A Workshop in Self-Advocacy for
Intellectually and Academically Gifted Students
Seize a day, change a lifetime.
In
these one-day interactive workshops, students (generally grades 5-9) learn the four steps to
successful self-advocacy:
- discover your rights and responsibilities
- reflect on your individual learner profile
- match your attributes to available opportunities and
- practice effectively communicating your needs to those who can help
Adult
advocates who attend (teachers, GT coordinators and school counselors) actively
engage with students throughout the day and assist the facilitator by leading
small group discussions.
What students are saying:
“I learned
·
everyone has
the right to be challenged in school.”
·
how to speak
up and how to get courage to do that.”
·
that I’m not
weird or different in a bad way but in a unique way”
·
to step outside
my comfort zone.”
·
I can be
challenged and it might be harder but that doesn’t mean I’m not smart.”
·
you don’t
have to be perfect.”
·
that I don’t
know where I would have learned the things I learned today, if I wasn’t here.”
Essential Understandings
- Gifted students vary in their talents and interests.
- Gifted students need educational opportunities that match their unique needs.
- Gifted students can and should play a major role in designing their unique paths to graduation and beyond.
Topics Include
- Similarities and differences of gifted learners
- Gripes of gifted kids
- Common myths about giftedness
- Rights and responsibilities of gifted learners
- Definitions of giftedness
- State standards and district mission statements
- Attributes of good character versus attributes of giftedness
- Creating a learner profile
- Cognitive functioning
- Intellectual and specific academic abilities
- Theory of Flow
- Learning strengths
- Personal interests
- Learning/studying preferences
- Personality characteristics
- Overexcitabilities and intensities
- Introvert/extravert
- Perfectionism
- Optimist/pessimist
- Motivation, self-direction, independence
- Matching learner profile to available options
- Recommended programming for gifted students
- Changing school or home to better meet personal needs
- Connecting with advocates at school and in the community
- Tips for talking to teachers
- Designing an action plan for change
- Important considerations regarding graduation and college
- Networking with like-ability peers
- Empowerment to take charge of their own education
- Networking with students
- Greater understanding of each students’ individual needs and wants
- Mandated GT programming becomes more student focused, matched to student needs
- Gifted students become partners in differentiation
Give a
gifted kid a challenge and you interest her for the moment.
Teach her to
self-advocate and you empower her for a lifetime.
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