AERA ROGCT SIG

Fall 2012

Letter From the Chair

D. Betsy McCoach, Chair

SIGnificance.

RESEARCH ON GIFTEDNESS, CREATIVITY, AND TALENT SIG

It gives me great pleasure to serve as the Chair of the Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG for the next two years. I would like to thank Marcia Gentry, who worked tirelessly as the SIG chair over the past two years. Under her leadership, the SIG has continued to thrive and expand its initiatives. I would like to take this opportunity to share some of the most exciting SIG news. First, we are in the process of creating a new SIG awardthe graduate student travel award. We have submitted the award to AERA, and once it is approved by the association, we will solicit applications. The AERA SIG Graduate student travel award will

Dr. Betsy McCoach, Chair

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AERA 2013, San Francisco, California

Please join us Saturday, April 27, to Wednesday, May 1, 2013, for the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. The theme of the meeting will be Education and Poverty: Theory, Research, Policy, and Practice. The Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG received over 70 submissions, and was able to put together a program with five paper sessions, include 4-5 high quality papers each, and one symposium along with several roundtable and poster sessions.. The acceptance rate for this year was approximately 28%. Scott Peters, this years program chair for the ROGCT SIG, would like to extend his appreciation to all of the reviewers in the SIG who helped select the presentations for the conference.

Inside this issue:

Letter From the Chair AERA Program News Membership News Gifted Connection: Mentorship News Learning Environments with Web 2.0 Technologies Advice from Dr. Knowledgeable Call for Submissions to Gifted Children Pyryt Award: Garn, Matthews, and Jolly SIG Award Announcements: Path Breaker 2013 AERA SIG Election Ballot 1 1 3 4 4 5 6 6 7 8

Communications Committee
Hope (Bess) Wilson, Chair hope.e.wilson@unf.edu Catherine Little Nancy West Sally Wan Elke Milton Brian Housand

SIGnificance: Newsletter for the ROGCT SIG, AERA

Fall 2012

AERA Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG

Leadership Team
D. Betsy McCoach Chair University of Connecticut betsy.mccoach@uconn.edu Michael Matthews Treasurer University of North Carolina, Charlotte michael.matthews@uncc.edu Kim Chandler Member-at-Large The College of William and Mary klchan@wm.edu Matt Makel Member-at-Large Duke University, TIP mmakel@tip.duke.edu Carolyn Callahan Member-at-Large University of Virginia cmc@virginia.edu Jill Adelson Member-at-Large University of Louisville Jill.adelson@louisville.edu Kristina Ayers Paul Gifted Children Editor Purdue University kayerspaul@purdue.edu Hope E. (Bess) Wilson Communications Chair University of North Florida hope.e.wilson@unf.edu Del Siegle Chair-Elect University of Connecticut del.siegle@uconn.edu

Marcia Gentry Past Chair Purdue University mgentry@purdue.edu

Scott Peters Program chair University of Wisconsin, Whitewater peterss@uww.edu

Carol Carman Assistant Program Chair University of Houston, Clearlake carman@uhcl.edu

Catherine Little Secretary University of Connecticut Catherine.little@uconn.edu

SIGnificance: Newsletter for the ROGCT SIG, AERA

Fall 2012

Letter from the Chair, Continued

dent of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics, the Society provide $750 toward the travel exfor the Psychology of Aesthetics, Crepenses of graduate students who are ativity and the Arts (APA, Division first authors on a highly rated re10), and the Society for General Psysearch proposal accepted by the SIG chology (APA, Division 1). His refor presentation at the AERA confer- search covers diverse manifestations ence. We will award up to two of genius, creativity, leadership, talawards per year. ent, and aesthetics.
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many SIG committees, email me (betsy.mccoach@uconn.edu ) and let me know. Many hands make light work, and we can accomplish a great deal when we work together!

Second, it gives me great pleasure to announce that our business meeting speaker for the 2013 AERA conference will be Dean Keith Simonton. Dr. Simonton is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. His bibliography lists more than 400 publications, including a dozen books. Among the latter are Genius, Creativity, and Leadership; Scientific Genius; Greatness; Genius and Creativity; Origins of Genius; Great Psychologists and Their Times; Creativity in Science; Genius 101; and Great Flicks. Simonton has received the William James Book Award, the Sir Francis Galton Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Study of Creativity, the Rudolf Arnheim Award for Outstanding Achievement in Psychology and the Arts, the Theoretical Innovation Prize in Personality and Social Psychology, the George A. Miller Outstanding Article Award, the E. Paul Torrance and Presidents Awards from the National Association for Gifted Children, and the Robert S. Daniel Award for FourYear College/University Teaching. He is Fellow of several professional organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Psychological Science, and ten divisions of the American Psychological Association (APA). He has served as Presi-

Third, I want to remind our members that our e-journal, Gifted Children, has undergone a metamorphosis. Gifted Children is now a peerreviewed e-journal, published by Purdue University Press. Gifted Children serves as a vehicle for distribution of research reports and resources, such as methodological information and book reviews, that will be of interest to researchers in gifted education. Articles are published free of charge to readers so that they are immediately accessible to practitioners as well as academics, and internationally as well as in North America. Kristina Ayers Paul, the new editor of the journal, is working with the publications committee to define the mission and scope of the journal. If you are interested in submitting an article to Gifted Children, visit http:// docs.lib.purdue.edu/giftedchildren/ or contact Kristina Paul (kayerspaul@purdue.edu).

