WATG Mission: To educate about and advocate for the needs of gifted in Wisconsin. |
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As you may have noticed, WATG’s activities and reach have been growing! To keep you more informed on a more timely basis, our Board of Directors voted to send out news TWICE each month. The first installment will always arrive at the beginning of the month, and the second installment will arrive in the middle of the month. With this change, we hope to keep you more curious, informed, motivated, and engaged. |
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Calling All Exhibitors and Sponsors!
Are you interested in reaching a large number of gifted and talented advocates? Does your product or service apply to educators, administrators, coordinators, parents, or others in the gifted and talented community? Then you will want to be an Exhibitor/Sponsor at our annual fall conference in the Wisconsin Dells October 3-4. Information on our conference and how you can be a part of it can be found in our proposal packet at https://midd.me/t7rw.
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Check out the following on the WATG News Page:
WATG welcomes a new partner, WATG Parent Conference, 2022 Scholarship recipients, online learning opportunity and much more!
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News From the Board - Calls to Action
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Roxane Hagedorn, Executive Director
How many times have I said to myself “I wish I could do something to help…” or “I wish I could do more…” I can’t be the only one. Maybe you have been there too?
I have a couple of calls to action for you. These are a few easy things you could do to help WATG. I know you are passionate about gifted and talented education just as we are. If you are struggling with what to do to help, I have a couple of ideas for you.
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(WATG would like to extend its deep appreciation to Dr. German Diaz from Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking families and educators. The translation can be found on our website blog.) |
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Dr. Jenna Cramer,
WATG Board Member
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Grit and Growth Mindset -
Motivating Gifted Learners
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As an educational researcher, I am fascinated by topics related to motivation. As a teacher, motivation is always a consideration when lesson planning. As a parent, I recognize that motivation is an important “soft skill” I must foster. A word that kept presenting itself in relation to motivation in each of these settings was grit. Of course in different contexts, grit has a variety of definitions. In psychology, grit can be reduced to, “...passion and perseverance for long-term goals…” (Frontiers In Psychology, 2014). Within education, grit refers to a students' perseverance of effort and consistency of interest (Credé, M., Tynan, M. C., & Harms, P. D., 2017). At home, I want my son to have the determination and resolve to pursue his passions, even when challenges arise, so he can accomplish whatever his goals are (he is five, mind you, so that is currently being an astronaut and going to Mars). Let us unpack how to empower the gritty in our gifted learners.
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Gifted in Perspective: A Great Option for Advanced Learners |
Most teachers are eager to meet the needs of all learners in their classrooms. They seek to provide meaningful and challenging learning experiences every day. However, the reality is that meeting the needs of learners who may span up to five or more grade levels in a single classroom is difficult, if not impossible. Research from institute for Education Policy, Johns Hopkins School of Education, authors Matthew C, Makel, Michael S. Matthews, Scott J. Peters, Karen Rambo-Hernandez, and Jonathan A. Plucker (Data from NWEA and NAEP in CA, FL, WI) gives some insight into this “state of the classroom” with this data, which highlights the importance of recognizing the existence of advanced learners in our schools. |
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Jackie Drummer
WATG Advisory Member and Former WATG President
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Evelyn Barker, 2022 Conference Logo Winner
October 3-4, 2022
Parent and Teen Conferences - October 2, 2022
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WATG welcomes another partner! |
Read more about the 2022 WATG Scholarship recipients. |
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Any organization mentioned in this newsletter does not constitute an endorsement by or partnership with WATG. No recommendation regarding the services of these organizations is being made by WATG. Families and educators are urged to perform due diligence in researching all organizations. |
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