Using a Strengths-based Approach to Support Twice-Exceptional Students in the Classroom

Description

• Characteristics of twice-exceptional learners
• The definition of strengths-based instruction
• The different types of strengths-based approaches to learning
• Strategies used to facilitate learning
• How to apply SPINs to case studies

Presenter Bio

Karen Rumley is the past president of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children. She is the director of instruction with Kent City Schools and formerly a consultant with the Summit County Educational Service Center, specializing in gifted services and programming as well as secondary English language arts and social studies. She has coordinated gifted programs for eight years and is the past secretary of the OAGC governing and executive boards. She is also the co-chair of OAGC Annual Fall Conference. She and her husband, Eric, live near Ravenna and enjoy travel, reading, and training in Kung Fu. 

Carol Sparber is a professor and program coordinator for the gifted endorsement program and a project coordinator at the CITE center at Kent State University. She has more than twenty years of experience as a professional in the field of gifted and special education and has presented at more than 40 local, state, national, and international conferences in areas such as differentiation, twice exceptionality, characteristics of underrepresented populations, evidence-based practices, and the social-emotional aspects of giftedness.
As a parent, teacher, advocate, and researcher of gifted children, those with twice-exceptional needs are the focus of her research. Current inquiry interests include: strengths-based instruction, understanding social and emotional challenges, and analyzing evidence-based interventions and instructional strategies to promote positive outcomes for twice-exceptional students. Dr. Sparber is the recipient of numerous national awards for exemplary research and is a Jennings Scholar – an honor awarded for fostering the development of students with exceptionalities through creative and outstanding teaching.