Giftedness Institute
The 2021 institute has been canceled. We look forward to its return in 2022.
Overview
For 50 years, the Nueva School has led the field of gifted education as an independent school with a dual purpose: to serve gifted students and to share our resources, talents, knowledge, and innovation with the larger community. We are experts at meeting the specialized needs of gifted learners, knowing that giftedness is a concept that can be complex and nuanced.
Why attend?
While teaching and working with gifted students is exhilarating, it can also be daunting. Giftedness manifests itself in countless ways in the classroom, and at Nueva we have developed many approaches to support gifted learners and help them thrive. This Institute will educate teachers, parents, and caregivers about giftedness and its associated excitabilities and intensities.
Session leaders will share best practices for differentiating curriculum and classroom experience. Videos of our classrooms in action and a gallery walk of curriculum and projects will give practitioners a chance to see our teaching in action as well as see how educators construct challenging and differentiated curriculum. A panel with gifted students and their parents will bring these practices to live, giving attendees a chance to hear and inquire about the lived experience of giftedness.
Who is this Institute for?
This Institute is mainly for PreK-12 teachers, counselors, and administrators working with gifted students, but may also be helpful for parents and caregivers of gifted children who are seeking more information on giftedness and the range of behaviors that accompany giftedness.
Learning Outcomes
Topics will include:
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What is giftedness and who are gifted students?
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The lived experience of gifted students
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Social-emotional needs of gifted students
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Differentiating for gifted students: Excitabilities, intensities, asynchrony, perfectionism and movement
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Scaffolding for twice-exceptional students in our classrooms
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Recognizing, supporting, and valuing gifted students of color
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Insights into assessment
Participants will leave with:
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A deeper understanding of the complexities of and misconceptions around giftedness
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Practical strategies for differentiating curriculum for gifted students
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A strong sense of the range of giftedness in learners and the lived experience of giftedness
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Ideas of how to scaffold lessons for students in the classroom and manage social-emotional needs of gifted students
Session Descriptions
August 11 Sessions
Giftedness 101
What is giftedness? How does it manifest in children (and adults!)? How is giftedness different than academic achievement? What are some of the myths around gifted education?
Insights into Assessment
There are several different types of assessments for intellectual ability, and each has its own benefits and limitations. During this time, we will explore the different assessments used and learn how different scores can help us to better understand a student.
Giftedness and Overexcitabilites
Gifted children are talented in many ways, and they have “intensities” in their personalities that affect their day-to-day lives and social interactions. Learn more about these overexcitabilities and how they impact children in and out of the classroom.
Pedagogy in the Classrooms
Take a peek into Nueva’s classroom and see how teachers engage gifted learners and how they apply (and modify) pedagogy to meet the needs of these students.
Panel Discussion
Hear from students, alumni, and parents about the lived experience of giftedness. Panelists will discuss their challenges and achievements, lessons they learned along the way, and how mentoring was an important part of their experience and growth.
August 12 Sessions
Reflection on Giftedness
How do teenagers reflect on their own giftedness? Watch the graduation speech of one of Nueva’s graduates to get an intriguing understanding of giftedness.
Gallery Walk of Projects
Nueva teachers love to share their curriculum and how they engage gifted learners. Attendees will have a chance to peruse a dozen projects and lessons to see how teachers develop curriculum, engage students, differentiate in the classroom, and celebrate student work.
Differentiating the Classroom for Gifted Students
Teachers from each division explore class management, including the need for flexibility and structure in the classroom. Developing curriculum, grading, and assessing students will also be discussed.
Engaging with Gifted Kids of Color
Students of color, especially black and hispanic students, are under-identified and underrepresented in gifted programs across the U.S. How can we help to change these statistics and to support gifted students of color within our schools are our classrooms?
Community Engagement/Social Justice
Gifted students thrive when they have the opportunity to both learn in the classroom and participate in the larger community. Hear from teachers about the ways that engaging in social justice and in the community through service learning enriches the education and social experiences of gifted students,
Scaffolding for 2-E Students in the Classroom
Many gifted students are twice exceptional: they have learning or behavioral differences such as ADHD, dyslexia, or auditory processing challenges. This session address the ways that teachers and caregivers can structure classrooms and home lives to support the needs of these students.
Building Relationships
Gifted children thrive when they are seen as individuals, and they love to engage with others, especially adults. Hear from teachers about the importance of building relationships between teachers or mentors and gifted children.
Parent Q & A
Hear from parents of gifted children about some of the joys and challenges of raising a child with a high IQ. There will shared resources and recommendations as well as time to discuss and share lived experiences as a group.
Off-Campus Learning/Trips
Exploring the world outside the classroom helps gifted students gain perspective on the learning they’ve done in class. Nueva’s trip program helps students “Learn by Doing, Learn by Caring” as embodied in our motto.