“Even if you are not going to teach an AP® class, the content and methods from the APSI at the Belin-Blank Center open up a myriad of teaching possibilities. I admit it—I was so energized about content after attending APSI!!”
-Jill Schany, APSI participant from Emmetsburg High School
APSI workshops offer online professional learning for these AP® courses:
AP® courses introduce high school students to academically challenging material and offer a chance to earn college credit by taking AP® exams. APSI prepares teachers to develop and teach an AP® course.
College Board-endorsed AP® consultants instruct each workshop. APSI participants will discuss questions about AP® subject-area content and receive an overview of the Advanced Placement program®. They will also learn how to complete the College Board’s required AP® Course Audit.
It’s not too late (yet) for your child to join the Coders’ Lab!
Our new Coders’ Lab class, called Explorations in Coding I, will teach students how to code “for real” using the Python programming language. It will also help them discover how they can make a difference in the world through computer science!
How it works
Students will meet twice weekly with one of our best teachers and other curious and highly capable kids. They will also have independent time to work through modules and develop projects on their own. Classes at this level are typically recommended for middle school students, but bright and motivated students in grades 4-6 will feel right at home. We think your child has what it takes! No prior computer science experience is necessary.
“Learning to write programs stretches your mind, and helps you think better, creates a way of thinking about things that I think is helpful in all domains.”
-Bill Gates
Help your child become 21st century-ready
This class will help your child grow in problem-solving, critical thinking skills, creativity, collaboration, and communication – all from the comfort of your home. So, what are you waiting for? Hurry, class starts November 2nd!
Two of our previous programs, Blast and the Junior Scholars Institute, have joined forces to create the Junior Scholars Academy (JSA)! Students from 2nd to 8th grade with a deep curiosity, a love of learning, or a lot of talent in a particular area will feel right at home in this program.
JSA is a summer commuter program designed specifically for bright elementary and middle school students who want to thoroughly explore a topic – all while having fun with other kids who share their enthusiasm for learning. Students get to choose one class to focus on all day, for a full week – and these aren’t just any regular classes! With past options like Harry Potter, STEAM, Mixed Media Art, Virtual Reality, Programming (and more!), we’re sure to have something for any curious kid.
Applications open December 15th and will be reviewed by a selection committee composed of Belin-Blank Center faculty and staff. Program acceptance is based on a review of the student’s strengths and interests. The selection committee works to ensure that the class is a good academic fit to nurture the student’s potential. Participation in a school’s gifted education program is not required.
Grade bands for JSA will be 2nd-3rd, 4th-5th, 6th-8th, with the structure consisting of four 1-week sessions. Choose any one (or more!) that works best for you:
Looking for a residential opportunity for 7th and 8th grade students? The Blank Summer Institute (BSI) is a prestigious one-week residential summer program for 120 of Iowa’s most talented 7th- and 8th- grade students, nominated by their schools.
This month, we’re bringing back some of our most popular blog posts to celebrate Gifted Education Awareness Month! Today, Dr. Ann Shoplik, Administrator for the Acceleration Institute, explains why it’s so important to advocate for academic acceleration! “Acceleration” can be an intimidating word for some, but did you know that there are at least 20 different forms of academic acceleration?
The word “acceleration” actually refers to over twenty different educational interventions! (Source: A Nation Empowered: Evidence Trumps the Excuses Holding Back America’s Brightest Students*)
Why am I an Advocate for Academic Acceleration?
The short answer to this question is that I am tired of gifted students being under-challenged in school. They need the intellectual stimulation that comes from rigorous courses taught at a reasonably advanced level, and acceleration can provide that stimulation. The longer answer is, I am familiar with the research. No educational option for gifted students has the research support that academic acceleration has. In other words, the research is clear and unambiguous: Acceleration works. Gifted students benefit from acceleration. Gifted students are not negatively impacted socially if they are moved up a grade or advanced in a particular subject. Gifted students who accelerate turn out to be higher-achieving, higher-paid adults. In other words, the effects of acceleration are positive, short-term, and long-term. So why wouldn’t I be an advocate for academic acceleration?
Now that we have the information that is summarized so clearly and succinctly in the comprehensive 2015 publication, A Nation Empowered, it’s time to put that information to work. There are at least 20 different types of acceleration, including grade-skipping, subject matter acceleration, distance learning, and dual enrollment in high school and college. There are many forms of acceleration, and that means that we can tailor accelerative opportunities to the needs of individual gifted students. Acceleration means allowing gifted students to move ahead in school, at a pace appropriate to their needs. Acceleration can be implemented individually, in small groups, and in large groups. Each type of acceleration can be used to match the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum to the readiness and motivation of the student.
Educators and parents do not have to be afraid of implementing acceleration. Tools are available to help them make well-informed decisions. These tools include the book already mentioned, A Nation Empowered, and they also include the Iowa Acceleration Scale (developed to help the team consider all aspects of acceleration, including academic development, social development, physical development, and school and parental support for the decision), IDEAL Solutions (developed to assist educators and parents as they consider subject matter acceleration in STEM subjects), and university-based talent search programs, which help identify students and give them challenging courses they can take in the summer or via online learning opportunities.
If you are interested in advocating for acceleration for an individual student or you’re attempting to change policies in your school or district, consider starting with the information found at the Acceleration Institute website. It includes the tools already mentioned in this article, and many more. Don’t miss the PowerPoint presentation on acceleration, which you can download and share with other educators and families.
We have the research and we have the tools to help us make good decisions about implementing acceleration for academically talented students. Now, we need the courage to act.