Join or Renew Membership

Membership to the Research on Giftedness, Creativity , and Talent SIG is only $10 per year ($5 for students) along with your American Educational Research Association (AERA)Membership. AERA membership provides individuals in the field of education research with access to the latest developments and the top researchers in the field. In addition, AERA provides members with the opportunity to make a difference in education. AERA takes those issues that are most important to our members and brings them to the forefront of the public policy debate.

Finally, I want to remind you that AERA will be conducting the elections The easiest way to join/renew is for our SIG officers shortly. We have online at http://www.aera.net/ a very strong ballot, which is a sign of a healthy SIG, and every office is hotly contested! I hope that you will all take the time to vote in the SIG election. In addition, if you are interested in volunteering for one of our
Fall 2012

SIGnificance: Newsletter for the ROGCT SIG, AERA

Gifted Connection: Save the Date!

Jill Adelson, Member-At-Large: Chair, packed, the SIG will provide each Be on the lookout in January or FebMentorship Committee mentor/mentee pair with contact in- ruary for a call for both graduate stuformation in advance. Each pair may dent mentees as well as scholars to This year will be the fourth annual then schedule a one-hour time slot to serve as mentors. AERA ROGCT Gifted Connection, a meet and talk at a convenient time mentorship opportunity for graduate Contact: Jill Adelson during the convention, and the SIG students not in a formal gifted educajill.adelson@louisville.edu will reimburse up to $20 for coffee tion graduate program but interested and snacks. That will give the mentor in researching giftedness, creativity, and mentee time together to talk and talent. about the field, including involveThis mentorship will be a somewhat ment, research, and career isinformal, convenient way for gradusues. We hope that, in many cases, ate students to network with experts this will facilitate an opportunity for in giftedness, creativity, and talent by mentorship and conversations bemeeting over coffee during the week yond the Annual Meeting between of the Annual Meeting. Mentors and mentor and mentee; however, that is mentees will be matched according to up to the individual mentor and similarities in research intermentee based on their conversation ests. Because everyones schedule at the Annual Meeting. during the Annual Meeting is so

Learning Opportunities with Web 2.0 Technologies

Dr. Sally Wai-Yan Wan The Chinese University of Hong Kong I love this project very much because I could use new technologies in producing something interesting and online stuff allows me to have more freedom to create. Mostly we are allowed to have our space. Only online environment allows us to infuse our creativity into the project. I like answering challenging questions as asked by my classmates. I feel very happy when I can answer all of them. (Jimmy, 28th June 2011) I would like to share my story as a teacher using Web 2.0 technologies to give help and support to a gifted child, Jimmy, who was recognized for his technology expertise in his school. I hope that this sharing can bring insights about learning opportunities and pedagogical designs for teaching the gifted. Learning phases: Exploration planning mentoring and guidance re-constructing At the beginning of the unit Antarctica Expedition, I asked Jimmy for his opinions regarding his areas of interest related to the topic. Jimmy helped create a new website for the unit. After he finished making the website, I let him have an opportunity to introduce the website to the class. I had several intentions: First, to recognize his efforts in making a website for the class; and second, to let his classmates realize his strength and so to include him in the class. To support him in organizing the project, I gave him a set of prompting questions related to his study area. For example, what Web2.0 technologies would you like to use in creating the project? What areas will be included in the project? Why? In due course, Jimmy had the chance for regular meetings and informal chats, during which he could share his learning progress and concerns. Prompts and probes were usually used for scaffolding ideas, facilitating build-ons, and the problemsolving process. Finally, he completed the whole project using different types of Web2.0 technologies that he discovered on his own. Personal insights On the completion of the unit, I have the following key points for reflection: Open our eyes and listen to our students with hearts Mentoring as lubricants to knowledge creation Learning technologies hand in hand Flexibility inside the curriculum To sum up, using technologies can be a powerful tool to enlighten and enhance our students learning experiences on the journey of growth. Jimmys story does give us some reflections upon what is currently being done and what can be done for future development in education. Contact: Dr. Sally Wai-Yan Wan Email: sallywywan@cuhk.edu.hk Website: http://www.sallywywan.com

SIGnificance: Newsletter for the ROGCT SIG, AERA

Fall 2012

Advice from Dr. Knowledgeable

Dr. Knowledgeable is a kind-hearted advisor and mentor that we all wish that we might have had in graduate school and as an early career scholar. The doctor is available to take questions and pleas for advice contact the newsletter editor, Hope Wilson at hope.e.wilson@unf.edu. Although Dr. Knowledgeable is, perhaps, an invention of wishful graduate students, he (or she) benefits from the advice of Elke Milton, Walden University, and Nancy West, Satellite Beach, FL. stead, the twists and turns can sometimes leave you in guarded mode. As you move towards becoming a scholar-practitioner and change agent, here are 7 tips to guide you along the way: your industry early on rather than waiting until you have the alphabets, PhD/EdD, after your name. Starting with conferences in your area will keep expenses at a minimum.

