February 4-5, 2025
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Past Attendees say it Best:
2-Day Full Access Registration
AAGT Memebers
Non-memebers
Your registration includes:
- AAGT Swag Bags stuffed with fun gifts and information
- Breakfast, Lunch and Afternoon Break
- A chance to visit with exhibitors in person and win prizes
- Choose up to 6 breakout sessions per day to join in-person
- Access to breakout session recordings post event to watch on your own schedule earning additional Professional Development Hours
- Attendees who stay to the very end session and check-in via QR Code will be entered to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card!
1-Day Conference Pass
AAGT Memebers
Non-memebers
Your registration includes:
- Choice of attendance on Tuesday or Wednesday
- AAGT Swag Bags stuffed with fun gifts and information
- Breakfast, Lunch and Afternoon Break
- A chance to visit with exhibitors in person and win prizes
- Choose up to 6 breakout sessions each day to join in-person
- Access to breakout session recordings post event to watch on your own schedule earning additional Professional Development Hours
- Attendees who stay to the very end session and check-in via QR Code will be entered to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card!
NonProfit Rate
- Eight foot table top (additional tables may be added for $150 each)
- Registration and meals for 1 attendee (additional attendees may be added for an additional fee)
- Receive a registration list of opted-in attendees.
- Participation in the Vendor Passport to encourage attendees to visit your booth & win prizes
- Profile listing in our digital program and/or event app
AAGT Partner Rate
- Eight foot table top (additional tables may be added for $150 each)
- Registration and meals for 1 attendee (additional attendees may be added for an additional fee)
- Receive a registration list of opted-in attendees.
- Participation in the Vendor Passport to encourage attendees to visit your booth & win prizes
- Profile listing in our digital program and/or event app
Standard Rate
- Eight foot table top (additional tables may be added for $150 each)
- Registration and meals for 1 attendee (additional attendees may be added for an additional fee)
- Receive a registration list of opted-in attendees.
- Participation in the Vendor Passport to encourage attendees to visit your booth & win prizes
- Profile listing in our digital program and/or event app
Meet our Keynote Speakers
Geneine Letford Tuesday Keynote
As the 2019 LA Lakers Business Woman and the 2015 CA Charter Teacher of the Year, Genein is a national thought leader and creator of the concept of ‘Intercultural Creativity®, NeuroSomatic Creativity®’ and Prismatic Leadership®. She is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of CAFFE Strategies, Inc which is a consulting, coaching and training company that trains C-Suite executives and employees to create sustainable organizational creative and inclusive strategies, based on neuroscience, while unleashing their innovative thinking for themselves and in their businesses.
Her 7 Gems of Intercultural Creativity® is a leading framework that encourages corporations in their diversity and inclusion development while developing critical cognitive tools for creative thinking. Her first book, From Debt To Destiny: Creating Financial Freedom From the Inside Out connects creative thinking to financial agility and was an international bestseller in 5 finance categories. Her book, 7 Gems of Intercultural Creativity: Connecting, Creating and Innovating Across Cultural Lines is the only book on this topic. She published her children’s books, I AM CREATIVE and My Brain My Brain My Beautiful Brain with her 5-year-old son, Shawn Letford. Her next leadership book, Your Brain, Your Bias and the Beauty of Your Creative Mind is due out at the end of 2024. Genein believes creative thinking thrives best in an inclusive environment and she is often called ‘America’s Creative Coach’ for her work in reigniting intercultural creativity within our workforce.
Intercultural Creativity – Building Curious Classroom Connections Across Cultural Lines
Why?
With the advancement of AI technology and now the effects of the pandemic, our society needs citizens who can imagine, create and courageously contribute fresh ideas to the market.
Genein is a national voice on creative thinking, brain capital and regaining a curious ‘child-like’ imagination. Her keynotes (which are full of stories, laughs and wow moments) help build the foundational creative skills needed to produce innovative ideas for an unknown future. She shares her signature 7 Gems of Intercultural Creativity® and encourages educators and administrators that they too can regain their creative genius and develop their students’ innate intercultural creativity and curiosity.
