6th Biennial State Conference
Igniting Talent:
Toddlers to Teens
September 6 - 8, 2013
Elizabeth College, North Hobart
Presenters and Abstracts
The following presenters and sessions are confirmed:
Linda Silverman
Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical and counseling psychologist. She directs the Institute
for the Study of Advanced Development, and its subsidiaries, the Gifted Development Center
[www.gifteddevelopment.com] and Visual-Spatial Resource [www.visualspatial.org], in Denver, Colorado.
In the last 33 years, she has studied 6,000 children who have been assessed at GDC, the largest data bank on
this population. This research enabled the creation of extended norms on the WISC-IV and WPPSI-IV. Her
Ph.D. is in educational psychology and special education from the University of Southern California. For
nine years, she served on the faculty of the University of Denver in counseling psychology and gifted
education. She has been studying the psychology and education of the gifted since 1961 and has written over
300 articles, chapters and books, including Counseling the Gifted and Talented, Upside-Down Brilliance: The
Visual-Spatial Learner and Advanced Development: A Collection of Works on Gifted Adults. Her latest
book, Giftedness 101, was released in December, 2012 (New York: Springer).
UPSIDE-DOWN BRILLIANCE: THE VISUAL-SPATIAL
LEARNER
Over one-third of the students in regular classrooms are visual-spatial learners (VSLs), with higher
percentages among the gifted and culturally diverse. Yet, these children are at-risk, since school fails
to address their learning style. VSLs have highly active right hemispheres, enabling them to see the
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big picture. They take great intuitive leaps, often seeing the answer all at once in a great, “A-Ha!” and
cannot show their work. They need time to translate their pictures into words. Let them reach
conclusions in their own way. Use more visuals and fewer words. Give them access to computers and
let them type their assignments. Grade their ideas separately from their spelling. Let them demonstrate
mastery in other ways besides written assignments (e.g., PowerPoint presentations, photographic
essays, dioramas, etc.). You can make all the difference in their lives.
THROUGH THE LENS OF GIFTEDNESS
Giftedness creates a different organization of the Self. It is a ground of experience that differs
significantly from the norm. Yet, because gifted individuals look like everyone else and often can
pretend to be like everyone else, they are usually judged by a set of standards based on the norm.
Professionals recognize that those who are developmentally delayed have a unique set of
characteristics and issues, but the set of challenges that face the gifted are not as clearly understood.
Behaviors typical of the gifted population may be misjudged as dysfunctional, while significant
weaknesses may go undetected: high abstract reasoning abilities often enable the gifted to compensate
well enough to score within the average range. The asynchronous developmental patterns of gifted
children suggest that certain deficits may enhance other aptitudes. The gifted Self is injured when its
gifts are perceived as defects. All who work with the gifted need to be aware of what is characteristic
of gifted individuals in order to recognize what is atypical for this population, rather than comparing
the gifted to norms for the general population.
IF OUR CHILD IS SO SMART, WHY AREN’T OUR LIVES
EASIER?
Gifted children are expensive and time-consuming. They usually need less sleep than you do, ask
more questions than you can answer, want 100 percent of your attention 24 hours a day, have
obsessive hobbies, react intensely to everything, endlessly long for a best friend who understands them
completely, hold perfectionistic standards for themselves and you, want to know the meaning of life
when other children only want to know how to whistle, and keep their bedrooms in a condition you
can never show company. In order to be the perfect parent, you need unlimited funds, unlimited
patience, an encyclopedic mind, and someone to sleep for you. In this session, we will be discussing
such issues as coping with the characteristics of giftedness; siblings and birth order; understanding
introversion; gender issues; and keys to successful parenting. You will receive an owner’s manual,
“Guidelines for Parents of the Gifted,” which contains suggestions for harmonious family life. There
will be a question and answer period, but I don’t have all the answers. Trust Yourself! No one knows
your child better than you do.
STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING VISUAL-SPATIAL
LEARNERS
The higher a child’s IQ, the more likely that child is to be a visual-spatial learner. Validation studies
with our Visual-Spatial Identifier have shown that over one-third of the students in regular classrooms
are visual-spatial learners. Anecdotally, we have found that three-fourths of gifted children are visualspatial. They take great intuitive leaps. They have highly active right hemispheres, enabling them to
see the big picture. They often see the answer all at once in a great, “A-Ha!” They find step-by-step
learning tedious. They need time to visualize how all the parts are related to a whole; they need to be
allowed to reach conclusions in their own way; they may need more time to translate their mental
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images into words and numbers; they need more visuals and fewer words; they need more access to
computers; their work needs to be evaluated separately for their ideas and their mechanics; and they
need other opportunities to demonstrate mastery besides writing assignments (e.g., PowerPoint
presentations, photographic essays, dioramas, etc.). This session will focus on strategies for reaching
these learners.
Michele Juratowitch
Michele Juratowitch, Director of Clearing Skies, provides training and support services (including
counselling) for gifted children, parents and teachers. She has been a lecturer in the Certificate of Gifted
Education at GERRIC, UNSW. Michele was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study counselling and
intervention needs for gifted children.
Twiddling Thumbs: The Adult Guide to Gifted Gamers
Are gifted youth simply “twiddling their thumbs” and wasting time when they play electronic games?
Gifted students use games for a variety of reasons, to: entertain; relax; offset boredom; stimulate;
provide challenge; gain status; facilitate social acceptance and develop friendships. Cognitive and
social benefits as well as skill acquisitions have been associated with electronic gaming. There are
risks associated with extended play and specific types of games.
Some gifted students become obsessed with playing games and conflicts arise when parents,
concerned about addictive behaviour, try to establish limits on the amount of time students are
involved in play. Understanding the structure of electronic games, the neuroscience associated with
play and the impact of gaming on gifted students’ emotions, drives, behaviour patterns and academic
achievement will assist families and teachers to understand the reasons why gifted students become
obsessive gamers and help them to establish reasonable limits.
Advocacy: Effective Processes and Strategies
Parents have a right and responsibility to speak up on behalf of the gifted child who has specific
educational and support needs; however parents can only be effective advocates when the advocacy
process is well understood and effective strategies implemented. Research has indicated that most
parents don’t know when, how or to what extent to advocate on behalf of their child. Parents of gifted
children find it difficult to advocate on behalf of a gifted child who needs additional challenge;
especially when a twice-exceptional child has complex needs and specific requirements.
Parent advocacy must adjust according to a child’s development; from being a toddler to becoming a
teen; as s/he moves from pre-school through primary, secondary and into tertiary education. Parents,
unsure about the appropriate interventions, provisions and services to request, will benefit from
developing practical strategies to use when advocating for their child.
Social Relationships: Fitting In and Standing Out
Belonging and social acceptance are basic human needs. Gifted youth differ from other children in the
ways in which they think, feel, communicate and behave. In playground cultures where conformity is
expected, gaining social acceptance and establishing true friendships can be more difficult for gifted
students. Perceptions and expectations of friendship are influenced by the child’s temperament,
intellectual ability, developmental stage and previous experiences.
Characteristics, prevalent among the gifted, make these children particularly vulnerable to the
emotional impact of being bullied and excluded from social groups. Research indicates that gifted
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students are more frequently bullied. There are developmental stages when pronounced social pressure
to conform contributes towards academic underachievement. Parents and teachers who understand
gifted students’ socio-affective needs and factors that impact upon social dynamics are able to promote
safe, inclusive environments and support gifted students in developing social skills, positive
relationships and enduring friendships.
The ‘Rights’ of Passage: Toddler to Teen Progression
At each stage of development, there are factors to be considered and acted upon if we are to ensure
that that the gifted child has the right to unimpeded passage; to progress smoothly from the toddler
stage to becoming an independent young adult. Developmental issues and educational needs can create
points of vulnerability for the gifted child. An examination of critical transition points highlights
various influences that can impact a gifted child’s progression through school.
