KAGE Conference 2019 Tuesday

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Schedule of Events and Session Descriptions

7:00 am, Registration Desk Opens
7:30 am, Continental Breakfast
7:30 am, KAGE Business Meeting
8:00 – 9:15 am, General Session

• KAGE  Distinguished Student Award presentation
• Keynote Address, Growing Up Gifted, MICHAEL LANHAM, MD

8:00 am – 2:30 pm, Visit the Exhibits
9:30 am – 2:30 pm, Concurrent Sessions (see below)
2:30 – 3:30 pm, KDE Update with KATHIE ANDERSON, KDE Consultant for Gifted and Talented Education

Tuesday Concurrent Sessions are listed below – You do not need to pre-register for Tuesday concurrent sessions. Tuesday concurrent sessions are presented by educators, exhibitors, and others who have much to share about practices, curriculum approaches, materials, insights, and more about gifted and high ability children.

ALL TIMES LISTED ARE EASTERN TIME. Sessions, presenters, and times are subject to change.

9:30-10:20 am

• Developing Young Detectives by Encouraging Inquiry in Social Studies: Strategies to Challenge Gifted Learners! Jana Kirchner, Educational Consultant – JK Consulting  – Asking questions, looking for clues, making hypotheses—in social studies?? Yes! Learn how to design inquiry lessons that encourage critical thinking and challenge students to read and think like historians. Participate in a sample lesson and learn practical strategies to encourage inquiry (a key component of KY’s new social studies standards) using a variety of primary sources that engage gifted learners as detectives.

• Gifted English Language Learners, Michelle Lynch, Gifted and Talented Teacher, Glasgow Independent Schools – The presentation will explore educator perceptions of gifted and talented (GT) English language (ELL) students. Barriers for identification and service for GT/ELL students will be discussed and ways to support students will be shared among attendees. The roles of professional development and best practices for identification of underrepresented students will also be explored. We will discuss obstacles, perception, referral, professional development, and, modification ideas for the classroom.

• Productive Struggle through a Popular Puzzle: Using Rubik’s Cubes in the Gifted Classroom, Meg McCann, You Can Do the Rubik’s Cube – Learning to solve a Rubik’s Cubes is a fun and challenging activity. Students can build spatial and critical thinking skills while becoming more cognizant of the strategies they are using to persevere through their frustrations. They can improve their communication and interpersonal skills through team competitions and mosaic building. See how learning just the basics leads to challenging STEM activities. Learn about our many resources, available at no cost. Register your team in the Kentucky Rubik’s Cube Challenge!

• Arts Performance Evaluation, Blossom Brosi, GT Coordinator, and Jane Dewey, Arts Administrators, Danville Independent Schools – During the ’17-’18 school year, our district implemented a Visual and Performing Arts Performance Evaluation for 3rd graders. During this presentation we will describe the program and how it assisted Gifted and Talented identification in the arts areas. We will also explain how the process, along with additional changes to GT identification measures, helped to close our excellence gaps.

• Powerful Strategies to Enhance the Learning of Gifted Students, Nathan Levy, President, Nathan Levy Books, LLC – This workshop, by noted Stories With Holes author Nathan Levy, explores numerous, proven ways to reach gifted learners in challenging ways. Participants will leave with a variety of new strategies and specific ideas to help pupils become better creative and critical thinkers. A variety of successful teaching and parenting techniques relating to social and emotional needs will be shared. Bring your thinking caps and your funny bones to this dynamic presentation.

• Great Books for Great Kids, Lynette Breedlove, EdD, Director, The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science – A good book can transport you to a different world, make you laugh or cry, and teach you about yourself. While our society doesn’t always nurture and accept gifted people, there are many books that feature them. We’ll discuss specific titles with gifted main characters and that match the social emotional needs of gifted children, from picture books to young adult literature.

