Are you looking for an incredible professional development experience for your teachers? I offer high quality gifted and talented professional development sessions for educators, as well as parent and youth sessions.
These titles and descriptions are provided to allow session organizers to choose sessions that will work best for them. Sessions indicated with an asterisk (*) are appropriate for parent audiences.
Topics are divided into five strands:
- Creativity & Instructional Strategies
- Depth & Complexity
- Differentiation
- Identification & Assessment
- Social & Emotional Needs of the Gifted
Sessions not in those areas are listed under Special Sessions.
Sessions for youth are listed under Youth Sessions.
My most popular day is PD Improv. For PD Improv, we take the general needs of the group and curate a list of possible sessions. Participants vote on the sessions they would like, and we do those – on the spot! It’s truly targeted, tailored PD, and it’s a huge hit across the country. [3 – 6 hours]
Most sessions can be adapted for virtual delivery. For virtual conferences, Q&A sessions are also available.
If you need help selecting the perfect sessions for your event, please feel free to email at lisa@lisavangemert.com.
Creativity & Instructional Strategies
This session, created with Ian Byrd, explores the intricate and interesting connections amoung creativity, critical thinking and curiosity and delves deeply into how to integrate theem into classroom practice.
Participants will:
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- Know how creativity connects with cognitive intelligence
- Understand the value of critical thinking practice and how to blend the levels of Bloom’s in a way that allows the free flow of thinking across levels
- Develop their own curiosity and be able to excite curiosity in the minds of students through specific strategies shared
- Implement differentiated practice as a result of what they’ve learned
Length: 6 hours.
Even shy teachers will learn low-impact ways to invigorate their classrooms. Fill your toolbox with the most popular and effective strategies that will infuse classrooms with one of the most critical skills for gifted learners: creativity.
Length: 6 hours.
Interested in critical thinking in the classroom but not sure exactly what that means? Examine and practice strategies for increasing the level of critical-thinking in the classroom in this session that covers the theory and practice of critical thinking. Learn different ways to help students think more deeply and analytically while exploring options for creative directions to improve student achievement. Participants will experience and practice different methods for incorporating higher levels of critical-thinking into their lessons as they gain an understanding of the importance of higher-level thinking to the learning process.
Length: 1, 2, 3, or 6 hours.
Moving even further into the reach of critical thinking’s practical applications in classrooms, this workshop builds on the practical guide of part 1, leading teachers through more strategies. Dive deeply into the techniques and practices that facilitate critical thinking in students. (This workshop may be taken as a stand-alone session. Attendance at the first part is not required).
Length: 1, 2, 3, or 6 hours.
Length: 1.5 – 2 hours
Length: 1 hour
Length: 1 hour
Looking for a great way to create authentic audience for student work? Ready to invite real-world applications? Would you like to know how to meet cognitive and affective needs in a single strategy? Join in for a fast-paced look at three strategies to bring any classroom to life. This session shares the nuts and bolts of all of the strategies, shared by a teacher who’s actually done them all in a real, live classroom with tremendous results.
Length: 1 or 1.5 hours
Depth & Complexity
This is the thorough training to onboard educators to the Depth & Complexity framework that allows for immediate implementation.
Meet Depth & Complexity, the instructional elixir. In addition to an in-depth understanding of Depth & Complexity, the session shares literally dozens of content-specific examples, as well as ideas for activities and how to introduce the framework to students. After the session, participants will be able to apply the framework in their classrooms to raise students’ thinking level and differentiate instruction.
Course Length Options:
Single Day: Introduction to Depth & Complexity, examples from content areas, activities, ideas for introducing to students
Two Days: All of single day content, in addition to the connection to Content Imperatives, alignment with standards, opportunities to apply to individual educators’ needs, deeper exploration of fundamentals
Three Days: All of Two-Day session content, with a follow-up day at least six weeks after integration to explore and resolve issues, questions, suggestions, and to refresh and solidify the practice.
Don’t stop with the icons! This session will share with teachers how to integrate the Content Imperatives, taking their Depth & Complexity practice to the next level!
Length: 1 hour
These are the two most fundamental elements of Depth & Complexity, yet they are often used much too shallowly by teachers.
In this session, educators will learn how to extend their students’ application of these prompts. You will be surprised at how much you don’t know about these elements!
