G/T/N Awareness Week

This week, we were proud to partner with Marc Smolowitz and The G Word Film team as they celebrated Gifted/Talented/Neurodiverse Awareness Week.

Autumn 2021 has brought us a greater awareness of gifted, talented, and neurodiverse individuals due in part to the continuing pandemic which has shed light on the myriad facets of what is considered neurotypical and neurodiverse. However, translating awareness to actionable measures languishes in the courts of public misperception. Anti-intellectualism is nothing new, but it has found new proponents in recent years to the detriment of gifted and highly-abled students. GT students from minority populations, low-SES communities, and rural areas are the most affected when gifted programs are curtailed or eliminated by the disingenuous argument that it will achieve equity in educational opportunities for all children.

“Roughly once per generation, we see a groundswell of opposition to the idea of giftedness (and academic excellence in general). The last wave was in the early-mid 90s, so we were overdue. As others have noted, that wave is building, and we need to be proactive to stop it. As is often said, eliminating opportunity for all is a weird way to achieve equity.“ ~ Dr. Jonathan Plucker, NAGC President

Recognizing neurodiversity validates the nature of our humanity. Acceptance, commitment to affirming language, and proactive support are good first steps to ensuring wellness. Although we often talk about accommodations for neurodiverse k12 students, they are needed throughout life including during college and in flexible workplace policies which offer open and honest communication about addressing employee needs. Neurodiversity should be celebrated for its unique strengths which are often manifested in extraordinary cognitive ability, spatial and problem-solving skills, or exceptional memory.

How can we empower gifted & 2e students and adults on their journeys? Understanding that the gifted and 2e journey is a lifelong one is beginning of empowerment. It does not end at a graduation ceremony. There is no arbitrary cutoff point. At the same time, it’s important to identify gifted children early in order to nurture their first steps on the journey. Parents are usually at the forefront of this process and need support as well to empower their child’s growth. Throughout life, gifted and 2e students need federally mandated gifted education programs, SEL, expanded universal screening to improve diversity in programs, and intense advocacy to increase awareness of these students’ needs.

“When people are taught/trained to deny their identity, they become disillusioned by the loss of self and their personal story. When we learn to embrace differences as a positive identity instead of from a “misfit” or “disorder” view, we can embrace positive aspects!” ~ Dr. Nicole Tetreault, Neuroscientist and author

How do giftedness and identity intersect? Identity development begins early in life and continues throughout life. For intellectually gifted students it can be greatly influenced by their age-peers. Some gifted children attempt to hide or mask their abilities to ‘fit in’ with peer groups. This can affect their self-concept and acceptance of their abilities. Due to the influence of peer culture, it is important that gifted children be provide opportunities to interact with intellectual peers if they are to thrive and develop their talents and abilities.

“It [trauma-informed learning] means contemplating the idea that every human learner is more likely than not to have some history of trauma in their background. Think of the complexity of the American experience in this century. Trauma is everywhere. We need to be honest about this fact.” ~ Marc Smolowitz, filmmaker, 13th Gen Film, The G Word Film

What is trauma-informed learning? It takes place when students feel safe to express themselves and believe they will be heard. Students are given choice and voice. Time is allotted for self-care. Learning which is trauma-sensitive begins with responsive relationships between student and teacher as well as with peers. A sense of caring and trust are prevalent in the classroom. Trauma-informed learning provides for collaboration, SEL strategies, positive behavior support, identifying and correcting potential behavioral triggers, and acknowledgement of cultural issues which may need to be addressed.

“To me it [trauma-informed learning] refers to the understanding that trauma has a significant impact on the brains and bodies of humans. Further, trauma is prevalent and can involve individual events and entire systems, being trauma informed is being aware that we all have a backstory that may impact how we show up in the world in many ways.” ~ Christine Fonseca, Author, Psychologist, Speaker, Coach

Celebrating all children as unique individuals while realizing the needs of gifted children can vastly improve how education is viewed by the wider community. Encouraging respect, contemplating what it means to be inclusive, and listening to all stakeholders seated at the table is the message needed to be sent.

A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.

Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at 1PM NZDT/11AM AEDT/1AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.

About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com

Resources:

In the 21st century, Who Gets to be ‘Gifted’ in America and Why? | The ‘G’ Word Film

The G Word Blog

The G Word Impact Manifesto

The G Word Quarterly

The World Hope Project

Embracing Intensity: Happy 5^th Anniversary and The G Word Film (podcast 49:42)

Institute for Education Innovation: Who Gets to be Gifted in America with Marc Smolowitz (podcast 47:05)

Adventures in Being Gifted: Episode 9 The G Word (Apple Podcast 45:00)

When Learning about Overexcitabilities Changes your Life! Meet Chris Wells (podcast 55:27)

Stealth Dyslexia | Davidson Gifted

12 Things I Wish I Had Known About My Young Gifted Kids

A Totally Anecdotal Unscientific Explanation of a Particular Variety of High Intelligence

The Ramifications Of Any Single Thought Are Endless — The Intensity Of Giftedness

Motivating and Engaging 2e Learners

Giftedness Integration Work and Gifted Coaching

The Importance of Intersectionality in Empowering Underrepresented Gifted Students: We Are More Than You Think We Are

Empowering Underrepresented Gifted Students Perspectives from the Field (book)

Unleash Monday: The Podcast for Bright and Quirky Adults

Are Gifted Programs Endangered in American Schools?

Parent Footprint with Dr. Dan (podcast)

How to Motivate and Engage Tomorrow’s Innovators

Engage Gifted or 2e Learners by Embracing Their Tendencies | Mensa for Kids

You Know You Have A Rainforest Mind When …

A Potential Future for Post-2020 Education (pdf)

Project North Star | Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented

Our Gifted Kids (podcast)

When Every Emotion Is Too Big and Too Loud (Fonseca) | Psychology Today

Supporting the Well-Being of Gifted Learners | SENG

Awareness Film Fest

7 Ways to Manage Stress and Improve Your Mental Health (Tetreault)

Helping Children Manage Intense Emotions (Fonseca) | Psychology Today

Cybraryman’s Mental and Emotional Health Page

Cybraryman’s SEL Pages and More Page https://bit.ly/3pTLr4B

Graphic courtesy of The G Word Film.

The Role of Environment in Parenting Gifted Kids

There are many aspects of an environment created within the family which can affect a gifted child’s development beginning with the emotional bond between parent and child. This family environment encompasses parental and sibling relationships as well as a family’s finances. Important factors also include the family’s living space and the learning environment within the family.

Family dynamics involve a wide-range range issues such as the presence of parents or even multiple generations, divorce or loss of a parent, and financial considerations. A child’s development can be affected by a parent’s employment status which may involve relocation or available time spent with children, and accessibility to academic resources. Family dynamics are highly influenced by the parents’ mental health and educational attainment, Also, the family’s cultural background and belief system may strongly influence a child development.

Gifted children, like all children, need a nurturing and supportive home environment to support their mental health. An environment conducive to good mental health requires parents to be present in their child’s life, aware of issues which may affect their child’s mental health, and an understanding of healthy child development in general. How families respond to stress and trauma, encourage independence in their children, or balance family tensions can all affect a gifted child’s mental health.

Families with multiple gifted members may encompass a wide range of characteristics including those who are extremely inquisitive, highly sensitive or possibly out-of-sync with peers. Although genetics has proven to have a strong influence on intellectual potential, the gifted child development if highly influenced by family values, goals and lifestyle. Parenting styles should encourage independence by finding a balance between permissiveness and authority, providing unstructured time, utilizing positive discipline, and access to enrichment opportunities.

Parents can strive to provide a supportive environment at home only to find that their child’s school environment may override their best intentions. Parents need to be aware of a school’s climate, take time to get involved in child’s school through volunteering and advocacy, and develop positive relationships with teachers and school personnel. They can encourage their child to participate in opportunities available at school, help their child find peer networks, and when necessary consider alternatives to traditional education strategies (i.e., homeschooling, Microschools).

Home-school relationships are an intricate part of encouraging student well-being and academic excellence. Strategies need to address SEL learning, cognitive development, and positive peer relationships at school. GT kids need opportunities beyond those normally experienced in the regular classroom. Teachers can collaborate with and look to expertise from parents to help in providing these educational opportunities.

