Global Principles for Professional Learning in Gifted Education

The World Council for Gifted and Talented Children (WCGTC) hosted a virtual conference over the summer, and one of the most exciting things shared was the new “Global Principles for Professional Learning in Gifted Education.” 

In the United States, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) has provided sets of standards to help define best practices in Pre-K – Grade 12 Programming, Teacher Preparation in Gifted Education (in collaboration with the Council for Exceptional The Association for the Gifted [CEC TAG], and Knowledge and Skills in Gifted & Talented Education for All Teachers. The new WCGTC principles suggest the 10 most important concepts for professional development in gifted education, to strengthen local and regional practices on behalf of gifted children around the world.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Several scholars involved in the development of the principles share a presentation available to the public. A poster with the 10 global principles is available to download and share or post. The full document, with research-based rationales that could be of interest to educators anywhere, is available at https://world-gifted.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/professional-learning-global-principles.pdf.

The last of the 10 principles, Empowering, is one of the most important to the Belin-Blank Center. The Center has long committed its professional development opportunities to empowering the gifted community, and throughout the academic year, educators can enroll in a variety of classes, including three-semester-hour coursework as well as one- and two-semester hour “workshops” that expand understanding about themes significant to identifying and understanding gifted children and their unique needs. Coursework, aligned with NAGC standards, encourages professionals to adopt best practices for meeting the needs of advanced learners, from acceleration to classroom differentiation to homogeneous grouping. Classes also provide insights into programming options that facilitate optimal learning environments.

The current schedule of courses is available at belinblank.org/courses; specifics about the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement are available at belinblank.org/endorsement. Visit our website for directions about registering with Distance and Online Education to take coursework as a non-degree-seeking student.  Share questions with us at educators@belinblank.org or give us a call at 319-335-6148! We look forward to collaborating with you to provide the best possible programming for gifted/talented children!

Coming Up at the Belin-Blank Center

As the year comes to a close, we are looking forward to the many exciting online opportunities for educators, students, families, and gifted education researchers that are happening at the Belin-Blank Center in 2021! Mark your calendars with these upcoming dates.

For Educators

• Professional Learning Courses / TAG Endorsement:
  • Program Models in Gifted Education
    • January 25 – March 22, 2021
  • Identification of Students for Gifted Programs
    • January 26 – March 22, 2021
  • Administrative and Policy Issues in GE
    • February 2 – April 30, 2021
  • Curriculum Concepts in Gifted Education
    • March 22 – May 14, 2021

• AP Summer Institute
  • June 28 – July 2, 2021

For Students & Families

• Coding with Python
  • Start anytime! Access through June 30, 2021.
• Enrichment Expeditions
  • Bravery: Ruth Bader Ginsburg: January 24, 2021
• The Writers’ Room
  • Young Writers | Exploration of Processes and Methods: February 15 – April 21, 2021
  • Creative Writing | Structural Approaches: February 16 – April 22, 2021
• Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy Information Days:
  • February 16, 2021
  • March 23, 2021
  • April 27, 2021
• Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
  • March 1 – 2, 2021
• Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Celebration
  • March 7, 2021
• Invent Iowa State Invention Convention
  • April 19, 2021

For Researchers

• Summit on the Neuroscience of Twice-Exceptionality
  • May 17 – 18, 2021

Don’t Miss NAGC’s Convention Reimagined

by Dr. Laurie Croft

“I’ve been a big fan of attending conferences as a great way to learn, network, socialize and enjoy a new environment. It’s always refreshing to get out and see a whole new world.”  So said author Mark Skousen, and I completely agree!

The excitement is building for the 2020 NAGC convention!  NAGC20 has been Reimagined in a way that will re-ignite the passion that we all have for the future of gifted and talented education.  NAGC’s “67th Annual Convention Reimagined!” will be held November 12-17, 2020, bringing together thousands of professionals from around the world who are dedicated to supporting the needs of high-ability children.  I hope you’ll join us at NAGC’s first virtual national convention.

The NAGC20 convention experience will be like no other…. it’s accessible anytime and anywhere you are in the world. “Reimagined!” offers attendees access to 200+ live and on-demand sessions, table talks, Q&A sessions, and opportunities for networking.  Participants can attend sessions live or at their own pace throughout the convention.  And if you can’t participate in a session during the convention time, not to worry.  Attendees have a 6-month all-access pass to all 200+ sessions.

