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Upcoming Gifted Education Institutes

Experience institutes that will help you grow as a professional and learn to address contemporary issues in gifted education.

Registration now open! 

Summer 2024 Teaching for Learning Institute

Resources & Strategies that Promote Differentiation & Talent Development for HiCap Learners

HiCap students need advanced instruction matched to their strengths and levels of understanding in order to learn and grow. In this engaging and practical three-day institute we will focus on providing the latest research, resources and strategies that respond to the following questions: How do you differentiate instruction in ways that develop students’ talents and strengths? What evidence-supported curriculum resources and instructional strategies encourage student learning? How do you identify HiCap students and assess their growth? What psychosocial skills do your students need to maximize learning? And, how do we support equitable instruction and identification for all students, particularly those from culturally, linguistically and economically different backgrounds?

  • COLLABORATE with others in the field of gifted education.
  • CREATE new lessons, units and program designs based on evidence-supported frameworks and strategies.
  • CONTRIBUTE your ideas and successes in serving gifted students.

Register NOW  CONTACT US 

  • Dates: June 26-28, 2024
  • Location: On campus
    Whitworth University
    300 W. Hawthorne Road
    Spokane, WA 99251
  • Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
  • Cost: $399* per person (includes lunch)
    *School-based teams that register together will receive every sixth registration free; Whitworth University is a Washington state-approved clock hour provider. 

Join us for three days of engaging sessions focused on ways we can use or adapt curriculum resources, identify strengths, differentiate instruction and support psychosocial skill development. Each day includes a keynote, breakout session, an in-depth multi-day strand, as well as opportunities to share your ideas and network with others around specific topics of interest. Select STEM and SEL sessions and clock hours are available.

Click each link to learn more about our breakout sessions and strand topics, featured speakers and more. Keynote speakers and session descriptions are still being added! 

Daily Schedule

Time Activity
9-10:15 a.m.

Welcome & Keynote Presentation

10:30-11:30 a.m. Daily Breakout Session (choose a different one each day)
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Lunch (provided)

12:45-2:45 p.m.*

Session Strands (choose one strand to attend all three days)

*On Friday, June 28, the session strands will end at 2 p.m. and there will be no roundtables. This allows individuals ample time to travel home. 

3-4 p.m.*

Roundtables, Networking & Reflection

Keynote Sessions

  • Advancing Equity in Rural Gifted Education – Amy Azano
    Context influences school funding, curricular options and opportunities for young people; yet rarely does educational practice or policy account for these contextual differences. This keynote presentation will provide an overview of the salient challenges related to rural education, with a focus on equity issues in gifted education, ways to disrupt harmful stereotypes and deficit ideologies, and innovative programs designed to invest in rural students, teachers, schools and communities.
  • Remaining Open: Why Openness to Experience Is Important to Gifted Education – Shelagh Gallagher 
    Advocates often justify gifted education based on the need for future innovators and problem solvers; in other words, for creative experts. One attribute that is increasingly recognized in the psychological literature as essential for creative expertise is the personality attribute of "openness to experiences." The research on openness to experiences raises interesting and potentially challenging questions for identification, curriculum and daily instruction in gifted programs – if cultivating creative expertise is really our aim. In this presentation, we will go from research to practice as we consider the relationship between openness to experience, intelligence, achievement, creativity and a desire for deep, meaning-filled learning. 

Breakout Sessions & Roundtables

Breakout Sessions (choose a different one each day)

