Being Smart About Gifted Education

The book presents practical strategies to identify and nurture exceptionally high ability in children. These authors promote the "mastery" (rather than the "mystery") model of gifted education and challenge several common practices and assumptions.

In this updated 3rd edition of Being Smart the authors provide current views on gifted education and on nurturing children's and adolescents' abilities. They discuss equity and diversity, creativity, assessments, homeschooling, neural plasticity, social-emotional issues, and more. Drs. Matthews and Foster address questions and concerns, and share resources. This book is for parents, grandparents, and teachers who want to foster high-level development and meaningful learning opportunities.Being Smart About Gifted Learning, the third edition of this book, emerges out of our decades of personal and professional experiences with giftedness, and also from a shared sense of the joys, challenges, and uniqueness of every child. In this book, we discuss ways to nurture children's learning and well-being across many dimensions of their lives.We've written Being Smart About Gifted Learning with parents in mind, but also for grandparents, teachers, and others who want to encourage children's and adolescents' optimal development. One of the themes running through this book, as with the first two editions, is that there's no single formula to follow. The best place to begin is by reflecting on your child's uniqueness. Consider their emotional, social, intellectual, and physical interests, strengths, and challenges, and learn to empower them to engage more meaningfully with a wide range of learning opportunities.

Shows how to move from the Mystery model to the Mastery model. Written for parents and educators--especially those who live and work with gifted/high-ability children--the authors describe ways to develop children's natural abilities. Introducing the Mystery and Mastery models of gifted education, the authors invite controversy by challenging several commonly held assumptions. They then present practical strategies to help parents and educators identify and nurture the abilities of children with high ability. This book answers the charges that special programs for gifted children are elitist. The authors demonstrate that it is simply appropriate to provide educational experiences that each child needs at a particular time.

From two internationally recognized experts in the field of gifted education comes this timely exploration of how best to nurture a child’s unique gifts, and set them on a path to a happily productive life — in school and beyond. What is intelligence? Is it really a have or have not proposition, as we’ve been led to believe? Are some children just destined to fall behind? Dona Matthews and Joanne Foster answer those questions with a resounding “No!” In Beyond Intelligence, they demonstrate that every child has the ability to succeed — with the right support and guidance. But how can parents provide that support? Matthews and Foster proceed from the assumption that knowledge is power, offering parents an information-packed guide to identifying a child’s ability, fostering creativity, and bolstering effort and persistence. Using case studies and anecdotes from their personal and professional experience, they explore different ways of learning; the links between creativity and intelligence; and how to best to provide emotional and social supports. They offer critical advice on how to work co-operatively with schools and educators, and address how to embrace failures as learning opportunities. Drawing on the latest research in brain development and education theory, Beyond Intelligence is a must-read for today’s parents and educators.

In ABCs of Raising Smarter Kids, award-winning author and gifted education expert Dr. Joanne Foster reveals ways to help kids thrive. Moving from A to Z, she offers helpful information on child development, and shares hundreds of current resources and practical suggestions. Each letter/chapter features a different thematic focus such as Education, Health and Happiness, Motivation, and Productivity. Beautifully illustrated by Christine Thammavongsa, ABCs is a comprehensive, reader-friendly, and unique parenting book.

Based on new surveys of nearly 1,500 gifted teens, this book is the ultimate guide to thriving in a world that doesn’t always support or understand high ability. Full of surprising facts, survey results, step-by-step strategies, inspiring teen quotes, and insightful expert essays, the guide gives readers the tools they need to appreciate their giftedness as an asset and use it to make the most of who they are. The fourth edition has been revised for a new generation of high-end learners and includes information on twice-exceptionality, emotional and social intelligence, creativity, teen brain development, managing life online, testing and standards, homeschooling, International Baccalaureate programs, college alternatives, STEM careers, cyberbullying, and other hot topics.

A lively read from a working teacher offers practical engagement strategies for students with attention challenges If learning is a motor, student engagement is the key. But when teaching students with ADHD and other attention challenges, sometimes even the most finely tuned classroom can sputter. Teach for Attention! is your tool belt of teaching strategies for students with ADHD, low self-confidence, distraction, and other attention challenges. Dozens of true classroom stories show the strategies in action. It’s all about making simple fixes so you can reach every student without changing your approach or revamping your curriculum. Carry these ideas with you like tools on a belt—the right one will be there when you need it!

Based on surveys with more than 5,000 gifted young adults, If I'm So Smart, Why Aren't the Answers Easy? sheds light on the day-to-day experiences of those growing up gifted. In their own enlightening words, teens share their experiences with giftedness, including friendships and fitting in with peers, school struggles and successes, and worries about the future. By allowing teens to share their real-life stories, the book gives readers a self-study guide to the successes and pitfalls of being gifted in a world not always open to their unique and diverse needs. Teens will be able to reflect on their own experiences through the engaging journal prompts included in the book, and their parents and teachers will enjoy hearing directly from other students about the topics gifted teens face daily. Grades 6-10