Also new in 2020, schools/districts may purchase a site license for $5,995 so that an unlimited number of professionals can attend. This can be your chance to show your colleagues the meaningful presentations for the ages they teach or the content they share.  NAGC20 offers hundreds of hours of professional learning at your fingertips. These can be used for faculty retreats, all-staff professional learning days, group and/or division training, and weekly staff meetings. You can build an ongoing professional learning curriculum for the entire team and the entire school year using the school site license option.  Contact Adriane Wiles (awiles@nagc.org) to register.

The Belin-Blank Center is pleased to offer either one or two semester hours of credit for those who participate in the NAGC convention.  “Continuing Education Individual Study: Leadership in Gifted Education” (PSQF:5194:0WKA) can apply to the “Administrative Strand,” and because you are having to pay to register for the convention itself, we provide an automatic 50% tuition scholarship for those enrolled at the graduate level (a smaller scholarship for those enrolled at the undergraduate level).  Although teachers earning the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement need semester hours from an accredited university, some of you might benefit from the CEU’s that NAGC has arranged (see bit.ly/NAGC20ceu).

Those working on the endorsement through the Belin-Blank Center should contact educators@belinblank.org for information about student registration costs (50% of the above), student membership costs (only $59 for the upcoming year), and for information about getting registered for the academic credit!

To register, go to http://bit.ly/Reimagined20CM (or contact awiles@nagc.org).  Registration fees are $345 for members or $495 for non-members. Membership includes 1-year access to bonus content, including free issues of Gifted Child Quarterly, Teaching for High Potential, and Parenting for High Potential. 

MORE Just-in-time Online Professional Learning for Summer

The Belin-Blank Center is committed to supporting your professional learning needs throughout the year!  We offer classes in a variety of formats, but everything we offer applies to the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement.  We collaborate with many Iowa educators, but we also have the opportunity to work with educators from around the country—and even from other countries!  All of our classes are aligned with national standards in gifted education, including the Pre-K to Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards(essential to ensure best practices in our programs) and the Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted Education(guiding professional learning goals as beginners—or as practicing professionals).

The Belin-Blank Center TAG Endorsement program is aligned with the Faculty Standards for Teacher Preparation Programs in Gifted & Talented Education, developed by NAGC to ensure that educators learning about the field participate in research-based classes taught by highly-qualified professionals.

We have classes available for those working on their endorsement, addressing the required strands—or for those who just want to add to their “professional toolkits.” For the summer schedule, we offer an array of opportunities to ensure that anyone new to gifted education can begin their position in the fall with confidence, and to allow the most experienced teacher of the gifted to choose from the wide variety of choices that we offer, strengthening gifted programs in the school and/or the district.

This summer, Dr. Ann Lupkowski Shoplik will offer the newly revised PSQF:4123:0EXW Academic Acceleration, from June 10 – August 1. This three-semester-hour class ensures that educators of the gifted understand the powerful research underpinning acceleration as one of the most important strategies for high-ability learners, are aware of the multiple types of acceleration available, reflect on the reasons why many teachers hold negative attitudes, and have confidence in implementing acceleration in their schools.

The summer opportunities below are one-semester-hour workshops; these classes allow educators to focus on specific topics that are beneficial to their gifted and talented learners. These are described in more detail at belinblank.org/courses:

• EDTL:4096:0WKA   Topics: Teaching Outside the Lines, exploring the book by the same name to enhance creativity in the classroom;
• EDTL:4096:0WKB   Topics: Common Core State Standards for Gifted/Talented:  English Language Art, utilizing a NAGC publication about  strengthening standards developed for general education to provide differentiated learning for meaningful experiences in ELA for advanced learners;
• EDTL:4029:0WKA   Leadership Skills for G/T Students, K – 12, focusing on developing leadership skills (one of the categories referenced in the definition of “gifted” in Iowa and many other states);
• RCE:4125:0WKA    Counseling and Psychological Needs of the Gifted, essential for understanding unique student concerns about socio-emotional development, career development, and attitudes toward achievement;
• EDTL:4074:0WKA   Differentiation at the Secondary Level, emphasizing the importance of differentiation rooted in content areas, including specific strategies to strengthen secondary courses;
• EDTL:4096:0WKF   Topics:  Common Core State Standards for Gifted/Talented:  Mathematics, utilizing a NAGC publication about strengthening standards developed for general education to provide differentiated learning for meaningful experiences in math for advanced learners (participants do NOT need a background in mathematics to understand the needs of their mathematically gifted youth);
• EDTL:4085:0WKA   Current Readings & Research in Gifted Education, allowing educators to focus on the topics the most need to master for their students, schools, and districts (the credit may be applied, depending on readings, to the Psychology, Programming, or Administrative strand for endorsement);
• RCE:4119:0WKA    Family Issues in Giftedness, the last of the summer classes, designed to allow teachers to be ready to work with parents in the new school year, better understanding their concerns and planning effective ways to communicate with parents as the school year begins.