Wednesday, June 26
  • Place-Based CLEAR Curriculum – Amy Azano
    Based on best practices in gifted education, the CLEAR Curriculum offers teachers a framework for gifted learners. This session will provide an overview of the CLEAR Curriculum and how researchers have incorporated place-based pedagogies in language arts units across several unique contexts.  
  • Assessing Learning Through Projects – Kristi Stroyan 
    The purpose of assessment is for students to demonstrate learning and understanding. What is it we truly want them to understand? When we can answer that question, we open ourselves up to the possibility of projects as an assessment. During this session, educators will develop their understanding of project-based assessments, learn to create clear rubrics grounded in thinking skills and identify areas within their existing curriculum to implement this learning practice. 
  • Differentiation in the Classroom: Designing for Students – Jen Flo
    Imagine a dynamic classroom where students’ needs, strengths and interests are acknowledged and accommodated. The teacher is fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment where students feel valued and empowered. Differentiation is not just about academic content; it also encompasses social-emotional support and cultural responsiveness. The classroom culture promotes collaboration, critical thinking and positive mindsets. In this session, we will use a variety of materials to explore our core beliefs about student learning and instructional practices and construct a model of the classroom to create a space where differentiation is working effectively (i.e., every student feels challenged, supported and motivated to reach their full potential).
Thursday, June 27
  • There’s Art in Me! Using Culturally Diverse Art to Reveal Advanced Abilities in K-3 – Shelagh Gallagher 
    There’s Art In Me!  is a series of culturally relevant arts-based interdisciplinary primary lessons that encourage advanced ability. Lessons feature a diverse array of artists and artistic styles, while reinforcing higher-order thinking and core concepts in science, mathematics and literacy. Come see how Romare Bearden, Alma Thomas, Romeo Britto and Joaquin Torres-Garcia become the source of talent spotting! 
  • Scaffolding & Access to Higher Level Thinking in ELA – Kristi Stroyan 
    The Jacob’s Ladder Reading Comprehension Program is a supplemental reading program which targets reading comprehension and critical thinking skills for all learners. This reading comprehension program is an excellent way to scout for talented, advanced readers and thinkers who would benefit from advanced academic and intellectual services. The skill ladders increase in complexity, making it simple to determine a student’s thinking ability. Participants will be introduced to, learn and experience how to scaffold instruction in reading as a way to provide enriching experiences for all students and also use the model to scout for talents and strengths. 
Friday, June 28
  • Summer Enrichment for Rural Learners – Amy Azano
    The Summer Enrichment Experience at Virginia Tech (SEE VT) is a residential summer camp designed for middle school students from rural communities. Campers engage in humanities, STEM and social experiences that are place-based and rural-focused. While they are on campus at SEE VT, they are also immersed in the ways we can value and sustain the rural places we love. 
  • Differentiated Concept Maps – Shelagh Gallagher 
    Formal concept maps are an effective, evidence-supported strategy to help students create hierarchies of ideas. But sometimes they seem too open-ended and hard to assess across a classroom of students. It doesn’t have to be that way! They are useful for all students but can be particularly helpful in ensuring that gifted students are challenged to stretch their conceptual thinking. In this session, we will review the basics of hierarchical concept maps and then look at how the elements of a concept map can be applied flexibly to create differentiated assignments for students of differing abilities. 
  • Universal Screening & Local Norms: Use Existing Data Wisely (and Efficiently) to Further Equity in Your Highly Capable Program – Brian Gabele & Jody Hess
    New legislation in Washington state requires universal screening for highly capable students. By using existing data efficiently, you can recognize student strength in specific domains of learning and create a diverse pool of HiCap referrals. Analysis of student data supports differentiation of instruction for advanced learners. Contextualizing student performance using local norms and student growth can further districts’ goals of proportionality in their HiCap programs. 

Roundtable Discussions

Celebrate and share in your learning as you engage with other participants at the end of each day. Each day will feature a different way to learn more and reflect on best practices. Enjoy special panel discussions, select a roundtable about a topic of interest, and learn or practice a specific skill or strategy – share your own ideas, talk with an expert, win door prizes and more! 

Content for roundtables include the following:  

Wednesday
  • Rural Reflections: Advocacy – Amy Azano
    Let’s brainstorm the various ways we can become advocates and change agents in our rural communities and small towns! 
  • Get Involved in WAETAG – Reby Parsley  
    Learn about state-level advocacy, learning opportunities, and ways to get involved at the local and state level! Meet others in the state and share ideas.
Thursday
  • Rural Reflections: Equity & Policy – Amy Azano
    Come chat about the ways we can critique education policy through an equity lens for rural schools.
  • Get Involved Nationally: Info About the National Association for Gifted Children – Shelagh Gallagher  
    Do you want to extend your reach in the field of gifted education? Are you curious about what teachers and leaders in other states are doing? Learn more about what the National Association for Gifted Children provides for teachers, administrators and other leaders in the field and how you can get involved!  
  • Interested in an Endorsement in Gifted Education? – Tamra Stambaugh   
    Learn more about Whitworth’s endorsement program and online courses, cohorts and professional development opportunities.

