Today I got to watch one of my Gifted & Talent Development Resource Teachers defend her dissertation (she passed!). Her dissertation explored the talent development journeys of students preparing for careers in aviation. Grounded in Gagne’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT), her work examined how real learners move from early interest to emergingContinue reading “What Future Aviators Teach Us About How Talent Grows”
Category Archives: Gifted Education Conferences
#NAGC25: Session Reviews Wrap-Up
Wow! I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed going through all of my notes from the 2025 NAGC Annual Convention to create the 12 session reviews I’ve been posting for the past 2 weeks or so. Writing them brought everything I learned at the convention into clear focus, and this process helped me decideContinue reading “#NAGC25: Session Reviews Wrap-Up”
#NAGC25 Session Overview: Leveraging Talent Development to Identify Underrepresented Gifted Learners
This year at NAGC25, I had the privilege of presenting alongside Dr. Kimberly Beckerdite from Newport News Public Schools (VA) and Esther Gencheva from Baltimore City Public Schools (MD) on a topic that is both urgent and energizing: how intentional Talent Development practices can expand access to gifted services for students who are too oftenContinue reading “#NAGC25 Session Overview: Leveraging Talent Development to Identify Underrepresented Gifted Learners”
#NAGC25 Session Review: Excellence and Innovation in Secondary Gifted Education
Felicia Dixon, PhD (Ball State University) and Todd Kettler, PhD (Baylor University) started this session with a reminder: in our work with gifted adolescents, our role is not to teach students what to think, but how to think. To help achieve this goal, Dr. Kettler offered a bold redefinition of secondary gifted education due toContinue reading “#NAGC25 Session Review: Excellence and Innovation in Secondary Gifted Education”
#NAGC25 Session Review- Building Collaboration and Buy-In: Talent Development Services that Leverage MTSS
Presented by Susan Corwith, PhD and Eric Calvert, EdD, from the Northwestern University Center for Talent Development One of the biggest challenges in gifted education is not simply designing strong services- it’s building the shared understanding and buy-in needed to make those services work. This session offered a powerful, practical roadmap for aligning Talent DevelopmentContinue reading “#NAGC25 Session Review- Building Collaboration and Buy-In: Talent Development Services that Leverage MTSS”
NAGC25 Session Review- The Past, Present, and Future of Identification: Reframing for Purpose and Equity
This session by Amy Lynne Shelton, PhD and Kathryn Thompson, PhD, from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth was a great reminder for gifted educators about the connection between a strong gifted identification system and the gifted program to which it is connected. In gifted education, identification is often misunderstood. Critics ask whetherContinue reading “NAGC25 Session Review- The Past, Present, and Future of Identification: Reframing for Purpose and Equity”
NAGC25 Session Review- Thinking Outside the Bot: Leveraging AI to Develop Gifted Superpowers
This session was HANDS-DOWN one of my favorites that I attended! I learned so much (plus I’m a huge Emily Mofield fan), and I plan to take back everything all my new knowledge to my Gifted & Talent Development Resource Teachers team. At this year’s NAGC conference, Dr. Emily Mofield (Lipscomb University) and Dr. BrianContinue reading “NAGC25 Session Review- Thinking Outside the Bot: Leveraging AI to Develop Gifted Superpowers”
NAGC25 Session Review: Using Subject Acceleration to Support Talent Development
Reflections from a Session with Wendy Behrens, M.A.Ed. and Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, Ph.D. At this year’s NAGC conference, I had the chance to attend an excellent session led by Wendy Behrens, M.A.Ed., Gifted Education Specialist for the Minnesota Department of Education, and Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, Ph.D., Administrator of the Acceleration Institute and Research at the University ofContinue reading “NAGC25 Session Review: Using Subject Acceleration to Support Talent Development”
NAGC25 Session Review: Motivation and Giftedness: What the Research Says and Why It Matters
My reflections from Dr. Pamela Clinkenbeard’s #NAGC25 Session As educators of gifted and high ability learners, we talk a lot about challenge, potential, and talent development. What we do not talk about nearly enough is motivation. At NAGC25, Dr. Pamela Clinkenbeard delivered a powerful session that blended neuroscience, classic motivation theory, and everyday classroom practice.Continue reading “NAGC25 Session Review: Motivation and Giftedness: What the Research Says and Why It Matters”
NAGC25 Session Review: Bite Size Arts Integration Strategies to Have Learners Wanting More
Presented by Amanda O’Neil and Bobbie Parmann, Las Vegas Charter School Gifted Educators At NAGC25, I had the chance to sit in on a session that reminded me why the arts should never sit on the sidelines of our instructional planning. Amanda O’Neil and Bobbie Parmann shared practical, bite size arts integration strategies they useContinue reading “NAGC25 Session Review: Bite Size Arts Integration Strategies to Have Learners Wanting More”
Teaching for Talent 