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Welcome

• Dr. Tracy L. Cross, Executive Director, welcomes you to the conference.
• Matoaka

Keynote Session - Wednesday 

What Matters in Curriculum Design and Instruction for Academically Advanced Learners

• Dr. Tamra Stambaugh
• This keynote focuses on approaches, frameworks, and key ideas to consider when differentiating instruction and developing talent. We will examine definitions, models, and implementation strategies that have been found effective in promoting learning with academically advanced students based on lesson learned and current research.
• Matoaka

          Coffee Break

Working on Wicked Problems: Teaching Sustainability in Gifted Classrooms

• Kimberley Daly, Ph.D.
  
• Sophia Wells-Williams
• How can we help gifted students understand sustainability, develop leadership skills, and engage in real-world issues? Rigorous problem-based learning (PBL) units can offer opportunities for students to take a deep dive and develop the skills they need to be successful later. Learn how to engage students in conversations about big issues including climate change, conservation, and energy options.

Cultivating Psycho-Social Skills for Talent Development

• Eric Calvert, Ed.D.
• Denise Mytko
• Talent development research finds an array of psycho-social skills supporting high achievement and personal fulfillment. In contrast to traditional focuses on fixed social-emotional “characteristics” of the gifted and SEL efforts focused on “climate,” this session explores social-emotional skills that are malleable and teachable. Challenging beliefs that social-emotional learning comes at the expense of academic growth, this session shares strategies for integrating developmentally-appropriate psycho-social learning in content-based curriculum.

Using Books and Media as a Catalyst for Social-Emotional Discussions (Jacob's Ladder)

• Dr. Tamra Stambaugh
• The development of psychosocial and affective needs is critical to one’s talent trajectory. Affective skills that support academic risk taking, developing excellence, overcoming adversity, and regulating emotions can be taught and integrated within
  a language arts curriculum. In this session we will explore how books and media can be used as a catalyst for meaningful discussions focused on psychosocial skills that are important for developing talent. We will apply the Jacob’s Ladder framework as a guide for creating high level and engaging questions. Be prepared to participate in discussions about literature and to write your own questions using a media prompt.

From Trash to Treasure: Teaching the Art of Problem Solving on a Budget

• Melissa A. Stein, M.Ed.
• Meg Marshall
• Presenting students with short, one day engineering challenges is a great way to get them solving problems. With school divisions being on a budget, securing materials for such activities can be a challenge in itself. By paying better attention to the things you and your school is sending to the landfill, an amazing amount of materials can be saved and re-purposed. Paper towel and toilet paper rolls, the thick cardboard tubes from the laminating machine and even caps from the pint-sized milk bottles can be used to get students thinking!

W&M's Language Arts Curriculum Units 3rd Editions - Secondary Units

• Jennifer Callison
• Dr. Chandra Floyd
• Amy Wallace
• 
  Join us as we showcase the new and improved features of W&M Center for Gifted Education revised Language Arts curriculum units. The 3rd edition units maintain the same trusted and award winning unit elements (theme-based, field-tested, and thinking model-focused). However, they are now updated to include more culturally-representative literature, guidance for technology integration, differentiated student products, and additional alternative novels and activities. This session will highlight and preview the following 3rd edition secondary units:
  • Utopia: The Endless Search, 7-9
  • The 1940s: A Decade of Change, 7-9
  • Change Through Choices: Brave and Bold, 10-12

Cultivating Brilliance: Talent Development for Gifted Students in Title I School

• Jenna Conlee
• Richard Ashburn
• Courtney Forstmann
• Join us to explore a menu of Talent Development tactics that unlock students' brilliance, ignite curiosity, maximize community support, and celebrate diverse strengths. Learn equity-centered strategies, resource tips and tricks, and collaborative efforts by community stakeholders thatnurture every mind, regardless of background, environment, or experience. Let's cultivate excellence where it blooms best: in our Title I Communities!

Early Math Learning through Play with Map Mats 

• Dr. Steven Coxon
• Map Mats is a free curriculum for grades pK-2 teaching K-1 math standards through playful STEM learning with LEGO DUPLO. Developed over two years by Maryville University and Tufts University with funding from the LEGO Foundation and input from dozens of teachers and hundreds of children, Map Mats is now freely available online. Our evaluations indicate that Map Mats leads to high levels of collaboration, math and spatial talk, and supports numeracy including with advanced learners. A background in Learning through Play and spatial development will be provided.

