Advanced Academics

Books, Bags, and Brainbusters: A Make and Take Workshop to Increase Student Engagement
Participants will go beyond "hands-on" activities and engage in "minds on" activities that can be easily and quickly implemented into elementary classrooms in all four core areas. This workshop will inspire creativity and increase enthusiasm for the education of our gifted students. This training qualifies as a 6 hour GT update.

Cluster Vs. Sprinkle: What Do We Do With Our Gifted Students?
During this interactive workshop, principals and teachers will identify the components of the old, but new cluster grouping format, create gifted clustered classrooms, design new action plans for campus GT services, and participate in the appropriate instructional strategies for gifted and high ability students. This low cost model will provide differentiated instruction on a daily basis to gifted students in reading and or math as well as improve achievement for all students. Among the teaching strategies that will be modeled are: Advanced levels of the Sandra Kaplan's icons, law related simulations, literature studies, and the 2-5-8 instructional plan. There will be lots of activities and sharing of 'GT services that Work.' Campus principals with grade level teachers are encouraged to attend and plan together. Suggested reading: The Cluster Grouping Handbook; A School Wide Model, by Susan Winebrenner and Dina Brulles, Free Spirit Publishing, 2008. This training qualifies as a 6 hour GT update.

Gifted 30 Hour Training
This training is offered face-to-face throughout the year in two formats: Monday–Friday or on Saturdays. Completion of this training gives participants 30 hours of GT training. The modules include:
Day 1        Nature and Needs of Gifted and Talented Students
Day 2        Assessment and Programs for Gifted and Talented
Day 3        Differentiating Instruction for Gifted and Talented Students
Day 4        Designing Curriculum for Gifted and Talented Students
Day 5        Setting Standards for Gifted and Talented Students
This training is available only to educators in districts that are members of the Advanced Academics Cooperative.

Gifted Speakers Bureau
Looking for Gifted Education experts to share the hottest new research? Looking for the most renowned practitioners in the world of Gifted Ed to share their new and bold strategies? Region 10 has found them all and will be bringing them to the Dallas area! As speakers are confirmed, look for announcements of their sessions via the Advanced Academics listserv.

GT for Administrators
State law mandates all administrators working with the gifted program attend a basic six hour training. This training includes nature and needs of the gifted learner and program options, and it examines current state laws, issues, and trends in the field of gifted education. Participants are requested to bring the latest copy of the district Gifted Education Guidelines and a copy of the campus plan which integrates training for teachers of the gifted learner. Time is available for sharing best practices and clarification questions and answers. This session does not qualify for update certification and is not designed for teachers.

GT for Counselors
State law mandates all counselors working with the gifted program attend a basic six hour training. This training includes nature and needs of the gifted learner and program options, and it examines current state laws, issues, and trends in the field of gifted education. Participants are requested to bring the latest copy of the district Gifted Education Guidelines and a copy of the campus plan which integrates training for teachers of the gifted learner. Time is available for sharing best practices and clarification questions and answers. This session does not qualify for update certification and is not designed for teachers.

GT for Small Schools
Spend the day assessing your current GT services and planning for your future services. The morning will be an overview of realistic programs that can work for you including assessment tools. The afternoon schedule will include time for you to work specifically with a GT specialist about your individual district's program. This event is free to participants whose districts are members of the Advanced Academics Cooperative.

GT Leadership Meetings
Held quarterly, these meetings allow for information dissemination and networking among GT coordinators and leaders. These meetings are geographically clustered as well as offered via videoconference and streamed for those unable to attend.

Independent Investigation Method – Take the Fear Out of Research (K-5 or 6-12)
The Independent Investigation Method (IIM) is a seven-step teaching model that guides primary, elementary, and secondary students through the research process. IIM empowers teachers to combine their required curriculum with vital research skills, choosing from options for integration of state standards, the length of study, and students' grade, skills, and learning styles. This workshop is free to districts that are members of the Advanced Academics Cooperative. There is a $50 supply fee for the materials. This training qualifies as a 6 hour GT update.

IIM Advanced NEW
This workshop is for participants who have previously completed Independent Investigation Method training. Strategies will go deeper and are more complex. This training is for participants whose districts are members of the Advanced Academics Cooperative and qualifies as a 6 hour GT update.

Pay it Forward: Service Learning for GT Students K-12 NEW
Service Learning is a component of leadership, which is one of the possible identifiers for giftedness. This session will be an introduction to service learning that will engage GT students in civic responsibility, academic curriculum, and social action (grades K-12) and enable districts to plan their own service learning program. This event qualifies as a 6 hour GT update session.

RtI for Gifted NEW
RtI is an integrated school improvement model which addresses the academic and behavioral needs of ALL students. Gifted students, like all students, have the right to learn something new every day. By focusing on high quality instruction and the goal of improving the match between their needs and instruction, RtI will benefit gifted students as well as all students in the classroom. In this workshop, participants will explore the question, "How will we respond when they already know it?" Participants will work as a member of a "student support team" to design meaningful work for students who have alrerady mastered the standards being taught. Overviews and examples of Best Practices for Intervention will be explored, including critical thinking, creative thinking, depth and complexity, problem solving and research for independent study. This fun and interactive workshop will assist educators as they take on the challenge of RtI and its impact on the high potential learners.

"The Element" Book Study
This 6 hour GT update will be a book study based on "The Element" by Ken Robinson. Participants will purchase the book from any book store or online vendor and follow a guided book study. A report of the findings of the reader and opinions gleaned from reading the book will be submitted at the conclusion of the book study. This activity is free for participants who are employed in districts that are members of the Advanced Academics Cooperative.

Advanced Academics: Research, Research, Research

May 25, 2012 , 2012 - Libby Horton

Farmersville ISD

Advanced Academics Gifted Speakers Bureau: Creating Choice through Meaningful Menus

June 8 , 2012 - Laurie Westphal

Pecan-Bluebonnet Rooms

Advanced Academics Gifted Speakers Bureau: The Pedagogy of Remix: Using Popular and Participatory Culture to Create New Ways of Thinking, Writing, and Assessing

June 11 , 2012 - Javier Martinez

Mockingbird Room

Advanced Academics Gifted Speakers Bureau: A.C.T. Summit - Advanced Content Techniques (not to be confused with ACT) for PreAP, AP, and IB Teachers

Keynote Speaker: Alexandra Robbins, author

June 19 , 2012