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In a highly theoretical and suppositional world, monkeys with typewriters (keyboards) could ostensibly create the works of Shakespeare. Theoretical probability has shown that over the vastness of time and space, nature appears to sporadically generate highly talented individuals capable of creating phenomenal works of art, though the singularity of these occurrences highlights their rarity. Statistical probability aside, one person, William Shakespeare (1585-1613), is credited with this body of distinctive work. Nonetheless, some people could still believe that monkeys with keyboarding prowess were capable of creating world-class literature. If this supposition were repeated often enough, and widely enough, others might believe it as well. Supposition trumps reality.
The field of education, like other fields, can fall prey to theory and supposition cloaked as fact; this can happen when theoretical pedagogy is divorced from real world experience. For example, in the field of gifted and talented education, there is currently a recurring supposition/theme - that limiting access to talent development will somehow provide educational equity. Though educators often listen politely to illogical arguments such as this (because fads come and go), and continue to engage in proven best practice, some theories cannot be left unchecked. Serious discourse is necessary because some people will believe the false supposition. Recognizing that gifted individuals exist in all demographic groups is a tenet of best practice in gifted educational pedagogy. Challenges and shortcomings notwithstanding, public education provides opportunities and serves the greater good (Mitra, 2011). The traditional model, however, often leaves students on either end of the academic spectrum feeling alienated and frustrated. Strategies to promote quality education for all students begin with resources. Refusing to address the inherent inequities of public school funding (Matheson, 2020) leads to a disconnect between good pedagogy versus easy solutions. School funding aside, however, there are certain strategies that promote talent development for all students:
Knowledge building requires a comprehensive humanities-based curriculum. Though some students have multiple external opportunities to develop their talents, ALL students can benefit from in-school services; this will level the playing field. Eliminating these opportunities only causes more inequity. For too long, whether because of misguided suppositions coupled with inadequate funding, this is what has happened–gifted programming has been under attack. Only when we collect and analyze data, use best practice strategies, target instruction to meet the needs of all learners, and provide opportunities to fail and develop growth mind strategies in our students will gifted education succeed. The problem isn’t Advanced Learning/Gifted and Talented; elimination is not the solution. Ultimately, if we want to promote opportunities for ALL learners we must strive to empower teachers and systems with resources and encouragement. Teaching is hard work; when done right, it makes all the difference. References cited:
Dr. Maria Katsaros-Molzahn, Ed.D WI Association for Talented & Gifted
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Over the years, the personalities of gifted individuals have been examined to see if there are differences between gifted individuals and their counterparts. Personality includes patterns of thoughts, emotions, and actions. Scholars have developed a variety of personality models to explain the differences in those patterns, and one of them is The Big Five. The Big Five personality model has been a widely accepted taxonomy in terms of explaining how individuals adjust to and interact with the world. The model has five dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience.
Recently, Dr. Ogurlu of the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point and his colleague Adnan Özbey analyzed the personality differences of gifted students using the Big Five personality model. They used a meta-analysis method to study a sample of 8,000 people, including 3,244 gifted individuals, to compare the Big Five personality traits. They found that gifted individuals scored higher in the dimension of openness to experience. Openness to experience is connected with traits such as curiosity, originality, and creativity. So, openness to experience is a significant predictor of creativity and intelligence. This result shows that gifted students are more open to new learning, discovery, exploration and curiosity. With other study results, this analysis also pointed out that gifted individuals would have some personality differences in comparison to their peers. The article has been published nationally by the journal, High Ability Studies, and cited in Psychology Today and various online outlets. If you want to read more about the study, here is the link to the High Ability Studies article. Dr. Uzeyir Orgurlu Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted Board Member (WATG would like to extend its deep appreciation to Esther Vazquez Guendulain of Appleton Bilingual School for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can be found below.) Individuos con talentos excepcionales están más abiertos a nuevas experiencias A través de los años, las personalidades de los individuos con talentos excepcionales han sido examinadas para ver si hay diferencias entre individuos con talentos excepcionales y sus contrapartes. La personalidad incluye patrones de pensamientos, emociones y acciones. Los estudiosos han desarrollado una variedad de modelos de personalidad para explicar las diferencias en esos patrones y uno de ellos es Los Gran Cinco. El modelo de personalidad Los Gran Cinco, ha sido una taxonomía aceptada ampliamente en términos de explicación de cómo los individuos se ajustan e interactúan con el mundo. El modelo tiene cinco dimensiones: extraversión, amabilidad, escrupulosidad, neuroticismo y apertura a la experiencia. Recientemente, el Dr. Ogurlu de la Universidad de Wisconsin – Steven Point y su colega Adnan Ozbey, analizaron las diferencias de personalidad de estudiantes con talentos excepcionales, utilizando el modelo de Los Gran cinco. Utilizaron un método de análisis meta para estudiar una muestra de 8,000 personas, incluyendo 3,244 individuos con talentos excepcionales, para comparar los Cinco Grandes rasgos de personalidad. La apertura a experiencias está conectada con rasgos como curiosidad, originalidad y creatividad. Por lo que, la apertura a la experiencia es un gran vaticinio de creatividad e inteligencia. Este resultado muestra que los estudiantes con talentos excepcionales están más abiertos al nuevo aprendizaje, descubrimiento, exploración y curiosidad. Con otros resultados de estudios, este análisis también indicó que los individuos con talentos excepcionales tendrían algunas diferencias de personalidad en comparación con sus compañeros. Este artículo ha sido publicado nacionalmente por la revista, High Ability Studies y citado en Psychology Today y varios informativos en-línea. Si desea leer más sobre el estudio, este es el enlace al artículo de High Ability Studies. Dr. Uzeyir Orgurlu Miembro del Consejo Administrativo de WATG (WATG extiende su agradecimiento a Esther Vazquez Guendulain de la Escuela Bilingüe de Appleton por la traducción de este articulo al español para nuestras familias y educadores hispano-hablantes. La traducción la puede encontrar también en los bloques de nuestra página web.) One of our biggest challenges in gifted education is to find and nurture giftedness among students who are traditionally underrepresented in advanced programming, and to do so meaningfully and early. Wisconsin, like many states, mandates that identification and services for gifted students begin in kindergarten, partly as a way of preventing later achievement gaps. Even so, we know that children from impoverished backgrounds often enter school on day one already substantially behind their more advantaged peers in a variety of skills. How can recent research on neuroscience and the young brain help us expand the size and diversity of the pool of kindergarten children who might be considered for advanced programming and services?
The field of "educational neuroscience" (aka mind, brain, and education, or MBE) has boomed over the last decade. Neuropsychologists have come out of their laboratories and entered the world of schools and children’s thinking. Their work shows clear evidence of the malleability of young children’s thinking skills: malleability, or plasticity, refers to the ability of the brain to adapt and improve. We all have malleable brains and we can all get “smarter,” but young children's brains are particularly malleable. There is research evidence that we could teach and nurture young students in ways that might raise the skills and performance of many more of them to “gifted” levels. When neuroscientists talk about trying to improve thinking skills in young children, which specific skills are they addressing and measuring, and why those skills? Most of the research in this area has been conducted on “executive functions.” These include such skills as "selective attention" (focusing on appropriate input), "cognitive flexibility" (adapting to change), "inhibitory control" (resisting habits as needed), and "working memory" (remembering the current rule or task). They are important for school success because they allow young children to pay attention to appropriate and relevant stimuli, ignore distractors, and process appropriately complex tasks. From both laboratory and school-based research, we know in general that young children’s executive functions (EFs) can be improved with training. We also have evidence that such training, when appropriately challenging for the individual students, can transfer to a variety of other academic and social-emotional outcomes that are important for school success. The importance of appropriate challenges cannot be overestimated: there is an abundance of research that shows that new neural connections are best made when the brain has to put forth effort. Repeating already-learned skills is not optimal for brain development. Those of us who advocate for policy and legislation that supports gifted education are making sure that policymakers hear about the importance of appropriate challenges! How can the gifted coordinator or teacher use this research? The evidence for malleability argues for a talent development model: for instance, offering in kindergarten (or even earlier, in cooperation with 4K, Head