Gifted Child Today articles from June 2003

Gifted Child Today archives from June 2003

Adapting instruction with heterogeneous groups. (From the Editor).(Editorial)
June 22, 2003... In the last issue, I described how undergraduate special education teacher candidates learned about student differences by teaching homogenous groups the same science lesson over a 4-week period within a professional development school. They...

Zoomerang: surveys online: www.zoomerang.com. (On the Web).
June 22, 2003... This site enables users to create and send surveys online. It also offers tips on what makes a great survey and gives instructions on how to e-mail questions to survey participants. There are a variety of templates to choose from, including a...

Library spot: www.libraryspot.com. (On the Web).
June 22, 2003... Teachers and students of all ages may use this very extensive reference site. The site is broken into various categories that includes links to online libraries (academic, law, medical, presidential, government, and K-12 libraries); links to...

Problem-based learning.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Problem-based learning is solving problems that are presented in a context that is personally relevant or simulates real-world experiences ("Understanding Problem-Based Learning," NEA Higher Education ADVOCATE, 20[2], 6-7). The problems are...

Working mothers' negative effects on learning.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Recent media reports have indicated that children whose mothers worked in the first 9 months of their lives suffered in their ability to learn (A. Hrycyna, "Do Working Mothers Hurt Their Children's Ability to Learn?," Harvard Education Letter,...

Gifted and learning disabled.
June 22, 2003... In the journal Intervention in School and Clinic, Susan Winebrenner suggests some teaching strategies for twice-exceptional students--those who have learning disabilities and are also gifted and talented ("Teaching Strategies for...

Counseling Gifted and Talented Students.
June 22, 2003... Based on research and years of clinical observations, Nicholas Colangelo concludes that "Gifted students, if nothing else, are complex" (p. 6; "Counseling Gifted and Talented Students," The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented...

Harry Potter: www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/home_noflash.htm. (On the Web).
June 22, 2003... Scholastic has created a wonderful Web site for the Harry Potter book series, which includes a reference guide that gives the user information on the books, a portrait gallery with downloadable screensavers, and a game called Wizard's...

MathRealm: www.mathrealm.com. (On the Web).
June 22, 2003... MathRealm offers users the ability to create customized syllabi for a student or class drawing on hundreds of award-winning online lessons, exploration activities, and learning tools, Prebuilt syllabi are also available. All of the lessons and...

Chem4Kids! www.chem4kids.com. (On the Web).
June 22, 2003... What is chemistry? Why does the study of matter matter? This site for kids answers these questions and many more, It offers games, tutorials, experiments, and an extensive library on the elements, atoms, matter, and biochemistry. It also...

The foundation for critical thinking: www.criticalthinking.org. (On the Web).
June 22, 2003... This site provides a wealth of resources for teachers at all levels for incorporating critical thinking in their lesson plans. A variety of online resources include modified lesson plans for incorporating critical thought into the different...

Linking gardens to state curricula and standards. (Notable).
June 22, 2003... The California Department of Education released Child's Garden of Standards: Linking School Gardens to California Education Standards, a 112-page guide on linking gardens to state curricula and standards. This guide shows ways for teachers and...

Student misconceptions about college.
June 22, 2003... In Betraying the College Dream, Vanezia, Kirst, and Antonio examine transition policies in six states, including K-12 assessments and remediation policies and college admissions requirements and placement exams. They found that high school...

No Child Left Behind. (Notable).
June 22, 2003... The Department of Education's No Child Left Behind Web site provides information and resources regarding the commitment that every child will learn and excel, Visit http://www.nclb.gov.

Mathematics and science curricula. (Notable).
June 22, 2003... NASA officials announced a new Explorer Schools program. Fifty schools will be selected to send teams of teachers to NASA facilities for summer professional development. The program will start in the 2003-2004 school year by supporting projects...

Race-Neutral Alternatives. (Notable).
June 22, 2003... Department of Education officials released a report, Race-Neutral Alternatives in Postsecondary Education: Innovative Approaches to Diversity, to describe how higher education institutions have approached diversity issues. For a copy of the...

