilizing a culturally neutral tool for talent identification allowed us to identify students with identified special education needs, English language learners, and students from different ethnic backgrounds. Providing services for these learners enabled them to show significant academic growth. Maria Katsaros-Molzahn, Ed.D WATG Board Secretary WATG extends a huge thank you to Dr. German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our families and educators who speak Spanish. The translation can also be found below. Identificación temprano: la importancia de la identificación temprana del talento basada en la equidad A menos que todos cuenten, nadie cuenta. Los entornos de aprendizaje equitativos requieren un análisis basado en evidencia cuantificable de todos los estudiantes. En teoría, estos datos proporcionan las herramientas para desarrollar una programación adecuada la cual reconoce tanto los talentos como las necesidades de los niños. Los instrumentos tradicionales para la identificación se enfocan en matemáticas o lectura, creando un alcance limitado de las habilidades de los estudiantes. Por un lado, esto parece lógico; las escuelas trabajan principalmente en estas dos áreas académicas. Por otro lado, las herramientas que limitan el alcance y la comprensión de las habilidades fomentan una mayor inequidad en las escuelas. El uso de una herramienta de identificación no verbal y culturalmente neutral permite que surja una mayor comprensión de las fortalezas de los estudiantes. La educación es más que un trabajo; es un llamado. Las personas dedican sus vidas a este trabajo, creyendo que ayudar a otros a dominar las habilidades abre las puertas a un futuro mejor. Sin embargo, los efectos nefastos de la inequidad limitan las oportunidades para nuestros niños. El deseo de descubrir un modelo de identificación más equitativo creó un proyecto de colaboración entre el departamento de educacion especializada y un equipo de jardín infantiles en mi distrito. Este proyecto constaba de tres partes: observar a los estudiantes en sus entornos escolares diarios (aulas) utilizando una herramienta de observación para estudiantes con habilidades excepcionales, guiar a los estudiantes en debates de arte utilizando habilidades de pensamiento de alto nivel y participar en una actividad de identificación basada en Internet. Trabajar con estos maestros ayudó a fomentar la colaboración y generó discusiones significativas en torno a los estudiantes y sus necesidades académicas. Por ejemplo, durante nuestra reunión de datos de invierno, los maestros de jardines infantiles compartieron más información sobre los estudiantes que podrían beneficiarse de una extensión de matemáticas. Comenzamos un grupo pequeño que se reunía dos veces por semana durante enero, febrero y marzo. Pasar tiempo con los estudiantes permitió el desarrollo de la familiaridad. Esta familiaridad, a su vez, hizo que el proceso de recopilación de datos fuera más fluido y rico. Aproximadamente dos semanas antes de la pandemia de COVID, administramos la prueba no verbal culturalmente neutral en línea. Esta prueba estaba disponible para todos nuestros niños de kindergarten como evaluador universal. Nadie optó por no participar. Los líderes en la investigación de talentos enfatizan la importancia de desarrollar normas locales para la identificación de talentos. La identificación temprana con datos normativos locales proporciona un grupo más amplio de estudiantes. Los datos normativos locales permitieron a estudiantes de diversos orígenes mostrar su potencial. El desarrollo de datos normativos enmarcó la intención de administrar la prueba en línea, culturalmente neutral. Esta herramienta identificó a dieciséis estudiantes con una puntuación del 90% o más en una o más de las subpruebas. Los estudiantes representaban un amplio grupo demográfico, incluidos los niños de color y los estudiantes ELL. Los datos de género, aunque aparecen dominados por hombres (11) niños contra (6) niñas alineados con la demografía del aula, había más niños y niñas en una proporción de 2: 1. Por lo tanto, esta herramienta mostró neutralidad de género. Curiosamente, los datos mostraron que sólo cinco de los estudiantes que identificaron los maestros mostraron fortalezas independientes en cualquier subcategoría. Como sitio de prueba para este instrumento, tuvimos la oportunidad de colaborar con los desarrolladores y aprender más sobre la comprensión de los datos. Reconocer el potencial en un grupo más grande de estudiantes llevó a discusiones enriquecedoras sobre las necesidades y servicios. Dentro de los límites y desafíos durante este año pandémico, nos dedicamos a garantizar que los estudiantes tuvieran oportunidades de acceder al aprendizaje y al enriquecimiento en sus áreas de potencial identificadas. El plan que desarrollamos incluyó un programa de enriquecimiento para los estudiantes actuales de primer grado. Este plan incluye:
