The Hormel Foundation Gifted and Talented Symposium

Gifted education is only as equitable as the students with the most marginalized identities experience it to be. Equitable access in gifted education is a civil rights issue that has far reaching implications in education and beyond. Students from diverse populations have been disproportionately represented in gifted programs across the nation and it is imperative that we address this issue. Underrepresentation does not have to be the narrative for culturally, linguistically and or economically disadvantaged scholars. Participants will hear practical steps that must be considered to widen access to students whose academic and social and emotional trajectory depend on our advocacy.

April Wells is the Gifted Coordinator in Illinois School District U-46, where she facilitated the redesign of the District’s gifted program in 2012-2013. April Serves on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Association for Gifted Children, and she has presented at conferences including Illinois Association for Gifted Children, National Association for Gifted Children, the Statewide Conference for Teachers Serving Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students, The College of William and Mary Center for Gifted Education, Programs for Talented Youth at Vanderbilt University. Her interests focus on equity pedagogy, underrepresented learners, developing gifted continuum of services and providing instructional supports that allow students to maximize their pursuits. She received one of the 2018 Gifted Coordinator Awards from the National Association for Gifted Children. Her first book, Achieving Equity in Gifted Programming: Dismantling Barriers and Tapping Potential will be available in the fall of 2019.

Stephen Pruitt's keynote will provide a personal perspective of key events in his life that changed his career and perspective on both gifted/science education and education in general. The keynote will inspire you to find the four words that changed your life and the lives of the many students our teachers change every day.

Stephen Pruitt started his education career as a high school chemistry teacher in Fayetteville and Tyrone, Georgia. During his career, Dr. Pruitt has amassed an extensive policy, assessment and instructional background in education at the local, state and national levels. In May 2018, the Southern Regional Education Board unanimously voted to hire Dr. Pruitt as President.

Prior to this appointment, Dr. Pruitt served as Kentucky's sixth commissioner of education. Before coming to Kentucky, Dr. Pruitt served as senior vice president for Achieve, Inc., a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit education reform organization based in Washington, D.C. During his tenure with Achieve, he coordinated the development of the Next Generation Science Standards. Additionally, Dr. Pruitt served as the science and mathematics program manager and director of academic standards with the Georgia Department of Education. Subsequently, he was named associate state superintendent for assessment and accountability and ultimately chief of staff for the Georgia Department of Education.

Pruitt also served as a board member to the Council of Chief State School Officers, president of the Council of State Science Supervisors and a member of the writing team for the College Board Standards for College Success (Science). In addition, he served on the National Academies of Science Committee on Conceptual Framework for New Science Education Standards that developed the Framework for K-12 Science Education – a foundational document for the Next Generation Science Standards.

A native of Georgia, Dr. Pruitt holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from North Georgia College and State University, a master's degree in science education from the University of West Georgia and a Doctorate of Philosophy in chemistry education from Auburn University.

What did Einstein, Edison, Marie Curie, and JFK all have in common?

They were all inveterate doodlers. Understandably, research shows that doodling boosts retention, creative thinking, and problem solving. Doodlers retain 29% more information over time. And, let’s not forget that doodling is fun! Further, everyone can doodle!! No drawing skill is required. So, I ask, “Have you had your doodle today?” Ready? Let’s pick up our pens, doodle, explore, and play.

Dr. Susan Daniels is co-founder and Educational Director of the Summit Center, a psycho-educational clinic in the Bay Area specializing in the needs of gifted, creative, and 2e students – as well as Professor of Educational Psychology and Counseling at California State University, San Bernardino. Dr. Daniels is an internationally recognized expert in the field of gifted education, creativity, and visual learning and teaching. She is co-author of Raising Creative Kids (Great Potential Press, 2013), and co-editor and co-author of Living with Intensity (Great Potential Press, 2008). Her most recent book, Visual Learning and Teaching, was published by Free Spirit in 2018. Dr. Daniels consults with schools and provides professional development in the areas of gifted education, creativity, and visual learning and teaching.

This session focuses on the core elements of a curriculum framework necessary to deliver high-powered curriculum and instruction to the gifted student while allowing other students to benefit. The focus is on (1) what curriculum must be differentiated for the gifted only from that which can be used with all learners, (2) what instructional strategies work well with all students, and (3) what assessment tools must be added to know how gifted students are growing. What do classrooms look like that are serving all students well, and how are gifted students served as a part of that? Insights from classroom visitations are included to provide tools and tips for implementing exemplary programs for the gifted. The handout packet available online features walk-through indicators to judge effective classrooms.

Joyce VanTassel-Baska is the Jody and Layton Smith Professor Emerita of Education and founding director of the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary in Virginia where she developed a graduate program and a research and development center in gifted education from 1987-2009. She also initiated and directed the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University for five years from 1982-1987. Prior to her work in higher education, Dr. VanTassel-Baska served as the state director of gifted programs for Illinois (1976-1979), as a regional director of a gifted service center in the Chicago area (1979-1982), as coordinator of gifted programs for the Toledo, Ohio public school system (1973-1976), and as a teacher of gifted high school students in English and Latin (1965-1972). She has worked as a consultant on gifted education in all 50 states and for key national groups, including the U.S. Department of Education, National Association of Secondary School Principals, and American Association of School Administrators.