10:30-11:20 am

• Deeper Questioning and More Effective Discussion with Shared Inquiry, Denise Ahlquist, Senior Academic Consultant, Great Books Foundation – Shared Inquiry is a research-based method of learning incorporating deeper questioning, complex texts, and student collaboration to engage all students in diverse classrooms. Learn how a sustained sequence of inquiry-based activities and discussion differentiate and challenge learners to think critically and communicate ideas effectively, while building community and improving reading comprehension and essential social-emotional skills. Shared Inquiry is used in a wide range of settings across Kentucky and examples of successful implementations will be shared by some of those educators.

• Finding and Serving the 2e Learner, Tracy Ford Inman, EdD – Twice-exceptional learners often go unidentified — the gifts and talents mask their disabilities and vice versa. Many may just be identified as special education students where their deficiencies are the focus of learning and their strengths are undiscovered. Some may just be identified as gifted, and struggle to live up to potential, never receiving the assistance needed to overcome their learning disabilities. It doesn’t have to be like that. This session explores the twice-exceptional learner from finding him to serving him, focusing on strengths while providing necessary support.

• Piecing Together the Past and Uncovering the Future Through Hands-On History, Jennifer Disponette, Student Engagement and Outreach Coordinator, Kentucky Historical Society – Whether it be Artifact Analysis, Inventions, or American Indian Pinch Pots, the Kentucky Historical Society has a suite of programming ideal for challenging students. Participants will be challenged to analyze historical images and artifacts through collaboration, communication, and problem solving. Join us as we delve into the techniques used by the Historical Society’s educators to creating an atmosphere in which everyone feels comfortable and capable.

• Some Say That I’m a Dreamer, But I’m Not the Only One: How to Serve Students that are Identified GT in Creativity, Leadership, and Visual/Performing Arts, Justin Mitchell, GT Coordinator, Franklin-Simpson Middle School, Simpson County Schools – Serving gifted and talented students in academic areas is difficult but doable through differentiation, acceleration, independent study, etc. The areas of Creativity, Leadership, and Visual/Performing Arts can be the trickier ones to serve because of the lack of classes, resources, and knowing where to even start. The State Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented Education has been working for over a year to create a comprehensive list of services in these specific areas to help give districts ideas on where to start when it comes to serving these students. Along with discussing ideas that are specific to the classroom, region, and state, you will walk away with this newly developed resource for your school and district.

• Connections Between Critical Thinking, Writing, and Meeting the Social Emotional Needs of Gifted Children, Nathan Levy, President, Nathan Levy Books, LLC – This workshop, by noted Stories With Holes author Nathan Levy, will focus on how to help children be better thinkers and learners. There will be an emphasis on the importance of challenge, perseverance and hard work as social-emotional components for acquiring skills that help gifted children adapt to meet life’s expectations. Practical ideas and materials will be presented.

• To Be Young, Gifted and Black, Kennita Ballard, 6th ELA- Olmsted Academy North, Jefferson County Public Schools – This session will explore and discuss the under representation of students of color in gifted and talented programs as well as strategies to support, identify and advocate for gifted and talented students of color.

11:30 am-12:20 pm

• Setting the Stage for Finding the Creatively Gifted: A Valuable Script for All Students, Dr. Taylor Thompson, Georgetown College – Embedding creative thinking (CT) in school curriculum should occur in many settings for many reasons. This includes providing opportunities for students gifted in CT to “show their stuff,” allowing them to be considered for identification. In this session, participants will choose a sample lesson and explore how to make changes which add or enhance creative thinking through questioning, demonstration, and production. They will identify where demonstration of evidence of CT may be used as part of the identification of creative giftedness.

• Technology Tips, Resources & Google Tools for Advanced Students, Bullitt County Public Schools Technology Integration Specialists & Sarah Coomer, Bullitt County Schools GT Coordinator – HyperDocs for Choice Boards, FlipGrid, Digital Storytelling tools, Virtual Field Trips, and other technology tools that you can use to efficiently and effectively differentiate learning for all varying level of student ability in your actual classroom or your personalized learning classroom will be shared in this session. Also shared is how this group of innovative educators use Google Tools (and some even “lesser known” Google Tools) with all Primary Talent Pool and Gifted & Talented Students. Come, learn, and share with others your questions and technology resources that you use in your district.