 Session Strands (choose one to attend all three days)

  • Context Matters: Understanding Rural – Amy Azano
    This three-part “deep dive” series will focus on the ways in which context influences teaching and learning. In this first session, the presenter will provide an overview of rural education with a specific focus on rural issues in Washington. Participants will have an opportunity to engage in community asset mapping to prep for curriculum building in later sessions. In the second session, the presenter will provide an overview of place-based and critical placed pedagogies. Participants will have an opportunity to engage in several hands-on activities they can take into their classrooms. In this final session, participants will build their own place-based lesson planning for gifted learners. 
  • Problem-Based Learning for Gifted Students:  Design & Instruction – Shelagh Gallagher  
    Curious about problem-based learning (PBL)? Ready to try your own unit but don’t know where to start?  Want to pick up a unit and feel capable of getting off to a good start? This deep dive will focus on all of these. Day one will provide a general introduction and a chance to experience the beginning of a PBL unit from the student’s point of view. On day two, we will look at PBL design, and on day three, time is set aside for discussion about implementation. Come ready for lots of hands-on involvement!
  • Dynamic Strategies for Differentiating & Scaffolding Curriculum for Gifted Learners – Reby Parsley  
    In this deep dive session, learn evidence-based approaches to differentiate curriculum for high ability and high potential students. Through hands-on activities, explore instructional protocols designed to facilitate the analysis, synthesis and application of the curricular content and make connections to your district’s curriculum. Delve into protocols such as hexagonal thinking, text rendering, paired texts and analysis carousels, while also discussing scaffolding techniques suitable for diverse ability levels, providing a solid foundation for effective differentiation in all types of gifted education settings. And, best of all, you will have created lesson plans you can take with you into next school year. 
  • Cluster Grouping How-To & Other Classroom-Based Strategies for Support – Rebecca O’Brien  
    With many districts and schools re-examining how to best serve their students within the constraints of budgets and resources, many are turning to in-class strategies. Cluster grouping is often the first choice for supporting our high ability and high potential learners in the classroom. But how do we do it? What does it look like? How do we do it well? Join this three-day deep dive as we discuss cluster grouping and other strategies for classroom-based support to grow and challenge our highly capable students.
This is a draft schedule and is subject to change. 

Additional Information

Academic Credit/Clock Hours

You may elect to receive one graduate-level credit from Whitworth University for an additional fee of $150. There will be additional course assignments for those receiving graduate-level credit. This credit can be used to meet the elective requirement for the Washington State Gifted Education Specialty Endorsement offered at Whitworth. One graduate-level semester credit equals 15 Washington state-approved clock hours. Registration for credit will occur during the institute. 

Washington state-approved clock hours will also be available for $3 per clock hour with a total of 16 clock hours available. Contact gifted@whitworth.edu if you have questions. Additional information will be sent regarding signing up for clock hours to all registrants prior to the conference. Some sessions meet STEM, DEI, Leadership or SEL clock hour requirements.  

Payment Information & Cancellation/Refund Policy

Payments with credit cards can be made via the online registration form. We also accept checks and purchase orders. Please email purchase orders to gifted@whitworth.edu or mail them to:

Whitworth University
Center for Gifted Education
300 W. Hawthorne Road
Spokane, WA 99251

All monies less $25 processing fee will be refunded if paid registrations are canceled by 5 p.m. PST on Friday, Jan. 23, 2024. After Jan. 23, no refund is provided. Contact the Center for Gifted Education at gifted@whitworth.edu or 509.777.3383 to cancel your registration and request a refund.

Hotel Accommodations

Need a place to stay? Hotels near campus, with discounts, can be found here

Featured Speakers

Amy Azano, Ph.D.

Amy Azano is a professor of adolescent literacy and rural education at the Virginia Tech School of Education and is the founding director of Virginia Tech's Center for Rural Education.

Shelagh A. Gallagher, Ph.D.

Shelagh Gallagher's career in gifted education spans over 30 years, with positions including classroom teacher, school administrator, founding team member for two schools for gifted students, and 13 years as a professor, researcher, writer and director of two national curriculum grants at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte). Gallagher is currently director of engaged education at UNC Charlotte, where she works with educators from Charlotte to Kazakhstan, conducting research, writing curriculum and contributing to policy initiatives. She is co-author of the national policy report "Americans Agree" and leads the North Carolina Talent Delayed/Talent Denied advocacy initiative. Gallagher has received the Distinguished Service Award and the James J. Gallagher Award for Advocacy from the North Carolina Association for Gifted and Talented, the Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence from UNC Charlotte, and the Article of the Year Award from NAGC’s journal,Gifted Child Quarterly. Gallagher is an eight-time winner of the NAGC Curriculum Award for her problem-based learning curriculum. She is also the recipient of the Person of SIGnificance award from the National Society for Gifted and Talented. She is currently in her third term as U.S. delegate to the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children. In September 2023, she became president-elect of the National Association for Gifted Children after serving three terms on their board of directors.  She is a reading mentor to 4th-grade students, and each summer she spends a few weeks with gifted youth at Camp Yunasa.