A hot buffet lunch is included with registration. Please feel free to sit outside, in Matoaka, in one of the session rooms, or in the concourse. 

Day 1 is Taco Bar

Featured Session: STEM Education Program Models and Results 

• Dr. Steven Coxon
• A William and Mary Center for Gifted Education (CFGE) doctoral graduate (2012) discusses the work of the Center for Access and Achievement (CA2) at Maryville University in St. Louis modeled on the CFGE. The CA2 serves about 2500 diverse gifted and nongifted students and their teachers annually across multiple programs pK-12 focused on STEM. Exemplar programs will be discussed in terms of replicable models and lessons learned through evaluation. Programs include STEM Sprouts, which transformed a public, high poverty and diverse early childhood center into a place of Constructivist and age-appropriate STEM learning; FutureSTL: Science and Technology Leaders, a program that engages K-12 students year-round by training their teachers through our STEM Education Certificate program and offering summer programs; and the Science and Robotics Program, offering about 80 classes in all areas of STEM pK-8th grade that serve more than 1,000 students each summer.

Poetry and Art to Build Cross-cultural Bridges

• Dr. Miwon Choe
• This presentation features success stories and examples of how a simple poetry originated from Appalachian Mountains served as an effective cross-cultural instructional tool to engage art and elementary pre-service teachers with native Spanish speaking children and EL students from various countries. The multi-dimensional aspects of their personal and cultural stories united all levels and abilities of EL learners, gifted and talented, twice exceptional, and students needing individual accommodations.
  The collection of hand poem represents the importance of acceptance and pride of one’s own family tradition, linguistic heritage, and being open to our cultural neighbors. Although every person is a uniquely individual, the poetry exchange proved that we are all connected through the common thread of shared human experiences.

Thinking Strategies That Work - Extended Session 1:30 - 2:45 p.m.

• Allison Guilliams, M.T.
• Brianne Gunn, M.Ed.
• "Thinking Routines" are essential strategies that deepen students’ understanding and our own. Learn five strategies in this session to use with your gifted and high-ability learners to help them utilize their background knowledge, manipulate new information, share diverse perspectives, address misconceptions, and document their thinking. Engage every student and make high-quality thinking a habit in your classroom. Practical, ready-to-use and impactful resources will be shared.

Coffee Bar & Exhibit Hall

Success in Cluster Grouping: Overcoming the Obstacles 

• Dr. Dina Brulles
• Cluster-grouping is widely used for serving gifted students today, though with varying levels of effectiveness. Schools that cluster-group successfully incorporate consistent methods for making student placements to maximize student achievement and potential, supporting cluster teachers, and building community support. Dr. Brulles will provide suggestions, tools, and methods schools can use to overcome common obstacles when cluster grouping. Participants will learn how to create a fair and equitable system for serving gifted students by incorporating cluster grouping into school and district initiatives.

Supporting Learning Needs of Gifted EL Students: Bridging Language through Thematic Units 

• Amy Wallace
• This session is suggested for upper elementary/middle grades teachers. Teachers will learn strategies for language inclusion (bridging, translanguaging, and Literacy Squared assessments) as well as a curriculum and lesson planning structure that benefits gifted EL students. In the example thematic unit of "change," teachers will learn how students explore where they see change in the world including change in the Earth, character development, and mood. This lesson is taught in both Spanish and English (but can be modified for monolinguistic schools) and covers content areas of science, language arts, visual arts, and music.

Developing Psychosocial Skills in a 2-Week Academic Program for High-Ability Students from Low-Income Backgrounds

• Dr. Jennifer R. Cross
• Psychosocial skills are a critical component of talent development. If students lack the tools they need to strive for excellence, to take opportunities and deal with setbacks, they will not be successful in achieving all they are capable of. As part of a 2-week residential summer STEM camp for high-ability middle schoolers from low-income backgrounds, we created a course, Personal Development, that focuses on students’ psychosocial development. The course utilizes findings from psychological science to build students’ agency and future orientation. In this session, we will describe this popular and impactful course.