• WE Schools: Building Student Leadership through Service Learning, Laura Patterson, WE Schools Program Facilitator – During this session, we will deep dive into service-learning theory, dig into student led campaigns and examine what service-learning looks like across various grade levels and content areas. Through case studies, we’ll explore how to link learning to service, and how WE Schools resources align with the social emotional learning standards. Educators will walk away with ideas about where service-learning can live within a unit, and which units it can be integrated most meaningfully for themselves and their students.

• The Basics of Identification: What Makes Identification Defensible?, Julia Link Roberts, EdD, Executive Director, The Center for Gifted Studies, Mahurin Professor of Gifted Education, WKU – Getting started with selecting children for the Talent Pool and identifying students for gifted services is very important, and it is critical to know and follow best practices. This session will examine principles to follow when assessing students in order to give them optimal opportunities to demonstrate their exceptional potential. Come join this session on the basics of identification in order to make identification defensible.

• PBL and the Power of Choice, Zachary Ramsey, NBCT, Shelby County Public Schools – Project based learning has the power to reach all students. Using examples from my own practice that allow gifted students to excel in esoteric and idiosyncratic ways, I will explain how I create open-ended projects that allow all of my students to climb to the heights they are each capable of, no matter how diverse the group is. These projects are adaptable for all levels of education and can be conducted across disciplines.

• Enrichment for Students Beyond Elementary School, Katie Booth, Rachel Johnson, and Crissy Ellison, Gifted Educators, Scott County Schools – It’s often difficult to provide appropriate services for G&T students as they enter secondary school. In this session, we’ll discuss easy strategies to engage and enrich beyond elementary school, covering a How-To Guide for fostering curiosity and ambition in high schoolers. Learn easy and effective enrichment opportunities which foster collaboration between grade bands and build students toward meeting long-term goals like resume building and selective college admissions.

12:30-1:20 pm

• Using Centers to Create Meaningful Learning Opportunities for Gifted Learners, Jilliane McCardle, EdD, Gifted Services Coordinator, Model Laboratory School at Eastern Kentucky University – Creating meaningful differentiated learning opportunities for students can be an overwhelming thought for many teachers. Participants in this interactive workshop will explore the role of content, process, and product in the differentiation and development of classroom centers. Using their past experiences and resources, participants will work in groups to create quality center activities for gifted and high-ability learners that can be used when they return to their classrooms. Participants are asked to bring a copy of a future lesson plan.

• Extending the Challenge in Mathematics: Developing Mathematical Promise in Elementary and Middle Grade Students, Linda Sheffield, PhD., Regents Professor Emerita, Mathematics and Gifted Education, NKU – Join us to investigate a heuristic and strategies for creating multi-level, open-ended mathematical problems and investigations designed to challenge students and inspire deeper and more original mathematical thinking. Bring a topic or a problem from your math program and explore ways to develop it that extend students’ reasoning, engagement and enjoyment.

• Gifted and Talented Response to Intervention: GT/RtI, Toddie Adams, Director of Gifted Services, Marshall County School District  – Response to Intervention is the process of evaluating student needs, providing research-based interventions with fidelity, and progress monitoring. Both strengths and deficiencies can be needs for gifted learners. GT/RtI is the process of determining needs, effectively communicating and collaborating with general education teachers to ensure gifted service options are being implemented, and using differentiated teaching/learning to service and help identify gifted learners. Learn how to utilize GT/RtI in your district to ensure gifted service options are implemented with fidelity.

• Dual Credit and Advanced Placement: High School Opportunities, Julia Link Roberts, EdD, Jana Layne, AdvanceKentucky, Ron Skillern, 2017 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, Chad Phillips, Director, Henderson Community College, and Michael Kessinger, Asst. Prof. of Education, Morehead State University – Dual credit and Advanced Placement courses offer opportunities for high school students to get a head-start on college. When is it the best choice to participate in one or the other option? This session will feature a panel of individuals with experiences in dual credit and Advanced Placement to discuss these options.