Start, and private preschools) high-level, open-ended thinking skill programming and activities in order to see what developmental levels all children can reach, rather than just trying to identify children who already have skills that are advanced for their age. It is not necessary to start from scratch with new programs and services; the busy coordinator can work within existing structures such as differentiated instruction, RtI (Response to Intervention) and Equitable MLSS (Multi-Level Systems of Support), and the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards to make sure that young children’s thinking skills are appropriately challenged, and that underrepresented children are given the opportunity to better develop their executive functions for critical school success. *This article was adapted from Dr. Clinkenbeard’s chapter in the book “Malleable Minds: Translating Insights from Psychology and Neuroscience to Gifted Education,” published by the National Association for Gifted Children. An earlier version of this article appeared in the newsletter WATG Insights, September 2011. Pamela R. Clinkenbeard, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, UW-Whitewater WI Association for Talented and Gifted Board Member Our continued focus on equitable learning opportunities challenges us all to re-evaluate our past practices and ideas. In his article, Where Does Gifted Education Go From Here: Chaos or Community? Dr. Scott Peters reflected on this topic and its layered meanings. As Peters noted, disproportionate representation must be addressed. Rather than debating when and how the problem began, practitioners should dedicate time to address the issue. Ultimately, moving from a deficit to a strengths model provides a foundation for a culturally responsive and challenging curriculum to become the norm.
Student engagement, however, also plays a critical role in the success of any theory or pedagogical reform. Arguably, all students want to believe that the work being asked of them is meaningful. Grouping students by birthday rarely provides homogeneous cohorts. One suggestion highlighted in Peters’ article focused on competency-based instruction, with opportunities for students to ebb and flow into appropriate learning environments throughout the day. This strategy has a long track record in many settings, especially in the area of mathematics. Along with receiving appropriate instruction, this ebb and flow allows students to form wider socio-emotional groups. Academic acceleration, however, assumes that systems exist to support students and staff. As noted by Peters, wealth-based inequality creates significant challenges for students and their communities. In New Kid ( 2019, Harper Collins Childrens), Jerry Craft narrates the story of a middle school student who transitions from his Washington Heights neighborhood to a prestigious middle school where he is one of the few African American students. This transition is not easy. As educators and advocates, we must ask ourselves, is this the best we can do? Are we comfortable with school systems unable to provide services for all of their students? Further, while this child’s family figured out how to make this opportunity happen, what about all the other children being left behind? Fortunately, some promising methods are being explored. Frontloading, or providing enriched learning opportunities for students during their early academic careers offers one way to reshape the systemic mess facing us. Frontloading must not be confused with deficit thinking. Filling in a pothole is fixing a problem (and often the patch keeps reappearing); ensuring that the pavement is built to withstand wear and tear provides a strong foundation early on. Enriched learning opportunities keep students in school. Engaged students inspire families to build stronger partnerships with said schools. This is a win-win for all involved. Ultimately, as Peters pointed out, rather than pointing fingers at past practices, we must move together to ensure that all of our students have the opportunity to knock our socks off! Dr. Maria Katsaros-Molzahn, Ed.D. WATG Secretary, Membership Chair, and Justice For All Task Force Lead Happy New Year!
It’s that time of year again when we lay down our resolutions for the new year ahead. I have gone back to my resolutions from the last several years and I noticed a pattern. Each and every year for the last several years I have made a resolution to “surprise myself”. I have to say that this has become my favorite resolution, because I intentionally make myself do something new and uncomfortable… and I truly am surprised by the outcome. I’d like to challenge you to try it! Two years ago I sent out a list of possible resolutions for WATG newsletter followers and I decided that it would be alright to resurrect them. One of them just might be your “surprise myself” resolution! Imagine the impact we would have on gifted education in Wisconsin (or across the nation) if we each took on one of these resolutions! My menu of possible resolutions that follow are for you to choose one, two, or…? All? These are an opportunity for us to focus on the needs of gifted children in our state. They are just a few ways in which you can make a difference in the life of your child, your students, or the lives of Wisconsin’s gifted children.