(1) form a cohort with whom you can Best wishes, think positive, and reshare ideas, receive and give sup- member you can do it! port and encouragement, and Sincerely, commiserate in the wee hours of Dr. Knowledgeable the morning while completing that paper;

(2) use the wealth of knowledge and Dear Dr. Knowledgeable, experience of your professors and Dear Dr. Knowledgeable, I am a fourth year doctoral student mentor, as they can give you inI am a first-year doctoral student. at the University of High Expectations. valuable advice, guidance, and When I began my program at UniverMy graduate advisors and professors connections; sity of Everything Is Great, I was excitare great, but they seem to think that ed and enthusiastic about my studies. (3) join professional groups that I have at least 50 hours in each day. But now that I am at the end of the serve your discipline, and become How can I balance all of the requiresemester, I am feeling discouraged active with key groups, as this, ments of my coursework, graduate and run down. I seem to spend all of too, is an outlet for development assistanceship, research, and applying my time on research and classwork, and advancements; for jobs? Not to mention that my and I am not sure how to enter the Golden Retriever, Bob, seems to have (4) read, read, read, as this is how professional world of academia. forgotten who I am! How can I prioriyou become that expert in your Should I give up my dreams of becomtize my tasks so that I am not running research and innovator in your ing a PhD? How can I survive my doccircles and I can be more productive? profession; toral journey? Sincerely, Yours Truly, (5) do a fun, recreational activity at At Wits End least once a month to avoid burn- Serious Busy out. Early on you will have to say no to family, friends, and yourDear At Wits End, self, but too much seclusion will Dear Seriously Busy, Embarking on the doctoral journey begin to box you out and make So where does the time go? We all is an exhilarating prospect. Most of you feel disconnected from your have the same amount of time in a us set out to change the world, but personal life; day. Yet it is assumed that graduate sooner or later discover the naivet in (6) attend the AERA conference, as students with better time manageour thinking in that it is easier said the vast wealth of information, ment skills are both happier and more than done. Becoming a social change innovative ideas, and networking productive. So what does it mean to agent requires hard work, and accomopportunities you will gain are practice time management? plishing that end through a doctoral unparalleled; and program is attainable, but indescribaStephen R. Covey prioritizes tasks bly intense. You will learn early on (7) submit proposals to present your according to four quadrants in his that there is not much linearity as you research at conferences to start progress through your program; in(Continued on page 7) establishing a presence within
SIGnificance: Newsletter for the ROGCT SIG, AERA Fall 2012 5

Call for Garn, Matthews, and Jolly Submissions

Pyryt Award Recipients:
The Awards Committee is proud to announce the 2012 winners of the Michael Pyryt Award: Alex C. Garn, Louisiana Sate University, Michael S. Matthews, University of North Carolina Charlotte, and Jennifer L. Jolly, Louisiana State University, for their article Parental influences on the academic motivation of gifted students: A self-determination theory perspective published in the Fall 2012 edition of Gifted Child Quarterly. impact of the work on the fields of giftedness, creativity, or talent development. The work of Garn, Matthews, and Jolly focused on parenting of gifted children, using Self-Determination Theory as a framework. Citation:

Kristina Ayers Paul, editor Gifted Children, the open access e-journal of the AERA SIG-Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent, is now soliciting submissions. Gifted Children was founded in 2006 to provide a timely venue for SIG members and other researchers working in gifted education and related areas to share original scholarly work in the form of brief reports of research in progress, completed research, and reviews of new publications of interest to researchers in the field. For information on manuscript submission and to search the archive of previous publications, please visit the ejournal at http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/giftedchil dren/. Questions may be forwarded to the editor, Kristina Ayers Paul, at kayerspaul@purdue.edu.

Garn, A. C., Matthews, M. S., & Jolly, J. L. (2010). Parental influences on the academic motivation of gifted The Michael Pyryt Award was cre- students: A self-determination theory perspective. Gifted Child Quarated to recognize a scholar of giftedness, creativity or talent development terly, 54, 263-272. doi: 10.1177/0016986210377657 and an influential collaborator who has not previously published scholarship associated with giftedness, creativity or talent. The award is given to Abstract: those who seek to promote scholarThe home environment that parship in the area of giftedness, creativi- ents provide their gifted children can ty and talent to the larger education have a significant impact on academic research community through collabo- motivation, yet limited research has rations and who concurrently benefit focused on this topic. Selffrom the insights of important schol- determination theory, a comprehenars who have not previously studied sive framework of motivation, was or written about gifted, talented or used in the current study to explore creative populations. It is awarded two research questions: (a) What attievery other year by the ROGCT SIG. tudes do parents of gifted students have toward the academic motivation The award was selected based of their children? (b) What approachupon eligibility (including coes do parents of gifted students use authorship by a researcher who has at home to develop academic motivanot previously published in the field of gifted education) and the potential tion? Interviews with 30 parents of

Alex C. Garn, Louisiana State University

Michael S. Matthews, University of North Carolina Charlotte

Jennifer L. Jolly, Louisiana State University

gifted children from across the United States revealed three higher order themes including Parents as Experts, Scaffolding, and Behavior Modification. From a selfdetermination theory perspective, results suggest that despite good intentions, the parents of this study were inconsistent in providing home environments that support their childrens development of internalized forms of academic motivation.

SIGnificance: Newsletter for the ROGCT SIG, AERA

Fall 2012

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

PATH BREAKER AWARD

The AERA SIG: Research on Giftedness, Creativity and Talent is seeking nominations for the Path Breaker Award. The Path Breaker Award is given in recognition of collaborative research by a scholar and graduate student who co-author an article related to giftedness, creativity or talent that is published in a journal not traditionally or regularly focused on these fields. The Path Breaker Award is designed to reward scholars in our field for publishing in journals that would not traditionally include articles with a focus on gifted, talented or creative populations.