Length: 1 hour
Frames are one of the most common Depth and Complexity activities, yet most teachers have never had strong instruction of how to use them to their fullest potential in class.
Let’s explore how to make these a powerful tool in your classroom to extend and enhance learning!
Participants will:
- Recognize best practices
- Correct issues in frames
- Create strong frames to extend and enhance learning
Length: 1 hour
Wondering how to address the required standards while retaining your integrity as an educator and doing what’s best for your students? Depth & Complexity pairs perfectly with all content standards, and this session empowers educators to use the framework as a lever to lift their content to meet any standards system.
Length: 1.5 hours.
Looking for a one-stop shop for raising the thinking level of students in your classroom? Look no further than Depth & Complexity. This session will provide a helicopter tour of the framework, sharing the fundamentals of how it works in real, live classrooms. This session is designed for educators with little or no experience working with the framework.
Length: 1 or 1.5 hours
Love the richness of the Depth & Complexity model, yet wondering how to do more than just share the pictures, questions, and framing? Come participate in this active workshop that will guide you through a session designed to take your DepCom skills to the next level.
Length: 1 or 1.5 hours
Wondering about the best way to introduce the icons to your students? This session offers three different possibilities for sharing the framework with students. One of them is sure to meet your own teaching style and the needs of your students. This session is designed for educators with little or no experience working with the framework.
Length: 1 or 1.5 hours
Length: 1 0r 1.5 hours
Differentiation
Length: 6 hours
- Participate in the Definition Workshop
- Ramp up your differentiation skills with Tiered Instruction
- Celebrate the social side of gifted
- Workout in the Preassessment Bootcamp
- Play the Differentiation Game!
- Differentiation Crowdsource Case Study
Note: devices for every participant and internet access are required for this session
Length: 6 hours
Created with Ian Byrd, this workshop is differentiation on steroids. It’s how to take differentiated practice to the next level by implementing four strategies. Learn how students can take content every which way but even loose in order to allow for differentiated practice in the GenEd classroom. Leave with strategies you can use tomorrow, as well as those you can develop into deep practice. If you think you’ve seen it all, try this.
Length: 6 hours.
Length: 1 hour
Length: 1 hour.
Length: 1 and 2 hour options
Length: 1 hour
Length: 1, 3 and 6 hour options
Length: 1 hour
Length: 1 hour
Intensities and Overexcitabilities are well known in the social and emotional domain of giftedness, but Lisa and Ian turn it around and use it as an analysis tool, allowing youth to see their own intensities as a strength and aspect of their depth of character, rather than a weakness.
Attendees will learn not only how to introduce the intensities to youth, but how to apply that to curriculum, using them as a tool for high-level thinking and analysis. The session explore examples of each intensity in multiple literary works, and extend beyond literature to science, social studies, mathematics, and the arts.
This session was designed with Ian Byrd.
Length: 1 hour
Identification & Assessment
This session provides a strong foundation for understanding what it means to be gifted .
Length: 6 hours
Length: 1 hour (ish)
Social & Emotional Needs of the Gifted
Using books and film representations of gifted learners (with a healthy dose of research), join us as we explore the roots of some of the special needs faced by the gifted, how society views the gifted, and ways in which teachers can help students strengthen themselves socially and emotionally. Find out what “intensity” means in relationship to gifted children, the necessity of cultural awareness, and the five tricks every teacher of the gifted needs to survive.
Length: 6 hours.
One of the most popular parts of the workshop is an exploration of contemporary brain research and its implication for the gifted. The needs of culturally and linguistically diverse gifted learners are explored, with specific ideas shared for how teachers can understand a child from any culture.
The workshop ends with Lisa’s popular & practical perfectionism session.
Length: 6 hours. The sections on perfectionism and the brain can be separated out into one hour individual sessions.
What can schools and teachers do to effectively address suicide among gifted schools? What are the “first, do no harm” guidelines we should follow? This session confronts the complicated issues of student suicide, empowering educators with the information they need to appropriately discuss the issue with gifted students at various ages. Educators gain the skills they need to address the issue if it happens on their campuses, and they explore the intersection of suicide with giftedness. Cooperatively developed with a therapist specializing in gifted, this is a teachnique-based, practical session.
Length: 1 hours
Do you have students or children who struggle with perfectionism? Perhaps you do yourself. Would like practical ideas for helping overcome it? Perfectionism is an occupational hazard of giftedness, and its effects can be truly debilitating. Learn what perfectionism looks like in gifted kids, its potentially damaging effects, and then take a deep dive into the big ideas and strategies for turning this terrible master into a compliant servant.
