Tag: gifted education

Apply for the Belin-Blank Recognition Award

We are excited to introduce the Belin-Blank Recognition Award for Talent Development! 

Recognizing the tremendous efforts of educators within the field of talent development and gifted education has always been important to the Belin-Blank Center. In the past, we honored that work through a yearly ceremony hosted on the University of Iowa campus (see picture below). Going forward, we would like to establish this award as a way to recognize the innovative efforts happening in schools around the state and to support educators in growing talent development opportunities for their students.

David Belin shakes hands with an awardee at the 1998 Belin-Blank Center Recognition Ceremony. 

Thanks to an endowment from Henry B. and Jocelyn Wallace of Scottsdale, Arizona — outstanding advocates for gifted students and longtime supporters of the Belin-Blank Center — we can offer multiple awards of up to $5,000 for individual teachers, educational programs, schools, or districts with a goal of providing awards to a mix of urban and rural settings throughout Iowa. Educators can apply for this award to grow an existing program or to create a new one. 

To apply, educators or other school personnel should complete the short application survey before the July 31 deadline. Awardees will be notified by mid-September.  

Timeline 

  • April 22: Application Survey opens 
  • July 31: Last day to submit Application Survey 
  • Mid-September: Awards announced 

For more information or questions, contact recognition@belinblank.org 

Earn Your TAG Endorsement at Iowa

As a leader in professional learning, the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa is here to help you earn your Talented and Gifted (TAG) Endorsement! Here are just a few reasons to chose Iowa for your TAG-endorsement needs:

  • 100% online curriculum
  • Flexible practicum experience  
  • Emphasis on acceleration, mental health, rural and small schools, and twice-exceptionality
  • Ability to transfer up to 6 s.h. of coursework from other institutions
  • Financial assistance available (including needs-based stipends and workshop vouchers)  

Are you ready to get started this summer? Here are our Summer ‘24 offerings: 

3 s.h. Courses

  • BBC:4137: Introduction to Educating Gifted Students
    • Study a variety of key concepts and issues related to advanced learners and appropriate programming for this unique population.   
    • May 20 – July 12

1 s.h. Workshops 

  • BBC:4111: Evaluation of Gifted Programs 
    • Course Description: Apply practical strategies and tools to conduct an effective, comprehensive evaluation of a program for advanced learners.
    • Dates: June 3 – June 28
  • BBC:4118: Meeting Emotional Needs of Talented Students
    • Course Description: Focus on the unique emotional needs of talented students, including twice-exceptionality.  
    •  Dates: July 8 – August 2
  • BBC:4119: Meeting Social Needs of Talented Students 
    • Course Description: Focus on the unique social needs of talented students, including those who are twice-exceptional.
    • Dates: May 20 – June 14
  • BBC:4033: Talent Development in the Arts and Athletics: Models and Methods
    • Course Description: Examine multiple general and domain specific talent development models relevant to arts and athletics.  
    •  Dates: June 3 – June 28
  • BBC:4035: Talent Development in the Arts and Athletics: Psychosocial Trials and Benefits 
    • Course Description: Understand and integrate the multiple psychosocial issues (both the challenges and benefits) experienced during varying stages of the talent development process.  
    • Dates: June 24 – July 19

Academic Credit Options (Restricted) 

  • BBC:4031: Belin-Blank Talent Development Fellowship (1 or 2 s.h.) 
    • Course Description: Belin-Blank Fellowship participants will survey key concepts, ideas, and issues concerning the development of talent (and its potential) in K-12 students.
    • Participants can earn 1 or 2 s.h.; credit options will be discussed during the program
    • Restricted to participants in the Belin-Blank Talent Development Fellowship 
  • BBC:4188: Practicum in Teaching and Curriculum Development: Gifted Education 
    • Course Description: Develop a supervised, independent culminating project that is practical in nature in preparation to work in programs and/or services for advanced learners.   
    • Restricted to undergraduates earning their TAG endorsement 
  • BBC:4189: Practicum in Gifted/Talented Education 
    • Course Description: Develop a supervised, independent culminating project that is practical in nature in preparation to work in programs and/or services for advanced learners.   
    • Dates: May 28 – July 8
    • Restricted to nondegree students earning their TAG endorsement 
  • BBC:5080: Teacher Training for Advanced Placement Courses (2 s.h.) 
    • Course Description: Advanced Placement Summer Institute participants will explore the course framework, the AP exam, and the new resources for the chosen AP area. 
    • Dates: July 24 – August 2 
    • Restricted to participants in the Belin-Blank Center’s APSI Workshop 

The cost of one semester hour of undergraduate credit is $376, and the cost of one semester hour of graduate credit is $626. Information on financial assistance is available upon request from educators@belinblank.org. 

Ready to register? Follow the instructions here to enroll in an online course! Visit our website for more information on professional learning opportunities! 

Talking with Students about Taking an Above-Level Test 

Staff members at the Belin-Blank Center often recommend that bright students take an above-level test. The students with whom we work often do extremely well on grade-level tests taken in school. The grade-level tests don’t provide enough information about the extent of the students’ talents. To learn more about their capabilities, the students need to take a more challenging test, which is often an above-level test. For example, I-Excel and ACT help us to have a better understanding of a student’s aptitudes in math, science, English, and reading. I-Excel, which contains content typically offered to 8th graders, is offered to bright 4th-6th graders. ACT, usually taken by 11th and 12th graders, is given to bright 7th – 9th graders. 

Photo by Google DeepMind on Pexels.com

We have a few suggestions to offer to families and educators who would like to talk with their students about taking an above-level test. 

  1. These bright students are used to getting everything, or almost everything, right on standardized tests they take in school. This testing experience will be different. We’re giving them a test that was designed for older students because we want to give them a challenge and to have a better understanding of their capabilities. We want to measure the extent of their aptitudes in math, science, English, and reading, so we can make recommendations about educational programs that might be appropriate for them. We want to know what they don’t know, so we can devise programming specific to what they are ready to learn. 
  1. This test will be harder than most tests they have previously taken. We don’t expect them to get everything right. In fact, many students will not be able to finish the entire test. That is fine. What we want to do is to give the students a challenge. 
  1. This is a low stakes test. By that, we mean that there are no negative consequences if a student doesn’t do well on the test. Students should feel proud of themselves for being invited to take this challenging test. Only some students are invited to do this. 
  1. How parents and family members talk about testing matters. If you put a lot of emphasis on the test, your child will pick up on it and feel more anxious. It’s helpful if you’re a bit more relaxed about it and frame it as a learning opportunity. You might consider statements such as:  
  • “You’re taking this test so we can see what you are ready to learn;”  
  • “We want to give you a challenge;” and  
  • “We’re proud of you for trying this hard test.”  

  1. Letting them know that some students approach it like a puzzle they want to solve, and many of the students tell us they had fun taking the test may also be helpful. We want students to do their best, but we also want them to know it is very common not to finish one or more sections of the test. It is likely they won’t know everything on the test. This is expected and okay.  
  1. About a week before the test, it is helpful to look at the sample test or practice test to become familiar with the format of testing. There is no need for students to study for an above-level test. 
  1. Our best advice for test preparation? Get a good night’s sleep the night before the test and eat breakfast. It may also be helpful to bring a healthy snack and a drink for break time during the test.  
  1. Once the family receives the test scores and the score report, we recommend talking with the student in general terms about their performance on the test. We do not recommend sharing specific scores with them, since it’s easy for young students to misunderstand or misinterpret test scores. 

Above-level testing provides an excellent opportunity for bright students. In just one or two hours of testing, we can learn important information about the student’s academic abilities, which allows us to make appropriate recommendations about the types of educational challenges that might benefit the student. Objective test results are useful for families and teachers to advocate for the student, develop a plan of study, differentiate curriculum, or make decisions about subject acceleration or grade-skipping.  

Coming Up at the Belin-Blank Center

FOR STUDENTS & FAMILIES

Academic Year Programs

Academy for Twice-Exceptionality (Grade 12)

The Academy for Twice-Exceptionality strives to ensure that neurodiverse students (specifically those with Autism Spectrum Disorder or who identify as Autistic) have a positive and fulfilling college experience at the University of Iowa. Applications for the 2024-2025 school year are open through January 20, 2024.

Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy (Grades 10-11)

The Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy empowers high-achieving students to begin full-time on-campus study at the University of Iowa after their sophomore or junior year of high school. Applications for the 2024-2025 school year are open through January 20, 2024.

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (Grades 9-12)

Students compete for scholarships and recognition by presenting the results of their original research projects before a panel of judges and an audience of their peers.

  • Friday, December 1, 2023: Research proposal site opens
  • Wednesday, January 10, 2024 (11:59 PM CST): Research proposal due
  • Wednesday, January 24, 2024: Notification of proposal acceptance
  • Friday, February 9, 2024: Registration to Attend Symposium
  • Monday-Tuesday, February 26-27, 2024: Heartland-JSHS Symposium

Weekend Enrichment (Grades 3-8)

This program is designed to supplement what elementary and junior high students are learning in school and give them a chance to explore their interests – or discover new ones! Our spring session is Saturday, April 20, 2024, with the following classes:

  • Coding with Sphero Robots! (Grades 3-6)
  • Creative Writing: Mining Our Memories for Effective Storytelling (Grades 3-6)
  • Video Game Coding with Bloxels (Grades 3-6)
  • Science Explorations: Water Quality Adventure (Grades 6-8)

Summer Programs

Blank Summer Institute (Grades 7-8)

The Blank Summer Institute (BSI) is a one-week residential summer program for Iowa’s most talented 7th– and 8th-grade students as nominated by their schools. Each student selected for BSI will receive a $1,000 Blank Scholarship to cover most of the Institute’s $1,200 costs. Additional financial aid is available if cost is a barrier to attendance. 

  • December 1, 2023 (5:00 pm CST): Teacher nomination opens.
  • February 1, 2024 (by 5:00 CST): Student applications due.
  • February 15, 2024: Student notification.
  • June 23-28, 2024: Program dates.

Junior Scholars Academy (Grades 3-6)

Junior Scholars Academy (JSA) is a summer commuter program for 3rd-6th grade students who want to dive into a particular topic for a week.

  • Applications are open now!
  • Session 1: June 17-21, 2024
  • Session 2: July 15-19, 2024

Secondary Student Training Program (Grades 10-11)

SSTP is a rigorous, selective, and unforgettable experience for high school sophomores and juniors who are interested in research.

  • December 15, 2023 (5:00 pm CST): Applications open
  • February 16, 2024 (11:59 pm CST): Application deadline
  • April 3, 2024 (5:00 pm CST): Students receive notification of acceptance status
  • June 19 – July 26, 2024: Program dates.

Summer Writing Online (Grades 9-12)

Summer Writing Online (SWO) is an immersive, three-week program designed to stretch participants as writers. Instructors include playwright, director and teaching artist Nina Morrison and Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Andrew David King.

  • Applications are open now!
  • July 8–26, 2024: Program dates.

FOR EDUCATORS

Professional Learning Courses / TAG Endorsement

Training Video About Acceleration:

Includes Access to the Integrated Acceleration System

Are there students in your school who might benefit from acceleration, but you’re not really sure where to start? The Belin-Blank Center has produced a training video about the Integrated Acceleration System for educators who need to gather the appropriate information for making the decision about a grade skip for a student.  The Integrated Acceleration System is an online system that: helps educators and families gather the right information, targets the important factors, and produces a report indicating a recommendation concerning whether acceleration is a good fit for a particular student.

Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com

This online professional development session focuses on:

  • Best research-based practices in utilizing academic acceleration,
  • How to use the online Integrated Acceleration System, and
  • Suggestions to facilitate communication among the relevant team members and to monitor the student’s transition to acceleration.

Cost of the webinar is $59. When you purchase a webinar, it includes a free access code to the Integrated Acceleration System (valued at $69), so you can try out the System and determine its suitability for your needs. Sign up now.

Subscribe to our blog about acceleration.

Coming Up at the Belin-Blank Center

FOR STUDENTS & FAMILIES

Academic Year Programs

Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy Information Sessions

The Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy empowers high-achieving students to begin full-time on-campus study at the University of Iowa after their sophomore or junior year of high school.

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Students compete for scholarships and recognition by presenting the results of their original research projects before a panel of judges and an audience of their peers.

