SCPS High School GATES

January 2024

Growing in the New Year

With the recent snow we've had, it's tough to believe that spring is right around the corner. As much as we love our snow days, we also enjoy looking forward to warmer days in the spring. Why not get a jump start on spring thinking: the season of growth, blooming, and renewal. How do we help our gifted learners grow? How can someone already performing at a high level continuously thrive? High ability students can sometimes be overlooked in this domain, yet have unique needs that must be addressed in order for them to truly reach their full potential. We must foster the ideas of growing through a flexible mindset as well as ongoing renewal through challenging moments.

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The Iceberg Illusion

All too often, we lose sight of the big picture when evaluating our successes compared to those of others. The iceberg illusion is a simple concept to put things into perspective. For gifted learners, it is a conversation starter of the learning process and not just the final product.

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What to say instead of "You are so smart!"

Great alternatives to "You're so smart!" This is geared mainly towards younger grades, but can be easily adapted to high school students.

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Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

"I can't do it vs. I can't do it yet."

The power of yet...

Flexible Mindsets: It's not as simple as just growth vs. fixed

Giftedness and the growth mindset: Lessons from music and sports

How music and sports emphasize both talent and perseverance in efforts to achieve, which contrasts with recent views of the growth mindset concept, particularly in relation to gifted children and gifted education.

giftedchallenges.blogspot.com

The Neuroscience of Growth Mindset and Intrinsic Motivation

Our actions can be triggered by intentions, incentives or intrinsic values. Recent neuroscientific research has yielded some results about the growth mindset and intrinsic motivation. With the advances in neuroscience and motivational studies, there is ...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Fostering a "Growth Mindset:" 7 Ways to Nurture Your Gifted Child

Changing the focus from perfection to personal bests

psychologytoday.com

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The Power of Yet

Gifted students can easily fall victim to perfectionism and shut down in the face of adversity. By extending the growth mindset with this example, we can encourage them to focus on their own "yet."

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Win or Learn

Losing and mistakes are learning opportunities. Gifted students sometime struggle with the concept of failure on a more profound level than the average ability student. By encouraging and developing resilience as well as persistence, we can help our high ability students achieve.

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Fail Forward

This concept incorporates well with the idea of a growth mindset. We sometimes focus far too much on our failures and forget to see the learning opportunity presented with each one.

Yummy Recipes to Try

Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup Recipe by Tasty

This creamy and decadent soup is perfect for a cold winter night. Loaded with bacon, cheese, and potatoes, it's like a hug in a bowl.

tasty.co

Shortcut Chicken Enchiladas

Get Shortcut Chicken Enchiladas Recipe from Food Network

foodnetwork.com

Chocolate Billionaires

Everyone raves about these chocolate and caramel candies. I received the recipe from a friend while living in Texas. When we moved, I made sure this recipe made the trip with me! -June Humphrey, Strongsville, Ohio

tasteofhome.com