Wishing you and yours a peace-filled and gratifying new year. May ALL your resolutions become reality with your faithful perseverance.And may you “surprise yourself” while helping our gifted kids! Cathy Schmit, Past President and Board Advisor From the WATG Membership Committee
One of the big goals of WATG’s Membership Committee is to reach out to other groups around the state to share information about serving the needs of gifted individuals in our state. As an organization, we are constantly fielding questions, and coaching parents/caregivers and educators as they experience the joys and challenges of working with gifted children and adolescents. Additionally, we are forging partnerships with other organizations, and seeking opportunities to speak at their conferences and conventions. This past month, past presidents and current WATG Board advisors Cathy Schmit and Jackie Drummer spoke at the Wisconsin School Counselors’ Association Fall Conference in Wisconsin Dells. Their presentation focused on characteristics of gifted and talented children and adolescents, the role of counselors in providing services for gifted students, and common themes and concerns of gifted students, their parents/caregivers, and educators. Cathy and Jackie provided many ideas to encourage discussion and support. School counselors, like educators, are provided little training about the unique needs of gifted students, so this presentation to a large group of school counselors was an excellent opportunity to reach out and educate. If we at WATG can provide additional educational support for gifted learners at other conferences or events, please contact us at www.watg.org. We are always eager to help! (WATG would like to extend its deep appreciation to Esther Vazquez Guendulain of Appleton Bilingual School for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can be found below.) Outreach Update Una de los objetivos más importantes del Comité de Miembros de WATG’s, es llegar a otros grupos alrededor del estado para compartir información sobre cómo atender las necesidades de los individuos con talentos excepcionales en nuestro estado. Como organización, estamos constantemente respondiendo preguntas y enseñando a los padres/tutores y educadores, conforme ellos experimentan las alegrías y los desafíos de trabajar con niños y adolescentes con talentos excepcionales. Adicionalmente, estamos forjando alianzas con otras organizaciones y buscando oportunidades para hablar en sus conferencias y convenciones. El pasado mes, los anteriores presidentes y actuales consejeros del Consejo de Gobierno de WATG, Cathy Schmit y Jackie Drummer, hablaron durante la Conferencia de otoño de la Asociación de Consejeros Escolares de Wisconsin en Wisconsin Dells. Su presentación se enfocó en las características de los niños y adolescentes con talentos excepcionales, el papel de los consejeros en la prestación de servicios para los estudiantes con talentos excepcionales y los temas y preocupaciones comunes de los estudiantes con talentos excepcionales, sus padres/tutores y educadores. Cathy y Jackie compartieron muchas ideas para fomentar el apoyo y el hablar de este tema. Los consejeros escolares, al igual que los educadores, reciben muy poca capacitación sobre las necesidades únicas de los estudiantes con talentos excepcionales, por lo que esta presentación para un grupo grande de consejeros escolares, fue una excelente oportunidad para llegar a más y educar. Si nosotros en WATG podemos proporcionar apoyo educativo adicional para aprendices con talentos excepcionales en otras conferencias o eventos, por favor contáctenos en www.watg.org. ¡Aquí estamos siempre ansiosos por ayudar! (WATG extiende su agradecimiento a Esther Vazquez Guendulain de la Escuela Bilingüe de Appleton por la traducción de este articulo al español para nuestras familias y educadores hispano-hablantes. La traducción la puede encontrar también en los bloques de nuestra página web.) First of all, I am excited to be WATG President for the next year! When I was asked to take on this role, I thought, hmm...how can I fit this in? I am a full time classroom teacher and I love it. I teach fifth grade language arts and science. Can I do both? Should I try? Over the past 21 years I have held many positions on the board. In fact, I was President of WATG from 2009-2011. Other positions I’ve held include Acceleration Project Lead, Programming Committee Chair, Scholarships Chair, and Secretary. No matter which role I am filling for WATG, some things never change. Wisconsin has passionate, dedicated educators and families who volunteer their time and expertise to ensure that WATG keeps our mission in mind in all that we do -- “to educate about and advocate for the needs of the gifted in Wisconsin.”