Los estudiantes identificados en las partes verbales de esta evaluación mostraron un crecimiento significativo en la comprensión de lectura. Debido a las restricciones de la pandemia, el distrito utilizó una herramienta de evaluación de lectura en línea independiente. Los estudiantes identificados en kindergarten como avanzados en comprensión verbal comenzaron la lectura de primer grado al final del primer grado o al comienzo del segundo. Los datos de mitad de año mostraron que estos estudiantes ahora leen en los niveles de tercer y quinto grado. Por último, los estudiantes identificados como altos en la parte lógica de esta evaluación también mostraron un crecimiento académico. Este modelo de identificación y servicio tempranos apoyó aún más a los maestros de salón con instrucción diferenciada. El mapa de los datos de los estudiantes a lo largo de un período continuo (jardín de infantes, primer grado en otoño, primer grado en invierno) alentó a los maestros a planificar un trabajo más diferenciado durante el aprendizaje regular en el aula. Además, reconocer a estos niños permitió a los maestros abogar por otros estudiantes en sus aulas que mostraban comportamientos similares. La equidad requiere identificar y proporcionar todos los servicios a los estudiantes tanto en su área de necesidad como en su potencial de crecimiento. Reconocer que los estudiantes talentosos y los estudiantes de alto potencial existen en todos los grupos demográficos conduce a una discusión más profunda sobre el contenido y los recursos. El uso de una herramienta culturalmente neutral para la identificación de talentos nos permitió identificar a los estudiantes con necesidades educativas especiales identificadas, los estudiantes que aprenden inglés y los estudiantes de diferentes orígenes étnicos. Brindar servicios a estos estudiantes les permitió mostrar un crecimiento académico significativo. Maria Katsaros-Molzahn, Ed.D WATG secretaria de la mesa directiva (La asociación WATG desea extender un agradecimiento especial al Dr. German Diaz de las escuelas publicas de Milwaukee por traducir este artículo en español para nuestras familias y educadores de habla hispana.) Cognitive intelligence (IQ) refers to the ability to learn, apply knowledge, and solve problems, whereas emotional intelligence (EQ) is viewed as the ability to understand and manage your own emotions. Even though there have been debates about which one is more important in real life, we could easily agree that we need both to be successful in life.
There is an additional ongoing debate on this topic related to gifted individuals, and IQ and EQ: “Are gifted individuals more emotionally intelligent than their non-gifted counterparts?” In the past, the definition of giftedness has been overfocused on cognitive intelligence; gifted individuals are more likely to have higher cognitive intelligence. Yet, there is a constant interaction between physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. So, to understand giftedness better, we need to research the social-emotional development of gifted individuals as well. Recently, we have seen more research on the social and emotional well-being of the gifted population. Aligned with this effort, researchers have examined emotional intelligence among gifted individuals, but these individual studies have provided mixed results. This year, Dr. Uzeyir Ogurlu at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point conducted a meta-analysis to clarify the relationship between emotional intelligence and giftedness. He collected and analyzed 17 studies that compared emotional intelligence levels among gifted and non-gifted populations. The study findings revealed that gifted individuals had slightly