Mathematics and science teaching. (Notable).
June 22, 2003... The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse offers curricular resources, professional development materials, and products to improve K-12 mathematics and science teaching and learning. For more information, visit http://www.enc.org.

Effects of state tests on teachers and students. (Notable).(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... The National Board on Educational Testing and Public Policy at Boston College summarized the findings of a 2-year study that examined the effects of state tests on teachers and students. Teachers talked about time spent, instruction, grouping,...

Teaching Mathematics in Seven Countries. (Notable).
June 22, 2003... Videotapes of 638 lessons in eighth-grade math in seven countries, including the United States, reveals that U.S. teachers spend more time reviewing and practicing content than introducing new content. On the other hand, Japan's teachers spend...

Invention and innovation. (Grants and Awards).
June 22, 2003... The Lemelson-MIT Program for Invention and Innovation will provide 10 grants up to $10,000 each to high school "InvenTeams" in October 2003. These grants are designed to foster inventivenss in high school students. Deadline is September 24. For...

Social studies and Japanese language. (Grants and Awards).
June 22, 2003... The United States-Japan Foundation supports projects that promote a greater understanding between the U.S. and Japan, focusing on bringing teachers and students together and building human networks, particularly in the fields of social studies...

Improve academic standards, student achievement, teacher quality, and availability of educational resources. (Grants and Awards).
June 22, 2003... The Wachovia Foundation provides funding to programs that improve academic standards, student achievement, teacher quality, and availability of educational resources, including mentoring/tutoring, after-school enrichment, merit-based...

curriculum-based after, school care. (Grants and Awards).
June 22, 2003... The J.C. Penney Company provides support for the improvement of kindergarten through 12th-grade education through curriculum-based after, school care. Within this target, priority is given to projects that have national implications. There are...

Health and human services, education, civic and community, and arts and culture. (Grants and Awards).
June 22, 2003... Walgreens provides grants in the following program areas: health and human services, education, civic and community, and arts and culture. There are no deadlines. Preliminary proposals may be sent to Walgreen Company, 200 Wilmot Road, Mail Stop...

Innovative technology. (Grants and Awards).
June 22, 2003... Best Buy Children's Foundation supports programs that enhance children's educational learning experiences through the use of innovative technology. Funding is provided to K-12 students for program development, curriculum development, and...

Professional development. (Grants and Awards).
June 22, 2003... Davis (Arthur Vining) Foundations provides support for innovative professional development programs that strengthen teachers and their teaching in grades 9-12. Projects might be designed to improve professional development for in-service and...

Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge. (Contests).
June 22, 2003... The seventh annual Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge is designed for two reasons: (1) to provide an extracurricular mathematics activity during the fall term and (2) to act as a qualifying paper for the Canadian Mathematics Olympiad (CMO)....

Arts Recognition and Talent Search. (Contests).
June 22, 2003... The Arts Recognition and Talent Search (ARTS) program identifies high school seniors and other 17- and 18-year-old artists in the disciplines of dance, film, video, jazz, music, photography, theater, visual arts, voice, and writing for...

Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. (Contests).
June 22, 2003... The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards recognizes students in middle and high school grades who have demonstrated exemplary community service. Applications are solicited each fall through more than 40,000 public and private schools and...

National Peace Essay Contest. (Contests).
June 22, 2003... In recognition of the importance of questions about peace, justice, and freedom, the United States Institute of Peace established the National Peace Essay Contest. The Web site provides a downloadable contest guidebook that includes all...

Odyssey of the Mind. (Contests).
June 22, 2003... Odyssey of the Mind is a program that fosters creative thinking and problem-solving skills among participating students from kindergarten through college. Each year, five new competitive problems are presented for teams to solve. These...

Word Masters Challenge. (Contests).
June 22, 2003... The Word Masters Challenge is a national competition for students in grades 3-8 that encourages higher level word comprehension and logical abilities and helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically. Over 4,500 school...

Meetings.
June 22, 2003... October 2-3 Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted conference at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton, WI. For more information, call (920) 991-9177 or visit http://www.focol.org/watg. 2-4 Kansas Association for...

