Professional Development in Gifted Education this Summer!

Dr. Laurie Croft, Administrator, Professional Development

There are some GREAT professional development opportunities this summer, offered through a partnership between the Belin-Blank Center and the University of Iowa College of Education! You can find the complete schedule for the summer here. The schedule is organized by June On Campus, then June Online, followed by July On Campus, and July and August Online. Each workshop indicates the strand (for the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement) that it fulfills.

If it has been a while since you took something through the Center, you would likely need to update your “UI record” through our Center for Continuing Education. You are a NON-DEGREE-SEEKING student. You can decide if you want to enroll this summer as a graduate student (tuition is $452 per credit hour)-OR if you want to enroll as an undergraduate (tuition is still $280 per credit hour).

We provide a memo in every workshop that explains these ARE graduate-level workshops, but that a “loophole” allows teachers to enroll through Continuing Education as an “undergraduate,” saving them significant tuition dollars. You should check to be sure your district is OK with your transcript noting “Undergraduate” by any workshops taken with that status.

Watch for my posts over the next few days, telling you about some of the workshops available to you this summer. Tomorrow, I will share a tale of the Drs. Croft, teaching the first on-campus workshop, the last on-campus workshop, and a couple of the online workshops this summer!

I hope you are finishing things up in great shape this year! Several of you are working on your endorsements, and I know we’ll see many of you this summer. But this is an important summer: our *25th* anniversary as the Belin-Blank Center. We hope many of you who have your endorsements return to take something new to you this summer and enjoy a few days on campus with us. Or encourage a general education colleague to learn something new this summer about some of their high-ability learners – something that will make the next school year better for students AND teachers.

Check out this exciting summer schedule!

B-BC’s Maureen Marron Quoted on Acceleration

Dr. Maureen Marron, who is the Belin-Blank Center’s administrator for the Iowa Online Advanced Placement Academy (IOAPA) and the Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration (IRPA), was recently quoted on acceleration:

“Skipping a grade isn’t the answer for every gifted student,” Marron says. “Acceleration means matching the curriculum to a student’s abilities. For one student, that may mean grade skipping; for another, it may mean acceleration in a single subject, like math; for other students, enrichment-based activities in the classroom are all they need.” (Full article)

Our UP Students Went to Chicago!

Some of our University Programs students (both NAASE and ITP) recently took a trip to Chicago.  UP graduate assistants Alex Wenger and Amanda Berns chaperoned and took some fantastic pictures!

Click on the images to see them at full size:

We Have Great Grad Students!

This past Wednesday, the College of Education recognized graduate students for their important contributions to the College, and several of our grad students were honored!

Amanda Berns has been a student in the PhD degree program in School Psychology since 2009.  She completed a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at The University of Iowa in 2005.

Dr. Susan Assouline wrote the following:  “Amanda Berns is an exceptional student in the school psychology program.  Prior to entering the program, she was involved in working with individuals with an autism spectrum disorder and was second author on a very important paper published in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disability.  She will continue to develop this area of interest and burgeoning expertise during her APPIC internship next year at the Devereux Foundation.   For the past two years, she has also served as a graduate assistant at the Belin-Blank Center.  She is part of a 3-person grad student team that is assigned to advise and mentor the Belin-Blank Center’s undergrads.  As with everything she does, Amanda gives this responsibility her entire attention, she cares deeply about all of the students, and has fulfilled this commitment with grace and respect.  These are just a few of the reasons I am recommending Amanda for graduate student recognition.”

Alex Leilani Wenger has been a student in the Master’s degree program in Higher Education and Student Affairs since 2011. She completed a bachelor degree in Psychology at The University of Iowa in 2011.  After completing her degree this spring, Alex will move home to the Quad Cities where she will begin life as a new student affairs professional.

Dr. Debora Liddell wrote:  “Alex Wenger is a second-year Master’s student in the Higher Education & Student Affairs Program.  A quiet leader in the community, she leads by example: she is an ethical, engaged, and caring professional.  In her assistantship with the Belin–Blank Center, Alex works closely with underrepresented undergraduates to help create a sense of place.”

