I3: Innovation, Invention, and Ingenuity
Over 300 Educators Attend State Conference on Gifted Education
by Debbie Blum and Helaine Zinaman
On Friday, October 16, over 320 educators and administrators from 20 Maryland school districts attended the annual Maryland State Conference on Gifted Education. The conference featured 30 sessions for K-grade 12 educators, highlighting this year’s conference theme “I3 Innovation, Invention, and Ingenuity.”
Keynote speaker, Dr. Bertie Kingore, examined a three-way comparison of similarities and differences among high achievers, gifted learners, and creative thinkers, sharing research-based techniques that maximize the achievement potential of each during her keynote, Differentiating Instruction to Nurture Creative Thinkers.
Dr. Kingore provided practical tools for helping students think creatively, solve problems, and gave us tips for promoting accountability, quality, and achievement. Some of these tips included: working with students to develop criteria and practice scoring both strong and weak product responses to increase understanding of evaluative reasoning; challenging students to pose questions that require more complex thought and communication; focusing on research-based, high-yield strategies affecting students’ achievement, particularly similarities/differences, summarization, note taking, and recognition of effort; integrating process engagement time and closure to enable students to link and connect learning to prior knowledge; and challenging advanced students to integrate abstract thinking, complexity, and depth in most responses.
In addition to the keynote presentation and two additional sessions by Bertie Kingore, 30 sessions were offered by presenters from around the state. These sessions offered educators and administrators a variety of perspectives, strategies, and materials in the conference strands: Instructional Needs of Gifted Learners and Underrepresented Populations in Gifted Education.
Several educators were honored as recipients of our first annual MEGGY Awards in recognition for their valuable contributions and exemplary commitment to the field of gifted and talented education and to highly able students in the state of Maryland. These honorees included Carol Brzezinski and Sally Oswald from Howard County for their dedication to creating rigorous and challenging curriculum; Kathleen Cecil from Baltimore County for providing learning environments that include opportunities for students to demonstrate outstanding academic and creative talent; and Kathleen Gregory from Prince George’s County for being outstanding in the field of gifted and talented education. In addition to a basket full of professional books, they will receive a $100 check and a certificate of honor.
The esteemed Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Award sponsored by the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) was presented at our conference for the first time to David Oriala, former 6th grade student at Oakcrest Elementary TAG Center in Prince George’s County. David will receive a $500 savings bond and a certificate of excellence from NAGC.
We invite you to nominate educators for the MEGGY Awards by March 5, 2010. The application is available on our website. We also invite you to nominate students in grades 3-6 for the NAGC Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Award by June 1, 2010. This application will be available on the NAGC website www.nagc.org.
WBAL-11 TV coverage of the conference is available at http://www.wbaltv.com/video/21319884/index.html.
Reserve the date for our 2010 Maryland State Conference on Gifted and Talented Education which will be held on October 15, 2010. Stay tuned for further details. |
David Oriala, former 6th grade student at Oakcrest Elementary TAG Center in Prince George’s County is awarded the
Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Award
The Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Award is sponsored by NAGC, the National Association for Gifted Children. This year’s Maryland recipient for this nationally esteemed award is David Oriala. David’s nomination was supported by his teacher, Mrs. Janet Clarke, who says that “David is a truly promising candidate and a very brilliant student who is gifted in the field of math and science. He exhibits an extraordinary level of continuous growth, intelligence and industriousness and is able to communicate ideas with an engaging clarity and coherence”. David’s goal is to become a pharmacist and find the cure for AIDS. This is the 11th year of the Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Award. Only one other student in the whole state of Maryland has ever received this honor!
The Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Award is designed to recognize outstanding achievement in academics, leadership, or the arts, in children grades 3 through 6. NAGC believes that the Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Awards inspire children to achieve to their fullest potential, and draw attention to the educational needs of our nation's gifted and talented students.
The Nicholas Green Foundation was established by the Greens to honor the memory of their seven-year-old son Nicholas who lost his life in a tragic accident while visiting Italy in 1994.