  • Friday, December 1, 2023: Research proposal site opens
  • Wednesday, January 10, 2024 (11:59 PM CST): Research proposal due
  • Wednesday, January 24, 2024: Notification of proposal acceptance
  • Friday, February 9, 2024: Registration to Attend Symposium
  • Monday-Tuesday, February 26-27, 2024: Heartland-JSHS Symposium

Summer Programs

FOR EDUCATORS

Professional Learning Courses / TAG Endorsement

  • Monday, November 13, 2023: December 1 PSQF:5194:0WKA Cont Ed: Leadership in Gifted Education / NAGC Convention 
  • Monday, November 13, 2023: December 8 EDTL:4189:0WKA Practicum in Gifted/Talented Education 

Opportunities for Students in Iowa’s Small Schools and Rural Schools

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

The Belin-Blank Center’s Iowa Online Advanced Placement Academy (IOAPA) provides free, advanced online courses to students grade 6-12 in small schools, rural schools, and any Iowa school without the resources to provide such courses on their own. Our support staff takes pressure off of school administrators and teachers, bringing challenging coursework to students, wherever they are in Iowa.

Students taking AP courses through IOAPA may also receive scholarships that pay for their AP exams. In May 2023, 28 Iowa students received an exam scholarship. Another way in which IOAPA supports students is through the new small grants program, in which IOAPA schools may apply for grants that pay for equipment or materials needed for IOAPA courses.

Registration for Spring 2024 IOAPA courses begins on November 6th and lasts until December 15th. To register your school and students, please visit IOAPA’s website. If you have any questions about any aspect of the program, please reach out to ioapa@belinblank.org.

New National Report Calls for Changing Our Thinking About Gifted Programs and Advanced Learning Opportunities

The National Working Group on Advanced Education issued Building a Wider, More Diverse Pipeline of Advanced Learners  earlier this year, offering a series of recommendations for improving advanced learning opportunities. The group’s mission was to develop recommendations to help states, school districts, and charter networks to expand advanced learning opportunities for all students, especially those from underserved groups.

Some of the evidence-based recommendations for K-12 students include:

  • Universal screening for gifted/talented programs, which means looking at test scores for all students rather than using parent or teacher nomination as the first step in discovering students who need more challenge.
  • Use local (school-based) norms and provide programs for students in every school who are achieving at a high level relative to others in their school. This ensures that every school has a program for advanced learners, including schools in high-poverty neighborhoods where achievement tends to be lower.
  • Acceleration, including allowing early entrance to kindergarten, grade-skipping, subject acceleration, automatic enrollment in advanced learning opportunities in middle/high school.
  • Equitable achievement grouping (grades K–5) can be achieved by frequently and equitably evaluating all students, ensuring that teachers alter the complexity and pace of the curriculum, and erring on the side of inclusion.
  • Selective enrollment schools (grades 6–12) should be expanded to include more students. Admission should be based on multiple indicators, including but not limited to exam scores. Culturally responsive advanced instruction and prior preparation of students who are admitted should both be employed.
  • Social and emotional learning (SEL) and mental health supports for advanced learners (grades K–12). Make programs culturally relevant to all students. Foster a positive school culture. Implement a plan for supporting advanced students’ mental health comprising triage, trauma-informed practices, targeted intervention, and faculty support.
  • Well-prepared educators who have experienced professional-learning about evidence-based advanced-learning strategies.
  • Recommended state policies and practices. In school and district accountability systems, place significant weight on student-level progress over time. Eliminate any policies that bar early entrance to kindergarten, middle school, or high school. Mandate the identification of students with advanced-learning needs, provide services for those students, and use local, school-based norms for identifying students for advanced programs, particularly at the elementary level. Implement specific requirements about the services provided to advanced learners. Mandate that districts and charter networks allow for acceleration (including grade skipping) for students who could benefit from it. Publicly report on the students participating in advanced education, including their achievement and growth over time, as well as their demographic characteristics. Ensure that preparation and in-service professional-development programs offer evidence-based instruction in advanced education, both for district-level coordinators and for teachers. Enforce the federal requirement that states explain how teacher-preparation programs are addressing education of special populations, including advanced learners. Expand funding and other incentives to encourage schools to frequently and equitably evaluate all students and provide a continuum of services to every student who could benefit.

The report states, “To achieve these goals, we recommend that all school districts and charter networks build a continuum of advanced learning opportunities, customized to individual students’ needs and abilities, that spans the K–12 spectrum.”

Nicholas Colangelo, Belin-Blank Center Director Emeritus, was a member of the team that developed the report. Other team members included Chester Finn, Tarek C. Grantham, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, Jonathan Plucker, Jonathan Wai, and April Wells.

2024 Wallace Research Symposium

The University of Iowa’s Belin-Blank Center has partnered with the University of Connecticut’s Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development as well as the National Center for Research on Gifted Education to provide the 2024 Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development. Supported in part by a generous endowment from the Wallace Research Foundation, the Symposium will be held May 19-21 on at the University of Connecticut Storrs Campus.

2018 Wallace Research Symposium presenters and participants

Scholars from around the world are invited to share current research findings and explore important questions relevant to the field. Paper and poster proposal submissions will be accepted from August 31 through October 23, 2023. Notification of proposal acceptance will be made on December 5, 2023 and registration begins on the same day.

Topics to be discussed at the Symposium include:

  • Giftedness, human potential, and talent development
    • Affective issues in achievement and talent development
    • Curriculum and instruction or program evaluation
    • Creativity
    • Acceleration
    • Twice-exceptionality
    • Diversity, equity, and inclusion
    • Methodological issues in research on talent development
    • Other

For more information, see the Wallace Research Symposium website.

Coming Up at the Belin-Blank Center

FOR STUDENTS & FAMILIES

Academic Year Programs

Weekend Enrichment

This program is designed to supplement what elementary and junior high students are learning in school and give them a chance to explore their interests – or discover new ones!

Advanced Computer Science

Through a series of real-world scenarios, projects and challenges, students in grades 4-6 are introduced to foundational concepts in computer science in this online, teacher-led course. Registration opens on September 8th, with the program beginning October 23, 2023 and finishing February 21, 2024.

Academy for Twice-Exceptionality Information Sessions

The Academy for Twice-Exceptionality strives to ensure that neurodiverse students (specifically those with Autism Spectrum Disorder or who identify as Autistic) have a positive and fulfilling college experience.

Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy Information Sessions

The Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy empowers high-achieving students to begin full-time on-campus study at the University of Iowa after their sophomore or junior year of high school.

FOR EDUCATORS

Professional Learning Courses / TAG Endorsement

  • September 11 – October 9 EPLS:5240:0EXU Topics: Administrative Understanding of Contemporary Gifted/Talented Programming 
  • October 16 – December 15 EDTL:4199:0EXW Program Models in Gifted Education 
  • October 18 – November 7 PSQF:5194:0WKB Cont Ed: Leadership in Gifted Education / ITAG Conference 
  • October 23 – December 8 CSED/EDTL:4188:0EXW Pract in Teaching & Curriculum Development in Gifted Education 
  • November 13 – December 1 PSQF:5194:0WKA Cont Ed: Leadership in Gifted Education / NAGC Convention 
  • November 13 – December 8 EDTL:4189:0WKA Practicum in Gifted/Talented Education 

Coming Up at the Belin-Blank Center

This month, we have a mix of summer programs that are still accepting applications and the beginnings of fall offerings!

FOR EDUCATORS

FOR STUDENTS & FAMILIES

Summer Programs

Academic Year Programs

Academy for Twice-Exceptionality Information Sessions

The Academy for Twice-Exceptionality strives to ensure that neurodiverse students (specifically those with Autism Spectrum Disorder or who identify as Autistic) have a positive and fulfilling college experience.

Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy Information Sessions

The Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy empowers high-achieving students to begin full-time on-campus study at the University of Iowa after their sophomore or junior year of high school.

Acceleration and Twice-Exceptional Students

At the Belin-Blank Center, we take a strengths-based approach for all aspects of talent development.  Additionally, we do not recommend holding students back academically if acceleration is a good match for them, even though there are other issues.

Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com

We recommend first making sure the students receive services to address specific areas of need; for example, a student might need support for behavior issues.  In a meeting where you are considering acceleration for a student, take time to acknowledge the support the student is already receiving in these areas of need.  Consider inviting those individuals providing support to attend the acceleration child study team meetings so they can add more information about their work with the student in the areas that require attention.  Recognize that they are providing support in their areas of expertise and that support will help the child study team as they consider the academic areas that need attention.

This support will need to continue, even if the decision is made to accelerate the student. Below are some examples of support a student might need after being accelerated (either subject acceleration or whole-grade acceleration):

  • A student might need extended time on tests.
  • A math-talented student might need to have someone read story problems to them instead of reading them on their own.
  • A student talented in English/language arts might need accommodations for handwriting when writing out their answers.
  • Students who are resistant to group learning might need help in scaffolding appropriate behavior.

The Belin-Blank Center’s Assessment and Counseling Clinic has worked with many students who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and most (more than 50%) of them require some form of acceleration, either whole-grade, single-subject, or some combination of whole-grade and additional single-subject.  They have the academic aptitude, ability, and achievement indicating the need for academic acceleration.  Their issues related to the ASD diagnosis also require support and so do their academic issues.  One does not preclude the other.  This is why the decision needs to be a team decision.

Additionally, the Talented and Gifted (TAG) teacher might attend the student’s IEP or 504 meeting, in order to add perspective about the student’s academic development and to discuss needed accommodations that might be needed for the student in the gifted program.

Acceleration and other advanced curricular options should not be a reward for good behavior. Students may exhibit behavioral issues, but they would still benefit from academic placement and programming that is matched to their academic needs. These students might simply need additional support. It would also be important to observe the student’s behavior: When appropriately challenged, does the behavior improve?

The chapter, “Acceleration Practices with Twice-Exceptional Students,” found in A Nation Empowered might be helpful reading. Visit http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/nation_empowered/ for a free download.

Belin-Blank Center experts on twice exceptionality have also created The Paradox of Twice-Exceptionality: Packet of Information for Professionals, which provides additional information.

Interested in Acceleration for Your School?

The Belin-Blank Center and the National Center for Research on Gifted Education are excited to invite your school to participate in a research study on boosting learning for advanced students. 

You know how hard it is to meet the learning needs of your students. The truth is time and resources are finite and the needs of your students are diverse. We know some students enter classes on the first day having already mastered the current grade’s content. They are ready for more advanced material. We also know it can be difficult for teachers to provide advanced curriculum while simultaneously trying to close achievement gaps for other students.

Photo by Katerina Holmes on Pexels.com

There is a research-based, cost-effective intervention that can help your teachers better serve their advanced students. The approach is called acceleration, and our team of educators at the University of Iowa, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater would like to assist you with this effective but underutilized intervention to benefit your school. 

Academic acceleration allows students to access curriculum and instruction that is more appropriate for their level of readiness. It respects their right to learn and allows them to continue to grow and develop. Acceleration places students in the class best suited to their needs and does so with no additional cost to your school nor teachers. 

Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com

If you participate in this study, our team of experts will provide professional learning and all resources necessary to help you make acceleration a success in your school. Our support will include four 45-min, self-paced learning modules as well as facilitation of review meetings to discuss acceleration decisions for individual students. To support your teachers in this work, we provide stipends of up to $200 per teacher, ($100 for completing the modules and another $100 for engaging in review meetings). We will also pay for additional assessments necessary for your team to decide if grade or single-subject acceleration would be appropriate for a student. 

As a result of participating in this study, we anticipate you will see greater achievement gains and a more positive attitude toward school for your most advanced students. 

Our goal is to help you reduce the barriers to accelerated learning. Information about the study can be found here: ncrge.uconn.edu/acceleration. Provide your contact information at the link below and our team will contact you about how acceleration will help you meet the needs of your advanced students. https://ncrge.uconn.edu/supporting-academic-acceleration-in-schools/

Coming Up at the Belin-Blank Center

FOR EDUCATORS

FOR STUDENTS & FAMILIES

Academy for Twice-Exceptionality Information Sessions

Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy Information Sessions

Computer Science Python Fundamentals
  • Start anytime!
  • Access ends June 30, 2023
Summer Programs

We teach a graduate-level course about academic acceleration – entirely online!