Advice from Dr. Knowledgeable, Continued

(Continued from page 5)

book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Quadrants I and II are classified as IMPORTANT activities while quadrants III and IV are NOT IMPORATANT activities. How much time do you spend in each quadrant? Keep a time log for 3 days by jotting down what you are doing in 15 minute intervals. Then rate your activities as important or urgent using a scale of 14 related to the quadrants above. Finally, estimate the percent of time you devoted to each of the quadrants. Doing the most important things first keeps a graduate student effective and, over time, these behaviors help to shape who we are. Being aware of and striving for balance, by managing time, will help us to clarify both things we want (possessions) and things we want to do (research, travel). Yet, the real secret to all time management begins with a clear definition of who wed like to be. It is qualities of character that our friends will remember most. Reference Covey, S. R. (1989). Seven habits of highly effective people. New York: Free Press. Sincerely, Dr. Knowledgeable
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Eligibility Criteria:
Publication (may be In Press) in a peer reviewed journal that does not often publish articles on topics directly targeting giftedness, creativity or talent development. If already published, cover date must be within last two years before the date of the award. For the Submissions due by current nomination the cover date must be February 1, 2013 within 2 years of April, 2013. Significant potential impact of the work on the fields of giftedness, creativity, or talent develContact opment.

Nomination Process and Timelines:

Award candidates may be nominated or may self-nominate. Nomination must include a pdf of the article and a one-page description of the potential impact of the work on the fields of giftedness, creativity, and/or talent development. Applications will be due February 1st.

Dr. Carolyn M. Callahan for more information cmc@virginia.edu

Selection Criteria (in the following order of importance, beginning with most important) Quality of the article (new data or new analysis of existing data, strong methodology, etc.). Prestige of journal in which the article has been accepted The compelling arguments of the submitted rationale

Form of Recognition
Cash award of $250 each to winning scholar and graduate student. Plaque for each A SIG scheduled slot during a paper session or business meeting will be guaranteed to the awardees award winning work if they commit to attending the following years convention. Determination as to whether the slot will be in a paper session or the business meeting will be at the discretion of the SIG program chair(s).

Submission:
Nominations including a pdf of the article and the one-page description of potential impact must be submitted electronically to: Dr. Carolyn M. Callahan cmc@virgnia.edu Include Path Breaker Award in the subject line of the email.

SIGnificance: Newsletter for the ROGCT SIG, AERA

Fall 2012

2012 Election Ballot

The AERA Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG would like to invite you to participate in our upcoming election and to encourage you to vote and help select members to your board of directors this year. As you can see there is a large slate of candidates for each position. Please take a moment to review the statements from the candidates below.
influence teachers practices and expectations of students, how teachers expec5 candidates for 1 position tations affect their instructional decisions and the mathematics learning opportunities they provide for Janine M. Firmender, Ph.D., is an assistant profes- their students, and what influences teachers awaresor in the Department of Teacher Education at Saint ness of the characteristics and learning needs of Josephs mathematically talented University students. Janine has prein Philadelsented papers at AERA for phia, sessions in the ROGCT and PennsylvaMiddle Grades SIGs and is nia, where an active member of the she teachNational Association for es courses in Early ChildGifted Children (NAGC). hood (grades pre-K to 4) Recently, Janine has joined and mathematics educathe NAGC Teaching for High tion. She earned her docPotential Advisory Board. torate in Educational Psychology with a concentraBeverly J. Irby holds the tion in Gifted Education distinction from the Neag School of Education at the University as Texas of Connecticut and also fo- State University Syscused on studying mathematics education. Janines tem Reresearch interests are in the gents' Professor. She areas of gifted education is a professor in the Departand mathematics educament of Educational Leadtion, primarily related to pedagogy and curriculum. ership and Counseling and In addition, she is interest- Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in the College ed in investigating the instructional experiences that of Education at Sam Hou-

You will find an email from AERA concerning the elections soon. The positions that are open are as follows: Assistant Program Chair (5 candidates for 1 position), Treasurer (4 candidates for 1 position), Member-AtLarge (10 candidates for 2 positions), and Graduate Student Member (4 candidates for 1 position).
ston State University. She has been a member of the ROGCT SIG for over a decade and has served as a Reviewer of ROGCT program submissions. She has over 200 scholarly publications and is an author on the latest TAGT State of Gifted Education in Texas. She has co-developed the Hispanic Bilingual Gifted Screening Instrument and has supported numerous doctoral studies on this topic. She is editor of Mentoring and Tutoring Journal and founding editor of Advancing Women in Leadership Journal. Her research focuses on social responsibility, particularly related to gifted and bilingual education, educational administration, early childhood, and women's leadership. Her work at the university level spans 22 years as professor, director of the SHSU Center for Research in Educational Leadership, director of student teaching and field experiences, and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling. Prior to entering the academy, she served as a teacher of gifted education, special education director, elementary principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent.

Assistant Program Chair

Sarah Oh is a research scientist at the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, University of Virginia, where she oversees multiple research projects on gifted education. She is a former elementary classroom teacher and earned her doctorate in gifted education at the University of Virginia. She has been a member of the SIG since 2006 and has served as a reviewer for the AERA and NAGC annual conferences in the areas of giftedness, creativity, and talent development. Her research interests include curriculum development, differentiating instruction, teacher development, program evaluation, and identification of gifted students from
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2012 Election Ballot, Continued

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diverse backgrounds. She would like to serve as an assistant program chair for the ROGCT SIG. She envisions many opportunities for mentorship and collaboration through SIGs initiative of building a community where scholars advance scientific contribution to the field of gifted education through high quality research that is theory-driven, evidence-based, and practice-relevant. In that vein, she would welcome the opportunity to contribute to promoting communication of advanced research both within and outside the field.

