giftED22: Full Schedule

8:00am CST

Increasing Equity and Demystifying Giftedness in Emergent Bilingual Students (Identification Track)

Participants will examine how to demystify what it means for an Emergent Bilingual student to exhibit gifted characteristics. We will explore how an equity plan was developed to ensure inclusive practices are implemented to increase the identification of emergent bilingual students in G/T programs.

Speakers

Christin Kimball

G/T Specialist, Spring ISD

Christin Kimball currently works in the Advanced Academics Department of Spring Independent School District. Ms. Kimball has enjoyed working in gifted education for 16 years as a teacher, campus and now district level coordinator/specialist. Ms. Kimball is a graduate of Texas State... Read More →

Wednesday November 30, 2022 8:00am - 8:45am CST
Meyerland Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Identification and Assessment, Presentation

9:00am CST

Achieving Equity in Gifted Education through Identification, Interpretation and Programming

Racial, ethnic and socioeconomic inequality in gifted education is abundantly evident. For this to change, educators need to better understand equitable identification processes, the critical importance of culturally-free assessments, and practical, effective strategies for identifying and serving students of diversity in schools’ gifted programs. Join us for this interactive discussion.

Speakers

Dr. Dina Brulles

Gifted Master Program Coordinator, Arizona State University

Dina Brulles, Ph.D., is the Gifted Masters Program Coordinator at Arizona State University and the former Director of Gifted Education at Paradise Valley USD in Arizona. Dina has served as NAGC’s Governance Secretary and the board’s School District Representative. She received... Read More →

Kim Lansdowne

Executive Director, Herberger Young Scholars Academy

Dr. Kimberly Lansdowne is the founding Executive Director of the Herberger Young Scholars Academy, a secondary school for highly gifted students at Arizona State University. She received her doctorate at ASU in 2008 and has a lengthy career in teaching and administration at universities... Read More →

Wednesday November 30, 2022 9:00am - 10:00am CST
Texas Salon F

Identification and Assessment, Presentation

9:00am CST

Brilliance, Excellence, Equity and You: Understanding the Role We All Play in Increasing Representation in Gifted Education (Equity Track)

Through the lens of antiracism, participants in this mini-workshop will identify the ways internal, interpersonal, and structural racism impact who gets to be gifted as well as who gets to teach gifted. This will be an interactive workshop that will encourage participants to look within as well as around them to identify how implicit and explicit biases shape the picture of gifted education in the United States.

Speakers

Autumn A. Arnett

Executive Director, The Brilliance, Excellence, and Equity Project

Autumn A. Arnett is the inaugural executive director of the Brilliance, Excellence, and Equity Project, a nonprofit that works to increase the number of certified Black and Hispanic gifted educators. A self-described “former gifted kid,” Autumn is the author of “Let’s Stop... Read More →

Wednesday November 30, 2022 9:00am - 10:00am CST
Hunters Creek Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Identification and Assessment, Learning Lab

about Autumn A. Arnett is the inaugural executive director of the Brilliance, Excellence, and Equity Project, a nonprofit that works to increase the number of certified Black and Hispanic gifted educators. A self-described “former gifted kid,” Autumn is the author of “Let’s Stop Calling it an Achievement Gap,” and “Radical Ideas for Educating Black Children,” a workbook for educators looking to dive deeper into their antiracist journey. She is also the founder of A Black Child Can, a Texas-based nonprofit that advocates for better educational experiences for children across the state, and a frequent speaker on topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion in K-12 and higher education.

10:15am CST

Implementing The CASA Criteria for Evaluating Gifted and Talented Identification Systems: Cost, Alignment, Sensitivity, and Access (Identification Track)

In this session, we present the CASA criteria, a framework to evaluate identification systems according to their cost, alignment to services, sensitivity, and access. We believe these criteria would facilitate more-productive conversations over identification and continued growth and improvement for the field of gifted education.

Speakers

Lindsay Lee

Research Assistant Professor, East Tennessee State University

Lindsay Ellis Lee, Ph.D. is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at East Tennessee State University. She graduated from the University of North Texas (UNT) with a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Gifted and Talented Education. Lindsay’s... Read More →

Wednesday November 30, 2022 10:15am - 12:15pm CST
Meyerland Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Identification and Assessment, Deep Dive

8:00am CST

The Door to Opportunity Must Be Visible to the Invisible (Identification Track)

Scholars studying gifted and talented programming have identified the lack of representation within the ranks of underrepresented populations. However, communication geared towards these communities has proven to be a gatekeeper. The presenter aims to challenge the communication barriers that hinder inclusiveness and identify ways to bridge schools and communities.

Speakers

Dalvin Dunn

Graduate Student, Texas A&M University

Dalvin Dunn is a current Graduate Assistant for the Office of Diversity at Texas A&M University and an Adjunct professor for Lee College. Born and raised in Texarkana, Texas - he finds joy in helping students from rural and underrepresented areas succeed in post-secondary education._x000D__x000D_As... Read More →

Thursday December 1, 2022 8:00am - 8:45am CST
Meyerland Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Identification and Assessment, Campfire Conversation

11:00am CST

Measuring Growth for Advanced Learners (Identification Track)

Are your advanced learners growing academically? How much growth is enough? Are your programs having the desired effect? Measuring growth for advanced learners can be difficult. This session helps educators define growth in their system, review data best practices, and discuss the most useful approaches to measure growth.

