GAM 2024 Conference (Gifted Association of Missouri): Full Schedule

We can’t wait to see all of us in Columbia!

Registration

Registration starting Sept 1: $350

Click here to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2024-gifted-association-of-missouri-annual-conference-registration-879505032227

PLC Hours

For teachers who need professional learning clock hours, this conference provides 7.5 hours of content on the nature and needs of gifted, advanced, and neurodiverse learners. Certificates of attendance will be provided for attendees who request a certificate.

Parking
Hitt Street Parking Garage Visitor Parking: Please see the Mizzou parking policies for more information. Kiosks or a phone app are available for payments.

2024 Preferred Hotels

Hampton Inn & Suites at the University of Missouri

1225 Fellows Place, Columbia, MO 65201

573-214-2222

October 6-8

Rate of $125/night is good October 3 - 11 for extended stays.
Guests responsible for individual rooms and charges.
Rooms will be released back to the public on September 9, 2024.
Free breakfast, free parking, free wifi, and indoor pool/fitness.

Online Reservations Link: https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/deeplink/?ctyhocn=COUUMHX&groupCode=CHH91A&arrivaldate=2024-10-06&departuredate=2024-10-08&cid=OM,WW,HILTONLINK,EN,DirectLink&fromId=HILTONLINKDIRECT

Reservations may also be made by calling the hotel.

Drury Plaza Hotel - Columbia East

3100 Interstate 70 Dr SE, Columbia, MO 65201

573-441-0090

Rate is $124 for stays during October 6 - 8.
Free breakfast, free parking, free wifi, free evening reception, and indoor pool/fitness center
Released back to public on September 4, 2024.

Online Reservation Link:

https://www.druryhotels.com/bookandstay/newreservation/?groupno=10104045

Reservations may also be made by calling 1-800-325-0720 and referring to your group number 10104045.

Break-out Session Schedule-at-a-Glance (See full schedule on tab)

2:45pm CDT

Intelligence and Intimate Relationships: What the Gifted Population Needs in a Partner

Monday October 7, 2024 2:45pm - 3:30pm CDT

N214 C

Relationships and community are the number one key to happiness, as discovered by a Harvard research study, and gifted relationships should be no exception. Based on a research project completed by Mizzou student Lauren Huff in 2023-24, this presentation describes what traits are beneficial for gifted individuals to have in a partner, and offers suggestions on how to handle common conflicts that may arise in a relationship where one or both partners are gifted. Anyone curious about how to improve their own relationships, or what to look for when exploring potential partners, can benefit from this presentation.

Speakers

Lauren Huff

Student, University of Missouri-Columbia

Monday October 7, 2024 2:45pm - 3:30pm CDT
N214 C

Unity

Audience Educators, Administrators, Parents, Teens

3:45pm CDT

Empowering and Powering Down Perfectionism

Monday October 7, 2024 3:45pm - 4:30pm CDT

N214 C

Sometimes perfectionism is necessary, required, and beneficial; sometimes perfectionism impairs decision making, progress, and communication. Thus, we ought not eradicate perfectionism, but rather hone and channel it. Adults can help gifted students struggling with maladaptive perfectionism decrease adverse thinking patterns and behaviors. To do so, we must understand perfectionism, identify indicators of it, identify if it’s appropriate, decrease negative perfectionism, and promote positive perfectionism. These themes are addressed in this session, along with strategies that can be implemented within the regular classroom, gifted classroom, and in the home, with the goal of helping these students become more balanced and adaptable.

Speakers

Dr. Brandi Klepper

Psychologist, A Place To Grow, LLC

Monday October 7, 2024 3:45pm - 4:30pm CDT
N214 C

SEL

Audience Administrators, Educators, Parents, Teens

9:15am CDT

Creating Advocates: Gifted Education Awareness Week

Tuesday October 8, 2024 9:15am - 10:00am CDT

N201 A

Are you ready to become an advocate for gifted education, then teach your students how to be an advocate? Creating advocates is a unit designed to teach the Missouri Gifted Learner Outcome skills of communication and advocacy to address the lack of awareness around gifted education. In this session you will learn how to introduce and implement the four forms of communication; verbal, nonverbal, written, and visual. You will then learn how to introduce and teach The Art of Persuasion using ethos, logos, and pathos for the purpose of advocacy. These two concepts are combined when students produce a real-world product to persuade the Missouri State Board of Education to declare Gifted Education Awareness Week. Finally, join other gifted educators, students, and programs across Missouri during the second full week of February to raise awareness about gifted education. Bonus, basic advocacy skills can be transferred to ANY topic you or your students are passionate about!

Speakers

Phoebe Pohlman

Gifted/Talented and Enrichment Teacher, Perry County School District #32

I am a second year gifted/talented teacher in a rural school district in Southeast Missouri. I am the only gifted teacher in my building. I initiated an enrichment program in grades K-1 in my school district to reach high potential learning students to help increase the number of... Read More →

Tuesday October 8, 2024 9:15am - 10:00am CDT
N201 A

Advocacy

Audience Administrators, Educators, Parents, Teens

10:15am CDT

Your brain at play - the cognition of joy

Tuesday October 8, 2024 10:15am - 11:00am CDT

N214 A

Play is the purest expression of our humanity. What is happening in our brain when we play? How can we incorporate more play into the lives of our gifted children? And how can we get better at play as adults? Some say we are most alive when we play. Let's get better at it.

Speakers

Dr. Denise Ford

Gifted Teacher, Kirkwood School District

Passionate about Gifted Education, innovation, creativity, and learning.

Tuesday October 8, 2024 10:15am - 11:00am CDT
N214 A

SEL

Audience Educators, Parents, Teens