Connie Phelps is the Director of Gifted Education, Associate Professor, and Director of the Great Plains Center for Gifted Studies at Emporia State University in Kansas. Prior to this position, she taught middle school gifted students in Wichita. She has served as President-Elect of the Kansas Association for Gifted, Talented and Creative; Chair of the NAGC Professional Development network; worked with various committees of the NAGC

Research and Evaluation network, member of the NAGC Standards Committee, and is a lead reviewer for NCATE/NAGC. Additional service includes an appointment as the Chapter Member Liaison for the Kansas region of Phi Delta Kappa International. Research interests include underachievement, gifted girls, creativity and language arts curriculum. In her current position, she mentors graduate students and has sponsored numerous presentations at state, regional, national and international levels. She is an active member of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children and serves as co-editor of the Emporia State Research Studies journal. During her recent sabbatical, she worked with the Laboratoire Adaptations Travail Individu (LATI) research team at the University of Paris Descartes where she studied the Evaluation of Creative Potential (EPoC, 2009) exam and researched four initiatives related to gifted children in France.

Karen RamboHernandez is an assistant

professor at Colorado State University in the School of

Education and the School of Teacher Education and Principal Preparation. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut in Educational Psychology in Measurement, Evaluation, and Assessment. In her research, she is interested in using assessments to inform decisions so that all students gifted students in particularare provided ample opportunities to grow academically. In practice, this line of research is both quantitative and applied: the assessment of student growth, multilevel modeling of student data, growth mixture modeling of student growth, and alternative methods for measuring school effectiveness. Specifically, her substantive research interests include academic acceleration, mathematics/STEM education particularly in middle school gifted education, and assessment. She has served in leadership roles in the Research and Evaluation Network of the National Association for Gifted Children since 2008. She has presented multiple times in the ROGCT SIG and hopes to be able to serve this SIG in this new capacity!

Treasurer
4 candidates for 1 position

I, Seokhee Cho of St. Johns University in New York, would like to nominate myself to the treasurer position at the AERA SIG #91 ROGCT (Term 20132015). I have been serving the Asia-Pacific Federation of the World Council for Gifted and Talented as an executive committee member, President, and Editor-in -chief of The AP Journal of Gifted and Talented Education since 1992. I have also been serving the Korean Society for Gifted Education as an executive committee member and Vice President since 1990. My leadership has been recognized with the Excellent Service Award from the Asia-Pacific Federation of the WCGTC in 2006, the Special Recognition Award for Excellent Leadership from the Korean Society for Gifted Education in 1994 and 2004, and the Mokryun Medal in honor of Civil Service Merit from The Republic of Korea in 2004. In the US, I have secured a Javits grant in 2009, which was followed by a grant from Allied World Founda(Continued on page 10)

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2012 Election Ballot, Continued

NAGC Research and Evaluation Network, and is a tion and two grants from member of the NAGC Prothe US DOE amounting 3.57 fessional Standards Commillion dollars from 2012 mittee. Currently, Alicia is through 2017. If elected, I on the Editorial Advisory would be honored and de- Board for Teaching for High lighted to serve as treasurer Potential, and the Editorial of the AERA SIG ROGCT Review Board for Gifted with my extensive experiChild Quarterly and Journal ences in working with aca- for the Education of the demic association memGifted. bers.
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Dr. Alicia Cotabish is an Assistant Professor of Teaching and Learning at the University of Central Arkansas. Previously, Alicia was the Associate Director of the Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and served as one of two Principal Investigators of STEM Starters, a federally-funded Javits project. In addition, Dr. Cotabish coordinated the Arkansas Evaluation Initiative in Gifted Education, a federally-funded state-wide school program evaluation initiative. Alicia is currently the PresidentElect of the Arkansas Association of Gifted Education Administrators and the Legislative Co-Chair of Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education. She has served as the Awards Chair for the

Mary Elizabeth Henderson, Ed.D. My academic

and professional background from Fielding Graduate University led me to the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and then to the Gifted Research SIG (ROGCT). Over a period of time, I have attended several AERA Annual Meetings, presented proposals, acted as a Discussant and Co-Chair, and published a book with Hamilton Books entitled, Gifted and Talented Females Speak Out on Parental Influences and Achievement! In addition, I have assessed and evaluated several proposals for submission to AERA. A degree in Business Education from the District of Columbia Teachers College, Washington, D.C., along with excellent experience, gave me an opportunity to keep accurate records, create monthly financial statements, and present proposed budgets for two organizations in our

local community. I continue to volunteer my services to these organizations to make sure their accounts are up to date and accurate. If I become treasurer for the ROGCT SIG, I would make sure to keep the accounts accurate and ready for auditing when scheduled. Moreover, I have experience in computer programs. Please consider me, Mary Elizabeth Henderson, as a serious candidate for the Office of Treasurer.

Sidney Moon. In recent

years, I have watched the growth of the AERA SIG on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent with great joy. I believe the SIG is vital to the future of the field, because its members promote high quality, interdisciplinary research in the largest educational research organization in the world. As the past Association Editor for NAGC, I am aware of the importance of high quality research to our field. I am interested in serving as Treasurer to support the SIG and contribute to strategic growth. I would bring 30 years of experience in gifted education to the position, as well as over a decade of experience as an As-

sociate Dean at Purdue University. I have contributed more than 75 books, articles, and chapters to the field. My current scholarship is focused on secondary gifted education and intrapersonal characteristics that facilitate achievement and well being. I have considerable experience with fiscal management. In addition to handling numerous grant budgets, part of my role at Purdue is serving as Head of Academic Services, where I am responsible for an annual budget of about $1,000,000. I welcome the opportunity to provide leadership for the SIG.

