Curious about the middle school options for your GT student?
GT/Pre-AP Middle School curriculum options
March 29, 2012
7pm
CMS West Auditorium
Todd Kettler, CISD Director of Advanced Academics
Come learn what the Gifted Program and the Pre-AP Programs look like at the middle school level in content level classes and what parents and students should expect.
You don’t want to miss this event for the inside scoop on which choices might be best for your child.
Open to ALL CISD parents of 5th graders about to enter middle school (Students about to enter EAST, NORTH and WEST).
SENG Conference July 13-14, 2012
The SENG Difference
Most conferences about giftedness focus primarily on educational issues. SENG goes beyond that to examine the equally important social and emotional development and needs of gifted people and the challenges facing the gifted population.
July 13-14 in Milwaukee, WI.
Previous attendees have called this conference a “truly unique, life-changing weekend” for parents and grandparents, educators, gifted children and teens, gifted adults, and mental health professionals.
Educators interested in attending? Contact our scholarship Chair, Stacy Price at scholarships@coppellgifted.org.
Giftedness and Learning Disabilities
Giftedness and Learning Disabilities:
Unearthing the Missed Diagnosis
Presented by Paul Beljan, PsyD, ABPdN
Sponsored by SENG
In this SENGinar, teachers, parents, and counselors will learn how to correctly diagnosis learning disabilities in gifted and talented children.
Characteristics of gifted and talented children can result in incorrect diagnoses, such as overlooking learning disabilities. Learning disabilities can take the form of academics (reading and math) or innate abilities in general learning that may relate to social learning.
In this SENGinar, Dr. Paul Beljan will review some of the basic tenants of giftedness that include intellect and asynchronous development. He will then turn to the nuts and bolts of learning disabilities: what they look like, how to assess them, and what to do about them in the contexts of the gifted population. The “discrepancy model” of learning disability will be dispelled in favor of understanding the brain basis of learning disabilities. Dr. Beljan will present several anecdotes and case examples to illustrate the process of learning disabilities.
Reminder: Brown Bag Discussion with Todd Kettler on February 29, 2012
Please RSVP if you are interested in joining the discussion on Feb 29. Space is limited.
Gifted: What should it mean?
Here is more information: http://coppellgifted.org/2012/02/06/brown-bag-discussion-with-todd-kettler-gifted-what-should-it-mean/
Coppell Student Media highlights the CGA Symposium
By Sarah Police
Staff Writer
It is no secret Coppell residents pride themselves on the Gifted and Talented (GT) students. In elementary school, Coppell students are required to take an exam that determines if they are a GT student.
Even though a child may be GT, it doesn’t mean that their parents understand how to help them utilize their inventiveness.
Parents of Gifted and Talent Coppell Middle East students walk around to each booth at the CGA symposium to collect information about other potential programs like Coppell High School’s MATE team and the People-to-People Ambassador program. Photo by Rowan Khazendar
On Feb. 4 Coppell Middle School East hosted the second annual Coppell Gifted Association (CGA) Symposium for gifted students and their parents. There were activities and workshops for parents and students alike that helped them understand more about the GT learning.
Cottonwood Creek Elementary third teacher Stacie Nickols hosted a creative design challenge for students in kindergarten, first, and second grade.
“I did a workshop with the kids,” Nickols said. “It was basically a design challenge about structures so we were building things. It started out with building with straws and paper clips. We talked about how strong a triangle is and if it is stronger than a square and why.”
These types of workshops make students think hard, become innovative and apply previous knowledge to solve their problem.
“It was how you could use what you know about triangles and squares and all the different shapes in this big structure,” Nickols said.
Nickols used the story of the Three Little Pigs to inspire the students to build a strong structure. The students were to act as if they were pigs building a house, which made their creative juices going.
“When they were finished we walked around with a bellow and it was like I was the wolf,” Nickols said. “So we tried to blow the house down.”
Nickols thinks how a student applies itself may indicate if they are GT.
“They have to have a certain level of intelligence; they have to be smarter than the average bear,” Nickols said. “From there, can they use that intelligence to problem solve, be creative, and eventually work as a team?”
While Nickols was teaching the students about problem solving and ingenuity, Mockingbird Elementary fourth grade teacher Crystal Wheatley was talking to Coppell parents about new technology that may be useful to parents with GT students.
“I presented on technology that is being used in the classrooms,” Wheatley said. “Mainly it was things that are being used here at school that can enhance what they’re doing at home. I made (digital storytelling) the main thing I talked about.”
Digital storytelling is making it easier for students to tell a story while also having fun.
“It’s basically where students write stories that they can make into books,” Wheatley said. “Some of them they can start from scratch and for some there are story starters. Some you can upload art and record your voices.”
Story starters are an option in storytelling to help some students who struggle with where to begin, get started.
“I thought parents would like it not only to help your kids but they’re good gifts too,” Wheatley said. “For someone who’s GT there’s one site that has artwork provided by a certain artist. Once they choose whatever artist they want to work with, they can only use the pictures provided.”
Since students can only use the pictures provided, they have to get resourceful and fit their story around the pictures they have selected.
