2026-27 GAM Virtual SpeaKER SERIES

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Building a Permanent Foundation for Gifted Learners Requires an All-hands-on-deck Mission

Whether you are a parent trying to navigate your child's unique educational needs, a teacher working to differentiate in a busy classroom, or an administrator designing sustainable programming, you are a vital part of the advocacy infrastructure. If any one piece is missing, the system stalls. When we work together, our students thrive.

Join us for an interactive, space-themed session about advocacy. Together, we will map out a collaborative "flight plan" for student success, exploring:

The Astronauts (Student Self-Advocacy): Coaching gifted kids to recognize their learning profiles and speak up for their own academic needs.

Mission Control (Parent-Teacher Partnerships): Moving past adversarial meetings and using objective data to co-create classroom solutions.

Life Support Infrastructure (Systems Advocacy): How parents, educators, and community members can unite to support administrators, defend gifted education, and build long-term local programs.

Advocacy isn't about working against the system—it's about building the launchpad together!  

Register by clicking the following link:  https://forms.gle/Eh6GTraJswrSszfV8. 

Maslow Before Bloom: Supporting the Whole Gifted Child

Gifted students often experience intense emotions, perfectionism, anxiety, sensitivity, and pressure to succeed. In this parent session, Dr. Bryan Pearlman will explore the important connection between Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Bloom’s taxonomy of learning.

Before children can fully engage, think creatively, take academic risks, and reach their potential, they must first feel safe, connected, understood, and emotionally supported. Parents will leave with practical strategies to help their gifted children manage big emotions, build confidence and resilience, and thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.  

Register by clicking the following link:  https://forms.gle/E3yf6gBBJ2Zei6Sr6. 

Identity Development and Social-Emotional Learning for Gifted Learners 

 Join gifted educator, author, and speaker Mark Hess as he explores how identity development shapes the social-emotional experiences of gifted students. Mark has spent decades working with gifted learners and helping educators better understand their unique social and emotional needs. He is the founder of Portable Gifted and Talented, a lifetime K-12 educator, NAGC board member, and has authored numerous resources focused on gifted education and social-emotional learning.  

Register by clicking the following link:  https://forms.gle/nfDbX9JaQmEwNiWB6. 

Biographies for Literacy Development

This interactive workshop explores how biographies can be used as engaging, high-interest texts to strengthen essential reading skills across grade levels.  Participants will learn strategies for using biographies to teach comprehension, inference, identifying main ideas, analyzing text structure, and evaluating author's purpose. Through the use of “best practices” and model lessons, participants will discover powerful ways to help students connect with real-life stories while developing critical literacy skills.   Participants will also learn how to implement effective writing strategies to enable students to write clear, coherent, and engaging biographies.  Participants will leave with practical resources, lesson ideas, and assessment strategies that can be immediately implemented in the classroom to promote reading and writing achievement and student engagement through the use of biographical texts.  

Register by clicking on the following link:  https://forms.gle/jUYeL2e3YooLMp886. 

Brilliance and Belonging in Secondary Gifted Classrooms 

Honors, AP, and IB classrooms thrive when students feel confident enough to share ideas, take intellectual risks, and collaborate with their peers. Yet many gifted adolescents, especially neurodivergent learners, need intentional opportunities to build the trust, self-awareness, and social confidence that make rigorous learning possible. Neuroscience research shows that all humans perform at their cognitive best when they feel safe, connected, and valued, making belonging an essential ingredient for academic growth. This session is filled with meaningful, low-prep activities that help students connect, communicate, and build confidence. Participants will experience a variety of energizing bell-ringers, team-building challenges, and closure activities designed specifically for secondary gifted learners. These strategies foster trust, strengthen academic discourse, encourage positive risk-taking, and create a culture where students feel comfortable sharing ideas and tackling challenges together. Each activity is aligned with MO-GLOs and NAGC Standards. They can be used immediately or adapted to fit any grade level or content area. Throughout the virtual session, participants will collaborate, reflect, and laugh with colleagues while experiencing the activities from a student's perspective. Leave with a customizable slide deck containing classroom-ready instructions.  

Register by clicking on the following link:  https://forms.gle/hFFz8RWQkmaowGtH7. 

How to Create a Lust for Lit in the Age of AI 

In an era of digital distraction, how do we reignite a passion for reading? This session explores the powerful intersection of Generative AI and K–12 Literature, transforming technology into a bridge for empathy and deep analysis. Drawing on ISTE-aligned strategies and a diverse curriculum—including A Long Walk to Water and They Called Us Enemy—participants will discover how to use AI as a collaborative tool for "interviewing" characters, visualizing complex settings, and differentiating classic texts for all learners. Moving beyond the "cheating" narrative, we will focus on human-centered AI that enhances Socratic inquiry and perspective-taking. Attendees will leave with a practical, "turn-key" toolkit to help students navigate modern tech while falling back in love with the written word. Join us to learn how to harmonize 21st-century innovation with the timeless heartbeat of the humanities to foster a global "lust for lit."  

Register by clicking on the following link:  https://forms.gle/KqchUsT3Ry38Rufu5.