higher emotional intelligence levels than their non-gifted peers. This meta-analysis showed that the social-emotional adjustment of the gifted population was at least as high as that of their non-gifted counterparts and was often higher in many of the studies. Here is the full link to the paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886920306942 Dr. Uzeyir Ogurlu Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted Board Member (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found below.) Individuos Con Habilidades Excepcionales: Inteligencia Cognitiva e Inteligencia Emocional El cociente de inteligencia (CI) se refiere a la capacidad de aprender, aplicar el conocimiento y resolver problemas, mientras que la inteligencia emocional (IE) es vista como la capacidad de entender y manejar sus propias emociones. A pesar de que ha habido debates sobre cuál es más importante en la vida real, podríamos fácilmente estar de acuerdo en que necesitamos de manos para poder tener éxito en la vida. Hay un debate continuo adicional sobre este tema relacionado con las personas superdotadas o con habilidades excepcionales, y el coeficiente intelectual: "¿Son las personas con habilidades excepcionales, más inteligentes emocionalmente que las personas que no poseen habilidades excepcionales?" En el pasado, la definición de “superdotado” o perdonas con habilidades excepcionales se ha centrado demasiado en la inteligencia cognitiva; individuos dotados son más propensos a tener mayor inteligencia cognitiva. Sin embargo, hay una interacción constante entre el desarrollo físico, cognitivo, social y emocional. Por lo tanto, para entender mejor a las personas con talentos especiales, necesitamos investigar el desarrollo socioemocional de individuos con habilidades excepcionales. Recientemente, hemos visto más investigaciones sobre el bienestar social y emocional de la población de personas con habilidades especiales. Junto con este esfuerzo, los investigadores han examinado la inteligencia emocional entre individuos con habilidades excepcionales, pero estos estudios han proporcionado resultados mixtos. Este año, el Dr. Uzeyir Ogurlu de la Universidad de Wisconsin – Stevens Point llevó a cabo un meta-análisis para aclarar la relación entre la inteligencia emocional y la inteligencia cognitiva. El, recopiló y analizó 17 estudios que compararon los niveles de inteligencia emocional entre poblaciones de personas con habilidades excepcionales y quienes no lo son. Los resultados del estudio revelaron que los individuos con habilidades excepcionales tenían niveles de inteligencia emocional ligeramente más altos que sus compañeros con habilidades promedio. Este metanálisis mostró que el ajuste socioemocional de la población con habilidades excepcionales era al menos tan alto como el de sus contrapartes y a menudo este tipo de inteligencia resulto ser mayor en muchos de los estudios. Aca esta la pagina de internet del estudio realizado por el Dr. Uzeyir: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886920306942 Dr. Uzeyir Ogurlu Miembro de la mesa directiva de WATG (La asociación WATG desea extender un agradecimiento especial al Dr. German Diaz de las escuelas publicas de Milwaukee por traducir este artículo en español para nuestras familias y educadores de habla hispana. La traducción también se puede encontrar en nuestros blogs del sitio web.) At a recent WATG Townhall meeting, “Leading the Way,” on February 25, educators and parents shared ideas on how to find and work with emerging leaders at all levels. Many great ideas were discussed, and one serendipitous idea especially caught our attention. What if we married current events articles about students finding themselves in leadership positions, and gleaning lessons learned? Then students could be learning about current events AND processing lessons learned about leadership, things such as: What does it take to be a leader? Does leadership find you, or do you find leadership? What skills are needed, and what skills can be learned? How are those skills learned? How do leaders find problems to solve? How do problems find leaders to solve them? How can we best teach the skills needed to be a leader? When (at what age) should we start? What leadership opportunities might be present in my life? Where can I get help with my ideas?