PSQF:4123:0EXW (3 semester hours). Academic Acceleration

Dates: June 12 – August 3, 2023 

Academic acceleration moves high-ability students through an educational program at a rate faster or at an age younger than typical. The goal of acceleration is to match the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum with student’s level of cognitive and academic development.

Photo by Asad Photo Maldives on Pexels.com

Academic acceleration has been one of the most debated and misunderstood issues in gifted education. It has decades of research support, yet educators and families are still reluctant to use it for students of high academic ability.

In the course, we will review the research basis for when and for whom academic acceleration is appropriate. The goal of this course is to provide parents, teachers, and administrators with the knowledge of the forms of acceleration, the ability to evaluate students for acceleration, and the skills to practice and implement acceleration effectively.

Course topics include the forms of acceleration, the process of implementing acceleration, suggestions for writing and evaluating school acceleration policies, and advice for effecting attitude change through persuasive communication and media outreach.  We will introduce the new online tool for making decisions about academic acceleration, the Integrated Acceleration System. Students will learn how this new tool is to be used for acceleration decisions and how to support students, families, and educators through the process of collecting data, having a team discussion, and making a transition to an accelerated placement.

Instructor: Dr. Toni Szymanski

Registration: To take part in classes, participants must register one time each year with Distance and Online Education as a non-degree seeking student. Those earning the Endorsement in Talented and Gifted Education may register as either graduate or undergraduate students, regardless of professional status (undergraduates pay less tuition per course but may lose district benefits). Once participants have their “HawkID” and password, they can follow the directions to register for courses that match their interests and needs. Follow the steps at belinblank.org/educators/reg.

Questions? Email acceleration@belinblank.org

Coming Up at the Belin-Blank Center

It’s February, which means it’s time for our periodic roundup of upcoming events at the Center.

An icon of a calendar

FOR EDUCATORS

FOR STUDENTS & FAMILIES

Academy for Twice-Exceptionality Information Sessions

Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy Information Sessions

Computer Science Python Fundamentals
  • Start anytime!
  • Access ends June 30, 2023
Summer Programs
  • A neuroscience-focused summer program for twice-exceptional students (details to come in future newsletters): June 12, 2023
  • Twice-Exceptional Summer Camp (details to come in future newsletters): June 13-14, 2023
  • JSA (Grades 3-6)
    • Session 1: June 19-June 23, 2023
    • Session 2: July 17-21, 2023
  • JSI (Grades 7-8): June 26-30, 2023
  • PRSI: July 9-21, 2023
  • Summer Writing Online: July 10-July 28, 2023
Webinar for Parents
  • IEP or 504 Meeting: What You Should Know: April 4, 2023
Webinar for Educators
  • Advanced Users of Acceleration Tools: Preparing the Team, Planning for the Meeting, and Follow-Up: March 23, 4:00-5:30 PM

Webinar for Advanced Users of Acceleration Tools: Preparing the Team, Planning for the Meeting, and Follow-Up

The Belin-Blank Center will offer a webinar for those who have already had experience with the Integrated Acceleration System or the Iowa Acceleration Scale. We’ll take a deeper dive into some of the practical aspects of making decisions about grade-skipping.

This online professional development session will focus on:

  • A brief overview of the Integrated Acceleration System
  • Talking with students, parents, and colleagues about acceleration
  • Planning the Team Meeting to discuss the potential acceleration
  • Transition planning for the student who will be grade-skipped
  • Early entrance to kindergarten

The Integrated Acceleration System, an online tool developed by leading researchers in gifted education, guides participants through the integration of information about acceleration. Informed by decades of research, the Integrated Acceleration System includes all the major factors to consider and produces a report about readiness for one of the many forms of acceleration, including grade-skipping, early entrance to kindergarten, subject acceleration, and early entrance to college. The Integrated Acceleration System is designed for users in the United States. However, the flexible framework can be applied to international educational systems.

If you cannot attend the session live, you may still register. We will send the recording as soon as possible after the session. Please note, the cost to purchase the recording is the same as the cost to participate in the live session. You will also receive one access code for the Integrated Acceleration System.

Register here.

Presenters: Dr. Susan Assouline, Dr. Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, and Dr. Randy Lange

Session fee: $79. Includes one access code to the Integrated Acceleration System (valued at $69)

Date/Time: Thursday, March 23, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Central Time (The last 30 minutes of this online session is an optional question/answer segment.)

Online, via Zoom

 If you are not able to attend the live session, the session will be recorded.

If you would prefer to attend an introductory webinar, there is still time to register for the Feb. 23 webinar, An Introduction to the Integrated Acceleration System.

Webinar: The Integrated Acceleration System

Figuring out whether to accelerate a child is a major decision; accounting for all the relevant information can feel overwhelming. The Belin-Blank Center has developed an online system that helps educators and families gather the correct information, targets the essential factors, and produces a report which recommends whether acceleration is a good fit for a particular student. 

The Integrated Acceleration System, an online tool developed by leading researchers in gifted education, guides participants through integrating information about acceleration.  On Thursday, February 23rd, we will be hosting an online professional development session about using this new tool when considering a grade skip. The session will focus on:  best research-based practices in using academic acceleration, how to use the online Integrated Acceleration System, and suggestions to coordinate communication among the relevant team members and support the student’s transition to acceleration.  

 Informed by decades of research, the Integrated Acceleration System includes all the significant factors to consider and produces a report about readiness for one of the many forms of acceleration, including grade-skipping, early entrance to kindergarten, subject acceleration, and early entrance to college. The Integrated Acceleration System is designed for users in the United States. However, the flexible framework can be applied to international educational systems.  This online session will focus on grade-skipping. We are also planning a follow-up webinar in March, Advanced Uses of the Integrated Acceleration System, for people who have already had some experience with it or with the Iowa Acceleration Scale. 

Presenters: Dr. Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik and Dr. Randy Lange .

Session fee: $79. Includes one access code to the Integrated Acceleration System (valued at $69). 

Date/Time: Thursday, February 23, 2023; 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Central Time (The last 30 minutes is an optional question/answer segment.)  

Location: Online, via Zoom. Registrants will receive location details via email. 

Register: Learn more and register on our website. 

If you cannot attend the live session, the session will be recorded.  The recording is available for purchase. Use the link above.

Coming Up at the Belin-Blank Center

It’s that time again – here’s our periodic roundup of upcoming events at the Center.

An icon of a calendar

FOR EDUCATORS

FOR STUDENTS & FAMILIES

Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy Information Sessions

  • Spring semester information sessions coming soon on the website.

Computer Science Python Fundamentals

  • Start anytime!
  • Access ends June 30, 2023

Webinar for Parents

  • IEP or 504 Meeting: What You Should Know: January 18, 2023

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)

  • JSHS research proposal site opens: January 2, 2023
  • Iowa-JSHS Symposium: March 6-7, 2023

Summer Programs

  • A neuroscience-focused summer program for twice-exceptional students (details to come): June 12, 2023
  • Twice-Exceptional Summer Camp (details to come in future newsletters): June 13-14, 2023
  • SSTP Online: June 19-July 28, 2023
  • JSA: June 19-June 23, 2023
  • SSTP In-Person: June 21-July 28, 2023
  • BSI: June 25-June 30, 2023
  • PRSI: July 9-21, 2023
  • Summer Writing Online: July 10-July 28, 2023

Advanced Placement Opens Doors 

Photo by Nicole Berro on Pexels.com

The Belin-Blank Center has provided challenging programs for decades. Research suggests that when bright students’ readiness is matched with curriculum and instruction, they are more engaged at school. Advanced Placement® classes are just one vehicle we use to bring out the best in students.  

Advanced Placement (AP)® is a program created by the College Board College in the United States and Canada. AP® offers a college-level curriculum to students while in high school. The AP® curriculum for various subjects is created for the College Board by a panel (including college-level educators) with expertise in a specific field. Many colleges and universities grant placement and/or credit students based on AP® exam scores. For a high school course to have the designation, it must be audited by the College Board. 

There are several benefits of taking Advanced Placement® classes. AP® classes serve as excellent preparation for college. Their content aligns with introductory college courses. AP® classes on a transcript communicate to college admissions that a student is motivated and ready for college’s rigors, especially at selective colleges and universities. AP® classes bolster the strength of an application and could help raise it to the top of the pile of applicants. The content and instructional strategies in AP® classes foster engagement, which is especially important for students tackling rigorous coursework. Finally, students can often translate a good score on the end-of-term AP® Exam into tuition savings, as many colleges will count such scores towards a student’s general education requirements. Research has found that students who take at least one AP® class are more likely to perform better in their first year in college than peers who did not take one (regardless of whether they took an AP® exam or not).  

Please visit the Advanced Placement® link of the UI Admission website for more information on Advanced Placement® and the University of Iowa. 

Iowa Online AP Academy

Geography can seriously impact the availability of advanced coursework. Offering AP® courses in rural schools is often difficult due to small class sizes and a lack of resources. The Belin-Blank Center’s Iowa Online AP® Academy (IOAPA) partners with the State of Iowa to provide free access to various online advanced courses for Iowa students who do not have access to these courses in their schools. IOAPA offers fifteen different AP® classes (e.g., Biology, Chemistry, Statistics, US History, and English Literature) to almost 100 Iowa schools this semester. Registration for the Spring 2023 semester is open now. Please visit the IOAPA website for more information. 

Check Out IOAPA

The Belin-Blank Center is also proud to be the only approved AP® training site in the state. Each summer, we offer Advanced Placement® Summer Institute (APSI) for teachers to acquire AP® preparation from expert consultants and network with like-minded educators. In Summer 2023, we will offer three weeks of APSI (two on-campus and one online). Like the philosophy of access to AP® for students through IOAPA, the Center commits to providing an online APSI option, so teachers seeking training can attend regardless of location. The APSI offerings for Summer 2023 include Biology, Calculus AB, Chemistry, Computer Science & Principles, English Language, English Literature, Government & Politics, Macroeconomics, Psychology, Spanish Language & Culture, Statistics, US History, and World History. Please visit the APSI website for more information, including requirements for the Iowa teacher grant that covers most of the APSI registration fee.  

Learn About AP Summer Institute

Need Some Resources About Acceleration? We’ve Got ‘Em!

If you are reading this article, you have probably heard over and over that, “Acceleration is the most research-supported educational option for advanced students.” You know that. But how do you convince others to pay attention to this important information?

The Belin-Blank Center is here to help. We provide the Acceleration Institute website, a comprehensive storehouse of information about acceleration. From this website, you can access many more tools and resources focused on academic acceleration. We’ve already done the hard work for you, and we have put together information that helps you show others that acceleration really does make sense for a lot of talented students.

Photo by Arthur Krijgsman on Pexels.com

For example, Volume 1 of  A Nation Empowered (a free download provided on the Acceleration Institute website) is a short, informative book about acceleration. It tells the stories about several students, families, and teachers who have experienced acceleration. This puts a “face” on the idea of acceleration, and helps others see how much of an impact it can have. This also helps reduce the fears about negative impacts on socialization. If you want more information about the research behind the stories, check out Volume 2 of A Nation Empowered (also available as a free download). The 18 chapters summarize what we know about the research around acceleration and include topics such as grade-skipping, subject acceleration, socialization, and early entrance to college.

Dig a little deeper on the Acceleration Institute website, and you’ll find sections for educators, parents, policymakers, and researchers presented in the most user-friendly manner possible. The website is organized so people from those four constituent groups can easily find the resources that are most pertinent to their needs. For example, the policymakers’ page points to information about developing acceleration policies and provides examples of policies from various states and school districts.  The researchers’ page supplies links to the research evidence and summarizes individual studies.

Parents often contact us asking for evidence supporting acceleration. Not only do they want to read the research studies, but also they want to see examples of acceleration applied to individual students. That information is conveniently found on the parents’ page.  It includes many stories of acceleration from individual students and parents, as well as examples of how schools have implemented acceleration.

Educators concerned about making good decisions for specific students can feel confident by taking advantage of additional resources cited on the educators’ page. For example, the Integrated Acceleration System is designed to help guide the conversation about whole-grade acceleration, and IDEAL Solutions offers information for those thinking about subject matter acceleration in STEM subjects.

Explore the Acceleration Institute website a bit more, and discover the Menu section with links to Acceleration Explained (20 Types of Acceleration, Early Entrance to Kindergarten, Subject Acceleration, and Transition to Acceleration, for example) and Resources (Podcasts, Blogs, and Videos and Acceleration in the News).