Length: 1 hour
Ever wonder what to do with a gifted child not living up to his or her potential? Learn the secrets behind enhancing achievement drive in gifted students. What does the research say? Find out the pitfalls of rewards, and take away seven strategies you can use right now to light the fire within any child.
Length: 1 hour
They’ve got the smarts, and sometimes even the desire and drive, yet somehow they never get the train up the mountain. They’ve got the ability, yet if they can’t do it right the very first time, they don’t even want to try. What’s going on? Join us as Lisa Van Gemert, the Gifted Guru and author of Perfectionism: A Practical Guide to Managing Never Good Enough, explores exactly why our gifted youth struggle with risk avoidance and underachievement. Take away practical ideas, and maybe even a little paradigm shift.
Length: 1 hour
Using a metaphor of fences, learn the key ideas parents need to find and maintain suitable guidelines for their children without dampening the child’s spirits or feeling like they’ve surrendered all control to their kids.
This session was designed with Dr. Dan Peters, Executive Director of the Summit Center.
Length: 1 hour
Four conditions account for the majority of mental health issues experienced by young people. Explore how the issues of ADHD, mood disorders, depression, and conduct disorder impact schools, what these issues look like in gifted youth, and how to recognize and handle them.
Length: 1 hour
Teachers won’t want to leave when this Social and Emotional Needs update ends.
Chock-full of team-building ideas, practical tips, and including wonderful, inspiring stories, teachers will return to class ready to meet the needs of their students, cognitively and emotionally.
Length: 6 hours.
Taking a page of out Lucy’s playbook from Peanuts, we’ll explore some tips and tricks for embracing five-minute opportunities to meet the needs of students. Get dozens of resources and strategies you can use to get a read on your students, calm a tense moment (even if it’s your own!), and deepen your relationships to make the classroom safe.
Length: 1 hours
Length: 1 – 1.5 hours
Using contemporary studies and pertinent anecdotes, this workshop will have teachers learning more about themselves and their students.
Length: 1 and 3 hour options
Length: 1 hour.
Length: 1 hour
Special Sessions
Virtual learning has become a fundamental skill educators need, yet most of us were not trained in best practices for distance instruction. Much of what has been written responds to adult learners, not youth.
This session shares how elementary and secondary teachers can make their distance learning meaningful and effective.
Participants will learn how to:
- Make virtual learning more personable
- Include analog experiences
- Integrate tech tools
- Create community
- Avoid common mistakes
Length: 1 hour
Join us for a peek inside the complicated brain of the twice exceptional student. We’ll explore identification practices and issues, as well as classroom interventions and possible, practical accommodations. This full-day workshop explores issues in identification and service, as well as experience in developing intervention plans.
Participants will:
- Understand best practices in the identification and service of the twice exceptional student
- Create actionable intervention plans for a variety of exceptionalities
- Develop a toolbox of strategies for meeting the needs of 2e students
Note: This session requires that all participants have a device and internet connectivity.
Length: 6 hours
Length: 1 hour
How can districts provide quality, effective PD without breaking the bank or teacher revolt? Learn strategies and models for delivery of PD. Find out what’s new, what’s working, and what should be abandoned. Leave with a plethora of ideas and a great PD record form for teachers.
Length: 1 hour
Length: 1 hour.
Length: 1 hour.
Length: 3 hours
Length: 6 hours
Do you worry that virtual reality is becoming your child’s reality? Do you struggle to balance your children’s desire to play video games with other pursuits? How much is too much? This session shares a close-up view of what the research is telling us about best practices for families in the digital age. You’ll learn the tips and strategies you need to hack parenting the digital native.
Length: 1 hour
Youth Sessions
What does it really mean to be smart? What should a kid’s next steps be to take control over their minds in powerful, effective ways? This interactive workshop uses the word “smart” as an acronym to take students on an exploration of the gifted mind from an owner’s perspective. They act out the science of smart, learn to manage their minds mindfully, act appropriately, reflect, and learn the best thinking practices for helping your ability match your outcomes.
Length: 1 – 4 hours (not all sections will be covered in shorter workshops)
Length: 1 hour
If you are interested in scheduling a session or have questions, please email Lisa or call 682.472.6127.