Here are selected links to Web sites about gifted education. Many other sites can be found by Web searching. As should be the case with all information you find on the Internet, be sure to check the information in those sites against other real-world sources and other sources of sound advice. MCGT does not endorse or recommend any programs, websites, or activities, unless specifically noted.
Center for Talent Development (CTD)
The Center for Talent Development, part of Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, is the Midwest’s regional center on gifted education. The Web site includes links describing resources for educators, students and parents, Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS) program, the Summer Program, and CTD’s Gifted LearningLinks distance learning program for gifted students.
Center for Talented Youth (CTY)
The Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland is a leader in the education of pre-collegiate students of high academic ability. It is also the regional center on gifted education for the northeast and the Pacific states. The Center’s site includes links describing CTY’s Talent Search program, and CTY’s online (distance) education program for gifted students, the most recent issue of Imagine, and numerous links to articles and other websites.
Davidson Institute for Talent Development (DITD)
The Davidson Institute for Talent Development (DITD) is dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted students under 18, their parents and educators. The Davidson Institute maintains the massive Davidson Gifted Database a collection of online articles, gifted-friendly resources, an archive of news articles, and an events calendar. It also includes many hard-to-find writings by experts on gifted education, along with reader comments. Other features of the site include links to information on DITD programs such as the Young Scholars Program, the Davidson Fellows Program, and the Educators Guild program for teachers of gifted students.
Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY)
EPGY at Stanford University is a distance education program for gifted young people dedicated to developing and offering multimedia computer-based distance-learning courses. EPGY provides high-ability students of all ages with an individualized educational experience, optimized in both pace and content. Through EPGY, students have access to courses in a variety of subjects at levels ranging from kindergarten through high school and beyond. EPGY also offers residential summer institutes for academically talented middle and high school students.
Gifted and Talented Education (Minnesota Department of Education)
Gifted and Talented Education is part of the MN Dept. of Education’s Academic Excellence initiative, and provides leadership, coordination and consultation services for educators, administrators and parents of gifted students.
Gifted Development Center
The Gifted Development Center in Denver, CO, serves parents, schools, and advocacy groups with information about identification, assessment, counseling, learning styles, programs, presentations, and resources for gifted children and adults. The Center is directed by noted author and psychologist Linda Silverman. The website includes articles about a variety of topics, as well as a link to www.VisualSpatial.org with more information about visual-spatial learners, one of the Center’s specialties.
Hoagies Gifted
This website is the creation of a software engineer and mom of gifted kids. Carolyn Kottmeyer organized her burgeoning bookmarks file of favorite gifted references into Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page in 1997. It has grown to over 400 pages of information on every aspect of raising and educating gifted children, including more than 500 pages of articles from ERIC Clearinghouse for Disabilities and Gifted Education (ERICEC) and a separate page for kids and teens (www.hoagieskids.org).
Homeschool Diner
Julie Knapp, an MCGT member, has compiled a full menu of articles, curriculum ideas, helpful suggestions, friendly advice, links to lots of online resources, and a little homeschool humor, on the side. The focus is on homeschooling gifted kids, but the banquet you’ll find here includes links to all kinds of information about and resources for gifted kids and their educational needs.
Intermediate District 287
Intermediate District 287, a consortium of 13 suburban school districts on the west side of Minneapolis, offers math programs, the Mentor Connection, West Suburban Summer School, and coordinates the state Destination ImagiNation program.
Minnesota Educators of the Gifted and Talented (MEGT)
MEGT is an advocacy network of teachers and other educational professionals who have responsibility for the education of gifted and talented students.
Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth (MITY)
Founded in 1967 and formerly named Twin Cities Institute for Talented Youth, Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth continues to provides an educational community where diverse, intellectually curious students can experience the excitement of learning and expand their academic and social visions. The Institute has earned a reputation as Minnesota’s premiere summer academic enrichment program.
National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)
This national association’s website includes resources and information for administrators, educators and parents that is gleaned from around the world — ABCs of Gifted, NAGC’s Position and Policy statements, state organizations, and more.
PROJECT2EXCEL
PROJECT2EXCEL is designed to change the way we look for, serve, and support learners who are gifted and also have various additional exceptionalities, including attention deficit disorders, autism spectrum disorders, behavioral and emotional disorders, and learning disabilities. These children are frequently overlooked for gifted services.Results of the 5-year Javits* funded project will include:
- A comprehensive identification protocol for grades K-8
- Modified gifted curriculum for grades 3-8 in Mathematics and Language Arts
- A graduate twice-exceptional certification program for teachers
- A parent education and support model for parents of twice-exceptional children
The intended outcome of this project is an improved system for supporting and educating twice-exceptional kids so that their academic giftedness can be developed while their learning deficits are addressed through the use of appropriate educational interventions.
SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted)
SENG, a 25-year-old national association which focuses on the unique social and emotional needs of gifted children and adults, provides guidance, information, and resources for gifted individuals, their families, and the professionals who work with them, as well as a forum to communicate about raising and educating these children.
Resources for Gifted Adults
High Ability and Talent Development Resources.
Both sites are curated by Douglas Eby. He describes the sites in this way:
Talent Development Resources has grown out of my interests and research in creativity, personal development and positive psychology, and an appreciation of actors, writers, photographers and other artists with exceptional ability. The site is designed to help explore some of the key psychological and social issues that affect people with multiple talents – and to provide information and inspiration to enhance achievement and creative expression, and help develop a more authentic and expressive life. The site is designed to help explore multiple creative talents, to better understand the barriers that can keep us from realizing those abilities, and provide a variety of tools that can enhance personal development. The concept of “talent development” is one I have borrowed loosely from both academic (high school, college) programs that are designed to help gifted and talented students develop their cognitive and creative abilities, and, to a lesser extent, from corporate programs oriented toward helping adults develop themselves more fully.