Thursday, March 21st, 2024

Welcome

• Dr. Tracy L. Cross, Executive Director, welcomes you to the conference.
• Matoaka

Keynote Session - Thursday 

Building and Supporting Inclusive and Sustainable Gifted Services

• Dr. Dina Brulles
• The hallmark of excellence in gifted education insists on equitable identification and inclusive gifted services, evidenced by culturally diverse and responsive classrooms. Learn methods and approaches that can proactively integrate the needs of our diversely gifted learners into every aspect of school. With an emphasis on enfranchising all gifted learners and gaining ongoing administrative support, participants will learn actionable steps educators at all levels can take to develop and maintain inclusive and sustainable gifted practices and programs.

          Coffee Break

 The School-Based Psychosocial Curriculum Model 

• Dr. Tracy L. Cross
• To promote optimal talent development, high-ability students must have a strong psychosocial foundation. They must be willing to take on challenges and persistent in the face of difficulty, especially as they make the move from novice to a greater level of expertise. Development of psychosocial skills is generally not included in a school’s curriculum. The proposed School-Based Psychosocial Curriculum Model (SPCM) utilizes Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development to provide a structure to assist teachers in helping students develop essential strengths that will lead to their happiness, healthiness, and productivity. This session will examine the basics of the model.

Good Teaching-Leveraging High Operational Practices and The Pedagogical Flow Map 

• Dr. Dornswalo Wilkin-McCorey
• The purpose of this session is to provide teachers with a planning tool to create inclusive lesson plans utilizing Dr. Jackson’s High Operational Practices (HOPS) and Pedagogical Flow Map (PFM). During this session, the presenter will highlight the HOPS and demonstrate how to infuse them into the lesson planning process utilizing the pedagogical flow map as a planning tool. More importantly, the presenter will explain how one school division implemented the pedagogical flow map as a planning tool, audited their talent development K-1 resources and created social emotional and inclusive lesson plans to align with the school division's strategic plan. The presenter will feature lesson plans and demonstrate how educators can replicate this process within their own school division. The participants will have the opportunity to explore the HOPS and participate in creating their own PFM for their students.
  Currently, teachers contend with various external factors, technology, behavioral expectations, and mental health concerns. It is extremely important for educators to create authentic relationships to reach generation Z and Alpha students. How does a teacher keep a student engaged with the content in today’s climate? According to Ladson- Billings, “good teaching” consists of three components: high academic expectations, cultural competence, and sociopolitical conscientiousness. One way to achieve “good teaching” is by implementing the HOPS and the PFM; these evidence-based research tools can assist teachers with the metacognitive process which allows reflection and advanced preparation for purposeful planning. The participants will watch video footage and examine student artifacts. The participants will engage in a foundational activity to explore this concept and share best practices.

BUMP it UP in Math: Data Driven Differentiation

• Dr. Ashley Y. Carpenter
• Differentiate, they say. Easier said than done! Advanced students spend most of their math time in grade-level classrooms. This means we need to differentiation up in math. In this session, participants will learn easy ways to gather data, use data to make decisions, and select advanced math options that require minimal planning. Examples of successful “Differentiated-Up” math classrooms will be shared.

W&M's Language Arts Curriculum Units 3rd Editions - Elementary Units

• • Jennifer Callison
  • Dr. Chandra Floyd
  • Dana Lockhart
• 
  Join us as we showcase the new and improved features of W&M Center for Gifted Education revised Language Arts curriculum units. The 3rd edition units maintain the same trusted and award winning unit elements (theme-based, field-tested, and thinking model-focused). However, they are now updated to include more culturally-representative literature, guidance for technology integration, differentiated student products, and additional alternative novels and activities. This session will highlight and preview the following 3rd edition elementary units: 
  • Beyond Words: Figurative Language, 1-2
  • Worldly Words: Systems of Language, 1-2
  • Explore, Discover, Reveal: Adventure Awaits!, 3-4
  • Autobiographies and Memoirs: Change that Shapes You, 5-6

Differentiating for Advanced Learners in the Regular Classroom

• Dr. Ashley Y. Carpenter
• This session will focus on differentiation for students who need additional challenge beyond the grade-level curriculum in age based classrooms. We will learn several strategies that can be applied to any subject area and grade level. Strategies include: grouping, pre-assessment, interest inventories, curriculum compacting, tiered assignments, enrichment, higher level questioning, anchor assignments, academic competitions, increasing cognitive complexity, and independent choice-based projects. Teachers will also have the opportunity to practice adapting their current lesson plans or activities and receive feedback and guidance.  

