gifted education

In this episode, I talk to Joy Lawson Davis and Deb Douglas about gifted education. Specifically, we identify the underrepresented population of gifted students and the unique cultural barriers they face. Joy and Deb share their definition of what self-advocacy is and why it’s a skill everyone should have. They give helpful tips and resources for educators, parents, and advocates on how to find and nurture gifted potential. We also touch on the topics of equity, test preparation, IQ, special education, and intersectionality.

Bio

Dr. Joy Lawson Davis is a career educator with over 40 years of experience as a practitioner, scholar, and consultant in gifted education.She holds both master’s and doctorate degrees in gifted education. Dr. Davis has conducted workshops, been a long-term program consultant, and served as a keynote speaker and distinguished guest lecturer in several countries. In 2019 she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted organization (SENG). She is also the author of numerous articles, technical reports, book chapters, and the award-winning book: Bright, Talented & Black.

Deb Douglas has spent her professional career as an educator, first as a high school English teacher, then K-12 gifted resource teacher, director of gifted programming, and International Baccalaureate coordinator. She holds master’s degrees in professional development and curriculum and instruction for gifted learners. She served as president of the Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted and member of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Parent Advisory Board. Deb is a contributor to the quarterly magazine Parenting for High Potential, and is a frequent presenter at state, national, and international conferences.

Together, Joy and Deb co-authored Empowering Underrepresented Gifted Students: Perspectives from the Field. 

Website: drjoylawsondavis.com  & www.gtcarpediem.com

Twitter: @davis_joy

Topics

01:15 The underrepresented gifted population

04:43 Equity and excellence can co-exist

07:20 How Deb and Joy met  

09:00 Test preparation and IQ

12:42 Expanding the definition of giftedness  

17:10 Is it possible to become gifted?

20:45 Identifying potential in underrepresented communities

25:33 Education often prioritizes limitations over ability

27:45 What is self-advocacy?

30:34 Normalize giftedness in all communities

41:12 Cultural barriers to self-advocacy

43:22 How to be advocates for gifted students

46:47 Scott’s experience of self-advocacy  

48:56 Everyone needs to be a part of the process

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Dr. Davis is a career educator with over 30 years of experience as a practitioner, scholar, author and consultant. Her current work, a topic that is near and dear to the show, involves increasing equity of access to gifted education programs. In this episode, we talk about the racial inequalities that plague our nation's gifted education programs, and we discuss work being done to create equal opportunity. Other topics include: the current evaluation criteria for “giftedness” and how it can be improved, the importance of bringing all of the shareholders to the table for these discussions, the anti-intellectualism of our modern era, and several alternative ways of identifying giftedness in school. It’s a personally meaningful episode as Scott and Joy recount their own experiences with our non-inclusive education protocols. We hope you enjoy the show!

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