“So the kids have to get creative on ‘how am I going to use this artwork in whatever story I’m creating’,” Wheatley said. “For others that struggle there are story starters that help get it going for them. Seeing pictures often sparks the creativity in them. Other than just staring at a blank slate and having no idea what to write.”
Wheatley was able to talk to parents because CGA awarded her with a scholarship to go to a conference. The CGA Symposium was helped planned by Vice President Michelle Bauer, a parent of three GT students in Coppell.
“We were trying to promote awareness of gifted children,” Bauer said. “We were trying to help parents and give them some options for their gifted kids. I’m an advocate of information to parents so they are more aware.”
To read more news reports from our local high school students, click: coppellstudentmedia.com
Academic Competitions
The Coppell Gifted Association hosts an annual creative writing competition — deadline each December.
More competitions to challenge and engage your gifted child:
- Academic Games Tournament
http://www.academicgames.org/ - Academic Triathlon
http://www.academictriathlon.org/ - American Computer Science League Competition
http://acsl.org/ - Continental Mathematics League
http://www.continentalmathleague.hostrack.com/ - Destination Imagination
http://www.destinationimagination.org/ - First Lego League/Robotics
http://www.firstlegoleague.org/ - Future City
http://www.dfwfuturecity.org/ - Future Problem Solving
http://www.fpsp.org/ - HOBY Sophomore Leadership Seminars
http://www.hoby.org/students/ls.htm - Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
http://www.sciserv.org/isef/ - Knowledge Masters
http://www.greatauk.com/KMO.html - MathCounts
http://mathcounts.org/ - Mathematical Olympiads
http://www.moems.org/ - Merlyn’s Pen Short Story Contest
http://www.merlynspen.com/contestmp.html - National Americanism Essay Contest
http://www.fra.org/navalaffairs/2003-7/na2003-07c.html - National Council of Teachers of English Writing Awards
http://www.ncte.org/student_awards/achieve.shtml - National Engineering Design Challenge
http://www.jets.org/programs/nedc.cfm - National Federation of Press Women High School Communications Contest
http://www.nfpw.org/youth/youth_index.htm - National Geography Bee
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographybee/ - National Geography Challenge
http://www.ncge.org/activities/olympiad.html - National High School Oratorical Competition
http://www.legion.org/events/evt_oratorical.htm - National History Day Contest
http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/ - National Junior Classical League
http://www.njcl.org/organization/default.asp - National Mathematics League Competitions
http://www.mathleague.com/ - National Peace Essay Contest
http://www.usip.org/ed/npec/index.html - National Spelling Bee
http://www.spellingbee.com/ - North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad
http://www.naclo.cs.cmu.edu/ - Paul A. Witty Outstanding Literature Award
http://www.reading.org/awards/wittylitaward.html - Physics Bowl
http://www.aapt.org/Contests/physicsbowl.cfm - Promising Young Writers Program
http://www.ncte.org/student_awards/2003_PYW.shtml - Science Olympiad
http://www.soinc.org/ - NASA Student Involvement Program
http://www.nsip.net/index.cfm - Stock Market Game
http://www.smg2000.org/ - United States Academic Decathlon
http://www.usad.org/ - USA Computing Olympiad
http://www.uwp.edu/academic/mathematics/usaco/ - Word Masters Challenge
http://www.wordmasterschallenge.com/
MOSAIC early bird registration expires February 22, 2012
Summer MOSAIC: June 11-15, 2012 and July 23-27, 2012
Early registration discounts for CGA members thru Feb 22
Are you interesting in summer enrichment for your child?
CGA members enjoy additional discounts on MOSAIC until Feb 22 — $10 off per class.
MOSAIC 2012 classes (click here for more information and to register)
SENG addresses this issue of misdiagnosis, ADHD and giftedness
Intellectually gifted children whose needs are neglected or misunderstood may exhibit traits and behaviors that resemble those of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and be wrongly diagnosed, possibly resulting in unnecessary medication and unintended harm. Young gifted children are especially at high-risk for misdiagnosis, in light of the new extended guideline for ADHD diagnosis.
To alert the pediatric healthcare community to the potential for misdiagnosis and the complexity of dual diagnosis, SENG, in coordination with its Professional Advisory Committee, has issued a news release and suggested resources as part of a public awareness effort.
Intellectually gifted children whose needs are neglected or misunderstood may exhibit traits and behaviors that resemble those of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and be wrongly diagnosed, possibly resulting in unnecessary medication and unintended harm, according to the international nonprofit organization Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG). SENG is developing a public awareness effort to alert the pediatric healthcare community to the potential for misdiagnosis. Giftedness education is currently not a standard teaching component in medical schools and is addressed infrequently in the pediatric medical literature.
SENG recently sent a letter of concern to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in response to the AAP’s new guideline discussed in “ADHD: Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity in Children and Adolescents” (Pediatrics, 2011, Vol 128 [5], November, pp. 1-17.). The new AAP-directed guideline extends the range of ADHD diagnosis from ages 6-12 to ages 4-18, and fails to include the critical possibility that a child’s intellectual giftedness may contribute to symptoms similar to ADHD. Thus, precocious preschoolers may be at even greater risk for misdiagnosis.