Additional resources you might appreciate include a ready-made PowerPoint about acceleration that you are welcome to share with educators or families. We are also happy to share a list of our blogs about acceleration. If you’d like to subscribe to those blogs (so you receive them the instant they are written), sign up here!

Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com

Professional Development for Spring and Summer 2023

“Teachers benefit from professional development trainings that are focused, purposeful, provide examples of what the targeted expectation should look like, and allow teachers the opportunity to apply what they have learned and implement it into their instruction”

(Keely Blair P’Pool, 2021, p. 100)
Photo by RF._.studio on Pexels.com

That is why professional development has been an integral part of the Belin-Blank Center since 1980, when Dr. Nicholas Colangelo, founding director of the Center, was first talking with Connie and David Belin and Jaqueline and Mike Blank about how to best support gifted and talented children.

Winter Session

Over winter break, the Center will offer EDTL:4085:0WKA Current Readings & Research in Gifted Education (December 21, 2022 – January 13, 2023), allowing “just-in-time” professional learning on topics of most interest to participants.

Spring Semester

In Spring of 2023, the Center is offering three-semester-hour extension classes (Identification, Program Models, Curriculum Concepts) and a two-semester-hour class about Administration and Policy Issues.  A variety of workshops are also available.  Check belinblank.org/courses after the Thanksgiving holiday to see everything that is available.

Summer Professional Development Options

Belin-Blank Fellowship

The Belin-Blank Center will host the 43rd Connie Belin & Jaqueline N. Blank Fellowship Program in Gifted Education, July 16 – 21, 2023, on campus at the University of Iowa.  One of the longest-running professional learning programs in the country, the Fellowship allows those with little background in gifted education and talent development to immerse themselves in ways to identify and understand gifted students, including those who have been traditionally underrepresented, and ways to develop students’ talents.  This is the time for parents and teachers of the gifted to find allies in their schools, urging those who have an interest and would benefit from the program to apply for the Fellowship, free of cost to participants (although participants do need to cover the cost of travel to Iowa City).  Room and board, as well as presentations from experts in the field, are all part of the Fellowship.  Teacher leaders / instructional coaches are especially welcome!  Anyone wanting to earn academic credit can enroll in CSED:5237:0WKA.  Look for application materials in mid-January (belinblank.org/fellowship)!

Online Coursework

Summer of 2023 will offer both PSQF:4123:0EXW Academic Acceleration and the CSED or EDTL:4137:0EXW Introduction to Educating Gifted Students (both three-semester-hour extension classes), as well as multiple online and asynchronous one-semester-hour courses, offered in a workshop format.  Everything available will be posted at belinblank.org/courses early in December.

Belin-Blank Chautauqua

As well as online opportunities, the Belin-Blank Chautauqua (belinblank.org/chautauqua) will take place in June 2023.  Over the two weeks from June 12 – 17 and June 19 – 24, participants will have an opportunity to participate in up to six workshops that will include two days of either face-to-face interaction on campus in Blank Honors Center or via Zoom (participants may choose the option best for them).  Those who enroll at the graduate level for all three workshops in either week—or both—receive an automatic tuition scholarship from the Belin-Blank Center for one of three classes (i.e., three workshops for the cost of two; six for the cost of four). Chautauqua offers opportunities in the Psychology, Programming, and Administrative strands, making earning the endorsement easier than ever.  Chautauqua classes differ from summer to summer, allowing those interested in the endorsement (belinblank.org/endorsement) to complete all of their work through Chautauqua over two summers.  Between online and Chautauqua opportunities, endorsement candidates can complete all of their work before the next academic year.

Get Registered for Credit

To participate in endorsement classes, you must register one time each year with Distance and Online Education as a non-degree seeking student. For the purposes of the State of Iowa Endorsement in Talented and Gifted Education, you may register as either a graduate or undergraduate student regardless of your professional status. In other words, if you won’t benefit in other ways from the graduate credit, you can save tuition dollars. Once you have your HawkID and password, you can follow the directions to register for the courses that interest you the most (belinblank.org/educators/reg).

Policy: A Fundamental Component in an Acceleration Plan

Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska gave an important talk at a previous Belin-Blank Center conference on “The Research and Practice of Acceleration for Gifted Students: Toward Policy Development.” She explained that acceleration policy is needed:

  1. To ensure that it happens consistently across districts, individual students, and time;
  2. To provide guidance for educational decisions about acceleration options; and
  3. To ensure that it is presented as one of the basic provisions for gifted students at all stages of development.
Photo by Nicole Berro on Pexels.com

The research on academic acceleration is the strongest research and the best practice we have in gifted education. Nothing else comes close.  Both short-term and longitudinal studies consistently demonstrate the power of acceleration for gifted students; for example, in one study of students who had accelerated 38 years prior, researchers found accelerated students earned terminal degrees (e.g., Ph.D., J.D., or M.D.) at a rate substantially higher than in the general population (37-43% in the accelerated group compared to only 1% in the general population), performed at a high level in their careers, demonstrated a higher rate of patents and publications, earned higher salaries, etc.

Acceleration can be used as the catalyst for talent development in schools.  Schools should provide:

  1. Advanced opportunities as early as possible in identified areas of aptitude;
  2. Sustained practice of the progressive development of skills under the guidance of a coach, tutor, or mentor;
  3. Competitions in the area of strength, so students can see what excellence looks like; and
  4. Collaboration on expert teams for performance.

The above recommendations are consistent with those provided by the National Science Foundation (2010), which calls for more use of inquiry through project-based learning, more research preparation, and more emphasis on career development.

If we accelerate gifted students, what does that look like at each stage?  Dr. VanTassel-Baska recommends using acceleration as the first intervention, then providing enrichment and other services. By using acceleration as the first intervention, we are starting with the evidence-based provision. Higher levels of functioning demand that we raise the level of curricular challenge; this ensures a good match with the student’s readiness for learning.  In short, gifted students who are ready for more advanced curriculum need acceleration.

Acceleration is flexible. It can be provided in different ways, from content acceleration to grade skipping (20 different types of acceleration are listed in A Nation Empowered). Acceleration can be provided at different times during a student’s development, it can be provided for a group or individually, and the types of acceleration can be used alone or in combination.

Content acceleration options at all stages of development should be a core for acceleration policy.  Policymakers and practitioners should consider utilizing existing practices. For example, if an option for testing out of high school courses is available for students who have difficulties, this option should be made available for gifted students as well.

Both research and effective practice demonstrate the power of acceleration with high-ability learners. Acceleration is the first and most important differentiation tool for instruction for gifted students and needs to be acknowledged as such. Our gifted programs would be far more effective if strong acceleration policies were enacted.

We thank Dr. VanTassel-Baska for presenting this important talk.

Developing Academic Acceleration Policies

The publication, Developing Academic Acceleration Policies: Whole Grade, Early Entrance, and Single Subject is available online. This publication, a project of the Belin-Blank Center and the National Association for Gifted Children, was published in 2018.

Developing Academic Acceleration Policies uses current research and practical considerations of school-based issues to guide decision-making. It includes recommended elements of whole-grade acceleration policies, early entrance to kindergarten or first grade policies, and subject-acceleration policies. Each section includes a checklist of items to consider while developing those specific policies. The information provided is supported by recent research.  Lists of resources are also included.  Download your copy of the publication from the Acceleration Institute website.

Photo by Katerina Holmes on Pexels.com

Additional Notes from the Belin-Blank Center

  • See the 2-volume book, A Nation Empowered (nationempowered.org), which provides the latest information on research and practice in acceleration.
  • The Acceleration Institute (accelerationinstitute.org) contains many resources for making decisions about acceleration and
    implementing acceleration policies.
  •  The Integrated Acceleration System is a useful tool for making decisions about a grade skip. Other forms of acceleration will be included soon.

Advanced Coursework Opportunities Free for Iowa’s Rural Schools 

The College Board’s Advanced Placement® (AP) program allows high school students to complete college-level coursework. Additionally, success on the associated AP exams can translate into college credit. In fact, AP credit is accepted or recognized by the three public universities in Iowa, as well as many colleges and universities throughout the country. This gives students the opportunity to earn college credit at a greatly reduced cost while still in high school. However, despite these benefits, rural schools still fall behind urban and suburban schools in their AP course offerings. 

Providing the appropriate level of challenge to gifted and talented students is not always easy for rural schools. Offering AP courses requires additional resources such as teachers and training, and sometimes it is simply not possible to offer an AP course for only one or two students. The Iowa Online AP® Academy (IOAPA) provides free access to nearly 30 online advanced courses for Iowa students who would not otherwise have access to these courses in their schools. IOAPA classes include Advanced Placement® courses for high school students as well as high school-level courses for eligible middle school students. Unlike courses offered by community colleges, IOAPA’s AP courses are designed for bright high schoolers. They introduce college-level material in a way that is approachable for a high school student. IOAPA also offers AP exam scholarships to IOAPA high school students, with preference given to students from rural schools, so cost is no longer a barrier to taking an AP exam.  

The IOAPA team also publishes the Iowa AP Index, another way to provide recognition to Iowa schools. The Iowa AP Index recognizes the Top 50 Iowa accredited public and nonpublic high schools for providing Advanced Placement opportunities to Iowa’s high school students. Every public and nonpublic high school in Iowa accredited by the state Department of Education and that administered AP exams the prior year is invited to participate. The Iowa AP Index for a given high school is the ratio of AP exams taken by its students (any grade) divided by the number of its graduating seniors. This means that smaller schools still have similar opportunities to be recognized for providing their students with advanced coursework. 

The Belin-Blank Center will begin registration for spring semester IOAPA courses on November 7th. If you have any questions about your Iowa school’s eligibility for IOAPA courses, email us at ioapa@belinblank.org.  

Learn More

Recent Research on Twice-Exceptionality

The Belin-Blank Center has an extensive body of work on twice-exceptionality — from our Assessment and Counseling Clinic to professional learning to leading research. Our director, Dr. Megan Foley Nicpon, is a leader in that field. Here are some of the recent publications that come from her work.

“Policy Considerations for Twice-Exceptional Students”

Abstract: Policies for talented students with disabilities, or twice-exceptional students, exist in very few states across the country. Historically, families of twice-exceptional students have found most of their support through implementation of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or 504 Accommodation plans. Yet, there is no federal mandate for gifted education service provision; consequently, these students’ coexisting high abilities often are overlooked. We recommend states modify their gifted and talented policies to address specifically twice-exceptional best practices in identification, such as using universal screening methods tied to curriculum interventions, and intervention, such as creating Gifted Individual Education Plans in conjunction with IEPs. These methods outline not only service provision for one’s disability but also specify methods for developing talent among twice-exceptional youth. (Foley-Nicpon, M., & Teriba, A. (2022). Policy considerations for twice-exceptional students. Gifted Child Today, 45(1), 212-219. https://doi.org/10.1177/10762175221110943)

“Developmental Milestones as Early Indicators of Twice-Exceptionality”

Abstract: Twice-exceptional individuals are those who have high cognitive ability in one or more areas, but also have a diagnosed disability. The needs of these individuals likely differ from those with high cognitive ability without a disability and those who solely have a disability. Intervening early can offer exceptional benefits for twice-exceptional individuals, but this has proved challenging due to the high cognitive abilities masking disabilities. This study explores if parent-reported developmental milestones can predict the number of disabilities diagnosed for an individual, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Specific Learning Disorder (SLD). Using a clinical sample of about 1,300 individuals, we used a Bayesian cumulative logistic model to explore if developmental milestones can predict the number of diagnoses after controlling for IQ and age. Study results showed that when an individual began to count and read informed predictions for the number of future diagnoses in the clinical sample. Implications for future study and practitioners are discussed in further detail. (LeBeau, B., Schabilion, K., Assouline, S. G., Foley-Nicpon, M., Doobay, A. F., & Mahatmya, D. (2022). Developmental milestones as early indicators of twice-exceptionality. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2022.107671)

“Excellence Expected, Needs Overlooked: Implications for Working With Asian American Twice-Exceptional Students”

Abstract: Twice-exceptional students often face challenges stemming from misconception, misidentification, or misplacement in educational systems (Foley-Nicpon & Candler, 2018). Because the disability may mask the gift/talent domain or the gift/ talent domain may mask the disability, it can be challenging to recognize these students and appropriately respond to their learning needs (Baldwin et al., 2015). For Asian Americans in particular, the Asian American community has vocalized the problematic nature of ignoring the heterogeneity and diversity within the community and the impact this has on their education (Park, 2019; Wong, 2015). Without considering their racialized experiences, the learning and social and emotional needs of Asian American twice- exceptional (AA2E) students might not be captured fully. Asian American students are well represented in the U.S. gifted and talented education (GATE) system; they are 5% of school populations but 10% of GATE populations (Civil Rights Data Collection, n.d.; Ford, 2013). These data seem to support the model minority stereotype, a stereotype that can negatively affect talented and gifted Asian American students who may feel pressured to maintain high standards and internalize this high expectation (Henfield et al., 2014; Mun & Hertzog, 2019; Wong, 2015). When “what giftedness or disability should look like” meets “what Asian American should be like,” the multilayered stereotypes make it even harder to recognize, understand, and respond to the needs of AA2E students. In this article, we discuss the development and needs of AA2E students. We provide strategies to support practitioners in addressing (a) the diversity within the Asian American community, (b) family culture and dynamics regarding immigration and education, and (c) mental health needs of AA2E students. We hope to leave teachers and educational practitioners feeling better able to support the needs of diverse AA2E students in their classrooms. (Park, S., & Foley-Nicpon, M. (2022). Excellence expected, needs overlooked: Implications for working with Asian American twice-exceptional students. Teaching Exceptional Children. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F00400599221097020)

To hear more about the Belin-Blank Center’s research, be sure to attend our presentations or stop by Booth 506 at the National Association for Gifted Children 69th Annual Convention in Indianapolis next month!