• The Art of Independence: Developing Motivation, Time Management and Goal Setting Skills in Gifted and Talented Writers, Liz Prather, School for Creative and Performing Arts, Lafayette High School – The marriage of writing and project-based learning develops student-directed learning and purposeful problem-solving. Teaching gifted and talented students how to set goals, manage their time, and become courageous in the face of dead-ends and wrong turns of the creative process is the key to managing long-term projects. This session shows teachers how to use the tenets of project-based learning to develop differentiation in an English- Language Arts class to teach reading, writing, and project management.

• How to Be a Talent Scout: Finding and Developing Talent in Primary Learners, Mary Evans, PhD – The earlier potential gifts and talents are discovered and cultivated in young learners, the richer the education and the more robust the growth. Kentucky’s Regulations outline a progressive identification and service model for the Primary Talent Pool. This session will explore that model and provide tips and strategies to find and serve these children. If you’re interested in being a talent scout, this one’s for you.

1:30-2:20 pm

• Acceleration—Realistic Options to Meet Student Needs, Jan Lanham, PhD, Eductional Consultant – One critical need of high potential students is often the need to accelerate the level and pace of instructional content in order to assure continuous progress. Participants will explore the research/realities around acceleration options, dispel acceleration myths, and examine acceleration best practices.

• Identification of the Underserved and Diverse Gifted Population, Martina Skidmore, Guidance Counselor, Powell County Schools; Sarah Elam Farrow, Teacher, Montgomery County High, Montgomery County Schools; and Marty Mills, Principal, Tates Creek High, Fayette County Schools – This session will present a discussion on how to identify gifted students from disadvantaged populations, such as low socioeconomic status, to assist in helping students overcome barriers not in their control and push themselves academically. Teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators can learn how to serve students better to meet students’ individual needs and encourage them to enroll in rigorous courses. Students’ participation in rigorous coursework provides them an opportunity for college and career readiness and life after high school.

• Gifted Education in Higher Ed: From Pre-service to Graduate Program Integration, Dr. Kimberely Nettleton, Dr. Michael Kessinger, Dr. Lesia Lennex, Dr. Mee Shon, Morehead State University – As Educator Preparation Program faculty, what we do in our courses now will affect students of tomorrow. This session will explore gifted education as it is integrated into teacher education courses and ways in which we can ignite the passion for gifted education in all of our students. Come, share your experience and ideas so that we can better meet the needs of future teachers of gifted students.

• They’re Gifted – Not OMNISCIENT!  Dr. Camille Towns, Music Educator and Education Consultant, Camfrey Solutions – Gifted and hyper-ability students are fantastic additions to any classroom as long as you understand how to direct and harness their enthusiasm. Led by a gifted / hyper-ability student turned music educator, this session reveals practical, common sense strategies for effective student behavior management that will end the student-authority power struggles, improve academic performance, and greatly reduce the need for discipline referrals. Combined with unconditional positive regard and self-control techniques, students will decrease disruptions while increasing productivity.

1:30-2:20 pm

• KDE Update, Kathie Anderson, Kentucky Department of Education                        
  What is going on at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE)? How does it affect gifted education? Come and hear about the initiatives and projects at KDE and the impact it has for gifted education in Kentucky.    

• Meeting the Special Counseling Needs of Gifted Students, Jan Lanham, PhD Educational Consultant – Kentucky’s gifted regulation specifies Special Counseling as a gifted service, with limited guidance. Faced with twice-exceptional students, underachievement, perfectionism, acceleration needs, sissy-phobia, executive function deficits, and more, teachers and counselors must address a wide range of needs in the context of special counseling. This session will discuss ways to approach these issues in order to provide support for students.

POSTER SESSION (TIME TBA)

• Constructed Learning in Elementary Mathematics (Poster), Dorian Cook, student at Morehead State University) – Math manipulatives are an exciting way to interest elementary school students. Which designs are most useful? In what way(s) do manipulatives affect the learning process? This project  explores varying designs of math manipulatives and their effectiveness in teaching elementary school students. This poster details research with elementary school students in some of the ways the manipulatives were used to teach lessons on counting, tens places, and money skills.

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last updated 02/17/2019