Vanderbilt Gifted Education Institute
Vanderbilt Programs for Talented Youth is pleased to offer professional development opportunities designed to help educators better serve and support high-ability students. Known collectively as the Vanderbilt Gifted Education Institute, we endeavor to develop those who work with them throughout the academic year and summer.
2018-2019 Academic Year Conferences & Trainings
Finding and Serving Gifted Students from Underrepresented Populations
Dates: December 6 and 7, 2018
Cost: $279
Each fall PTY is pleased to host a conference that highlights ways to identify and serve gifted students from traditionally underrepresented groups. This year we are excited to welcome two keynote speakers to the conference: April Wells and Dr. Megan Foley Nicpon.
Ms. Wells will be speaking about ways to develop culturally responsive classrooms and Dr. Foley Nicpon will be sharing strategies for working with twice-exceptional students and supporting social-emotional development of gifted students.
Breakout sessions will be led by keynote speakers and Vanderbilt PTY faculty and staff including Dr. Tamra Stambaugh, Dr. Eric Fecht, and Dr. Sarah DeLisle as well as school-based educators and leaders. The PTY faculty and staff will share strategies for working with ELL students, students from low income backgrounds and students from rural areas. Guest speakers from area school districts will discuss how they have translated theory into practice and developed programs and systems for identifying and serving gifted students from a variety of backgrounds.
The conference is held each day from 8:00AM to 3:45PM with parking and lunch included in the registration fee.
Join us for an engaging learning experience and opportunities to network with other colleagues in gifted education. Register now.
Click here to register via our online system.
Click here to register via paper form.
Click here for keynote and breakout session descriptions.
Differentiation for Gifted Learners
Dates: March 4 and 5, 2019
Cost: $279
This two day conference, designed with the classroom teacher and building administrator in mind, focuses on curriculum resources and instructional strategies that promote achievement gains for high achieving and gifted students in heterogeneous classrooms and gifted classrooms.
Learn more about developing higher level questions and products, designing units that emphasize abstract conceptual understanding, teaching through a problem based learning approach, and applying models and frameworks that promote content expertise. PTY will showcase Vanderbilt Programs for Talented Youth’s new elementary integrated science and ELA units published by Prufrock Press and provide workshops on our previously published ELA middle school units and models. The recently published Jacob’s Ladder Reading Comprehension Program nonfiction series and newly released second editions of the original Jacob’s Ladder books will also be shared.
The hands-on sessions are led by curriculum developers, PTY faculty and staff, and nationally known experts in the field of gifted education.
Click here to register via our online system.
Click here to register via paper form.
Best Practices in Identifying and Teaching the Gifted:
The Tennessee Employment Standard
Dates: August 2018 to August 2019
Cost: $1275
During year-round experience participants will explore the nature and needs of academically gifted learners, including those who are low income and culturally diverse backgrounds. Workshop sessions will take place on select evenings and weekends throughout the year. Each meeting will encompass meaningful learning experiences, lectures from national experts in gifted education, and opportunities to interact with other education professionals. Participants will practice methods for differentiating curriculum and will discuss strategies for meeting the needs of gifted students. Click here for more information about The Tennessee Employment Standard, including specific meeting dates.
Registration closed for the 2018-2019 school year. Information for the 2019-2020 school year will be posted soon.
For additional information, please contact Sarah DeLisle (sarah.s.delisle@vanderbilt.edu or 615.322.3179).
On-Site Professional Development Opportunities
PTY’s Gifted Education Institute is pleased to offer a variety of professional development sessions to school staff or parent groups in an effort to provide additional support and information about the unique learning needs of high-ability students. PTY will work with school leaders or parent groups to design a session that addresses the specific learning needs and interests of the audience.