Member-at-Large
10 candidates for 2 positions

Dr. Alexinia Baldwin is

Emeritus Professor of the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She is applying for Member -at-Large of AERA ROGCT SIG Board. She has served as the president of The Association for Gifted (TAG), Board member of The National Association for Gifted
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2012 Election Ballot, Continued

(Continued from page 10)

Children (NAGC), and USA delegate for the World Council for Gifted and Talented (WCGT). Her publications have focused on gifted underserved students; their identification and curriculum needs in the classrooms and the Masks that hide their recognition. Her Baldwin Identification Matrix has been used in many school districts to assist in identifying these students. She has traveled extensively nationally and internationally, as a consultant and lecturer in this area of concern. Most recently, she received the 2004 Distinguished Scholar award from NAGC; the 2009 NAGC Ann Isaacs Award; and was selected as the 2010 legacy series honoree. Her dedication to the field and her experience and insights regarding Education of the Gifted give her the necessary knowledge to support the activities of this SIG.

Shawn R. Cherry, a fourth

year doctoral candidate at the University of Connecticut, expects to graduate in May 2013 with a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology in Gifted and Talented Education and School

Counseling. Shawn received a M.S. in Elementary Education from Nova Southeastern University and a B.A. in International Relations from Brown University. Shawn taught in elementary classrooms for five years in the Palm Beach County, FL, school district. In addition to being a k-5 science resource teacher, Shawn was also a grade 3 and 5 gifted pullout enrichment teacher. Shawn has worked as a graduate research assistant with the National Research Center on Gifted and Talented, assisting in nationwide studies, and currently works as a graduate assistant to the coordinator of the Counseling Program at UConn. Shawns research interests include the social and emotional needs of the gifted, Dabrowskis Theory of Positive Deconstruction, LGBT issues, bullying issues, underachievement issues, multicultural and children at risk issues. In addition to the Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent, Shawn is also a member of the Conflict Resolution and Violence Prevention, and Queer SIGs at AERA. He was instrumental in founding the GLBTQ SIG at the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC).

cation advocating for social justice and equity in gifted education for Black and other culturally different students. My work focuses on the largest issue of closing the achievement gap, with concerns regarding how under-representation in gifted and AP classes contributes to the achievement gap. Collectively, my work (books, articles, presentations, consultancies, etc.) addresses the dual issue of why we must and how we can recruit and retain under -represented students in gifted and AP. I focus on deficit thinking (beliefs and attitudes), discriminatory policies and procedures, tests and instruments as gatekeepers to the equitable representation of Black, Hispanic, and low-income students identified and served as gifted. In addition to this, my work focuses on multicultural gifted education, including culturally responsive assessments, research, curriculum and materials, instruction and learning styles, and learning environments. As our schools become even more diverse along cultural lines, it behooves our field to be responsive and equitable. As a member of this SIG, I will work to make a Donna Ford. I have spent difference over 20 years in higher eduFall 2012

- for students, educators, and families. Dr. Bronwyn MacFarlane is Associate Professor of Gifted Education in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She currently serves on the national Board of Directors of the Consortium for Research on Educational Accountability and Teacher Evaluation. She also serves as Chair-Elect of the NAGC Counseling and Guidance Network. She received the 2011 UALR Distinguished Teaching Fellow Medallion and the UALR New Faculty Teaching Commendation. She received the 2008 NAGC Outstanding Doctoral Student Award; the 2008 College of William and Mary School of Education Deans Award for Excellence; the 2007 College of William and Mary Excellence in Gifted Education Doctoral Award; and the 2007 International P.E.O. Scholar Award. She holds a doctorate, two masters, and bachelor degrees, with specialties in leadership, administration, counseling, curriculum and instructional design, and teaching Gifted Education,
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Social Studies, and French. Dr. MacFarlane coedited Leading Change in Gifted Education: The Festschrift of Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska (2009 with Tamra Stambaugh). As a doctoral student at the College of William and Mary, she was elected as the AERA SIG Graduate Student Representative. As Member At Large, she will continue to spread awareness among educators to support the development and growth of talented individuals.

Michael S. Matthews is
associate professor of gifted education and AIG graduate program coordinator at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has been involved with the SIG since 2002 and during this time has served as SIG program chair, assistant program chair, awards committee member, member at large, and e-journal editor. He currently serves as SIG treasurer, but term limits in the AERA rules prevent seeking a third term in this role. Michael has witnessed and contributed to the growth of the SIG over the past decade, during which

time it grew from fewer than fifty to currently more than 200 members, and he would like to continue serving the SIG in 2013-15 as Member at Large. Michael is active in gifted education as co-editor of the Journal of Advanced Academics, with colleague Matt McBee and associate editors Elizabeth Shaunessy and Jill Adelson. In 2010, he was awarded the NAGC Early Scholar Award, and in 2012 with co-authors Alex Garn and Jennifer Jolly received the Michael Pyryt Collaboration Award from this SIG. Michael is the author or editor of four books and more than 20 peer reviewed articles in the SIG areas of giftedness, creativity, and talent development.

