GAM 2024 Conference (Gifted Association of Missouri)

How might educators begin to create an equitable impact for all gifted learners, including neurodivergent learners in their classrooms? This session teaches participants about research-based activities and tools for how to spot talent and strengths in all gifted learners. With practice, participants can apply these tools in their classrooms to seek additional understanding of their students’ strengths, talents, and interests. In turn, these best practices will allow educators to increase their familiarity, knowledge, and skills to refer neurodivergent learners for gifted services in K-12 settings. 

While some gifted students sail through school with few to no academic problems, others struggle to be engaged with school.  Sadly, as gifted students travel through their academic careers, school motivation often decreases.  Maintaining and building motivation can be challenging in both the regular classroom (where student achievement levels might span seven years) and in gifted programming (where student strengths can be remarkably diverse).  Fortunately, motivation is not a fixed trait; it is malleable and can be cultivated.  To best help gifted students maximize enthusiasm for learning and academic drive, educators need to be familiar with this particular experience, understand the nuances of motivation, and employ strategies to nurture it.  Within this session, biopsychosocial development of gifted adolescents, mechanics of theories regarding motivation, classroom techniques to build associated skills, and general tips and pitfalls will be addressed, because being intellectually gifted, in and of itself, does not guarantee life success.  

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. 

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.

No kid ever came with a handbook - and gifted kids certainly don’t! To add to the parenting challenge, being a gifted parent can be isolating when your kid’s interests, wins & challenges are often so different than their peers! Rest assured - you are NOT alone - there are other parents living the ups & downs of gifted parenting!  We all know gifted kids need support from parents - and to give that support, parents need support from each other!  But how do we find each other??  In her presentation, Jenny Long will share with her the strategies she has employed over 20 years of parenting gifted kids to find YOUR people, get the support YOU need and create and keep networks of support for yourself as a gifted parent.  
 

This session discusses an after school enrichment program called “Think Like an Engineer” that taught students in grades 3-6 the Engineering Design Process. Grandview R-II School District used this as a fundraiser for the gifted program.  In the 6-week course, students participated in various hands-on engineering challenges.  Engineers in the workforce recorded short videos for the class. The focus was critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and growth mindset. In the session, the structure of the course will be explained and attendees will have the opportunity to participate in some of the activities!