A perfect example to use in a leadership lesson such as this was reported recently In this article in the Washington Post, People Are Struggling to Get Vaccine Appointments...A 14-Year Old Stepped In. Freshman Benjamin Kagan essentially used the problem-solving method in tandem with his leadership skills, providing others with some valuable leadership lessons. First he spotted a problem; he discovered that many people were having difficulty securing appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine. So he set out to learn more about the problem, and used both creative and critical thinking skills. He said he learned to navigate vaccine registration systems in January while helping his grandparents in Florida find appointments. Then a journalist who talked to his class for career day urged the students to watch a local news segment, in which Benjamin learned about the Chicago Vaccine Hunters group on Facebook. Realizing that his newfound vaccine registration skills might be in demand, he started sharing tips with the Chicago Vaccine Hunters group while on his winter break. Immediately his Facebook Messenger inbox began to overflow with requests. Many people asked for help because they said they were “too slow or technologically unskilled to sign up themselves.” At this point, Benjamin realized that he needed a plan if he were to upscale his idea. Since he could not keep up with the demand for assistance by himself, he enlisted the help of about 50 additional volunteers. Using Google Forms, Benjamin created a spreadsheet to organize the requests, the volunteers, and the work. Besides being a fabulous human interest story, this account provides a great teaching lesson in leadership. Additionally, there are probably many fine examples of leadership in action in the news, and they could be used to pique our young people’s interest in both leadership and service learning. So often when we find ourselves (immersed) in service learning, we find ourselves, our talents, and a calling. We learn new skills and use them to make our world a better place. Benjamin found himself and developed his leadership skills; others can too. How can we foster these skills? Additional note: The theme for WATG’s 2021 Annual Fall Conference is “Leading the World Into the Future.” We are planning to celebrate the many ways that we can develop leadership skills in our young people. What have you tried? Would you be willing to submit a workshop proposal and share your ideas? Here is your chance to be a LEADER! Proposal form can be found here. Take a risk; share and grow! ~Sarah Kasprowicz, Programming Committee Chair
In 2020 the WATG Acceleration Committee published their report on the use of Academic Acceleration in Wisconsin: Moving Wisconsin Forward. Another goal of our committee is to improve professional development about academic acceleration for our schools. I have exciting news! The National Center for Research on Gifted Education is doing that and more in 2021 with their national study, “Supporting Academic Acceleration in Schools.” This study will benefit students, educators, and families in Wisconsin. The study will provide professional development about acceleration, support in expanding the use of acceleration in your school, and help utilizing a universal screening system in your district! Many of the best primary researchers in the field of gifted education, including experts from the Acceleration Institute at the University of Iowa, Dr. Scott Peters from UW-Whitewater and the University of Connecticut are seeking participants now at this link. Please take a moment to check this out!  By Stacy Novak, WATG Board Member This school year sure has been stressful for all teachers. Everyone is experiencing different circumstances, but they all provide stress and burnout the same way. Teachers are dealing with virtual learning, hybrid learning, changes within the classroom if in person, students and teachers having to quarantine at various times throughout the school year, and possibly even going back and forth from in-person to virtual and back again. I also have been experiencing stress and burnout throughout the school year. For my gifted and talented program, I teach three grade levels (third, fourth, and fifth). This means I have three grade levels to plan activities for in social studies, math, and spelling. I do whole class activities for reading, writing, and science. This was normal the last two years as well; however, now since the students have to stay in my room the whole day, I have to teach all grade levels religion as well (they used to go to their grade level for religion class). I have one students who is virtual and many students who have had to quarantine throughout the year due to exposures or not feeling well (thankfully, no positive cases, though!), so I make my lessons into Google Slides so the students get the whole lesson if they are not present at school. This takes up a lot of time to put the lesson into a Google Slide and make it look nice. I also record all math lessons, so that means recording three grade levels of math. One Day at a Time As the 2020-2021 school year has unfolded, I have learned that you have to take the school year one day at a time and not focus too far into the future. The year 2020 has definitely taught us that anything can happen at the snap of a finger, so we have to be flexible and understanding. In order to help myself avoid burnout this school year, I have done a few things:
As we come to a new year, set goals for yourself and stick to them! Make a plan for how you want to proceed in the year 2021 in order to help you avoid teacher burnout. Then come back to that plan once a week to see how well you have stuck to it and reflect on what you can do to improve.  The Not So Wimpy Teacher said it best on her Podcast when she said, “News flash: your value is not tied to the number of hours you work. Your value is what you do with those hours”