5 Things That Every Educator and School System Should Know 

The Gifted Education field is more committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion than ever. In August 2022, the National Association for Gifted Children hosted its second annual National Symposium on Equity for Black and Brown Students. The Belin-Blank Center started its Academy for Twice-Exceptionality in the Fall of 2021. Researchers and national gifted education centers are focusing on key issues and providing schools with practical ideas to implement. Here are five essential ideas and/or resources to help schools do this. 

Donna Y. Ford’s Equity Goal and Equity Formula

Dr. Ford believes that schools and program schools must be deliberate in setting specific minimal goals, especially regarding representation, to be equitable for their students. She introduced the Equity Formula that supplies a target percentage goal to better address underrepresentation in advanced programming. With this target in mind, decision and policymakers can review current placement criteria and/or processes to find barriers for students traditionally “missed” for advanced programming within a school system. This article shares more information on this important idea.  

Local Norms

For too long, gifted programs used national percentiles in deciding who was identified for a variety of advanced programming. While a national perspective has some degree of value in interpreting scores, especially at the district level, a specific program at a particular site does not need to cast such a wide perspective on scores. Schools should serve the students within them, so it makes much more sense to compare the students within a school. Dr. Scott Peters has written prolifically on the benefits of using per school local norms in helping to make gifted programs more equitable. Here is an article detailing “Everything You Need to Know” about local norms.  

Tips for Improving Identification of Gifted EL Students

The face of America’s students is changing. In the Fall of 2020, Hispanic students made up 28% of public school students. Because gifts and talents are found among all populations, schools must do a better job of discovering students for advanced programs within this population. The National Center for Research on Gifted Education at the University of Connecticut conducts excellent research that often results in practical resources for schools. Their tips address screening, identification, communication, and professional development. These tips are also available as a downloadable pdf.  

Jacob’s Ladder Program

There is great power in scaffolding as an intervention. Students with high potential might need focused support to better access critical and creative thinking tasks. Dr. Tamra Stambaugh began working with an interactive approach to scaffold reading as a graduate student at the College of William & Mary. As a result, the Jacob’s Ladder Reading Comprehension Program was developed. Using a ladder image, students move from lower-order, concrete thinking skills to higher-order, critical and creative thinking skills. The critical thinking skills (consequences and implications, generalizations, and main idea/theme/concept) are based on the work of Paul’s Reasoning Model. In addition to “ladders” related to short stories, poems, fables, and non-fiction, there are ladders that focus on affective skills.  

The Paradox of Giftedness and Autism

According to the Autistic Society’s research, approximately fifty children are diagnosed with autism in the United States every day. With the increasing number of autistic students across the country, schools and families must work together to support student success. While it is essential to focus on the strengths of all students diagnosed with autism, this is a non-negotiable when working with the twice-exceptional student population. The Belin-Blank Center drafted a Packet of Information to supply recommendations for administrators and educators that would lead to a positive experience for twice-exceptional students. The experience-based information and suggestions offered in this resource have resulted from working with gifted students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder through our Assessment and Counseling Clinic.   

We encourage you to view this list as a foundation and a catalyst. The five items shared here are research-based and should be considered in any effort to better address diversity, equity, and inclusion within a program for advanced students. They have been developed from solid thinking, so they serve as an excellent foundation from which to grow. Inevitably, new ideas that will help schools will be forthcoming from leaders in the field. We urge practitioners, especially those in decision-making positions, to stay up-to-date with current research and research-based resources. It is our hope that this list serves as that spark! 

For You at the Belin-Blank Center

Don’t miss any of the helpful information for talented students, families, and educators this semester!

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FOR EDUCATORS

FOR STUDENTS & FAMILIES

Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy Information Sessions

  • On Campus: November 3, 2022
  • Online: November 8 or December 6, 2022

Academy for Twice-Exceptionality Information Session

  • Online: 6:30 pm on November 9, 2022

Computer Science Python Fundamentals

  • Start anytime!
  • Access ends June 30, 2023

Disability as Diversity in Gifted Education

Students with disabilities are often underrepresented in gifted education programs. Being “twice-exceptional,” (the coexistence of disability and high ability) seems paradoxical to many, despite growing awareness of and research on twice-exceptionality. Here are a few tips for increasing twice-exceptional (2e) students’ access to gifted services.

Increase communication between gifted, general, and special education teams. Often, students who are identified for special education services first are eliminated from consideration for gifted programming (either intentionally or accidentally). Increasing opportunities for collaboration across classroom environments can promote the identification of talents among students with disabilities.

Use universal screenings in place of nomination or referral processes. As with other underrepresented groups, unconscious biases can prevent the referral of 2e students for further evaluation. Reliance on nomination or referral procedures as an entry point for further evaluation will likely exclude students who could otherwise benefit from participation. Benchmark assessments and other curriculum-based measures can be used as screening tools without requiring additional testing.

Use domain-specific rather than global talent identification processes. Reliance on one overall measure of talent will likely inaccurately exclude 2e students, whose cognitive and academic profiles are often more variable. Consideration of available programming can help determine the domains to assess, as identification processes should always be aligned with services.

For more information on serving twice-exceptional students, visit our Assessment and Counseling Clinic‘s website.

What Does the Research Say About Academic Acceleration?

Photo by Katerina Holmes on Pexels.com

At the Belin-Blank Center, we are big fans of academic acceleration. Why? Because it is a research-based best practice. Acceleration is “…one of the cornerstones of exemplary gifted education practices, with more research supporting this intervention than any other in the literature on gifted individuals” (from the National Association for Gifted Children position statement on acceleration).

Academically, acceleration provides a better match between a student’s abilities and the curriculum. Socially, acceleration places students with academic peers who are similar both in terms of their intellectual level and in terms of their interests.

What does the research say? Acceleration benefits students both in the short-term and in the long-term.

Short-Term Benefits

In terms of academics, accelerated students are more challenged and therefore more engaged in school. Research studies have demonstrated that academically talented students who enter school early do very well compared to their older classmates and, as a group, those who enter college early perform very well academically and socially. There may be a bit of an adjustment period, but accelerated students (those who skip a grade or move ahead in a particular subject) earn good grades, demonstrate they do not have gaps in their knowledge, and continue to perform well in school in later years.

Socially, accelerated students tend to perform as well as or slightly better than their age peers. They also perform as well as or slightly better than the older students in the new grade. They fit in, which means that our concern about acceleration somehow damaging students’ social development is unfounded. As a group, they do just fine socially.

Long-Term Benefits

Acceleration has long-term beneficial effects, both academic and social. Accelerated students tend to be more ambitious, earning graduate degrees at higher rates. They hold more prestigious jobs and have a higher productivity rate. Some students say they wish they had accelerated more. They talk about “the gift of time,” meaning that they view the time saved as an opportunity to pursue an additional graduate degree, participate in diverse projects, travel, and get a head start on their careers. Longitudinal research shows us that accelerated students even have an economic advantage: They earn higher salaries than their age peers and higher salaries than the older peers with whom they graduated.

The longitudinal research on social development and academic acceleration is positive overall. Looking back, an overwhelming majority of accelerated students say acceleration was the right decision for them. They do talk about some challenges (for example, being too young to date), but the students say they would do it again, if given the opportunity. In fact, in a 2020 study (Bernstein, Lubinski, and Benbow) that followed accelerated students for 35 years, the authors state that our concerns about a negative impact of acceleration on social/emotional development are “fruitless.”

Photo by Sam Lion on Pexels.com

Dare We Say It? Not Accelerating Students Who Are Ready is Educational Malpractice

Maybe those are strong words, but with all the research supporting the decision to accelerate students who are ready, doesn’t it make sense to at least consider this option? Have courage and do your research! There is a lot of information available to help you make informed, research-based decisions in the best interests of your students.

For More Information

A Nation Empowered:

  • Volume 1 was written for the educated layperson. It includes personal stories of acceleration as well as an overview of the research.
  • Volume 2: Contains the supporting research

Acceleration Institute:

  • Website with information useful to parents, educators, administrators, and policymakers.
  • Also see the Annotated Bibliography on the Acceleration Institute website. You’ll find sections on academic effects of acceleration, long-term effects, radical acceleration, rural students, etc.
Professional Development About Acceleration:
Upcoming Webinar

The Belin-Blank Center regularly offers webinars on the Integrated Acceleration System for teachers and administrators. 
Learn more and sign up here.

Message from the Director: New Beginnings

by Dr. Megan Foley-Nicpon, Belin-Blank Center Director

August is synonymous with new beginnings for many of us.

Kids are heading back to school – it is my favorite time to check social media feeds to see friends post first-day-of-school pictures. On campus, we welcomed new students from across the globe, including new arrivals to our Bucksbaum Early Entrance and Twice-Exceptional Academies. Over the weekend, thousands of students met new friends, ate ice cream on the University of Iowa’s President’s lawn, and learned the Iowa fight song.

It’s a great time to be a Hawkeye!  

New beginnings are also happening at the Belin-Blank Center – I started as Director on August 1st.

I am not new to Iowa or the Center, however. I arrived in January 2004 as a postdoctoral scholar in the Center’s Assessment and Counseling Clinic. I later became a licensed psychologist, focusing mainly on assessment and intervention with twice-exceptional youth. In 2008, I joined the UI Counseling Psychology faculty.

There, I have had the honor of training future child psychologists, researching talent development among underrepresented groups, and serving the college, University, and Iowa community.

In the Belin-Blank Center’s 34-year history, there have been only two directors before me: Nicholas Colangelo and Susan Assouline. Both are giants in the field known internationally for their development of the Center, love for and dedication to talented youth, and commitment to creating best practices for acceleration and twice-exceptional intervention. I am honored to continue their legacy and the legacy of the Center.

I know these are big shoes to fill.

However, I join a dedicated staff and faculty who care deeply about the Center and its mission. I am certain we will continue to do great things. We seek to be the leaders in talent development for elementary through university-aged students; diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in gifted education; research and discovery for high ability and twice-exceptional youth; and collaboration and outreach both within and outside the University.

Together, we will embrace this new beginning and continue the Belin-Blank Center’s impact far into the future.

This Fall at the Belin-Blank Center

Don’t miss any of the helpful information for talented students, families, and educators this semester!

