Motivation and Underachievement: Helping G/T students reach their full potential In the first grade, Sam typifies a gifted student in many ways. He’s creative, has an incredible memory, is hungry to learn new things, and is reading at a third grade level. There’s just one problem; Sam has zero interest in writing in his journal. [...]
Can you see what I’m saying? Working to unlock the giftedness of visual spatial learners I have such fond memories of reading Fred Gwynne’s children’s books to my kids when they were young. His classic books like, “The King Who Rained” (1988) and “Chocolate Moose for Dinner” (1988), offer delightful illustrations chronicling the mental images [...]
Houston, We Have A Problem Exploring the connections between Giftedness, Creativity and Leadership Do you remember Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger? He’s the pilot who famously landed his US Airways flight in the Hudson River when birds flew into one of the engines shortly after takeoff. Captain Sullenberger proved that even the best training can’t [...]
Are you being forced to pick between an apple and an orange? (A look at Lisa Van Gemert’s course, Differentiation in the Real World) Ok, maybe the old apple/orange comparison is a little tired. So which is better, a scrambled egg or a boiled egg? What’s better, an apple or an orange? The question is, [...]
See Spot Run… Now Sketch Spot Running! Mind Sketching and Other Strategies for Building Academic Literacy in Gifted Students Raised in Poverty How we get our Language As a young girl, Joyce Juntune walked from her family’s small farm into town to buy groceries every week. As they followed the train tracks into town, her [...]
The Definition of Insanity Opening the doors of opportunity for low SES gifted students They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result. I think as educators, we some time fall into that trap. We use the same tools and methods that were successful with [...]
Unleashing the Power of Creativity Infusing Creativity and Creative Thinking Skills in the Gifted Classroom I love the outdoors. Some of my best ideas have come to me while letting my mind wander as I walk my dog. Nature is like that. The fresh air, the smells, the beauty of nature, it inspires and engages [...]
Facilitating “aha” Moments for TAG Students “Mr. Brillhart, Mr. Brillhart, I think ‘the walker’ stands for the idea of redemption! It’s about redemption and even if you make some bad decisions in your life you can always redeem them; you can always come back further.” Daniel Brillhart describes how his jaw hit the floor when [...]
The Elephant in the Room What is intelligence and why does it matter in education? Are you smart? Photo Credit: David Blackwell. via Flickr CC Well, that was an awkward question! We don’t really talk much about intelligence anymore, do we? In most situations it’s considered rude to bring up IQ. Even when it [...]
60 Tech Tools Gifted Teachers are Going to Love I love to read! There’s nothing like cracking the spine on a new book, the excitement of turning a page, or closing the cover when I’ve finally reached the end. Photo courtesy of Flickr by Brad Flickinger I love the feeling of a book in [...]