Another aspect of WATG that remains the same is that we continually strive to improve and grow. Over the past few years we have adjusted to all virtual board meetings, conferences, and committee meetings. In the midst of this stress, our WATG Board Members have put forth new ideas to add to our Programming efforts -- we now offer podcasts and Town Hall Meetings on gifted issues. I am so proud of all of the projects in the works! Our Membership Committee also succeeded in their “Pandemic Pivot.” They had to cancel in-person membership events because everything had gone virtual. Our Membership team brought forth new ideas to grow our connections with stakeholders and managed to recruit more board members than ever! Additionally, they added over 150 new parent members in less than six months! Our Government Action Committee achieved the Herculean feat of doubling the line item for gifted in our state’s budget! As a result, $474,400 is now appropriated for grants each year. Long hours, hard work and heaps of preparation were involved to present to legislators, educate them, and advocate for more funding for our gifted students. For these reasons and more I decided I couldn’t pass up a chance to work with such an inspiring group again! I am proud to be WATG President and spend another year working with our members and board, trying to make a difference for gifted students in Wisconsin. I welcome your ideas and your support. Sarah Kasprowicz, President WI Association for Talented and Gifted Each year, the Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted celebrates Gifted Education Month during October. We celebrate with our annual fall conference with its informative and thought-provoking keynotes and workshops, with ceremonies and awards for service to our students and our field, proclamations from our Governor and Department of Public Instruction, and activities that promote camaraderie and sharing among our constituents. It is our hope that educators, parents, and caregivers will take this momentum back to their communities and share with others. Here are some ideas to get you started:
However you choose to celebrate gifted education week, know that we at WATG appreciate your efforts. The kids do, too! Jackie Drummer, Past President and Board Advisor, WATG (WATG would like to extend a huge thank you to Esther Vazquez Guendulain of the Appleton Bilingual School for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can also be found below.) ¡Celebremos el mes de la Educación para las Habilidades Excepcionales! Cada año, la Asociación para Niños con Habilidades Excepcionales de Wisconsin celebra en octubre, el Mes de la Educación para las Habilidades Excepcionales. Lo celebramos con nuestra conferencia anual de otoño que incluye talleres y conferencias que invitan a la reflexión; con ceremonias y reconocimientos por el servicio hacia nuestros estudiantes y nuestro ramo, palabras de nuestro Gobernador y del Departamento de Instrucción Pública y actividades que promueven la camaradería y el intercambio entre nuestros integrantes. Es nuestro deseo que educadores, padres y quienes estén a cargo de niños lleven este ímpetu a sus comunidades y lo compartan con otros. Estas son algunas ideas para empezar:
Lo que sea que escoja para celebrar la semana de educación para habilidades excepcionales, sepa que en WATG apreciamos sus esfuerzos. ¡Al igual que los niños! Jackie Drummer, Presidente Previo y Consejero de la Junta de Gobierno de WATG (WATG extiende su agradecimiento a Esther Vazquez Guendulain de la Escuela Bilingüe de Appleton por la traducción de este articulo al español para nuestras familias y educadores hispano-hablantes. La traducción la puede encontrar también en los bloques de nuestra página web.) As you read this article, I will be closing out my final month of serving on the WATG board for seven years. I’m not going away though, simply moving into a different kind of role within WATG. But the culmination of a seven-year term has me really pondering the work that I’ve done to date because of WATG and because of having gifted children myself.
Let me start by telling you, (or reminding you) that I have regrets for not putting up the kind of fight needed to get service for my own children while they were in school. I was a teacher within the same district and I felt as though I had to be careful not to rock the boat too hard and I especially did not want to damage relationships or burn bridges with the folks with whom I worked. In the end, that only resulted in holding back my own kids from getting their educational needs met at school year after year. We tried to give them the rigor and challenge they craved through home activities and adventures. And then they graduated… one after the other. The good news is “they survived,” as most gifted children do, but I always wonder how different things might have been for them had their needs been met, truly met, with appropriate challenges in school. I wonder if the anxiety and perfectionism they deal with today could have been avoided (or minimized) had they had the right lessons about “being” gifted, including the social and emotional support from school staff during their school years. So yes, I have regrets. And then, along came my opportunity to work with WATG… a place to turn my regrets into action. It has been a soap box platform for me to “shout from the mountain tops” that our gifted kids need EVERYONE’s support. It doesn’t matter what role you play within a gifted child’s life; you have an important role to play to give that child the best support possible. There will be times that it seems impossible and that the obstacles are too big, but it will be worth it in the end. WHY? Because you will have fought the good fight, not just for your student, but for all the others that will come after this one.You will have no regrets because you “left it all on the field”. Perhaps you are asking right now what you can do to make a change from your corner of the gifted world. Let me give you an incomplete list.