Nielsen Pereira (Ph.D.,

Purdue University) is an Assistant Professor of Gifted Education at Western Kentucky University. His research interests include underrepresented populations in gifted education, program evaluation, and university-based programming for gifted students. He taught English as a second language in public schools and language institutes in Brazil for 12 years.

He was coordinator of student programs in the Gifted Education Resource Institute at Purdue University. He has presented in national and international conferences, including AERA, NAGC, the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and has published in peerreviewed journals in the United States and in Brazil. He has been a member of AERA since 2007 and has served as a reviewer for the Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG. "I believe we should increase the participation of members of other AERA SIGs and divisions in the Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG events and sessions. We also need to offer additional mentorship and development activities for future scholars who will likely become leaders in our field."

Scott J. Peters is an Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater where he teaches courses related to educational measurement, research methods, and gift-

ed and talented education. His research interests include educational research methodology in addition to gifted and talented student identification, nontraditional giftedness and secondary student programming outcomes. He has presented at the state, national, and international levels on topics dealing with gifted education and research methodology and currently serves on committees and as an officer of the National Association for Gifted Children and the American Education Research Association. His scholarly work has appeared in Teaching for High Potential, Gifted Child Quarterly, the Journal of Advanced Academics, Gifted and Talented International, the Journal of Career and Technical Education Research, Educational Leadership, and Pedagogies. For the last four years he has served as the Assistant Program Chair and Program Chair for the Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Special Interest Group. He hopes to continue his work with the SIG in the capacity of an at-large officer.

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Anne Rinn is an Associate

Professor of Educational Psychology and Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Gifted and Talented Education at the University of North Texas. My research focuses on the social and emotional development of gifted adolescents and college students, as well as the impact of selective programs on gifted students self-concepts. I have numerous scholarly publications and presentations in the fields of gifted education and educational psychology, as well as a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the experiences of high ability women in the STEM fields. I have previously served on the NAGC Publications Committee, the NAGC Awards Committee, as the Associate Editor for Collaborative Publications at NAGC, on the NAGC R&E Publications Committee, on the NAGC R&E Awards Committee, as the Book Review Editor for Roeper Review, and as an Editorial Board Member of Honors in Practice. In 2004, I won the NAGC Doctoral Student Award. I am seeking a Member at Large position

within the Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG in order to contribute to the field of gifted education, to provide leadership regarding committees and SIG directions, and to help facilitate the advancement of the field through mentorship, research, and collaboration.

Hartono Tjoe is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Educational Psychology at Rutgers University. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University. His primary research interests are in the field of mathematics education, with a specific emphasis on gifted education and cognitive studies in education. His investigations focus on instances of latent and observable traits and attributes of highly successful mathematical problemsolvers. His instructional interactions with gifted middle school and high school students have allowed him to embrace conceptions of giftedness that range from pre-existing identities of scientificallyclassified derivatives to succeeding labels for sociallyconstructed groups. The dynamic nature of open cultural and environmental relationships presents him with the unique flexibility not only to recognize innate

mathematical talent, but also to grow support for the ongoing process of acquiring and consolidating mathematical proficiencies. He therefore considers it one of his most exigent educational responsibilities to minimize the possible risk that children with promising abilities might demonstrate low performance if they receive only inadequate nurturing. Given the nomination for the position of Member-at-Large, he looks forward to contributing to the AERA Special Interest Group: Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent a specific perspective of research in the education of mathematically gifted students.

Hope (Bess) E. Wilson is

an assistant professor of education at the University of North Florida, and graduated with a PhD in Gifted Education from the University of Connecticut. She is the current newsletter editor for the AERA: ROGTC SIG, and has served the SIG as a reviewer for the annual meeting. She has also been active in the National Association for Gifted Children, serving on the development com-

mittee, as the Arts Network incoming chair, and in various leadership roles for the Research and Evaluation Network. Hope is a coauthor of Letting Go Of Perfect: Overcoming Perfectionism in Kids (2009, Prufrock). She has been published in Journal for the Education of the Gifted, Gifted Child Today, and the Journal of Advanced Academics. Her cartoons are a regular feature in Teaching for High Potential. She regularly presents her research at the annual NAGC, AERA, and for state NAGC affiliate conferences. Her research has included gifted identification, acceleration, academic self-concept, and arts integration for gifted students, as well as early childhood and rural education. As a member-at-large, Hope will work to promote membership through outreach efforts and continue to support the publication and communication efforts of the SIG.

Graduate Student
2013-2014, 4 candidates for 1 position

Mona A. Haji Mohammad Alimin. I am interested to serve as the Graduate Student Representative because I would like to be
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more involved in disseminating up-to-date research and be at the forefront of new knowledge and understandings on giftedness, creativity and talent. As a third year Ph.D. student in the Gifted Education program at the University of Virginia, I investigated the present participation of Future Problem Solving Program Internationals (FPSPI) alumni in FPSPI. Through this experience, I understood the programs impact on its participants as well as the challenges and triumphs faced by FPSPI coordinators in running a creativity-focused program within a school setting. In addition to the research experience, I also trained as an Appraiser for Destination Imagination competitions, and was a Head Residential Counselor in the AP Challenge Summer Program for gifted minority students. My previous work experience includes providing support to teachers and students with special needs. As the Graduate Student Representative I would welcome the opportunity to learn, engage, and exchange ideas with fellow students and researchers who share similar research interests in this specialized area. My primary research interest is in giftedness,

specifically the area of testing and cultural differences in the conception of giftedness.

