Learning from the Gifted Children for the gifted Children

Gifted & Talented Children:Experience from Greece

It is true that children with high intelligence are a small percentage that does not exceed 2% of the paediatric population. Some are gifted, other are talented, or simply intelligent. A lot of people admire these children and think that their parents are lucky to have them. Other people express their concerns and comment: “lonely, troubled, children? They might become obnoxious to their peers and this will make them unhappy”. There are even some who believe that the provision of special education programs in such cases could lead to the creation of privileged group of people with high intelligence. The issue has many dimensions and is even more complex if we consider that humanity owes a lot of scientific and social achievements to intelligent and gifted people. The science would not have progressed beyond the level of duplication of knowledge if geniuses like Newton, Copernikus, Galileo, Einstein and many others hadn’t dare first to conceive new ideas with their creative thinking. The persons who made us see the world differently were once children and many of them from an early age had already shown signs of their high intelligence and exceptional skills.

The Social-Emotional Needs of Gifted & Talented Children

Like all of us, gifted & talented children also need to develop social skills and learn how to manage and express their emotional potential in order to be integrated effectively in the community. What, then, are the social and emotional needs of gifted & talented children, and what are the factors that may affect both their development and expression? All those who are actively involved with
gifted and talented children , that is parents, educators and peers, should try to provide an environment where such children will be able to understand apart of their academic and creative potential their social and emotional side and to fulfill their respective needs. In this effort we need to know that gifted & talented children are not a homogeneous group. There are gifted & talented children with learning difficulties, those that do not express their mental potential, especially in the classroom, those who belong to minority groups and others with sensory damage. There are even those who differ considerably in how they express a particular characteristic. Both parents and teachers should also not forget that while the non-parallel cognitive, affective and psychomotor development of gifted & talented children usually has a direct effect on their social behavior as well as the way they perceive and express their feelings. Furthermore, the state should provide these children with such educational services that would allow their multidimensional (academic, social, emotional) potential to find ground for expression.

Distinction at Mathematical Competitions: A Result of Talent and Training

In this talk we study the characteristics of students who have distinguished themselves in national and international mathematics competitions. For example, the incentives for participation, and the influence of external factors such as family, school, etc are examined. Furthermore, we establish that performance depends on the knowledge available from school or other sources, and on practice as well as talent – factors that operate differently in different areas of mathematics.

Also, proposals are discussed for a better and more efficient development of students’ talents; from all the above it is concluded that distinctions are the result of special talent and very good training and preparation, which in turn leads to the conclusion that talent without proper guidance does not bear fruit easily.

Gifted People

Gifted people will share their experience about Gifted & Talented Children’ s Needs.

Constructing Number Sense with Gifted Students

Drs. Green will analyze the 9 elements of their method for the understanding of the number concept by gifted students (background, 9 elements of construction of number sense) CAMMP-MATH (Comprehensive Applied Manipulative Mathematics Program).

Dr. Anna Athanasopoulou will present videos and photos (case studies) of the gifted students of the Socrates Academy charter school at Charlotte, North Carolina

Dyslexia, Attention Deficit (ADHD) & Giftedness: the Primacy of Creative Multiple Diversity

The common feature of ingenious inventors, entrepreneurs, leaders and artists is Dyslexia, which is a Gift from God, but only when we know it is present and we treat it properly at an early stage. Instead, due to ignorance, we focus only on the Specific Learning Difficulty in writing, very slow reading, terrible misspelling, poor school performance and time mismanagement.

The ADHD syndrome manifests itself as a Behavioral and Self-control problem, with serious psycho-social and learning implications. It is made up of 3 subcategories: Attention Deficit, Impulsivity and Hyperactivity. Both Dyslexia and ADHD are due to biological and usually inherited causes, they mostly coexist, they last for life, they appear at a ratio of 4 boys to 1 girl, internationally, and they are accompanied by a special giftedness and ingenuity.

But when undetected and untreated, they unfortunately lead to serious secondary psycho-social problems such as low self-confidence and low self-esteem, and even depression. All this can be avoided/ reduced through early diagnosis or, even better, through pre-school prognosis, and with appropriate individualized treatment.

The talk will focus on the causes, the symptoms, the prognostic and diagnostic methods used internationally, and on the learning and psycho-social effects of dyslexia and ADHD. We will establish their relationship with giftedness and its biological origins.

The topic will be presented from the medical, psychological, educational and human perspective.

Leading and Managing the Promise of a Differentiated Classroom

Each year teachers welcome a new group of students to their classrooms. Each teacher has the same thoughts of how will I try and meet the needs of my students this year. In this workshop teachers will explore the theory and practice of a differentiated classroom.  First learning how to effectively lead a differentiated classroom and then focusing on the mechanics of managing a differentiated classroom. The inherent interdependence of leading and managing a differentiated classroom is at the very heart of 21st century education. This workshop will provide a toolbox of activities and teaching strategies that will help teachers organize their efforts and achieve their goals of working effectively in a differentiated classroom.

Dealing with the concept of giftedness & talent in the Greek educational system

Objective: The realization that the traditional Greek class can be “used” to foster and develop the potential of all students.

Information: There is a framework that can be applied to the Greek educational system which is based on specific concepts already “in use” in “traditional” education but also in the different educational provisions for gifted children.

Experiential workshop: Subject to the number, grade and specialization of participants.

Aimed at: Primary and Secondary Education Teachers

Case Studies of Gifted & Talented Children: What do they teach us?

Cases and examples of gifted children that have realized their potential, and the parameters that contribute to the balanced development of gifted children and the creative exploitation of their skills.