Awareness of forthcoming issues can forearm parents and educators, prompting discussions,
development of specific skills and pre-emptive decisions related to the next stage of development.
Ensuring that students have access to the right learning environment; making sure that the right
conditions are in place for emotional wellbeing and academic achievement as they progress towards
adulthood will enable gifted students to celebrate their own rites of passage.
Debbie Youd
I am a registered teacher and psychologist with over 30 years of experience in the area of education. I hold a
Graduate Certificate of Education - Gifted Education and a Master of Education and have a long standing
involvement in gifted education as a parent, teacher and psychologist. I have extensive experience in
assessing, identifying, counselling and teaching gifted students, as well as delivering professional learning to
schools and teachers as both a university lecturer and consultant in a number of areas, related to both gifted
education and teaching more generally. I have also worked extensively with parents to support gifted children.
My specific areas of expertise include assessing and identifying gifted children, curriculum differentiation,
underachievement and learning disabled gifted students.
Igniting Talent in Underachieving Students Workshop
One of the challenges faced by teachers and parents alike is how to ignite the passion for and
excitement of learning in gifted students who are underachieving. Underachievement occurs when
students are not working to their potential and under perform in the classroom, and when students
underachieve it is unlikely that they will realise their potential and demonstrate talented behaviour.
This session will explore some of the causes of underachievement as well as look at some of the
catalysts that are necessary if we are to ignite talent in these students and have them performing at
their potential.
Igniting Talent through Differentiated Task Design Workshop
Task Design is the design of those tasks that make up the curriculum and learning experiences to meet
specified purposes, and if teachers are to meet the needs of all students in a classroom and move
students from being gifted to talented, they must be able to design teaching and learning tasks that are
challenging, engaging and empowering and assist students to achieve success and realise their
competence as learners. This session will look at what makes an effective task as well as examine a
range of different tools that teachers can use to design differentiated tasks that allow them to cater for
gifted students in their classrooms using the Australian Curriculum.
Igniting Talent Through Differentiated Practices in the
Classroom
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‘Differentiation’ is a term often used to describe a responsive approach to instruction that is necessary
if gifted students are to develop their potential and ignite their talent in the classroom. Whilst almost
all teachers recognise the importance of differentiating instruction as a key way to achieve this, many
teachers still don’t use differentiation effectively in the classroom. Not only are they unsure about
what differentiation actually is, but they are also unclear about how it can be made both worthwhile
and manageable in mainstream classroom settings in order to cater for gifted students especially given
the increased focus on standards based teaching and national testing. This session will provide an
overview of what we mean by differentiated instruction and why it is necessary within the classroom,
and examine a range of practical instructional strategies and tools that teachers can use in the
classroom in order to differentiate the curriculum.
Ms Carmel Meehan President VAGTC and Dr Susan Nikakis Vice
President VAGTC.
What is it in the new and ever evolving Australian Curriculum
in 2013 and beyond that Fosters Creativity in the Gifted and
Talented Student?
Dr LeoNora Cohen, Professor of Education at Oregon State University USA writes ‘We need to
place gifted education in a broader perspective by developing creativity as part of talent’. One of the
ideas that we haven’t delved into enough in Australia is how gifted education can ignite this talent.
Acknowledging that we are educating for an uncertain future teachers are challenged to ensure that
students have skills as well as knowledge for their future. In the new ACARA document creativity
dovetails with the underpinning philosophies surrounding gifted education and the vital place of
creativity plays in the teaching and learning process.
Exploring models of creative tools Carmel and Susan will emphasize that creativity is inherent in the
learning process for both gifted toddlers and gifted teens.
To Register: http://www.trybooking.com/CJRL
TAG is a non-profit, parent-based organisation dedicated to sharing information and promoting awareness of the needs of gifted children.
Tasmanian Association for the Gifted Inc ABN: 97 898 651 769
GPO Box 1942 Hobart Tas 7001 PHONE 0488 291 497
EMAIL tasgifted@gmail.com
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