I, Marguerite Brunner, respectfully submit my name as a candidate for the position of graduate student representative on the SIG Board for Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent. In the University of Virginias gifted education doctoral program, I have seen that the work to be done in research and translating research into practice is vital for our field. I have had the opportunity to gain research experience through affiliation with the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, but I have also kept close connections to the field by teaching gifted education courses to in-service and pre-service teachers on campus and online. These experiences help me stay grounded in the need for research to address the range of questions from basic to applied research. I have made 15 presentations, co-authored three book chapters and three articles. As representative, I would bring the perspective

of a fellow graduate student who has experience from the most nave to one at the verge of beginning a career in higher education. I also have previous experience representing graduate students on U.Va.s Student Council, and would be honored to have the opportunity to both contribute to and learn from members of this SIG Board.

vation, and self-efficacy of learners of all ages. She was contributing author to the National Association for Gifted Educations Gifted Guide to U.K. Schools. Working as Program Associate on a grant between EMU, the Education Development Center, and USAID, Vanessa is coordinating the logistics of a practicum study tour for twenty-six Pakistani teacher educators. She has won a number Vanessa Lancaster is a of scholarly awards at EastDoctoral ern Michigan University student in where her master's rethe Edusearch thesis cational on Academically Gifted AdStudies olescents Transferring to an Urban Independent Gifted School: Education program at Eastern Michi- Effects on Academic Identity gan University. She holds a was supported by a univerMaster of Arts in Education- sity-funded grant. Her dedial Psychology from Eastern cation to quality scholarship Michigan University. As an and advancing research in the field of gifted education International Educational is unremitting. Consultant, Vanessa specializes in developing programs that best meet needs Jason McIntosh "There is of gifted learners from ditrue genius in everyone. verse cultures. She has helped develop gifted pro- But, if you judge a fish grams and curriculum for by its ability non-profit organizations and schools, trained train- to climb a ers, and conducted profes- tree, it will spend its sional development for teachers in Rwanda, Ugan- whole life da, England, and the United believing it is stupid." This States. Vanessas research quote from Albert Einstein interests lie in gifted educa- illustrates the importance tion, education in impover- of helping every child recognize his or her individual ished communities, tech(Continued on page 15) nology and learning, moti14

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talents. I have dedicated over ten years of my life to this mission. In that time I have taught gifted students in a pull-out program for five years, served as a gifted coordinator and collaborative peer teacher for four years, and, most recently, become a graduate research assistant with the Gifted Education Resource Institute at Purdue University while pursing a PhD in Gifted, Talented, and Creative Studies. It is my desire to make a difference in the lives of students by engaging in research centered on gifted program evaluation, curriculum, and professional development. Serving as the graduate student representative to the AERA ROGCT SIG will give me the opportunity to contribute to the field of gifted education while learning from many of the foremost researchers in the field today. Thank you for your consideration.

Advice from Dr. Knowledgeable, Continued

Dear Dr. Knowledgeable, I am an early career scholar. I earned my Ph.D. from Boring University, where I studied generic education major number three. However, recently a colleague showed me the website for Gifted Children, the on-line e-journal for the AERA ROGCT SIG, and I have become captivated with the possibilities for my own studies. However, others have discouraged me from pursuing this path. Can you provide me some reasons for studying gifted education? ucation. 1. Research is a model that practitioners use in the field to help them to conduct their own research. It is an example, a template and a reference for teachers. Your research opens doors for teachers to discover other sources of information and to stay current in the field. ent kinds of learners. 4. Research is a compass for practitioners. In a world driven by politics: agendas, policies, deadlines and procedures, it is the bedrock teachers and administrators can stand firmly upon in their educational decisions.

5. Finally, research colors all of the interactions 2. Gifted research inand relationship building of forms our practice as practitioners. These teachteachers and administraers and administrators can tors. It provides cutting communicate research as edge information that can the rationale for their decibe applied to help mold sions and inform staketomorrows leaders and to holders. Research unifies Thanks, prepare these students many people of multiple with 21st century skills and perspectives to the imContemplating Change concepts. portant mission of a school. Good research 3. Research on gifted crosses over political agenDear Contemplating education is important as a das. Change, nation. By starting with our most capable students Sincerely, I am so excited to hear first, teachers can then about your thoughts on Dr. Knowledgeable apply researched questions the peer-reviewed eand lessons learned to othjournal! I wish to encourer students. This builds Contributors: age you to pursue your human capacity in all Elke Milton, Walden University newfound passion! Here Nancy West, Principal, Spesare some compelling rea- learners as teachers adapt sard Holland Elementary School, Satellite Beach, FL sons to research gifted ed- research findings to differ-

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N E W S L E T T E R I N F O R MA T I O N

Hope E. Wilson, Newsletter Editor Hope.e.wilson@unf.edu If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, please contact Hope Wilson.

Newsletter for the Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association

AERA Annual Conference

"Education and Poverty: Theory, Research, Policy and Praxis"

Were on the web www.aeragifted.org

Saturday, April 27 Wednesday, May 1, 2013

San Francisco, California

Speaker for Business Meeting

Join us for the 2013 Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG Business Meeting in San Francisco. Our featured speaker will be Dr. Dean Keith Simonton, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, and renowned expert in the fields of genius, creativity, leadership, and aesthetics.
SIGnificance: Newsletter for the ROGCT SIG, AERA Fall 2012

Dean Keith Simonton

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