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FOR EDUCATORS

FOR STUDENTS & FAMILIES

Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy Information Sessions

  • On Campus: September 12 or October 11, 2022
  • Online: November 8 or December 6, 2022

Academy for Twice-Exceptionality Information Sessions

  • On Campus: 10:00 am on October 18, 2022,
  • Online: 6:30 pm on August 31, September 28, or November 9, 2022

Learn to Develop Talent in Any Domain

Talent needs to be recognized and fostered within all domains and fields, so its focus must expand beyond K-12 classrooms and business. To that end, the Belin-Blank Center, in collaboration with the University of Iowa College of Education, has developed a Graduate Certificate in Talent Development. This certificate is hinged upon a broad perspective of talent development, and it will prepare professionals in any domain to recognize and develop talented people in whatever their field may be.  

What is talent development? Talent development is a systematic process that supplies the necessary skills and training, so an individual’s talent area(s) is actualized. Discovering and developing talent fosters equity when casting and considering a broader “net” and when the process includes proper support and accommodations.  

We are excited about this professional learning opportunity because of its potential to partner with multiple departments at the University of Iowa and professionals from various fields. While we predict the Graduate Certificate in Talent Development will attract K-12 pre-service and in-service educators, we drafted it to be relevant for individuals outside of education (e.g., the arts, STEM, athletics, or leadership).  

Our one-of-a-kind Graduate Certificate in Talent Development is open for Fall 2022 registration.

This meaningful learning experience can be completed 100% online or in a hybrid fashion. It is research-based, provides elective course choices within and outside education, and culminates with an interest-based project. If you have any questions, contact Randy Lange at randolph-lange@uiowa.edu 

Come learn with us! 

To learn more or register, visit our website.

Learn More

Message From the Director: The Last Word

Susan Assouline

by Dr. Susan Assouline, Belin-Blank Center Director

Welcome back! 

After a two-year pandemic-imposed hiatus from onsite professional development and on-campus residential student programs, the hallways of the Blank Honors Center resound with the happy voices and excited footsteps of students and teachers. Their faces reflect the anticipation of making new friends and engaging in meaningful new learning. None of this would be possible without months of careful planning. Multiple teams of Belin-Blank Center colleagues attend to the details so participants can enjoy our comprehensive programming. I am very appreciative of my colleagues’ unflinching commitment to excellence. 

Welcome to our summer faculty and staff! Serving several hundred students and teachers takes many sets of hands, ears, eyes, feet, minds, and hearts. From residence hall advisors to student assistants to front-desk support, many of the summer program staff are undergraduate and graduate students. Their praises often go unsung, so I want to take this opportunity to thank them. 

Welcome to our many faculty colleagues who mentor and instruct students and teachers. This summer, we are pleased to have Ms. Cori Milan as the student program coordinator for our residential student programs, the Secondary Student Training Program (SSTP), Perry Research Summer Institute (PRSI), and Summer Art/Writing Residencies (SAR/SWR). In addition to Ms. Milan, we will work with our colleague, Dr. Barry Schreier, a clinical professor in counseling psychology and the Director of Higher Education Programming at the Iowa Center for School Mental Health. Dr. Schreier leads our efforts to enhance the student experience through increased attention to social-emotional well-being and the professional development of the staff who support our students.  

Welcome to licensed psychologist Dr. Christopher Smith, the newest Assessment and Counseling Clinic staff member. Dr. Smith joins a dedicated team of professionals who kept the Belin-Blank Center’s Assessment and Counseling Clinic open throughout the pandemic. 

Welcome to Dr. Megan Foley-Nicpon, recently named the Myron and Jacqueline Blank Endowed Chair and the new Belin-Blank Center Director. Dr. Foley-Nicpon brings a wealth of experience to this position and is singularly qualified to become the third director of the Belin-Blank Center. Watching Dr. Foley-Nicpon present her formal job talk was one of the more joyous moments of my 32-year career. We’ve been colleagues since 2004, and she has enhanced the reputation of the Belin-Blank Center in multiple areas, including twice-exceptionality and talent development. Dr. Foley-Nicpon will begin her tenure as director in August, making this my final post as director. 

Welcoming new colleagues and delighting in the wonder of a Belin-Blank summer makes my last “Message from the Director” bittersweet. Nostalgia fills my thoughts as I reflect on the many moments that form decades of personal, professional, and organizational growth and development. We have done so much together during this time, and I know this team of professionals will have many more triumphs to come. 

I have had the opportunity to work with amazing colleagues and a dedicated advisory board. I have a loving family who has graced me with their phenomenal support throughout my entire career.  

I am now approaching my final weeks as the Myron and Jacqueline Blank Endowed Chair and Director of the Belin-Blank Center. Only one word adequately captures the sentiment that fills my heart: Gratitude. 

Belin-Blank Center Finalists Win Big at Nationals!

Finalists from two of our programs, Invent Iowa and the Iowa Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS), recently competed at the national level in their respective programs.

2022 Invent Iowa Finalists at the National Invention Convention

Invent Iowa finalists advanced to the National Invention Convention, hosted by the Henry Ford Museum.

Charles Smith (Ottumwa) won 2nd place in the 3rd-grade division, as well as Best Video Presentation, for his E.F.A.F. (Emergency Floor plan App for First responders). Jason Ahn (Ames) won a Patent Application Award and Best Logbook for his ARE Board (Auto Rolling & Erasing Whiteboard). Those who are interested can view the complete list of winners or watch the award ceremony replay.

Finalists at the Iowa Regional JSHS earned an expense-paid trip to compete at the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In the oral presentations, Amara Orth (Lewis Central High) won 2nd place in the Life Sciences category, for an $8,000 scholarship! In the poster competition, Jasmyn Hoeger (Beckman Catholic High School) won 3rd place in the Biomedical Science category and a $350 scholarship. A full list of winners is posted here.

Congratulations to all!

Coming Up at the Belin-Blank Center

Don’t miss any exciting opportunities for students, families, and educators at the Belin-Blank Center!

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For Educators

For Students & Families

Summer Programs

Join Us!

AP Summer Institute – Online!

Advanced Placement (AP) coursework is one of the most recognized forms of acceleration. There are many benefits to taking an AP course, including providing the appropriate level of challenge for talented students.

Advanced Placement classes help develop college-level academic skills. The classes are made up of students and educators with a strong commitment to excellence in learning and problem-solving. These are all qualities necessary in college. Many students who enter college are shocked at the amount of work and study time involved. Taking AP classes in high school will better prepare them for challenging college classes.

The Belin-Blank Center is proud to be an approved site to provide AP summer training for teachers. To accommodate as many teachers as possible, we are offering an online session (August 1-5, 2022). The seven AP trainings offered online are Computer Science & Principles, English Language & Composition, English Literature & Composition, Physics I, Psychology, Spanish Language & Culture, and Statistics.

We would love to work with you this summer! Learn more and sign up here.

Join us!

NEW! Graduate Certificate in Talent Development

The Belin-Blank Center is pleased to announce our new graduate certificate in talent development! It addresses talent development from a broad perspective and considers multiple fields. This certificate will be open to current, degree-seeking students at the University of Iowa and non-degree students (e.g., full/part-time personnel in teaching and/or a wide range of professions). The Graduate Certificate in Talent Development will provide a synthesis of theory and multiple perspectives across various areas of study and provide opportunities for registrants across fields to engage and interact with the common goal of how to best match individuals with appropriately enriching experiences (within and outside of school). 

Photo by Katerina Holmes on Pexels.com

The purpose of the Graduate Certificate in Talent Development is to increase understanding of talented individuals, the process of talent development and the creative process, and to prepare advocates for talented individuals. The Graduate Certificate in Talent Development will provide a research-based foundation for cultivating talent and encouraging best practices, especially in K-12 schools.  The emphasis on talent development is moving away from simplistic “pull-out” programming within schools and exploring more sophisticated conceptions of the development of expertise in specific fields and domains. The proposed certificate intends to train professionals across fields to develop talent among artists, athletes, business leaders, musicians, and STEM, to name a few. 

The Graduate Certificate in Talent Development will be available in Fall 2022. It consists of 14 semester hours and can be earned completely online. Its three-fold learning approach is composed of: 

1) required coursework (6 semester hours),  

2) interest-based elective coursework (6 semester hours – can reside in any UI department), and  

3) a culminating independent Capstone Exploration Project (steered completely by student interest).  

If you have any questions, please contact Randy Lange (randolph-lange@uiowa.edu).

We would love to learn with you!

Does Your Child Need More Academic Challenge at School This Fall?

Our Assessment and Counseling Clinic can help you learn more about your child and their academic needs.

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Our clinic offers individual educational assessments to help you better understand your child’s cognitive and academic strengths. These evaluations can assist with academic planning by helping determine whether your child is ready for advanced learning opportunities such as acceleration and enrichment programming. You can use the results to better advocate for your student’s advanced learning needs at school. When shared with your child’s educators, the results may inform team decisions about identification for enrichment and/or accelerated programming.

These assessments involve tests of intellectual and academic skills, including above-level skills, as well as a screening of psychosocial factors that may be relevant to academic planning decisions.

If you’re interested in learning more about educational assessments and other clinic services, visit our website. To request information about pursuing an educational assessment for your child, click here.

Professional Learning Makes All the Difference

by Dr. Laurie Croft, Associate Director for Professional Development

Gifted and talented students have unique social-emotional needs AND unique academic needs.  Professional learning allows educators to understand and address those unique needs, and that facilitates student success in school and in life in a wide variety of ways.  Peterson (2009) suggested that giftedness can actually be a risk factor for poor personal and educational outcomes.  Comprehensive preparation to interact with and support the various challenges faced by gifted learners facilitates appropriate affective and academic development.

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Belin-Blank Chautauqua 2022

The Belin-Blank Chautauqua provides six classes for professionals, who can take any or all.  Allowing educators to spend time with others who share their focus on the nature and needs of gifted students—either in person on campus or via Zoom—each class meets from 9:00 – noon and 1:00 – 4:00 pm for the first two days of each class.  Participants finish up any readings and final projects over the next couple of weeks, working online and independently. 

All classes fulfill one of the strands required for the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement and count toward the total number of 12 required credits.  Enrolling in Chautauqua allows an educator to complete half of the endorsement this summer, and the different Chautauqua schedule from summer to summer allows a participant to complete the endorsement program the next year.

Those who enroll in all three graduate credits the first week receive a full tuition scholarship for one class; those who enroll in all six credits receive a full tuition scholarship for two classes, one each week.  In other words, the Belin-Blank Center covers the cost of two of the six classes; the Center understands the value of professional development!

Chautauqua Courses in 2022

Chautauqua courses include the following in Week I:

Thinking Skills (EDTL:4072:0WKA), Jul 11 – 29, taught by Dr. Laurie Croft;

Topics: Executive Functioning for Learning and Life (new in 2022; EDTL:4096:0WKB), Jul 13 – Aug 2, taught by Dr. Kristine Milburn; and

Counseling and Psychological Needs of the Gifted (RCE:4125:0WKA, Jul 15 – Aug 4, taught by Dr. Debra Mishak.

Chautauqua continues in Week II:

Gender Issues and Giftedness (RCE:4123:0WKA), Jul 18 – Aug 5, taught by Dr. Haley Wikoff;

Topics: Infusing Language Arts with Creative Thinking (EDTL:4096:0WKC), Jul 20 – Aug 5, taught by Gwen Livingstone Pakora, MA; and

Staff Development for Gifted Programs (EPLS:4113:0WKA), Jul 22 – Aug 5, taught by Lori Danker, MA and MSE.

Learn more about Chautauqua at belinblank.org/chautauqua.

Advanced Placement Summer Institute

Teacher Training in Advanced Placement Courses (EDTL:5080:0WKA), available to those participating in the University of Iowa Advanced Placement Summer Institute.  The Belin-Blank Center provides a 50% tuition scholarship, allowing participants to earn two hours for the cost of one graduate credit.  The APSI takes place on campus from Jun 28 – Jul 1.  Contact educators@belinblank.org about information to override the restriction on enrollment. 

APSI participants benefit from earning another credit hour for Differentiation at the Secondary Level (EDTL:4074:0WKA), Jul 11 – 29, taught by Dr. Kristine Milburn.  APSI participants receive a 50% tuition scholarship for this class, as well.

Fully Online and Asynchronous Courses

In addition to Chautauqua courses this summer, the Center, in partnership with the University of Iowa College of Education, is offering additional online courses that are fully asynchronous.  Professional learning opportunities began at the end of May, but they continue in July, including:

Leadership Skills for G/T Students, K – 12 (EDTL:4029:0WKA), taught by Dr. Beth Maloney;

Differentiation at the Secondary Level (EDTL:4074:0WKA), Jul 11 – 29, taught by Dr. Kristine Milburn.