Matthew C. Makel, Ph.D.

Matthew Makel is professor and research chair in high abilities studies in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on academic talent development and open science research methods. In talent development, he investigates the equitable allocation of gifted identification and services as well as how schools can better meet student learning needs. In open science, he explores how to improve research transparency and rigor so that society can better understand the generalizability, reproducibility and replicability of research findings. He also co-edited "Toward a More Perfect Psychology: Improving Trust, Accuracy and Transparency in Research" with Jonathan Plucker (American Psychological Association) and "From Giftedness to Gifted Education: Reflecting Theory in Practice" with Jonathan Plucker and Anne Rinn (Prufrock Press). Makel has earned degrees from Duke University, Cornell University and Indiana University.

Whitworth Faculty and Washington State Speakers

Rebecca L. O'Brien, Ph.D.

Rebecca O'Brien is currently an assistant professor of gifted education in the graduate studies of education department at Whitworth University. She received her Ph.D. in educational psychology with a concentration in giftedness, creativity and talent development from the University of Connecticut. Before receiving her doctorate, she taught science, math and robotics at a middle school in Baton Rouge, La. Her research primarily focuses on characteristics and behaviors that encourage and limit the identification of high potential behaviors, particularly in students from underserved populations. Additionally, O'Brien has experience and professional interest in assessment, instrument development and teacher learning.

Tamra Stambaugh, Ph.D.

Tamra Stambaugh is an associate professor and the Margo Long Endowed Chair in Gifted Education at Whitworth University. Stambaugh is the co-author/editor of several articles, monographs, book chapters, and award-winning books and curriculum units. Her research interests are focused on curriculum and instructional interventions for promoting talent development and expertise as well as strategies and systems for identifying and serving students from low income and rural settings. Stambaugh is a reviewer for several journal articles in the field and serves on the Gifted Child Quarterly advisory board, the American Educational Research Association Gifted SIG executive committee, and the National Association for Gifted Children board of directors. Prior to her role at Whitworth University, Stambaugh was the executive director of Programs for Talented Youth and an associate research professor at Vanderbilt University. She received her Ph.D. from the College of William & Mary. Prior to moving to higher education, Stambaugh was a HiCap teacher and coordinator of gifted programs at the local and regional state level.

Reby Parsley, Ed.D.

Reby Parsley earned her doctoral degree in education leadership with an emphasis in gifted education from the University of Washington. Her dissertation evaluated the impact of elementary talent development models on academic growth and identification rates of minority students for gifted education services. Prior to earning her doctorate, she earned a master's of education from the University of Washington in curriculum and instruction and a bachelor's in elementary education from Saint Martin's University. Parsley has a national board certification in early and middle childhood literacy and holds a superintendent credential. She currently works as the secondary gifted specialist in the Kent School District and as an adjunct professor at Whitworth University. In all, she has 14 years of classroom teaching experience, most being in self-contained and gifted cluster classrooms. She also serves as president of the Washington Association of Educators of the Talented and Gifted.

Jen Flo

Jen Flo has been an educator for over 25 years. As a private and public school teacher, she worked in a variety of general education and gifted education programs. It was during her tenure as an enrichment teacher that she began to truly understand the unique needs of gifted and talented students. Driven by her own need to learn, she joined the Washington Association of Educators of the Talented and Gifted, volunteering to train with a newly formed cadre of Washington trainers. Flo recently served as president of the Washington Association of Educators of the Talented and Gifted and has served nearly a decade overall with the organization as a board member and conference presenter. She earned a master's degree in gifted and talented education at Whitworth University. Her interest in addressing the unmet needs of students led her into program evaluation, where she developed a guidebook to assist districts with internal program evaluation. Currently, she is the regional administrator for advanced learning and teacher support with Capital Region Educational Service District 113, overseeing two multi-district consortiums and supporting advanced learning and comprehensive induction support for new educators. Flo consults with districts and schools in the areas of gifted and talented education and also serves on the Washington State OSPI advisory committee for gifted education and as an adjunct instructor in gifted education at Whitworth University. 