Did you know ...
June 22, 2003... ... more than half the workers in the highest paying jobs had two or more credits at the Algebra II level or higher. ... 27% of workers earning $25,000 to $40,000 annually had not taken two or more credits at the Algebra II level or higher....

I have nothing to write about. (Au Contraire).(Editorial)
June 22, 2003... It happens to most every author at some point: The creative or critical well runs dry and a sad reality must be addressed: There is nothing left worth writing about. In penning previous columns for "Au Contraire" since 1996, when I became stuck...

State policies regarding gifted education.
June 22, 2003... Policies regarding the education- of gifted students vary widely among the 50 stares. Although the Jacob K. Javits Act (PL. 100-297) is a small federal program that supports projects and reseach on issues pertaining to gifted children and...

Gifted students speak: mathematics problem-solving insights.(Editorial)
June 22, 2003... In the summer of 2001, I taught at the Governor's School of North Carolina, a 6-week residential program for academically or intellectually gifted rising high school seniors in North Carolina. Student eligibility for this program included...

Take a summer vacation cruising the Internet. (International Perspectives).
June 22, 2003... I believe the Internet is possibly one of the most underutilized, untapped resources for teaching gifted and talented students. There are probably many good reasons for this, and I suspect one of the key ones is a lack of time. The World Wide...

Science starts early.
June 22, 2003... At the age of 4, Jacob announced to his teacher, "When I grow up, I going to be a oceanographer or... a squid... 'cause they're scary and they squirt black ink at everyone! Then I can squirt black ink at you, but you can't squirt black ink at...

Exploring social and emotional needs of gifted students. (New Products).
June 22, 2003... Gifted kids are so much more than test scores and grades. Even so, it is sometimes difficult to see past the achievement and potential to the child who may feel lonely, alienated, confused, unsure of what the future might bring, or pressure to...

Enrichment activities that engage learners. (New Products).
June 22, 2003... Thinking Quests (ISBN 1-882664-90-6) offers more than 70 exciting enrichment activities that encourage students to discover the important concepts being taught through learning experiences that emphasize both critical and creative thinking. All...

Bilingual gifted students. (New Products).
June 22, 2003... Reaching New Horizons (ISBN 0-205-31413-9) is a book written by nationally recognized and award-winning leaders in both gifted and bilingual education. The text bridges research and practice and has far-reaching implications for educators at...

A mystery game that stretches thinking. (New Products).
June 22, 2003... When and where might this object have been used? Is it something that we still use today? Would you use the object indoors or outdoors? These are just some of the questions that students might ask to solve the picture puzzles in Object...

Setting the stage for talent development. (New Products).
June 22, 2003... While many school districts have some programming for gifted students, many of these students still spend most of their time in general education classrooms, where their talents are unchallenged and underdeveloped. With limited funds and...

Researching with step-by-step strategies. (New Products).
June 22, 2003... Independent learning requires motivation, task commitment, facility with research skills and sources, flexible thinking, problem-solving skills, and a high degree of productive and critical thinking ability. Moving students from...

Advocacy as teaching: the teacher as advocate. (Advocacy).
June 22, 2003... The process of advocating can be practiced from different roles and perspectives. Each of these provides an orientation to a particular forum and purpose of advocacy. For example, advocacy on behalf of gifted education can be conducted from the...

Harry Potter: enchantment for all seasons.
June 22, 2003... Maria, age 7, has recently immigrated with her family to the United States from South Africa. She is making a variety of adjustments in her life, which include attending a U.S. school and learning to play the violin. Maria sometimes feels...

Problem solving and gifted education: a differentiated fifth-grade fantasy unit.
June 22, 2003... Imagine three types of students in your classroom. One student is a traditional "schoolhouse" gifted student who tests well, picks up new concepts quickly, and displays an overall interest and aptitude for established academics. Another student...

Images of teaching. (In the Classroom).
June 22, 2003... Who should teach the gifted? Reading the "laundry lists" of teacher characteristics in textbooks on gifted education, we are humbled by all the desirable traits that are suggested. The bottom line seems to be that the gifted benefit most from...