Speakers

Melissa Hinshaw

Assessment Director, Northwestern University

Melissa Hinshaw is the Assessment Coordinator at Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development. Throughout her thirty-year career as an education professional, she has served as a classroom teacher, administrator, consultant and Account Manager for NWEA. You can find recent... Read More →

Thursday December 1, 2022 11:00am - 12:00pm CST
Meyerland Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Identification and Assessment, Presentation

11:00am CST

The Tangible Equity Equation for Rural Students: Transformative Practice for An Overlooked Gifted Population (Equity Track)

One of four public schools is rural. Advanced students attending these schools are among the most overlooked and underserved members of the gifted subpopulation. These students often lack the same kind of access to talent development as their urban and suburban peers. Learn about the case for strengthening gifted services in rural locales and about low-prep, low-cost instructional solutions that value their identities while expanding their possibilities.

Speakers

Clint Von Gundy

Director of Professional Learning, ThinkLaw

Clint spent the beginning of his career teaching English to gifted students in a Dallas/Fort Worth Suburb where he eventually became the lead humanities teacher at a magnet for highly gifted middle schoolers. He has also worked as a central office coordinator of secondary gifted services... Read More →

Thursday December 1, 2022 11:00am - 12:00pm CST
Hunters Creek Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Identification and Assessment, Presentation

4:30pm CST

Equity and Access (Identification Track)

This session will review the state enrollment numbers and how to review local data to evaluate your G/T services for how reflective your district or charter G/T population. Then develop an action plan for equitable access to identification and services.

Speakers

Monica Brewer

Gifted/Talented Education Statewide Coordinator, Texas Education Agency

Monica Brewer is a Statewide Coordinator, Gifted/Talented (G/T) Education with the Texas Education Agency. In this role, Monica coordinates all aspects of G/T education and the Commissioner’s Advisory Council for Gifted/Talented Education. Monica is a qualified leader and holds... Read More →

Thursday December 1, 2022 4:30pm - 5:30pm CST
Meyerland Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Identification and Assessment, Learning Lab/Workshop

8:00am CST

Identifying Science Giftedness (Identification Track)

Science giftedness is a sparsely researched area of giftedness that is usually identified through content areas other than science. A tool is presented for use with middle school-aged students in science classrooms. The tool includes a Science Giftedness Framework with distinct, discernable characteristics based on input from teachers and researchers.

Speakers

Shari Hiltbrand

SOAR (GT STEM) Teacher & STEM Innovation Specialist, St. John Paul II Catholic School

Dr. Shari Hiltbrand is a career middle school science and STEM classroom teacher who is dedicated to producing engaged and enthusiastic learners who have the ability to create, collaborate, communicate, think critically, and problem-solve. In her third decade of teaching science... Read More →

Friday December 2, 2022 8:00am - 8:45am CST
Meyerland Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Identification and Assessment, Learning Lab/Workshop

9:00am CST

CANCELLED: Misconceptions of Giftedness: Improving Teacher Referrals (Identification Track)

Providing gifted services to diverse student groups has been an important in gifted education. However, these students are often not referred for gifted services due to commonly held misconceptions. This presentation seeks to address these misconceptions of giftedness and provide a framework for educators to identify often overlooked gifted individuals.

Speakers

Tedd Flemister

GT Researcher, University of North Texas

Tedd Flemister is currently a doctoral student at the University of North Texas with their concertation in Gifted and Talented Education. They have Masters in education and a teaching certification in secondary social studies. They're primary research focus is how to improve gifted... Read More →

Jade Skidmore

PhD Student and GT Researcher, University of North Texas

Jade Skidmore is a school counselor and licensed professional counselor (LPC) and has worked in K-12 education for over 10 years. Jade is currently a doctoral student at the University of North Texas studying School Psychology with a concentration in Gifted and Talented Education... Read More →

Friday December 2, 2022 9:00am - 9:45am CST
Texas B Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Identification and Assessment, Deep Dive

9:00am CST

Interpreting Different Types of Local Norm Scores

This presentation focuses on how tests are used at the report generation stage– including selecting local reference samples and interpreting local norm reports. An interactive case study working with real data from a Texas school district examining the reported scores for multiple measures will demonstrate how to examine Representation Indices.

Speakers

Mikkel Maharaj

Research Scientist, Multi-Health Systems (MHS)

Mikkel Maharaj is a Research Scientist at Multi-Health Systems (MHS). She completed her MA in Child Study and Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, with a focus on cross-curricular literacy instruction and reading disabilities in... Read More →

Mathangi Selvamenan

Koby Stringer

Gifted & Talented Services Administrator, Lewisville ISD

Koby Stringer is the Elementary Gifted & Talented Services Administrator for Lewisville Independent School District. This is his 25th year in public education. Past roles include teacher of gifted students, campus administrator, and district curriculum supervisor.

Friday December 2, 2022 9:00am - 9:45am CST
Texas Salon C

Identification and Assessment, Presentation