Navigators: Each unit helps you Navigate a Novel with your Advanced Learners

• Jennifer Callison
• William & Mary's Navigators series of novel units is designed as a supplemental advanced curriculum which provides scaffolding and differentiated strategies and pacing. Features include:
  Choice in novel selections; Group or independent study tasks; Over 50 Navigators- grades 1–12; Skills in analyzing and interpreting; Structured questions and activities highlighting themes and concepts, literary elements, and real-world connections; Exploring and emulating the language and style of authors; Interdisciplinary research opportunities; Models used in the William & Mary ELA curriculum.
  Some of the novels in the series include: A Wrinkle in Time, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,
  Esperanza Rising, The Giver

Gifted Education and the Virginia Literacy Act

• Dr. Chandra Floyd
• Amanda Nevetral
• Following a brief review of research behind the VA Literacy Act (VLA) and what it means for school divisions and gifted learners, we will discuss how to meet the needs of gifted learners within the requirement of the VLA with the Virginia Department of Education's Director of the Office of Advanced Learning.

Identification of All Gifted Students: An Equitable Approach

• Dr. Dina Brulles
• It is evident that gifted education should be more inclusive. Recently, researchers estimated that 1-2 million African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students in public schools could have been identified for gifted programs but were not. Why? The identification process typically puts too much emphasis on knowledge of the English language and academic achievement. The language demands of verbal and quantitative ability tests are barriers for students with limited background knowledge and English language skills. In this interactive session, Dr. Brulles will provide solutions to address this approach of identification, along with strategies for working with high-potential students in classrooms and gifted education programs.

A buffet lunch is included with registration. Please feel free to sit outside, in Matoaka, in one of the session rooms, or in the concourse. 

Day 2 - Soup & Salad Bar

Featured Session: Resource Toolbox to Meet the Needs of Diverse Gifted Learners

• Dr. Dornswalo Wilkins-McCorey 
• The purpose of this session is to provide teachers with a toolbox of strategies and resources to reach all students. During the past three years, one school division applied several strategies to close gaps within the school division. The division provided a task force and consulted experts in the field. Based on the previous Local Plan for the Education of the Gifted, the VBCPS Gifted department implemented several components to provide equitable representation of gifted students throughout the school division. The Office of Gifted Programs attended various workshops and consulted with experts in the field. As a result of this comprehensive effort, the school division utilized various evidence-based interventions from experts like Dr. Geneva Gay, Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, Dr. Yvette Jackson, etc. to enhance the kindergarten and first grade talent development lessons. Additionally, the Gifted Resource Teachers (GRTS) developed learning plans for the 2nd -12th grade curriculum to meet the needs of all students. Not only did The Office of Gifted Programs utilize Dr. Donna Ford’s Equity formula to analyze the identification data throughout the school division but also implemented the online application process to provide longitudinal data. GRTs participated in professional learning opportunities to compare their actual results of their identification data to their school population to see if the data was in alignment. This session will highlight the strategies/resources used and some of the lesson plans created as a result of this work. The presenter will provide video footage and resources used to meet the diverse population in one school division.

The Role of Service Learning in Gifted Education

• Tri Huynh
• Ericka Dean
• Many schools have service learning programs that check off some kind of community engagement criteria. However, service learning, when executed properly, can be a meaningful component of a gifted program. In this presentation, I will share the rationale behind why gifted learners can benefit from exploring community issues. I will describe my school's anti-bias curriculum framework to plan out service learning projects as it relates to each of our grade-level themes. Participants will receive our planning template as well as project samples.

How to Train Your Brain: Strengthening Executive Functioning Skills in Students - Extended Session 1:30 - 2:45 p.m.

• Christan Martin
• Dawn King
• Executive functioning skills are part of everything we do. They are the skills that help us plan, organize, pay attention, get back on track, be flexible, and persevere through challenges. Even gifted and high ability learners can struggle with executive functioning skills as they are not connected to ability or intellect. In this session, educators will engage in tasks to strengthen EF skills, will explore practical tips to help build students' EF skills, and will leave with a variety of resources to use right away with students.

Ice Cream Social & Exhibit Hall

 Networking Sessions 

• Team Trivia
• Painting DIY Craft
• Lego & Puzzles
• Chair Yoga