Gifted 2.0 Hi-Cap Instruction for the Digital Age

Roger Fisher is a Gifted Enrichment Specialist and Staff Developer for the Evergreen School District in Vancouver WA.  He is also an independent consultant, speaker, and life long learner with a passion for all things gifted.  Roger’s varied experiences include teaching gifted children in elementary full-time self-contained classrooms, gifted middle school block classes, and pull-out enrichment programs.  He co-founded the Center for Dynamic Education LLC, which provided gifted staff development throughout Oregon and Washington from 1999-2009. Roger serves on the State of Washington Gifted Advisory Committee, and he serves as partner faculty at the college level teaching integrated curriculum and math science methods courses.  Roger is a former WAETAG conference chair, and a frequent contributor and presenter at WAETAG conferences. He is currently working on a book, “Cognitive Monsters & Intellectual Heroes for the 21st Century” which has influenced his planning for the 2012 WAETAG conference.  His energy and passion for teaching gifted children ignite in a way that motivates children and adults to see beyond the monotonous structure of the typical curriculum to realize a world of opportunity, excitement, and possibility.  

Friday Kick-Off: “Creativity: The Basics of Tomorrow”This hands-on interactive workshop sets a fun and positive tone for the conference. Roger will make the case that applied creativity provides the intrinsic motivation underlying advanced achievement for gifted learners by unleashing their inner curiosity, imagination, and passions. There is a difference between being creative and teaching in creative ways. Creative work is not a side bar from curriculum, but rather a window to expanding and enhancing it. The workshop includes practical ideas and examples of how to integrate three separate creativity models into the standard based curriculum so prevalent in today’s classrooms. An education that embraces academic complexity and creative rigor is one that prepares children for the 21st century because innovation, problem solving, communication, and collaboration are the “basics” of tomorrow.

Saturday Welcome Keynote: Instructional Strategies for the Digital Age Roger will briefly highlight research that provides a rationale for 21st Century Teaching & Learning. To be more effective instructors, educators must understand gifted learners and the digital culture in which they live, be familiar with specific instructional strategies that promote rigorous engagement with content, and integrate creative processes into daily practice. Roger will share a wealth of resources and strategies for integrating best practice instruction with free on-line resources to engage gifted children in authentic learning experiences.

Breakout Session: Touching the Moon: Classroom invitations to nurture the Gifted Soul.Roger shares his passion for teaching and learning aside gifted children in ways that invite imagination, innovation, and social emotional growth while promoting rigorous engagement with content. He shares his insights on the atypical strengths of gifted children with practical lessons and projects that engage the hearts & minds of gifted children. Roger shares his belief that while gifted children thrive on cognitive rigor, their passions are born in the heart. He shares specific information on characteristics of gifted children and instructional strategies that align to these characteristics.

Breakout Session: The Gifted Cluster Group Challenge: Differentiating for greater Depth & Complexity.Cluster grouping gifted children in the general education classroom is a popular instructional provision nationwide. However, many educators feel overwhelmed by the daunting task of meeting the intellectual needs of gifted children within a rigid standards based system where disproportionate emphasis is placed on students struggling to meet benchmarks. Roger shares specific, practical, and relevant tools for implementing low-preparation differentiation within the regular standards based classroom. The result is a learning experience with greater depth and complexity, and that makes for happier gifted children & teachers!

Saturday PM Keynote: Cognitive Monsters & Intellectual Heroes for the 21st CenturyChildren today live in a world inundated with digital noise. They face complex systems of conflicting information, technology driven social media, 24/7 entertainment, and simplified sound bites. This multi-dimensional information highway is awash with cognitive dangers. The good news is that our classrooms can become save havens where gifted children can learn to identify common errors in thinking while mastering intellectual traits that will prepare them to navigate the information highway (and common core standards) with confidence. Roger shares strategies, lessons, and resources for identifying these “cognitive monsters” and the accompanying “intellectual heroes” that provide the reasoning tools necessary thrive in a digital world. This presentation features work samples, project descriptions, and resources so teachers leave with the tools to address common “cognitive monsters” that plague student thinking. Roger’s intent is to end the conference by inviting everyone to become an intellectual hero to children by transforming the way we design learning experiences in our classrooms.