“There is a reasonable amount of professional literature supporting the need for physicians to consider intellectual giftedness…However, the ADHD rating scales have not yet incorporated this consideration into their manuals, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) only mentions it in passing. Our opinion is that a substantial number of intellectually gifted children are being incorrectly diagnosed as having ADHD,” according to a letter from SENG leaders James T. Webb, Ph.D., ABPP-Cl; Marianne Kuzujanakis, M.D., M.P.H.; and Rosina M. Gallagher, Ph.D., NCSP.
In response to SENG’s letter, the AAP indicated that it will share the information with its committees reviewing the issue, consider the feedback in its next revision of the ADHD guidelines, publish an article on the topic in its newsmagazine, and propose a session on gifted children at its national conference.
James T. Webb, who also co-authored the book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults and is highly published in the gifted field, believes that while ADHD can and does occur in gifted children, many traits and behaviors characteristic of giftedness are frequently misinterpreted as ADHD, particularly in the very young.
“Some of these traits include being strong-willed, impulsive, impatient with the relative slowness of others, and having the tendency towards heightened sensitivity, perfectionism, and intense focus on personal interests and experiences,” Webb says.
“As pediatric healthcare providers become better informed on giftedness issues, they better understand the value of correctly identifying giftedness in their patient population, and are better able to make recommendations to meet their needs via strength-based planning and educational strategies prior to traditional behavioral and medical interventions,” he adds.
SENG leaders finally propose that future editions of diagnostic manuals (DSM and ICD) provide specific codes for giftedness in the medical record, and recommend that pediatric clinicians routinely consider giftedness in all developmental assessments, particularly when diagnosing ADHD and relevant behavioral and mental conditions.
About SENG
Founded in 1981, SENG is an organization that empowers families and communities to guide gifted and talented individuals to reach their goals: intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. With more than 12,000 subscribers to its newsletter, and a board of globally respected authorities on gifted education, SENG offers online resources, shares research, and provides webinars for parents, educators, and healthcare professionals. Its 2012 national conference will be held July 13-14, 2012 in Milwaukee, Wis. For more information, seewww.SENGifted.org.
Explore UT March 3, 2012
Brain-centered learning: School 2.0
Pediatric Neuropsychologist Dr. Steven J. Hughes
Leads Discussion of School 2.0
Monday, March 5, 2012
The demands of life, work and school are changing in the 21st century. Are educators ready to meet the challenge? Dr. Steven J. Hughes is President of the American Academy of Pediatric Neuropsychology. He leads a discussion of brain-centered learning in his seminar School 2.0 at the University of Texas at Dallas on Monday, March 5, 2012 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Presented by the Montessori Institute of Texas in partnership with UT Dallas’ Center for Children and Families, the workshop will be held in the Clark Conference Center on the University of Texas at Dallas campus, 800 West Campbell Road in Richardson, 75080. Registration is required. Admission is $20.00 per person and $15 for students with an I.D. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Parking passes will be provided with online registration.
School 2.0 will focus on preparing children for the changing workforce of the 21st century, the need for developing creative problem solving skills, the importance of socialization and the ability to work in a collaborative environment. “What traditional education was designed for may no longer be relevant in this era,” says Dr. Hughes. “People aren’t going to enter the workforce and have one career for the rest of their lives. They’re going to have many careers and many jobs. Children need to be prepared to work with new situations, size things up and figure out a sensible way forward.”
A specialist in the assessment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Dr. Hughes works in the area of cognitive training, using programs designed to improve attention and concentration skills in children with related learning and behavioral problems. He’s a proponent of Montessori teaching practices which foster wide-scale human development, embracing creativity and self expression. Dr. Hughes proposes the creation of a new field to develop different standards of educational practice.
ABOUT DR. STEVEN J. HUGHES
Steven J. Hughes, PhD, ABPdN, is the President of the American Academy of Pediatric Neuropsychology. A pediatric neuropsychologist based in St. Paul, Minnesota, he is also Chair of the Global Research Committee of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) in Amsterdam, and a member of the faculty of the Maria Montessori Institute in London. Formerly an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota Medical School, Division of Pediatric Clinical Neurosciences, Dr. Hughes has also worked in the test publishing industry. His research interests are in the area of attention and executive functioning, and the role of early childhood education in promoting the development of these capabilities. Dr. Hughes is an advocate for activity-based, developmental approaches to education, and is a frequent speaker for and consultant to educational organizations across the world. Additional information is available at http://www.goodatdoingthings.com/
ABOUT THE MONTESSORI INSTITUTE OF TEXAS
The Montessori Institute of Texas (MIT) was formed in the fall of 1999 as a coalition of teachers, administrators, and interested persons for the purpose of establishing an Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) teacher training center in the DFW Metroplex. MIT provides ongoing support and continuing education for Montessori teachers, administrators, parents and the wider community. MIT is a dynamic example of collaboration among diverse entities, and is an open organization. The organization offers speaker seminars and workshops to the community-at-large with the goal of reaching a broad spectrum of people in the public and private sectors who are involved in the educational process. More information is available at http://www.montessori-mit.org/pages/home.php