A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.

Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at Noon NZST/10AM AEST/1AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.

Resources:

Biological and Environmental Influences on Intelligence (YouTube 3:40) | UT Austin

Environmental Influences on Intelligence

A Neurocomputational Model of Developmental Trajectories of Gifted Children under a Polygenic Model: When are Gifted Children held Back by Poor Environments? | National Institutes of Health

Family Environment and Social Development in Gifted Students (Abstract Only) | Gifted Child Quarterly

Considerations and Strategies for Parenting the Gifted Child | The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented

Parenting the Gifted and Talented Child: A Qualitative Inquiry of the Perceptions of Mothers Regarding their Unique Experiences in Raising Gifted and Talented Children (pdf Doctoral Dissertation LSU)

Bright but Bored: Optimising the Environment for Gifted Children (pdf) | Australian Journal of Early Childhood

Creating the Ideal Learning Environment for Gifted and Talented Students

The Joy and the Challenge: Parenting Gifted Children Readings and Resources (pdf)

Ten Suggestions for Parents of Gifted Children (pdf Webb)

Creativity, Motivation to Learn, Family Environment, and Giftedness: A Comparative Study

15 Ways to Help Gifted Students Thrive in School (pdf)

The Home Environment of Gifted Puerto Rican Children: Family Factors Which Support High Achievement (pdf)

Stimulating Gifted Toddlers and Preschoolers at Home

Optimal Environment for the Gifted Child

How to Nurture Your Gifted Child

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence

Childhood Environment affects Brain Growth and Function, a Series of New Studies Finds (2012)

Intelligence and How Environment Affects It

Activities for Gifted Toddlers: Finding Enrichment Opportunities for a Young Gifted Child

Early-Life Environment Influences Brain Growth and Behavior

Effect of Environmental Factors on Intelligence Quotient of Children | Industrial Psychiatry Journal

How Parents Can Support Gifted Children (Silverman) | Child Development Institute

Beyond Bloom: Revisiting Environmental Factors That Enhance or Impede Talent Development (pdf) | American Psychological Association

Synaptic Pruning Mechanisms in Learning (pdf)

Cybraryman’s Child Development Page

Cybraryman’s Early Literacy Page

Word Gap | Wikipedia

Lead Crime Hypothesis | Wikipedia

Photo courtesy of Pixabay Pixabay License

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.

Connecting the Gifted Community on Social Media

What are some positive ways to connect with the gifted community on social media? Take time to help new members on a platform – recommend people to follow on Twitter and welcome new group members on Facebook. Be sure you understand the intent of a tweet before responding. When you respond to tweets, be thoughtful, meaningful, and respectful. Share and retweet good news about the GT community, your students, and your child’s school/GT program.

Social networking has an effect on the way children are educated both at school and outside of it. There are both negative and positive effects to social media use by GT students. Although a way of life for most, some of these students are more at ease with face-to-face interaction. Adults need to be cognizant of individual needs. Isolation due to geography or contact with intellectual peers is a real concern for many GT students and social media can bridge the gap by bringing students together online.

How do we leverage social media as a pedagogical tool in the GT classroom? Teachers and admins can share information/success stories quickly on platforms like Twitter. Twitter is a great way to stay in touch with busy parents by using a dedicated hashtag. Twitter is a great platform for providing global feedback to students on their projects/assignments, for students to ask questions of experts, and to showcase student work on a broader stage. Facebook is constantly updating tools for student use including dedicated class pages, ways to post about upcoming events, and Facebook Live for broadcasting. Class blogs provide students a platform on which to share and archive for future use writing assignments with the ability to receive assessment and feedback through a comment section.

Integrating social media into school culture can become a powerful tool for connecting with faculty, parents, and the local community in real time in ways that were not available in the past. School admins can share school news on social networks, hold online meetings with parents, and provide professional development on gifted education for faculty and staff.

Social media platforms can provide useful networking for students seeking jobs/internships; finding mentors; collaborating on international projects; promoting personal/school success stories. They are already an intricate part of students’ lives outside of school. Connecting students with intellectual peers beyond their local schools is a logical step in creating community.

