UPCOMING GIFTED CONFERENCES
Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented Mini-Conference

Gifted 101 & Beyond

 March 18, 2017 
9am-12pm
Edina Community Center

Join us for our annual mini-conference, a half-day of intense learning, along with an opportunity to talk to other parents, educators, professionals and long-time advocates for gifted children.


For more information on the
2017 Hormel Foundation Gifted Symposium
June 12-15, 2017
Austin, MN

The annual Hormel Foundation Gifted and Talented Education Symposium provides an opportunity for educators, counselors, administrators and parents to gain greater understanding of the unique needs of gifted   and high potential learners. 

Participants attend in-depth sessions focusing on foundational knowledge, creativity, curriculum strategies, and social/emotional needs of gifted and high potential learners   provided by the field's finest regionally, nationally and internationally recognized presenters. All are welcome to register and attend the symposium.

For more information,


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High Potential/Gifted Program
February 28, 2017

We're more than halfway through the year and continue to work toward better opportunities for our High Potential/Gifted students. A lot has happened since the fall. Fifth grade students attended   Science Rocks in St. Cloud, reading and math enrichment groups have begun, and high school students took the PreACT. Thirteen teachers attended the Minnesota's Educators of the Gifted and Talented Conference in Brainerd and are excited to implement new ideas and teaching strategies for advanced learners.   

In this newsletter, we will focus on Underachievement in High Potential/Gifted students and showcase our Lego Robotics math enrichment program. 

Science Rocks

Lego Robotics

Students in elementary school who have been identified for mathematics gifted services participate in weekly math enrichment called Lego Robotics.

Based on the world-famous LEGO ® brick, our Enrichment Facilitator leads a stimulating, hands-on learning experience.  Students experience the mechanical and structural principals of building and manipulating models that mimic real-life mechanisms.  Lego Robotics lets students use ideas from engineering and mathematics to build vehicles, intelligent machines, scientific tools, and interesting 
Underachievement and Giftedness

One of the less talked about issues with students identified as gifted or high potential is the prevalence of underachievement. What this means is that students who have been identified as having high potential are not performing in accordance with their anticipated ability. Research estimates that approximately half (or 50%) of gifted students underachieve (Richert, 1991). 

Whitmore (1989) identified three broad causes for underachievement in gifted children:
  • Lack of motivation to apply themselves in school
  • Environments that do not nurture their gifts and may even discourage high achievement
  • Disabilities or other learning deficits that mask their giftedness.

Commonly cited characteristics of underachieving gifted students include (Van Tassel-Baska, 1992; Whitmore, 1986; Rimm, 1986; Baum, Owen & Dixon, 1991):
  • Low self-esteem
  • Consistently negative attitude toward school and learning
  • Reluctance to take risks or apply one's self
  • Discomfort with competition
  • Lack of perseverance
  • Lack of goal-directed behavior
  • Social isolation
  • Weaknesses in skill areas and organization
  • Disruptiveness in class and resistance to class activities.
For more information and to find tips on what you can do, click here.