Attendees will learn how to:
-rebuild their innate creative mindset
-build culturally creative connections within their curriculum
-Recognize and implement funds of knowledge and cultural capital of students
Building Brain Capital and 21st Century Skills With Creativity
George Couros Wednesday Keynote
George Couros is a worldwide leader in the area of innovative teaching, learning, and leading, and he has a focus on innovation as a human endeavor. Most importantly, he is a proud father and husband. His belief that meaningful change happens when you first connect to people’s hearts is modeled in his writing and speaking. In his 20-plus years in the field of education, he has worked at all levels of school, from K-12 as a teacher, technology facilitator, and school and district administrator, and is currently an Adjunct Instructor with the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. George is also the author of the books The Innovator’s Mindset; Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity, Innovate Inside the Box, the “Because of a Teacher” series as well as his latest book “What Makes a Great Principal.” George is also host of the popular education podcast “The Innovator’s Mindset.”
He has keynoted hundreds of conferences, including national conferences on five different continents. His work has been translated into multiple languages due to its worldwide impact.
You can learn more about George at his website georgecouros.com
Keynote Session
Embracing Innovation to Help Every Learner Find Success in Their Own Way
Carol Dweck’s work has honed in on the concepts of “fixed” and “growth” mindset, but as educators, we must venture further with these ideas to foster the learning opportunities our students and schools merit. It’s not only about what we know but also how we utilize that knowledge. Change is ever-present, and with the advent of new avenues for learning and evolution through technology, such as AI and emerging technologies, it’s crucial that we are proactive not just in response to changes but also in creating change.
In this talk, George will explore the principles and characteristics of “The Innovator’s Mindset”—a concept detailed in his book of the same name—and present compelling reasons why this mindset is essential for educators to cultivate outstanding learning opportunities, not only for their students but also for themselves.
Known for their emotional depth and humor, George’s presentations engage audiences on a level that resonates both intellectually and emotionally. This message is not just for the moment; it’s crafted to stay with you, affecting genuine change that extends far beyond the talk itself
Breakout Session
Diving Deeper into the Innovator’s Mindset
In this interactive conversation, George Couros will dive deeper into the morning keynote and personalize the learning to the room. This is a great opportunity to go beyond the keynote and discuss practical ideas to empower learners the next day through not only sharing ideas, but in the experience of this breakout session which will look nothing like other sessions being delivered on that day.
This is meant to be extremely personalized to the room which is the hope for all learning opportunities in our schools. How we model this is what we will create!
Our Breakout Session lineup is now available!
Click to toggle between Breakout Session Topics
Schedule subject to change
TUESDAY BREAKOUTS
Trying to Carry Water in a Colander: Working on Executive Functioning Skills
Matt Zakreski
Rethinking Autism in Gifted Individuals: Leveraging Intellect to Learn Social Skills
Dr. Justin Gardner
TUESDAY BREAKOUTS
Choose your Own Adventure: Creating Parallel Pathways
Jessica Manzone
Global Thinking: Connect your classroom to the world!
Melissa John
How to Facilitate and Not Dominate in the Gifted Classroom
Dr. Jason McIntosh
Power of Puzzles with Beast Academy
Sean Russom
Navigating the Complexities of Asynchrony: A Guide to Meeting your Children Where They Are
Matt Zakreski
Unlocking Brilliance: Elevating Gifted Classrooms with Shared Inquiry
Teri Laliberte
WEDNESDAY BREAKOUTS
Gifted Enrichment Club: Games and Creativity on a Shoestring Budget
Nicole Belden and Christina Carroll
How Do We Respond When They Already Get It? Standards Aligned PBL with Dysart Unified
Dana Knoebel and Martha Vitton
ICM (Integrated Curriculum Model) + PBL = T.K.O in Curriculum Design
Dr. Jason McIntosh
Oh Yes, They Can! Nonverbal Expressions of Brilliance in the ELA Classroom
Mark Hess
Talent Development vs. Gifted Identification: Moving from “either/or” to “both/and” to Grow All Students
Monica Simonds
Visual Thinking Skills: Beyond See, Think, Wonder
Vanessa Hill
TUESDAY BREAKOUTS
Embracing the Gifted Enigma: Collaborative Strategies for Bright Minds and Bold Leadership
Sarah Torrilhon and Amanda Rand
Gifted Gen Z: Social Media, Porn, And Video Games: Can’t Live Without Them, Can’t Thrive With Them
Paul Beljan, PsyD ABP and Vanessa Behrens, PhD
Social-Emotional Learning Using CosmoKidz: Inviting Students to Co-Create the Social World of the Classroom
Amy McDonald
WEDNESDAY BREAKOUTS
Elevating Voice and Fostering Cultures of Belonging: A Teacher’s Guide
Alisa Johnson, Dina Brulles and Becki West Keur
Future-Ready: Supporting Gifted Secondary Students
Dr. DJ Graham and Elizabeth Mendoza
I Just Fell Off the Wave of Wonderfulness: Learning How to Thrive
Mark Hess
Navigating the Intensity: Overexcitabilities in the Gifted Classroom
Kate Garis and Faye Uttech
The KEYS Research Internship Program model: Supporting the mental and emotional needs of gifted students through self-reflection and scaffolded mentorship
Brooke Moreno and Kelle Hyland
TUESDAY BREAKOUTS
Crafting Curiosity: PBL with the End Goal in Mind
Morgan Routh and Sam Eddis
Invention Convention AZ…powered by ASU
Jeanine Ryan-Frandesn and Alysa Aashiem
Picture Perfect Creativity: Picture Books for Gifted Endeavors
Nicole Belden and Christina Carroll
Reel Education: Empowering Young Minds Through Filmmaking
J.T. Chaiyakam, Ed.D/span>
WEDNESDAY BREAKOUTS
Be a Creativity Cultivator: Using the KOI to Identify & Nurture Creativity In Your Students
Jessica Zimmerman
Creating Moments that Engage and Ignite
Jessica Manzone
Pages of Potential: Publishing the Gifted Student Experience
Vidushi Chaudhry
Ready. Set. Innovate!
Kristin Schroll
The Fix Is In….the STEM Classroom
Leslie Ferre
Transformative Learning Through Literature and Drama: A Cross-Curricular Approach
Melina Mylan and Jessica Vining
TUESDAY BREAKOUTS
Bold Moves for Bright Futures: ADE’s New Pathways in Gifted Education
Catherine Oliver
Exploring the Three-Legged Gifted Education Approach of Advanced Content, Depth and Complexity, and Interested-Based Learning
Del Siegle
Leveraging Strengths for Student Growth
Monica Simonds and Christina Jordan
WEDNESDAY BREAKOUTS
Cluster Grouping: Gaining Success Using a Systemic and Systematic Approach
Dr. Dina Brulles and Dr. Kimberly Lansdowne
The Do’s, Don’ts and Don’t Forgets of a Gifted Self Contained Program
Lorelei Barrett and Bethany Dizon
Gifted I.E.P.
Elisabeth (Betsy) Hughes
TUESDAY BREAKOUTS
Supporting LGBTQ+ Gifted Youth
Ryan Ussery and Sandra Folsy
Girls just need to be identified!
Elisabeth (Betsy) Hughes
WEDNESDAY BREAKOUTS
An Innovative Approach Toward Gifted Identification: Purpose, Practice & Results
Dr. Dina Brulles and Dr. Kimberly Lansdowne
Prevalence of Overexcitabilities in Highly-Profoundly Gifted Children: A mixed-methods study of development and developmental potential
Vanessa R. Wood and Suzanne Pickett Martinson