Meeting in real life can act as a validation of friendships and professional relationships begun online. It can enable further collaboration on community building by extending existing personal and professional networks. Within the gifted community, conferences are an important way of connecting with people you meet online. Tweetups can provide social context to relationships and serve to create a sense of community. A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.

Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at Noon NZST/10 AM AEST/1 AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.

Resources:

Connecting the Gifted Community

How Social Media is Reshaping Today’s Education System

22 Ways to Use Social Media in Your Classroom

Connecting with Faraway Teachers Via Social Media

Using Social Media to Be a Better Education Leader with Top Tweeting Principal Eric Sheninger

The Ups and Downs of Social Media

Contribution of Social Media to the Students’ Academic Development

10 Examples of the Positive Impact of Social Media

10 Ways to Use Twitter in Teaching

[Social Media] Staying Connected with Educator Network Twitter Chats

SENG Conference 2019

TAGT #giftED19 Conference

Cybraryman’s Social Media and Social Networking Page

Social Media Usage Motivations of Gifted Children

How to Provide High Aptitude Learners with Social and Emotional Supports

The Hottest Chat App for Teens Is … Google Docs

NAGC: Professional Learning

Global Education Conference

Image courtesy of Pixabay Pixabay License

Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.

Reassessing the Need for Soft Skills for Gifted Students

Soft skills – aka non-cognitive skills or social-emotional learning skills – can be categorized in many ways. In school, we consider communication skills, problem solving skills, critical thinking and concise writing. They also involve resilience, resourcefulness, integrity, ambition … habits that improve learning. Soft skills revolve around the realization that mastery is an ongoing process and not based on hard and fast rules. Soft skills can be applied in any circumstance one chooses to use them.

Considering that soft skills need to be taught even though hard to measure; skills such as self-regulation, flexibility when faced with new situations and motivation to get things done can all help students succeed. Career success must embody the adoption of soft skills such as dependability, adaptability, working on a team while maintaining positive relationships with others. Other invaluable skills include stress management, facilitation and leadership. Advanced soft skills are necessary for career advancement; skills often needed earlier in life for GT students and include networking skills, negotiating skills, savvy self-promotion, and the skill of persuasion.

Academic expectations for GT students are extremely high throughout the school day … expected to be leaders, independent learners, team leaders, great communicators … all of which can lead to burnout. GT students and their teachers are mainly focused on academics and achievement; easily measurable expectations. Soft skills may be overlooked, but necessary for these students just as they are for all students. Many GT students struggle with interpersonal relationships, dealing with failure and perfectionism, working in class with age-peers. They need to be taught perseverance, flexibility, regulating emotions.

How do soft skills help our 2e kids to be successful? The very nature of twice-exceptional students – having needs to be met, but often misdiagnosed or mis-judged … calls for nurturing of soft skills in their everyday life. When 2e kids are given the tools to succeed; they can live a more fulfilled life without the stresses associated with social and emotional setbacks.

Soft skills need to be taught and well-prepared teachers are essential for this task. The most simple soft skills – reading social cues, socializing with age-peers, respecting others – are the foundation of a successful life. They can aid in self-confidence and emotional regulation.

Best practice for teaching soft skills begins in the realization that these skills aid in learning. Teachers who model excellent soft skills such as self-regulation, patience, and empathy will be the most successful. In teaching social skills, best practices values students’ voice and attitude towards education, school attendance, and behaviors. Student outcomes are dependent on more than test scores and achievements. Soft skills can be integrated into the curriculum through project and problem based learning, 20% time, and genius hour which encourage time-management, self-control and self-reflection on the educational process.

Parents of gifted students can reinforce soft skills outside the classroom by modeling these skills in their everyday life. Character building based programs can have wide ranging positive influence on their children. They can seek to build a positive relationship with their child’s teacher and school personnel. They can model the use of patience and perseverance in difficult relationships; seeking additional support when necessary. Parents who place value on soft skills are uniquely positioned to teach them at home as well and to focus on the benefits of future outcomes for success in their child’s life.

A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.

Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at 2PM NZST/Noon AEST/1 AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.