*Southern, W.T. and Jones, E.D. (2015) Types of Acceleration: Dimensions and Issues. In S.A. Assouline, N. Colangelo, J. VanTassel-Baska, and A. Lupkowski-Shoplik (Eds.), A Nation Empowered: Evidence Trumps the Excuses Holding Back America’s Brightest Students (pp. 9-18). Cedar Rapids, IA: Colorweb Printing
Governor Reynolds declared the month of October to be Gifted Education Awareness Month. The Iowa Talented and Gifted Association (ITAG) proposed many activities to celebrate giftedness in your school and district! Some of these include:
Ask to have gifted students present their achievements at the October school board meeting
Communicate with other staff about how to best work with your gifted students
Attend the ITAG Conference Parent Night
How will YOU celebrate?
Beyond ITAG’s suggestions, our team hopes you celebrate by thinking about who your talented students are and what they need to stay challenged and engaged at school. One way to do this is by selecting students for above-level testing to find out what they already know and, more importantly, what they are ready to learn next. Another way is to help students sign up for advanced courses, such as those available through the Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA).
As you may know, IOAPA and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS) have teamed up to provide identification and programming services in order to help Iowa teachers find talented middle school students and develop their abilities. For more on how BESTS and IOAPA work together, check out our IOAPA-BESTS blog roundup. In order to use above-level testing scores to inform eligibility for IOAPA courses, make sure to begin the above-level testing process soon. There are four basic steps for participation in BESTS:
Find the students who are ready for additional challenge; these are the students who will be recommended for participation in BESTS. Typically, students who have earned scores at or above the 90thpercentile on grade-level standardized tests, such as the Iowa Assessments, are strong candidates for above-level testing.
Notify the students identified in Step 2 and their families about the opportunity to participate in BESTS.
Contact assessment@belinblank.org as soon as possible to set up testing. Note that if you have 7th-9th grade students in need of above-level testing, they will be taking the ACT, and there are specific deadlines for registration; visit belinblank.org/talent-search for specific information. I-Excel testing sessions for current 4th-6th graders are more flexible to schedule, but it’s still important to reach out soon to ensure that the process can be completed in time for your desired test date(s).
Inform students and parents about test results and the recommended course of action following testing. Families receive above-level test score reports and an extensive interpretation of results that can help with these discussions.
As part of this process, you may be wondering ‘What do gifted students look like? Who are good candidates for above-level testing or advanced courses?’ High grades are a traditional means to determine giftedness, but grades and assessment scores are not the only avenue. For instance, many gifted students are bored in class, and therefore may stop trying or may create classroom disruptions. In order to expand your school’s view on gifted qualification, make sure to look at class performance along with psychosocial factors, and socioeconomic and cultural factors. This blog post discusses identifying gifted students from underserved backgrounds.
However you choose to observe Gifted Education Awareness Month, we hope you’ll consider us a resource and partner in supporting Iowa’s brightest students and developing their talent!
Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. A Native American (Iroquois) word, it may be hard to pronounce, but it’s the right name for the six face-to-face classes designed to help educators better understand the nature/needs of gifted learners, and how to meet those needs.
The Belin-Blank Center, in partnership with the University of Iowa College of Education, provides online classes throughout the year. During the summer, in addition to online courses, we want to offer gifted education advocates an opportunity to enjoy the Blank Honors Center building, to meet the Center’s staff, and to learn from each other.
Chautauqua I, July 9 – 14, including class on Saturday, includes these one-semester-hour classes:
Participants may enroll in any of the six classes—or in all of the six! Those who enroll at the graduate level for all three workshops in either week, or both weeks, receive an automatic tuition scholarship from the Belin-Blank Center for one of the three classes (i.e., three workshops for the cost of two; six for the cost of four). Each week, on Friday, the Belin-Blank Center hosts a lunch for Chautauqua participants, giving them a chance to interact with some of the same scholars whose work they’ve been reading during classes.
All of the classes fulfill requirements for the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement, and each week includes one semester hour from each of three of the required strands; each class, part of a hybrid endorsement program, does require some online work as well as the participation in the two days on campus. Those seeking endorsement need to complete a total of 12 semester hours, with classes from each strand, and at least one practicum hour. Teachers can complete practicum during any semester.
The Iowa Department of Education is offering sessions across the state to provide professional learning about the Advanced Learner Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) Guide, created to assist classroom teachers who want to ensure all students, including advanced learners, are appropriately challenged in every classroom. The Advanced Learner MTSS Guide is written content neutral and can be used across disciplines for K-12 grade learners.
April 10Des Moines Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites located at 4800 Merle Hay
April 17Coralville/Iowa City – Radisson Hotel and Conference Center/Hampton Inn located at 1220 1st Avenue Suite B Coralville, IA
April 20Sioux City – Hilton Garden Inn Riverfront located at 1132 Larsen Park Road
Districts are encouraged to bring teams comprised of general education elementary classroom teachers, secondary educators, a counselor, teacher leaders, a building administrator, the gifted and talented program coordinator, and gifted and talented program teachers.
For questions about event registration or the PD session itself, contact Rosanne Malek at 515-281-3199 or rosanne.malek@iowa.gov.
One semester hour of credit available: PSQF:5194:0WKA (automatic 50% tuition scholarship)
One semester hour of academic credit may apply to either the Psychology strand or the Programming strand for the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement, depending on the student’s choice of readings and project.
You do not have to be a regularly enrolled student at the University of Iowa, nor do you need to apply for admission to the University, in order to register for courses to earn the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement. Participants need to register, at no cost, through the Division of Continuing Education:
Questions about this or other credit options available for the TAG Endorsement? Contact Dr. Laurie Croft, Associate Director, Professional Development (laurie-croft@uiowa.edu/ 319-335-6148) or Rachelle-Blackwell (rachelle-blackwell@uiowa.edu/ 319-335-6148).
Belin-Blank Center 