Jody Hess

Jody Hess is project director for Javits HiCapPLUS and program supervisor for highly capable student programs at OSPI. A former teacher, principal and program director, Hess is experienced with a variety of talent development models. 

Brian Gabele

Brian Gabele is the director of assessment and program evaluation at the Clover Park School District in Pierce County, Wash. He specializes in educational research with a focus on student growth and assessment processes. Gabele has worked as a K-12 administrator since 2011 and has served at Seattle Public Schools, the Kent School District and the Clover Park School District. His latest work focuses on improving proportionality in district referral processes using unique norming approaches and pre-existing academic data to identify prospective highly capable students who would not have been identified using traditional screening processes.

Kristi Stroyan

Kristi Stroyan has been in the field of gifted education since 2006. With a background in reading and literacy and a passion for gifted education, she enjoys leading educators to deepen their understanding of gifted students and develop skills to target their unique needs. She is currently teaching language arts and social studies at a highly capable program in Spokane. Stroyan fosters an environment of intellectual curiosity and supports the holistic development of her students. Through her combined roles as an educator and presenter, Stroyan is dedicated to empowering individuals to reach their full potential. 

After attending Whitworth's Institute on Differentiation last summer, I decided almost immediately that Whitworth was the best place to continue my education. The depth of knowledge, professionalism, and caring communication I saw from everyone I met there made Whitworth my clear decision.

Nick Castilleja, M.A.T., Gifted & Talented

Spring 2024 Virtual Institute

Identification for What? Aligning Services & Assessments for HiCap Learners

This year’s annual webinar series focuses on ways to create equitable identification systems that are matched to needed services for HiCap learners. The series begins with an overview of evidence-supported practices and potential barriers in identification. Subsequent sessions highlight best practices and practical strategies for aligning services by domains of strength and levels of intensity. Join in conversations with leading researchers and practitioners in Washington state and across the nation. Be prepared to ask questions, engage with scholars and colleagues, and share your own ideas and effective practices. 

Registration is closed. 

  • Dates: Tuesdays, Feb. 6-27, 2024
  • Location: Online; sessions will not be recorded.
  • Time: 4:30-6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time*
  • Cost: $99 per person (includes all four sessions)

*Feb. 6: 5-6:30 p.m. 

Attend the institute and receive one credit for free after you enroll in either our master's program or the specialty endorsement prior to July 1! You can start your application here

If you have questions about the registration process, please contact the Center for Gifted Education at 509.777.3383 or gifted@whitworth.edu. Whitworth University is a Washington state-approved clock hour provider. 

Click each link to learn more about our daily schedule, breakout session and strand topics, featured speakers and more. Participants may want to bring their own electronic device to access some materials. 

Daily Schedule

Date Time Activity
Feb. 6 5-6:30 p.m.

Exploring Effective Strategies for Gifted Student Identification form the National Center for Research on Gifted Education

Feb. 13 4:30-6 p.m. The Importance of Ensuring a Match Between Who We Identify and What Services We Provide to Students in Highly Capable Programs
Feb. 20  4:30-6 p.m.

Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth

Feb. 27 4:30-6 p.m.

