LEAP NEWS
2nd Nine Weeks
TAGT Conference in Ft. Worth
I can't believe we are already at the end of a semester! It sure has gone fast but we have had a lot of fun. I had the privilege in December of attending the Gifted and Talented Conference in Ft.Worth to gain even more knowledge about your children and how their brain works. I was inspired by one of the keynote speakers and I wanted to let you read a little more about him.
Keynote: From Evaluation to Inspiration
Scott Barry Kaufman
Cognitive Psychologist
Severe ear infections rendered three-year-old Scott Barry Kaufman nearly deaf. As a result, he needed a few extra seconds to process things in real time, which landed him in a special education classroom. Despite his drive for more intellectual challenges, he was constantly held back by his label, and low expectations from teachers. Inspired by his personal experience, and supported by his research on the development of intelligence and creativity, Kaufman encourages educators, school psychologists, parents, and caregivers to move towards a culture of inspiration. Kaufman argues for intelligent testing as opposed to intelligence testing: deep evaluation that focuses on finding out each child’s strengths and weaknesses, and the characteristics that make them unique. When students are inspired or activated, they come alive. It’s time to focus on a practical approach to individual needs that enables students to unlock their potential and reach their intellectual, creative, and personal goals, at school and beyond.
Kaufman is a cognitive psychologist who studies the development of intelligence, creativity, and personality. In his book, Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined, he takes a look at why our society is so obsessed with measuring intelligence, instead of using the test results to inform tailored interventions to help all people succeed. Kaufman is the Scientific Director of The Imagination Institute and a researcher in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a co-founder of popular nonprofit website The Creativity Post and writes the blog “Beautiful Minds” for Scientific American Mind. He has a doctorate in cognitive psychology from Yale University and a master’s degree in experimental psychology from Cambridge University, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar.