National Gifted and Talented Conference

National Gifted and Talented Conference

Wellington :Thursday 3 August - Saturday 5 August 2006

More than 700 people from around New Zealand will be attending the Ministry of Education sponsored "National Gifted and Talented Conference" being held at the Wellington Convention Centre (Old Town Hall/Michael Fowler Centre) beginning tomorrow morning.

The Minister of Education Hon Steve Maharey will give the opening address at 10.30am in the MFC main auditorium.

Other speakers include:

Dr Nicholas (Nick) Colangelo, from the University of Iowa, USA
Dr Colangelo’s latest research is on acceleration – moving children up an academic year or moving them up for a particular subject.

Dr Karen Rogers, GERRIC, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AUS
Dr Rogers specialises in the grouping of gifted children and what teachers and parents should do to cater for gifted children.

Dr Roger Moltzen, Director of Special Education Programmes, University of Waikato
Dr Moltzen will be giving the closing address at the conference, and will be speaking about the need to maintain progress in gifted and talented education.

Dr Tracy Riley, Senior Lecturer in gifted and talented education, Massey University
Dr Riley will be speaking particularly about competitions for children.

Lynn Berresford, The Assessment & Counselling Centre, Auckland
Ms Berresford works with gifted a children suffering from syndromes such as ADHD or autism, and with depression, anorexia, and other difficulties. She will speak about the increasing focus on intellectual testing and labeling of children, including IQ testing.

Dr Jill Bevan-Brown, Senior Lecturer, Massey University College of Education
Dr Bevan-Brown has a particular interest in Maori education including gifted children. Her research has included the cultural aspects of giftedness and how Maori see giftedness.

Robyn Boswell, TEAM Solutions, University of Auckland
Ms Boswell will be speaking about “Nurturing Giftedness in Maori Children”

Jenny Smith, Christchurch College of Education
Ms Smith will be speaking about “Gifted Boys Experiences of School”

On Friday morning there will be an interactive "chat show" panel of successful young business people telling their stories about the influence of their parents, teachers, mentors and friends on their ability to think differently, turn new ideas into innovation and take personal and business risks.

Ends

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