In 2020, NMAG will be presenting webinars related to gifted learners and their needs. We will be posting these webinars here to share with the community free of charge. We will be covering a variety of topics with focuses on professional development for teachers, support for parents of gifted children, and gifted advocacy. We look forward to helping our community learn and grow together.

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Past Webinars

Smart but Scattered:
How to Help Organize Your Gifted Child
Presented by Lori Comallie-Caplan, Counselor and Evaluator of the Gifted, President of NMAG

It is not uncommon for gifted students to struggle with organization. Although they may find schoolwork easy, they often work through their assignments so quickly that they become forgetful. Science tells us that gifted brains are hyper-sensitive, meaning they store information faster, recall facts easier, and are also distracted easily. The problem is compounded because the students often don’t need any of these skills in their early school years — the work in typical mixed-ability schools is so easy for them that it takes nearly no time, effort, or even looking at the instructions at the top of a worksheet for them to complete work successfully. So, when their peers are learning all of these things alongside their elementary spelling and arithmetic homework, the gifted child is instead rewarded with academic success without developing these skills at all. This webinar will give parents some assistance in teaching their children these very needed skills.

Math Circles for Talent Development – Building Mathematical Inquiry Wherever You Are!
Presenters James Taylor, Math Circles Collaborative of NM
and Geoffrey Moon, NMAG Past President

Parents and teachers of young mathematicians are encouraged to join James Taylor of Math Circles Collaborative of New Mexico (http://www.mathcirclesnm.org) and Geoffrey Moon from Santa Fe Public Schools and the New Mexico Association for the Gifted to explore the joy of math and engage in activities that can build motivation, creativity, and mathematical inquiry. Participants should have pencil and paper ready so they can participate.

Why Books Matter to Gifted Children
Presented by Chris Vian, NMAG President-Elect

The English classroom can be a source of great comfort for gifted students, but it can also be a place of conflict as gifted students seek out books that interest them but might deal with subject matter that adults find to be above their ability to comprehend. In this webinar, we will discuss how to use books as a means of engaging gifted students in subject matters beyond the English classroom, how to deal with controversial topics that are in higher reading level books, and ways that both teachers and parents can use books to, not only engage with their gifted students, but also create meaningful moments that matter to gifted students.