Free Family Therapy for Gifted & 2E Families

We are seeking families interested in participating in free family therapy services at the Belin-Blank Center. Due to a recent collaboration with the Couple and Family Therapy Program (CFT) at The University of Iowa College of Education, we are now able to offer family therapy services to high-ability/twice-exceptional students and their families. Family therapy services will be provided by a team of advanced-level doctoral students in the CFT program under the direct supervision of Dr. Volker Thomas, director of the CFT program, and with consultation from Dr. Alissa Doobay, licensed psychologist at the Belin-Blank Center. Please direct questions about this service to Dr. Alissa Doobay at alissa-doobay@uiowa.edu or Volker Thomas at volker-thomas@uiowa.edu.

Global Meeting of the Minds

The following was written by our Russian visitors from the National University of Science and Technology.

The group came to the University of Iowa (UI) to learn about various aspects of managing administration and finance at a major research university. They are interested in ways UI organizes student services, community engagement and athletic programs. Members of the group are administrators and faculty from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) “MISiS.”

The group is particularly focused on learning university management systems because NUST MISiS has entered a new stage in its academic, research, and faculty development. The long-term goal of this new strategic development is to make the top 100 list of leading international universities.

During their visit, the group visited various university offices and departments, such as the Office of Finance and Operations, the Office of the Vice President for Research, the UI Research Park, the UI Foundation.

Highlights of the visit

• The unique identity of the university, including a very special student culture;
• The diverse and efficiently managed student activities infrastructure;
• The integrated computer support system;
• The experience with investing to maximize profits for the university;

Practices we would like to adopt at our school

• Paperless integrated system of information support for all services;
• Intellectual property protection and commercialization of innovative technologies;
• The creation and development of business incubators;
• Comprehensive support of research projects;

Other issues that impressed us

• The special place sport occupies in university life and culture;
• High level of students’ self motivation in academic life as well extracurricular activities;
• Variety and scale of volunteer and other community projects;
• Wide proliferation of corporate management style.

Program Participants

Mr. Dmitry Aleksandrovich Konstantinov

Specialist in the Section of Cultural and Leisure Services of the Division of Co-curricular Activities and Student Services at the National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”

Ms. Nadezda Nikolaevna Makhalova

Head of the Educational Section of the Division of Academic Affairs at the National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”

 Ms. Ekaterina Nikolaevna Kropacheva

Senior specialist in the Section of Information Technologies and Student Services of the Division of Research and Innovation at the National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”

Dr. Vladimir Viktorovich Cheverkin

Senior research scientist in the Department of Physical Metallurgy of Non-Ferrous Metals at the National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”

Ms. Irina Sarkisovna Mirokhorova

Senior specialist in the Section of Accreditation and Educational Standards of the Division of Strategic Development at the National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”

 Mr. Sergey Olegovich Sychev,

Senior engineer in the Section of Information and Reports of the Division of Strategic Development at the National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”

 Mr. Andrey Igorevich Voronin

Specialist in the Section of Information Technologies and Student Services of the Division of Research and Innovation at the National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”

 Ms. Yulia Andreevna Svedushcheva

Specialist in the International Education Section of the Division of International Programs at the National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”

 Mr. Dmitry Vadimovich Philippov

Head of the Residence System at the National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”

 Mr. Viacheslav Leonidovich Gulya

Senior specialist in the Residence System at the National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”

Impressive Innovations at Invent Iowa

The Invent Iowa State Scholarship Competition was this weekend – check out  the incredible inventions by Iowa students!

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2013 College of Engineering- University of Iowa, Iowa State University Scholarship Winners (in no particular order):

• Clayton Nurre and Griffin Maloney – Cleat Cleaner
• Avery Tauke and Connor Mullis – EZ Hookup
• Maria Hendrickson – Hold Your Horses
• Alexandra Poremba – Ocean Breathe
• Caylee Will, Jayden Cavanaugh, Allison Ryan, Madison Davis, Anna Ford, Hannah Dunlop, Addison Smith, Leah Pitts, Meredith Ellis – The Walk’n’Wheel
• Zeke Mynsma and Calvin Moulton – Toilet Bacteria Blocker