The Belin-Blank Center also offers six classes in a hybrid format that includes two days on campus with online opportunities for reflection, reading, and final projects submitted online.  You’ll find more about these at our page about the Belin-Blank Chautauqua (belinblank.org/chautauqua) in July.

We look forward to working with you this summer; we appreciate your commitment to the needs of gifted and talented learners!

Professional Learning Online

The Belin-Blank Center, in partnership with departments in the University of Iowa College of Education, offers a variety of online classes this summer.  While we would love to have you join us on campus for our Chautauqua course series, we know that many of those advocating for gifted/talented students benefit from the flexible online format.  Each of the online classes is offered for one semester hour of credit and are three weeks in length.  You can learn how to develop creativity in every learner, facilitate research projects, enhance your understanding of differentiation at the secondary level, and more!

If you will be joining us on campus for the Advanced Placement Teacher Training Institute, we offer your choice of two hours of academic credit; the Center provides a 50% tuition scholarship for those who take advantage of the graduate credit.

To see a full list of our summer course offerings, please click here: https://www2.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/educators/courses/schedule.aspx.

To get registered for classes please follow the steps listed here: https://www2.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/educators/courses/registration.aspx

We look forward to working with you as you pursue your TAG Endorsement through the University of Iowa!

Professional Learning Opportunity to Better Understand Gifted Learners

Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States from the late 1800s to the early 1900s.  A Native American (Iroquois) word, it may be hard to pronounce, but it’s the right name for the six face-to-face classes designed to help educators better understand the nature/needs of gifted learners, and how to meet those needs.

The Belin-Blank Center, in partnership with the University of Iowa College of Education, provides online classes throughout the year.  During the summer, in addition to online courses, we want to offer gifted education advocates an opportunity to enjoy the Blank Honors Center building, to meet the Center’s staff, and to learn from each other.

Chautauqua I, July 9 – 14, including class on Saturday, includes these one-semester-hour classes:

• RCE:4126:0WKA Cognitive/Affective Needs of the Gifted (Psychology strand)
• EDTL:4021:0WKA Science for High Ability Students (Programming strand)
• EPLS:5240:0WKA Topics in Education: Coordinating Gifted and Talented Programs (Administrative Strand)

Chautauqua II, July 16 – 21, including class on Saturday, includes these one-semester-hour classes:

• PSQF:4128:0WKA Neuroscientific Implications for Gifted (Psychology strand)
• EDTL:4065:0WKA Social Studies for High Ability Learners (Programming strand)
• EPLS:4111:0WKA Evaluation of Gifted Programs (Administrative Strand)

Participants may enroll in any of the six classes—or in all of the six!  Those who enroll at the graduate level for all three workshops in either week, or both weeks, receive an automatic tuition scholarship from the Belin-Blank Center for one of the three classes (i.e., three workshops for the cost of two; six for the cost of four).  Each week, on Friday, the Belin-Blank Center hosts a lunch for Chautauqua participants, giving them a chance to interact with some of the same scholars whose work they’ve been reading during classes.

All of the classes fulfill requirements for the State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement, and each week includes one semester hour from each of three of the required strands; each class, part of a hybrid endorsement program, does require some online work as well as the participation in the two days on campus.  Those seeking endorsement need to complete a total of 12 semester hours, with classes from each strand, and at least one practicum hour.  Teachers can complete practicum during any semester.

More information about the Belin-Blank Chautauqua can be found here:  https://www2.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/educators/chautauqua/.  Those who are new to the classes can learn more about registering as a University of Iowa Division of Continuing Education student here:  https://www2.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/educators/courses/registration.aspx.

We look forward to having you join us this summer for Chautauqua!