The practicum experience, required for the endorsement is available every semester, including summer.

For more information about all the summer professional learning opportunities available, visit belinblank.org/courses.

Visit belinblank.org/educators/reg for all the information you need to get registered as a non-degree seeking Distance and Online student.

Welcoming a New Licensed Psychologist to the Assessment and Counseling Clinic!

We are so excited to welcome Dr. Christopher Smith to the Belin-Blank Center! Dr. Smith is joining the Assessment and Counseling Clinic as a licensed psychologist.

Dr. Smith earned his BA from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and his MA and PhD from Alliant International University in San Francisco, CA. He completed his internship at an inpatient psychiatric hospital in Augusta, Maine, and his post-doctoral fellowship working with children and adolescents at an eating disorder clinic in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He holds psychology licenses in Iowa, New York, and Massachusetts. Most recently, he worked as a licensed psychologist at ChildServe in Iowa City.

We are looking forward to having Dr. Smith on the team at the ACC! He will be involved in providing clinical assessment and counseling services to gifted and twice-exceptional students and supporting research and other clinic initiatives.

Be sure to check out all of the clinical services we provide in our Assessment and Counseling Clinic. If you are interested in requesting more information about scheduling clinic services, you can do so here!

Message from the Director: Opening Doors for Talent Development

by Dr. Susan Assouline, Belin-Blank Center Director

“You’re a girl; you don’t need to take calculus.”

I’ve never forgotten those words stated by my high school counselor when I inquired about registering for calculus my senior year. That was then. I didn’t even question the statement. Not taking calculus in high school probably closed some doors for me, but other doors — education and psychology – opened.

Many decades have passed since then. Legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sex or “…any other classification that deprives the person of consideration as an individual[i]” has opened doors to more opportunities for more people. We are all better off because of those legalities. Nevertheless, much work remains concerning nondiscrimination, societal racism, and social justice. Furthermore, we have not fully addressed the most significant issue facing students, families, and educators: inequality in educational programming, especially in access to gifted education. The gifted programming inequalities in schools nationwide are society’s way of saying, “You’re a _________; you don’t need access to gifted programming.”  Educators, researchers, and psychologists can do better.

This spring, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) dedicated an entire issue of their flagship journal, Gifted Child Quarterly, to equity in gifted education. I applaud my colleagues who contributed to that special issue, which catalyzed the entire field to reflect and act. We can all make a difference in addressing this pernicious problem in education, which reflects a broader problem related to discrimination and lack of respect for diversity. At the Belin-Blank Center, we continuously aspire to offer services and programming focused on talent development through our student programs and professional development opportunities. We seek to recognize the strengths and potential of a diverse student population more fully.

As a high school junior, I didn’t know then the impact of being excluded from an educational opportunity based on one educator’s bias about girls and advanced math. Now I recognize that that experience was the entry point to a career as an educator, administrator, and researcher dedicated to ensuring that we extend opportunities to all who would benefit from them.

Bias, whether implicit or explicit, leads to exclusion and discrimination that has long-term consequences. It denies marginalized communities and people opportunities that would positively contribute to their lives and to society. Each of us has the power to chip away at discrimination through our words and our actions.

There has been improvement for some, but there is much more to do. I have hope because of a new generation of educators. This generation has greater awareness of the vastness of human potential, which we should not limit based on “classification that deprives the person of consideration as an individual.” As we look to the future, professional educators must ensure that inclusion and equity become focal points of practice and policy. We aim to lead the way.

[i] The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, associational preferences, or any other classification that deprives the person of consideration as an individual. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact the Director, Office of Institutional Equity, the University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1316, 319-335-0705, oie-ui@uiowa.edu.

Sign Up for Summer!

Don’t miss any exciting opportunities for students, families, and educators at the Belin-Blank Center!

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For Educators

  • Professional Learning Courses / TAG Endorsement:
    • The Integrated Acceleration System: Making Decisions About Grade-Skipping: February 26, 2022
    • Topics in Teaching and Learning (Teaching Outside the Lines: Developing Creativity in Every Learner): February 16, 2022
    • Prog/Curr for High Ability Students: March 7, 2022
    • Curriculum Concepts in Gifted Education: March 21, 2022
    • Practicum: March 21, 2022, or April 18, 2022
    • Continuing Education Individual Study (Connecting to Align Gifted Programming and Services): April 25, 2022
    • Intro to Educating Gifted Students: May 16, 2022, June 13, 2022, or August 22, 2022
    • Academic Acceleration: June 6, 2022
    • Senior Honors Project: June 13, 2022
    • Conceptions of Talent Development: October 17, 2022
    • Practicum: October 24, 2022, or November 14, 2022
  • Summer Programming for Educators:

For Students & Families

Summer Programs

Join Us!

Online Professional Learning in Summer 2022

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

John Cotton Dana, an American library and museum director, brilliantly asserted that “who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”  That is certainly true of teachers who support the needs of gifted and talented learners.

Teachers from across the country who are new to the field of gifted education and talent development look for coursework to help them earn the Talented and Gifted Endorsement.  Teachers who already work in gifted programs continue to develop their understanding of gifted children and how to best develop their talents.

Chautauqua

The Belin-Blank Center sponsors Chautauqua in the summer, and many teachers take advantage of one or more of the six one-semester-hour classes that begin over two weeks in July.  Each of these classes meets, either in person on the University of Iowa campus or via Zoom, for the first two days of the class; look for more information at belinblank.org/Chautauqua.

Online Programming

Others might prefer the flexible format of fully online and asynchronous opportunities throughout the summer.  All classes are one semester hour unless otherwise indicated.

May 17 – Jun 6EDTL:4096:0WKA (Topics)Assessing Achievement for Talent Development (Programming strand)Anna Payne
Jun 6 – 24EDTL:4024:0WKADifferentiating Projects with Technology (Programming strand; updated content)Dr. Antonia Szymanski
Jun 6 – Jul 29PSQF:4123:0EXW (3 semester hours [s.h.])Academic Acceleration (1 s.h. each in the Psychology, Programming, and 1 Administrative strands)Dr. Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik
Jun 13 – Aug 4EDTL/RCE:4137:0EXW (3 semester hours)Introduction to Educating Gifted Students (Psychology strand)Dr. Kimberley Chandler
Jun 20 – Jul 11EDTL:4085:0WKACurrent Readings & Research in Gifted Education (strand based on readings)Anna Payne
Jun 27 – Jul 18PSQF:4126:0WKACognitive/Affective Needs of Gifted Students (Psychology strand)Dr. Katie Schabilion
Jul 1 – 22EDTL:5080:0WKATeacher Training in Advanced Placement Courses** (Programming strand)Dr. Randy Lange
Jul 6 – June 24EDTL:4029:0WKALeadership Skills for G/T Students, K – 12 (Programming strand)Dr. Beth Maloney
Jul 11 – 29EDTL:4074:0WKADifferentiation at the Secondary Level (Programming strand)Dr. Kristine Milburn

**option for participants in the University of Iowa Advanced Placement Summer Institute (belinblank.org/apsi)

Registration

To take part in classes, participants must register one time each year with Distance and Online Education as a non-degree seeking student. Those earning the Endorsement in Talented and Gifted Education may register as either graduate or undergraduate students, regardless of professional status (undergraduates pay less tuition per course but may lose district benefits). Once participants have their “HawkID” and password, they can follow the directions to register for courses that match their interests and needs. Follow the steps at belinblank.org/educators/reg.

Belin-Blank Chautauqua—Back with an In-Person Option!

Journalist Charles Bowden once said, “Summertime is always the best of what might be.”  That might be the most accurate way to look at the Belin-Blank Chautauqua, an opportunity to enjoy professional learning with colleagues who enjoy time with others who share their interests.

Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, bringing Americans together to learn and enjoy time spent with one another.  After two years of hosting Chautauqua only online during the pandemic, the Belin-Blank Center is looking forward to hosting participants who want to participate in person, as well as those who choose to continue to participate via Zoom.

Professional Learning

Our Chautauqua is a unique form of professional learning, offering six one-semester-hour classes that begin over two weeks in July.  Each class meets for two days and continues online with readings, an online discussion or two, and a final project.  All classes end on or before August 5 this summer, the final day of the last university summer session.  Those who are interested in expanding their professional expertise in gifted education may enroll in the combination of classes that makes sense for them, from one to all six classes.

Scholarships

Participants who enroll as graduate students in three classes in one week receive a full scholarship for the cost of one class (you pay for two, the Belin-Blank Center provides a scholarship that pays for one).  Participants who enroll as graduate students in all six classes over the two weeks receive a full scholarship for the cost of one class each week (you pay for four, the Belin-Blank Center provides a scholarship that pays for two classes).

Coursework

The six classes represent the strands required for the endorsement in the State of Iowa: 

  • the Psychology strand (understanding the nature and needs of gifted/talented learners);
  • the Programming strand (appropriately differentiated programming/coursework for talent development);
  • the Administrative strand (administrative issues in the field that school personnel might now know).

Classes in Chautauqua are different from one summer to the next, so educators can earn the State of Iowa endorsement in two summers!  For those who want to earn the endorsement even more quickly, Chautauqua classes can be combined with online summer classes to complete the endorsement in one summer.  Classes are offered throughout the year to meet the needs of anyone seeking endorsement or seeking professional development in new areas.

Chautauqua in Summer 2022 includes all one-semester-hour courses:                  

Week 1: Jul 11 – 29 Meets Monday/Tuesday,      9:00 – noon; 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.EDTL:4072:0WKAThinking Skills (Programming strand)Dr. Laurie Croft
Jul 13 – Aug 2 Meets Wednesday/Thursday, 9:00 – noon; 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.EDTL:4096:0WKB (Topics)Executive Functioning: Skills for Learning and Life* (Programming strand)Dr. Kristine Milburn
Jul 15 – Aug 4 Meets Friday/Saturday, 9:00 – noon; 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.RCE:4125:0WKACounseling/Psychological Needs of the Gifted (Psychology strand)Dr. Jean Peterson
Week 2: Jul 18 – Aug 5 Meets Monday/Tuesday,      9:00 – noon; 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.RCE:4123:0WKAGender Issues and Giftedness (Psychology strand)Dr. Jolene Teske
Jul 20 – Aug 5 Meets Wednesday/Thursday, 9:00 – noon; 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.EDTL:4096:0WKC (Topics)Infusing Language Arts with Creative Thinking* (Programming strand)Gwen Livingstone Pokora
Jul 22 – Aug 5 Meets Friday/Saturday, 9:00 – noon; 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.EPLS:4113:0WKAStaff Development for Gifted Programs (Administrative strand)Dr. Jolene Teske

*NEW!

Registration

To take part in classes, you must register one time each year with Distance and Online Education as a non-degree seeking student. For the State of Iowa Endorsement in Talented and Gifted Education, you may register as either a graduate or undergraduate student, regardless of your professional status (scholarships are awarded to those who register as graduate students). Once you have your HawkID and password, you can follow the directions to register for courses that interest or benefit you. Follow the steps laid out at belinblank.org/educators/reg.

2022 Winners of Iowa Junior Science & Humanities Symposium

Congratulations to everyone who competed at this week’s Iowa Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)!  

These high school students are doing impressive research projects and did an excellent job communicating their findings to a panel of judges and an audience of their peers. Regional winners receive scholarships and an expense-paid trip to compete at the annual National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.

2022 Winners of the Iowa Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

The 2022 Iowa Regional winners are:

🏆 1st place: Amara Orth (Lewis Central High School) – “Secret Sounds of Bees: Analysis of Honey Bee Vibroacoustics Using Hidden Markov Models”

🏆 2nd place: Kiersten Knobbe (Adair-Casey Guthrie Center High School) – “Turbid or Not Turbid? That is the Question: Creating a Water Filtration and Sanitation Method for Developing Countries”

🏆 3rd place: Alina Markutsya (Ames High School) – “Biomechanical Analysis of Balance Beam Skills in Gymnastics”

🏆 4th place: Libby Knipper (Beckman Catholic High School) – “Efficacy of Antimicrobial Starch-Based Plastic Food Storage Films”

🏆 5th place: Jasmyn Hoeger (Beckman Catholic High School) – “Novel Mammalian Fibroblast Cell Culture Media Technique for Ultraviolet Cell Reduction”

Message from the Director

by Dr. Susan Assouline, Belin-Blank Center Director

Today’s view from the Blank Honors Center is grey and bare, seemingly devoid of energy. However, activity and enthusiasm abound inside the Blank Honors Center as we prepare for the Belin-Blank Center’s many student and professional learning programs, services, and information sessions scheduled for the next several months. 