(5 Ways to Spend Less Time at School). I hope this post has given you some insight on how to prevent burnout this school year. Please share what you do to prevent burnout!! Mary Budde, WATG Treasurer
As the expression goes, if I had a nickel for everytime my parents told me there was nothing I couldn’t learn if I could read, well, I’d be rich. Up through elementary school, my mom and I would go to the public library after school on Thursdays and check out our reading for the coming week. I was fortunate to grow up close to a large neighborhood library, in which there was never a shortage of books that piqued my interest. As an adult, I count reading as one of my treasured daily pleasures. There is a natural progression of listening, to reading, to writing throughout childhood, although reading and writing are intertwined. Reading to a child in infancy and beyond has repeatedly been shown to benefit children in many ways; in addition, it’s very enjoyable for the adult doing the reading. I would argue it is just as enjoyable to read a favorite book to an elderly person who can no longer do so themselves. We all have books that, for one reason or another, are our favorites. Maybe they are associated with a particular person or memory, or were just plain enjoyable. The Books That Changed My Life: Reflections by 100 Authors, Actors, Musicians, and Other Remarkable People is a collection of short essays of the contributors’ selections, and explanations of the books which impacted them. Most of the books the contributors cite were read up to early adulthood, although there are a few exceptions. Some are ones you might expect: The Odyssey, Animal Farm, Pride and Prejudice and Slaughterhouse-Five. Others are less traditional: Green Eggs and Ham, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Pinocchio, and the Nancy Drew series. However, there are a number of common themes in the essays as to the reasoning for the selections. How many of these apply when you think of books that made an impact on you?
Think about your own selections and how they influenced you. How can you help your children find theirs from the past and present? Has your child read your most impactful book? Form your own family book club to explore books together. It will be an enjoyable and meaningful journey. ***************************************************************************************** The Books That Changed My Life: Reflections by 100 Authors, Actors, Musicians, and Other Remarkable People By Bethanne Patrick. Regan Arts. (March 29, 2016) ***************************************************************************************** Under-representation of minority and culturally different children in gifted education is a serious issue in the American education system. One of the main reasons that these students are under-identified centers around the use of identification methods that are culturally biased. Identification must be based on a student’s potential instead of his/her performance, and identification instruments must be culturally appropriate. School districts use various assessments to identify gifted students. Some of the assessments currently in use are the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition (WISC-IV), the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and, the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT), among others.
School districts across the globe have been using the WISC-IV tool for many years.This test measures children’s cognitive skills by evaluating their ability to understand, comprehend, and apply what they have learned. This is a helpful tool to identify all types of learners, especially minority students. Another test that we can administer to identify our students is the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). The general purpose of this assessment is to test the cognitive abilities of K-12 students relating to their verbal, quantitative, and non-verbal reasoning and problem-solving skills. The CogAT Form 7 is accessible to non-English speaking students, as it is in non-verbal format. It measures cognitive development and problem-solving skills. Some schools use Form 6 and some use Form 7. This is a helpful tool to identify non-English speaking students who are gifted. The third IQ test that is often used to identify students is the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT). The NNAT is a measure of nonverbal intellectual ability presented in a matrix analogy format. Many districts administer this test to identify students who do not perform well in school due to language barriers or learning disabilities. The entire test is nonverbal and it includes different illustrations and diagrams with various patterns and shapes. This test is a good predictor for success in a school’s gifted program, and some sample tests are available online. If students practice beforehand by taking the sample tests, they might do well in this test, as it will give them the advantage of seeing the types of questions that will be on the NNAT. Administering these tools help us get a general sense of a student’s abilities and learning style. They give us one view of a child’s ability to be successful in school. However, many other data sources can give us valuable information about students. Multiple data sources may include achievement tests like FORWARD, STAR or MAP, classroom assessments, teacher rating scales, parent nominations, teacher nominations, or classroom performance to identify students for the school’s gifted programming. My school district is one of the most diverse school districts in the North Shore area of Milwaukee. 