Practical Conversations and Lessons from the Field

Keynote Sessions

  • Exploring Effective Strategies for Gifted Student Identification form the National Center for Research on Gifted Education – Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach
    Join us for a webinar where we delve into critical questions influencing the identification of gifted students. We'll examine whether implementing local norms can effectively increase the representation of underserved students in gifted programs. Additionally, we'll explore the efficacy of teacher rating scales in recognizing gifted individuals. We will also share the strategies employed by schools that have successfully identified English Learners (EL) for gifted programs. Drawing from seven years of research conducted by the National Center for Research on Gifted Education (NCRGE), this session aims to illuminate the challenges and successes in this field. While the search for a definitive solution to underrepresentation in gifted programs continues, we will highlight lessons learned, common pitfalls to avoid, and promising practices worth considering. This webinar is an opportunity for educators and administrators seeking to strengthen their approach to gifted student identification.
  • The Importance of Ensuring a Match Between Who We Identify and What Services We Provide to Students in Highly Capable Programs – Jann Leppien
    It is essential to align highly capable services and programming to match the needs of students served. Too often identification and placement practices are established without considering a basic question: Identification for what? We will explore ways to interpret data to design service delivery options and plan curricular and instructional approaches that can be implemented to provide a more appropriate alignment between strengths of learners and interventions that will provide for their continuous growth.
  • Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth – Camilla Benbow and David Lubinksi 
    Fifty years ago exceptionally gifted 13-year-olds (top 1 in 10,000 in ability; 263 males, 71 females) were being identified and assessed for studying creative accomplishments, impactful careers, and the development of excellence and eminence across the lifespan. A decade later, a cohort of elite STEM graduate students, ages 24-25 (270 males, 255 females), attending top U.S. universities, were identified for the same purpose (and to serve as a comparison). Young adolescents with prodigious abilities do become creative, with accomplishments and consequential careers that global economies prize. By age 50, over 10% of the profoundly gifted secured tenure at research-intensive universities, others became Fortune 500 CEOs, leaders in medicine, attorneys at prestigious firms, or were entrusted with valued economic and human resources. Overall, their level of accomplishment was commensurate with the age 50 accomplishments of elite STEM graduate students. Educational interventions experienced in adolescence were seen as giving a boost to eventual career outcomes more than 30 years later. For both samples and the men and women therein, substantial individual and group differences were observed in life priorities, time allocation, and breadth of interests but not in their well-being and life satisfaction, which was high. This replicated earlier findings on other high-potential but somewhat less exceptional populations. Beyond talent and opportunity, how individuals choose to allocate their time is essential for understanding remarkable careers. These findings speak to issues of human flourishing and the nurturing of extraordinary human potential.

    Lubinski and Benbow have written several articles about SMPY. Two examples follow. If attending the webinar, they ask that you read these articles prior to their session. 

    Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2021). Intellectual Precocity: What Have We Learned Since Terman? Gifted Child Quarterly, 65, 3-28. View in PDF

    Lubinski, D., Benbow, C. P., McCabe, K. O., & Bernstein, B. O. (2023). Composing Meaningful Lives: Exceptional Women and Men at Age 50. Gifted Child Quarterly67, 278–305. View in PDF

  • Practical Conversations and Lessons from the Field – with a panel of leaders within the state of Washington
    How do districts align identification and services? What practical strategies and ideas have been successfully implemented in schools? In this panel discussion, district leaders will discuss how they align services and identification. They will also discuss how to apply the evidence supported strategies discussed in this webinar series. Time will also be allotted during this session for you to ask questions, share ideas and network.

Additional Information

Academic Credit/Clock Hours

You may elect to receive one graduate-level credit from Whitworth University for an additional fee of $150. There will be additional course assignments for those receiving graduate-level credit. This credit can be used to meet the elective requirement for the Washington State Gifted Education Specialty Endorsement offered at Whitworth. One graduate-level semester credit equals 15 Washington state-approved clock hours. Registration for credit will occur during the institute. 

Washington state-approved clock hours will also be available for $3 per clock hour with a total of 16 clock hours available. Contact gifted@whitworth.edu if you have questions. Additional information will be sent regarding signing up for clock hours to all registrants prior to the conference. Some sessions meet STEM, DEI, Leadership or SEL clock hour requirements.  

Payment Information and Cancellation/Refund Policy

Payments with credit cards can be made via the online registration form. We also accept checks and purchase orders. Please email purchase orders to gifted@whitworth.edu or mail them to:

Whitworth University
Center for Gifted Education
300 W. Hawthorne Rd.
Spokane, WA 99251

All monies less $25 processing fee will be refunded if paid registrations are cancelled by 5 p.m. PST on Friday, Jan. 23, 2024. After Jan. 23, no refund is provided. Contact the Center for Gifted Education at gifted@whitworth.edu or 509.777.3383 to cancel your registration and request a refund.

Hotel Accommodations

Need a place to stay? Hotels near campus, with discounts, can be found here

Featured Speakers

Del Siegle, Ph.D.

Del Siegle is the Lynn and Ray Neag Endowed Chair for Talent Development in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut, where he was honored as a teaching fellow. Prior to earning his PhD, Siegle worked as a gifted and talented coordinator in Montana. He is past president of the National Association of Gifted Children and has served on the board of directors of The Association for the Gifted. He is also past chair of the AERA Research on Giftedness, Creativity and Talent SIG. He has been co-editor of the Journal of Advanced Academics and Gifted Child Quarterly. He writes a technology column for Gifted Child Today. Siegle’s research interests include web-based instruction, motivation of gifted students and teacher bias in the identification of students for gifted programs. Along with Gary Davis and Sylvia Rimm, he is an author of the popular textbook, Education of the Gifted and Talented (6th and 7th ed.). He is the director of the National Center for Research on Gifted Education (NCRGE), which replaces the former National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT).