This summer, students in grades 3-11 can choose from science, technology, engineering, art, math, and writing options. Whether online or on-campus, full-day or residential, all of our programs give students access to valuable university-level resources and experts in developing talent. 

Educators can earn their TAG Endorsement through our Chautauqua program and fully online classes. Other excellent professional learning opportunities include our Belin Fellowship and AP Summer Institute.

We are also pleased to welcome two new members of the Belin-Blank Center team! Dr. Nesibe Karakis is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in our STEM Excellence and Leadership program. Mr. Dominic Balestrieri-Fox is our new Administrative Services Coordinator. He works to support many programs across the Center, including the Iowa Online AP Academy, AP Summer Institute, and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. If you encounter either of them when you contact the Belin-Blank Center, please join us in welcoming them!

New colleagues and changing seasons are but two reminders that change is the only constant. January closed with the very sad news that our friend and colleague, University of New South Wales Professor Emerita Miraca Gross, passed away. Dr. Gross’s work had a profound impact on the field of gifted and talented education. This is especially true in academic acceleration, where her contributions are unparalleled. She will always remain an inspiration, and her impact will positively influence many generations of students, families, and professionals. 

Dr. Gross advocated for tools associated with making acceleration decisions, such as our newly developed Integrated Acceleration System.  We invite you to learn more about this tool during an upcoming online session focused on making decisions about grade-skipping, featuring Belin-Blank Center experts.  

It may still be a grey day in February, but we are staying cozy inside the Blank Honors Center, eagerly turning our eyes toward sunnier days. Whether you are a parent, educator, or student, we hope you will join us for one of the many exciting events and programs we are planning for this summer. We are excited to see you soon!

Strengths-Based Assessment to Better Understand Your Student’s Unique Needs

The Belin-Blank Center’s Assessment and Counseling Clinic is pleased to partner with Bridges 2e Center for Research and Professional Development to facilitate access to their Suite of Tools for our clients.

The Suite of Tools is a strengths-based, talent-focused tool that brings together several different types of assessments to help parents and educators celebrate the unique gifts of a particular student and bring their eclectic profile into better focus. The Suite of Tools (2016) was originally developed by Dr. Robin Schader and Dr. Susan Baum at the Bridges 2e Center for Research and Professional Development, and is built on the theme of C.L.U.E.S.: a process of Collecting information, Looking for connections, Uncovering patterns, Exploring options, and Seeking joyful learning.

The first assessment in the Suite of Tools is “My Learning Print,” which explores ways in which students prefer to learn, their specific interests, conditions that enhance understanding, fun hobbies, and family experiences outside of the classroom. The second assessment is called the “Quick Personality Indicator,” which asks participants to rank descriptive statements and then helps students to tally these outcomes to decipher whether they are most like a People Person, Learned Expert, Creative Problem Solver, or Practical Manager. A third tool is the Teacher Feedback form, which offers classroom educators the opportunity to reflect on the core abilities of this student. After a parent interview, each of these CLUES is brought together into a PowerPoint presentation by a seasoned educational therapist who highlights the findings of the Suite of Tools for your distinctive student, and then offers suggestions and direction for talent development opportunities that can enhance this student’s social-emotional growth and promote their intellectual potential. The Suite of Tools is especially helpful to include as an additional lens of insight along with a psychoeducational evaluation, when a learning team is crafting a 504 Plan, or for exploring options of optimal learning during an IEP Meeting.

Bridges Academy case manager Sandra Clifton, supported by her colleague Amy Clark, will be offering these services to interested Assessment and Counseling Clinic clients. For more information, please email sandra.clifton@bridges.edu.

Sandra Clifton

After earning her Masters in English Education and serving over a decade as a high school teacher, Sandra Clifton earned credentials as a professional coach and joined the RULER Team at Yale University to guide teachers in a program of Social-Emotional Learning.  She then opened her own private practice: the Clifton Corner, a safe space of learning to support overwhelmed students who struggle with issues of perfection, motivation, organization, learning differences, and self-esteem. For the past fifteen years, Sandra has worked to promote self-discovery and personal accountability to help young people transform their identity through the tools of mindfulness, creativity, leadership, and positive psychology as a Board Certified Educational Therapist.  Sandra shares a special affinity with both athletes and artists who shine with strengths outside of school–but may encounter challenges with time management, confidence, and/or academic insecurities in the classroom–often identified as gifted, sensitive, and/or twice-exceptional students. Sandra also guides parents through curriculum decisions and school transitions to create more joy in the journey of learning. She is currently working to earn her doctorate in Cognitive Diversity at Bridges Graduate School and is thrilled to be serving as an intern at the Belin-Blank Center.

Amy Clark

Amy Clark is a doctoral student at Bridges Graduate School, a solutions innovator, and a mom. She found her love of twice-exceptional education through the creation of Chestnut Ridge Academy, which she founded to serve her son by creating highly customized experiences for gifted and exceptional minds. In addition to her daily role as a tiny-school leader, she supports families on their own unique journeys. She guides parents to better understand their exceptional children and to uncover strategies for both educating and parenting differently through her company, Exceptionally Engaged. Her decades-long career in research and design at some of the world’s most creative companies has helped millions of people to feel empowered with tools that become part of their everyday lives. She continues to impact lives as an education, neurodiversity, and design consultant to those looking to discover the magic that lies at the intersection of technology and learning. 

Professional Learning at the Belin-Blank Center

Nelson Mandela is credited with saying, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” At the Belin-Blank Center, we are among those who believe that this is true. Our tagline, after all, is Nurturing Potential – Inspiring Excellence.

We also know that these years of the pandemic have included the most difficult days for any teacher today. We are committed to providing professional learning to support the needs that teachers of the gifted have, both as they earn the TAG endorsement, and after they are working with students’ evolving needs.

The Belin-Blank Center offers traditional three-semester-hour classes throughout the academic year, and one, (Academic Acceleration, PSQF:4123:0EXW), in the summer. We also offer one-semester-hour classes in a workshop format throughout the year, including the winter session and over the summer.

Workshops provide educators an opportunity to focus on one topic (“Thinking Skills” or “Gender Issues”), and they last for three weeks. Workshops have no additional fees added to the tuition, providing some savings. Some educators find it advantageous to register with Distance and Online Education as non-degree-seeking undergraduates, even though they obviously have degrees, in order to save tuition dollars. Many others prefer to register as graduate students so they can count the hours toward other opportunities in their district.

This summer, the Belin-Blank Center will collaborate with various departments in the College of Education to offer sufficient hours to complete the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement. Participation in Chautauqua provides six of the required hours. Fully online classes, including the individualized practicum experience, provide the additional hours.

Over the next two weeks, we will update our professional learning schedule with the classes available this summer. You can also get started this spring to free up some time to relax over the summer! Visit belinblank.org/courses to see what is currently available.

Get Registered

To participate in our classes, you must register one time each year with Distance and Online Education as a non-degree seeking student. Once you have your HawkID and password, you can follow the directions to register for the courses that interest you the most. Follow belinblank.org/educators/reg. All of our classes fulfill the strands required for endorsement.

Questions?

Contact us at educators@belinblank.org!

Advanced Placement Summer Institute and Belin-Blank Summer Fellowship

Summer has traditionally been a season for teachers to refuel and refresh. Many times, the “refueling” portion centers on acquiring new learning through professional development. The Belin-Blank Center will be offering multiple learning opportunities in Summer 2022. Two excellent examples are our Advanced Placement Summer Institute and the Belin-Blank Fellowship. You are invited to both!

Advanced Placement Summer Institute

Who: Middle School & High School Teachers; Gifted Coordinators

What: APSI is 30 hours of content-rich training. It is designed to strengthen both instruction and core curriculum. While it seems to target new or current AP teachers, the strategies will bolster the teaching repertoire of middle school teachers and gifted coordinators. Academic credit is available and includes a 50% tuition scholarship.  Contact educators@belinblank.org with questions.

When: There are two options! The Summer 2022 on-campus session is June 28 – July 1; the fully online session is August 1 – 5.

Where: The on-campus courses are held at the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. The online classes allow you to learn from anywhere with an internet connection.

Why: The Belin-Blank Center is committed to professional development for educators!

For more information about the AP course content offered and the Iowa teacher grant scholarship):

belinblank.org/apsi

Belin-Blank Summer Fellowship

Who: The program, in its 42nd year, is designed for educators with limited expertise working with gifted and talented students. This summer, priority will be given to those in instructional coaching roles in a school.

What: The Belin-Blank Fellowship is a unique opportunity for a select number of educators, nominated by their schools, to receive professional learning in gifted education through a five-day summer residential workshop at the University of Iowa. The program aims to help educators new to gifted education (especially those in an instructional coaching role) understand the characteristics and needs of gifted individuals so they can better teach and develop the potential of gifted and talented students.

When: The Summer 2022 Fellowship will be held June 20 – June 24.

Where: The Belin-Blank Fellowship Program will be held on the campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City.  Room, board, and materials are provided as part of the Fellowship; academic credit is available and includes a 50% tuition scholarship.  Contact educators@belinblank.org with questions.

Why: The Belin-Blank Center has been committed to professional development for educators since 1980, even before the Center became a center!

The application process will be open by Monday, February 14th.

For more information:

belinblank.org/fellowship

Belin-Blank Chautauqua

“The Chautauqua Institution is truly a national treasure. It is a place for contemplation and a place for reflection, a place where platitudes and slogans can be set aside and be replaced by thoughtfulness and introspection.”  (E. Spitzer)

As someone who taught U.S. History for several years, I always loved talking about the Chautauqua movement popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Chautauqua was an adult education movement, and people from all over the country would gather to learn about a wide variety of topics. Chautauqua was loved as a social movement as well as an educational opportunity.

The Belin-Blank Center was the first TAG endorsement program in the State of Iowa to offer sufficient online course offerings to allow candidates to complete the entire program. As fewer and fewer opportunities exist for teachers to collaborate in professional learning in a face-to-face format, the Center decided to offer its own version of the Chautauqua (belinblank.org/Chautauqua).

For several years, the Belin-Blank Center has dedicated two weeks in July to an accelerated professional learning format. By participating in Chautauqua, a teacher can complete half of the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement one year and complete the second half the next summer.

The Belin-Blank Chautauqua offers a full scholarship for one class each week to anyone who enrolls in all three classes during one week (or for two classes to anyone who enrolls in all six classes during the two weeks). 

This summer, Chautauqua begins on July 11, and each of the six one-semester-hour classes that begin during Chautauqua has a unique format.

The first class meets from 9:00 am – noon and 1:00 – 4:00 pm (Central Daylight Savings Time) on Monday, July 11, and Tuesday, July 12. The format will include a Zoom option. Some instructors may Zoom in for the class, and at least some of the participants may Zoom in for those meetings, too. Although this was fully face-to-face on campus in the past, we’ll be flexible about the meeting time this summer and, perhaps, in the future! The workshop will last for three weeks (July 11 – July 29), with all the work that follows those first two days taking place online, via our ICON online course platform. The additional work typically includes readings, one or two additional questions for online discussion, and a final project.

The second class meets from 9:00 am – noon and 1:00 – 4:00 pm on Wednesday, July 13, and Thursday, July 14. The class continues on ICON after that for three weeks (July 13 – August 2).

The third class during Week I of Chautauqua meets on Friday, July 15, and Saturday, July 16. The class continues on ICON after that for three weeks (July 13 – August 4).

Week II looks much the same!

Over the course of the two weeks of Chautauqua, no classes are repeated from the previous summer, ensuring that the endorsement can be completed. Over the two weeks, classes are offered from each of the strands required for the endorsement.

Chautauqua is a wonderful option for those who want to take one workshop on a new subject, useful for their school. It’s an equally terrific option for those who want to complete their endorsements over two summers. We’ll be updating the schedule soon.

We look forward to seeing you in July 2022!