55% of our students are minority students and 33% of them are eligible to receive free and reduced lunch. Despite using all of these assessments, we still feel like we are not identifying all of our students who are gifted. When I first started my position as a gifted and talented teacher 11 years ago, I had only a few African American students in my GT Resource class. By using various assessments that are less biased, we are able to identify more minority students in our gifted program. Currently, we have 30 African American students, 2 Native American students, 5 EL students, 6 Asian students, and 7 Hispanic students in our GT Resource class. This is a prime example of the importance of using culturally unbiased instruments for identification purposes. In conclusion, we should understand that human capabilities are much more diverse and complex than what is measured by achievement tests and ability tests alone. Nonverbal reasoning tests do help identify bright children, especially those who are poor or who are not fluent in the language of the dominant culture, but educators should compare the test scores of these children with other children who have had similar opportunities to develop the abilities that are measured. And once we identify students whose needs are not being met, we must act on that knowledge and provide adequate challenging accommodations. by Lalitha Murali, WATG Board Member By Martha Lopez, WATG Board As a Mexican-American educator in Wisconsin, I bring a unique perspective to the topic of why teachers of color matter. They matter to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) families. For twelve years, I was a bilingual educator teaching brilliant 1st- 4th grade bilingual students in the largest public school district in Wisconsin. Then I taught advanced English Language Arts to academically gifted 6th-8th grade students statewide. The majority of those students were BIPOC. Today, I am one of two licensed Bilingual Gifted & Talented Program Coordinators in the state. Every year, students and parents remark, “how lucky I am to have you as my teacher.” And I feel lucky to be one of the 1.2% of Latina educators in Wisconsin. Allow me explain. Across the nation, a Washington Post analysis of school district data from 46 states and the District of Columbia found that only one-tenth of 1% of Latino students attend a school system where the portion of Latino teachers equals or exceeds the percentage of Latino students. It’s only slightly better for Black students. That is, 7% were enrolled in a district where the percentage of black teachers matched or exceeded the percentage for students. Among Asian students, it was 4.5%. Meanwhile, 99.7% of White students attended a district where the teachers were as White as the student body. On a positive note, according to federal data, the share of teachers of color has grown. For example, in 1988, 87% of public school teachers were White, and by 2016, 80% were White. Nevertheless, the racial gap between teachers and students has widened as the population of younger BIPOC enrollments have increased throughout the US. In 1994, two-thirds of public school students were White, while in 2019 it was less than half. Some of the challenge is demographic: Latinos are younger, as a group, so they make up a greater share of the student population than the adult population. Teachers may stay in the profession for decades, so it takes time for the workforce to transform. And yet researchers have found significant positive results when students of color have teachers of their race or ethnicity. These positive results include better attendance, fewer suspensions, more positive attitudes, and higher test scores, graduation rates, and college attendance. Teachers of color also have higher expectations for students of color, which may fuel the other gains. Studies find that having a same-race teacher makes Black and Latino students more likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college, and can even affect a choice of major. A study looked at Black students who had at least one Black and one White teacher in high school and found the Black teachers more likely to expect Black students would finish college. Another study found that Black students were more likely to be referred for gifted and talented programs when they had Black teachers. Studies found the race of a teacher does not affect White students in the same way, although there may be life benefits from exposure to diverse perspectives and role models. Most children are not getting that. About 8 in 10 students live in districts where Black or Latino teachers make up less than 5 percent of the faculty. As far as Wisconsin teachers, the numbers are very similar to the country. I looked at the three largest public school districts in the state: Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), and Green Bay Public Schools (GBPS). As the figures below indicate, MPS has a 60.1% teacher of color gap. Specifically, about 90% of students are BIPOC, whereas only 28.8% of teachers are BIPOC. At MMSD, there is a 44.3% teacher of color gap, where 57.3% of students are BIPOC and 13% of teachers are BIPOC. Finally, at GBPS, there is a 49.4% teacher of color gap. That is, 54.3% of students are BIPOC yet about 5% of teachers are BIPOC.  It is undeniable, representation absolutely matters, and it matters for almost every educational outcome we can think of. The million-dollar question -- is how do we effectively find teachers of color and how do we retain them? This is the discussion we need to continue to have.
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