As a result of winning this award, David will receive a $500 U.S. savings bond and a NAGC Certificate of Excellence. David’s name and photograph will be on the NAGC website along with the winners from other states. David will also be honored at the Maryland Conference on Gifted and Talented Education on October 16th at Randallstown High School in Baltimore. David’s parents will receive a one year subscription to Parenting for High Potential, a NAGC publication. |
The 2009 MEGGY Awards for Achievements in Gifted and Talented Education in Maryland Public Schools
Announced at the Maryland Educators of Gifted Students (MEGS) dinner reception
The Maryland Educators of Gifted Students hosted our annual Spring Dinner and recognized four educators for our first MEGGY Awards at the Crowne Plaza Baltimore in Timonium, Maryland on Tuesday, April 21, 2009.
- Kathleen Cecil - MSDE – Providing learning environments that include opportunities for students to demonstrate outstanding academic and creative talent
- Carol Brzezinski and Sally Oswald – Howard County – Dedicated to creating rigorous and challenging curriculum
- Kathleen Gregory – Prince George’s County – Outstanding in the field of gifted and talented education
Each awardee received gift certificates and books donated by publishing companies who support gifted education. They will also be recognized at the annual Maryland State Conference on Gifted and Talented Education at Randallstown High School in Baltimore on October 16, 2009.
Dr. Donald J. Treffinger, President of the Center for Creative Learning, Inc., in Sarasota, Florida, was the guest speaker. Dr. Treffinger’s keynote, “Teaching for Life in a World of Change: Nurturing Creativity and Innovation” was informative and entertaining. He is an internationally known researcher, writer, teacher, and presenter in the area of creativity and creative problem solving, as well as in the area of gifted and talented education. |
NAGC Regional Academy:
Best Practices in Gifted Education:
The Partnership among Home, Classroom and School
by Debbie Blum and Helaine Zinaman
On Saturday, January 24, 2009, over 150 educators, administrators, and parents from Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania school districts attended the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Regional Academy at the Sheraton Columbia Hotel, Columbia, MD. MEGS, MSDE, and MCGATE collaborated to bring this special event to Maryland. MEGS and MCGATE are co-affiliates of NAGC. The academy featured 6 sessions for kindergarten through grade 12 educators and parents.
Three nationally known speakers presented the sessions: Ann Robinson, Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Gifted Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the vice president of NAGC; Kimberley Chandler, the curriculum director at the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary; and Arlene DeVries, a private consultant in gifted education and member of the board of directors of NAGC.
Ann Robinson introduced the Academy by discussing 29 best practices in Gifted Education, grouped into three categories: home, classroom, and school. These research-based best practices provide specific actions that educators and parents may take in order to effectively develop the talents of advanced-level learners. For example, Dr. Robinson noted the importance of early literacy experiences for precocious readers. She emphasized the need for meaningful and varied learning experiences at the child’s developmental level. Precocious readers should be assessed, particularly in the area of phonological awareness, and instruction should be differentiated accordingly. Dr. Robinson also identified mentors and mentorships as another best practice for gifted students. She emphasized the need for schools to formalize the recruitment, matching, and supervision of mentorship programs. At first, these opportunities could be of shorter duration and lengthened over time.
Dr. Robinson presented two breakout sessions, Make Differentiation “do-able” with Flexible Grouping and Compacting and Fostering Creativity in the Classroom. When asked to define creativity, two participants said the following: “infinite ideas and imagination put into practice for success to happen” (John E. Bullock, Jr.) and “the ability to express yourself regarding a particular topic or subject without boundaries” (Lori Durrah).
Dr. Chandler’s two sessions were entitled Developing a Challenging Curriculum through the use of Problem-based Learning in Science and The Use of Research-based Teaching Models for Developing Challenging Curriculum.
Arlene DeVries presented two sessions: Parent Power: How to Make it Work and Managing the Social-Emotional Needs of Gifted Students.
Participants enjoyed a delicious lunch and opportunities for networking with other attendees who are passionate about gifted education. |
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