Betsy McCoach, Ph.D.

Betsy McCoach is a professor of Research Methods, Measurement and Evaluation and a faculty member in the M.S. in Data Science program at the University of Connecticut. She has extensive experience in latent variable and structural equation modeling, longitudinal data analysis, hierarchical linear modeling, instrument design and factor analysis. Her substantive areas of research interest include gifted education and underachievement. Ms. McCoach has published over 100 peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters and books, including Introduction to Modern Modeling Methods (2022) with Dakota Cintron, Multilevel Modeling Methods with Introductory and Advanced Applications (2022), with Ann O’Connell and Bethany Bell, Multilevel Modeling of Educational Data with Ann O’Connell and Instrument Development in the Affective Domain (3rd edition), co-authored with Robert K. Gable. She served as the founding co-editor for the Journal of Advanced Academics and co-editor of Gifted Child Quarterly. She is the founder and conference chair of the Modern Modeling Methods conference, held at UCONN. She has served as a Co-Principal Investigator and research methodologist on several federally funded research grants, including the National Center for Research on Gifted Education, Evaluating the Impact of Integrated Behavior and Reading Multi-Tiered Systems of Support in Elementary Schools, and Project NEEDs2, all funded by IES, and Science of Learning and Art of Communication (SLAC), funded by NSF. She is also past chair of several AERA SIGs, including the Structural Equation Modeling SIG, Multilevel Modeling SIG, Educational Statisticians SIG, and Research on Giftedness, Creativity and Talent Development SIG, and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division 5, and winner of the 2022 Distinguished Scholar Award from NAGC.

Jann Leppien, Ph.D.

Jann H. Leppien is professor emerita from Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash. She is the former Margo Long Chair in Gifted Education and program director for graduate programs in gifted education (2013-2021). Her professional experience includes serving as a research associate at the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, working as an elementary and middle school teacher, and coordinating gifted education services K-8. She conducts professional staff training for educators in the areas of differentiated instruction, curriculum design and assessment for advanced students, thinking skills and gifted program development, both nationally and internationally. She has served on the boards of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), the McLaughlin Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, and the College of Education, Health and Human Development (EHHD) Advisory Council at Montana State University, and currently serves on the board for the 2E Center for Research and Professional Development at Bridges Academy in Studio, City, Calif. and NAGC’s Leadership Committee. Currently, she serves as core faculty for Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education. She is the co-author of The Multiple Menu Model: A Practical Guide for Developing Differentiated Curriculum and The Parallel Curriculum: A Design to Develop High Potential and Challenge High-Ability Students and series editor for content related PCM books. She is also president of Edufest, a summer institute on teaching and learning in Boise, Idaho that has been serving educators for over 25 years.

Camilla Persson Benbow, Ph.D.

Camilla Persson Benbow is Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College. She has led Peabody, one of the nation’s leading colleges of education and human development, since 1998. A prominent scholar of talent identification and talent development, Ms. Benbow also co-directs the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth, a longitudinal study examining the developmental trajectories of more than 5,000 individuals now in its 49th year. She is particularly interested in developing intellectual talent and excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Benbow began her academic career at Johns Hopkins University following completion of her doctorate in education in 1981 before moving to Iowa State University and later Vanderbilt. She has served on the National Science Board, as vice-chair of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, and on the board of the American Psychological Foundation. She is a past trustee of Fisk University. A fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Educational Research Association, she has received the David Imig Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (2010), the President's Award from the National Association for Gifted Children (2009), and the Distinguished Alumna Award from Johns Hopkins University (2008). In 2004, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the MENSA Education and Research Foundation.

David Lubinski, Ph.D.

David Lubinski's interests are concentrated on psychological measurement and assessing individual differences in human behavior, focusing on the identification of different types of intellectually precocious youth and the conditions for enhancing their learning, work performance and creativity. With Camilla Benbow, he co-directs the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY), a longitudinal study of more than 5,000 intellectually talented participants, initially identified before age 13.