I can tell you that every bit of effort that you put into this work will pay off in the end. You may not see it right away, but the benefits are real. Perhaps you are feeling the same regrets. Perhaps you feel like you are past the point of needing to battle because your children have graduated. Don’t think that way… grandchildren may need the same thing! I have had five grandchildren join my life since landing on the WATG board and the need to keep working on this has only intensified with my Nana status! I will leave you with this thought: The work we do is important. Your voice is important. It makes a difference to our own children, but also to those children (and parents) who have no voice within our current system. Stretch yourself and find new ways to do this work. Leave it all “on the field” and have no regrets for a job well done. I am beyond grateful for those that have fought before me, with me, and will join us in the future. Thank you to each and every one of you. Take care and take heart. WATG is here to support you as they have me. Cathy Schmit, President, WATG As we entered the 2020-21 school, we were all asked to consider what we were passionate about. Was it our freedoms, our ability to be together with a collective voice, or a realization of how much we had steered away from what we are most passionate about?
The Oxford dictionary defines passion as “showing or caused by strong feelings or a strong belief” and the pandemic taught us many things. It afforded us time to think about what is most important in this world. The timing of the pandemic, coupled with the murder of George Floyd, caused many of us to acknowledge that at times we have not always seen experiences similarly to others, especially those who may look different or share a different experience in this world. For many of us, our passion for building a strong understanding of equity in the world, especially in the world of gifted and talented, took on an even greater urgency. We share a desire to examine inequities, and we are committed to the efforts we must make to improve the opportunities for all students. One question that continues to be researched is this: “What makes one family aware and familiar with the pathways for educational success, while others guess and wonder what that journey entails?” Over time, we have seen generations breaking barriers, understanding the journey and ensuring that education and access to rigor is key to success. A scientific study by Hart and Risley (1995), Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children, shared pivotal information with educators about the importance of early literacy and the importance of vocabulary development in young children. The study found significant differences in the communication patterns occurring in higher socioeconomic families compared to lower socioeconomic homes, and revealed an early opportunity gap that must be addressed by American schools. The 30 million word gap by age 3 and children’s language differs greatly across income levels. Hart and Risley found that “so much is happening to children during their first three years at home, at a time when they are especially malleable and uniquely dependent on the family for virtually all of their experience, that by age three, an intervention must address not just a lack of knowledge or skill, but also an entire general approach to experience”. What can gifted and talented educators and programming do to begin to address academic gaps starting so early in our students' lives? If we are truly committed to equity, we must be focused and intentional about early literacy work with students and families to ensure support for our most vulnerable learners. Where gifted and talented intervention often begins after second grade, our teams and interventions can and should be utilized in grades 4K-3 as well. Supporting teachers to deliver intentional vocabulary development will ensure that children are hearing affirmations and are making deep connections to the new information they are learning; this will enhance the understanding of new words and their meanings. Students must hear academic vocabulary to build their lexicon and have conversations that deepen their understanding of the words they hear in and around their surroundings. We must move beyond simple yes or no answers with little to no explanation, and must build rich vocabulary and understandings of words and concepts. These will stay with our children for a lifetime. So where do you begin this learning? Well, one important way to connect to this learning is to attend the Wisconsin Association for Talent and Gifted virtual fall conference October 3-5, 2021. What better way to hear from our nation’s experts in gifted and talented learning than to be present and able to take away the learning from the very best? Dr. Sharon Y. Alexander WATG Board Member |
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