EDUCATIONAL FORUM: OCT. 14, 2012
BOSTON UNIVERSITY 10 am – 4 pm
10:00 – 10:05 – Welcome and Guide to Forum
Conference Auditorium
Presenters: Paige Brewster, Director of Admission & Financial Aid, Boston University Academy, Patsy Kumekawa, Scholar Search Associates
PRESENTATIONS
10:05 – 11:00 a. An Interactive Case Study: Demystifying the College Application Process
Conference Auditorium
Information about the college application process and “what you have to do to get in” is ubiquitous (in newspapers, on social media sites, supermarket magazine racks
…) and rarely entirely accurate. So, come learn from an admissions officer about what actually happens to an application once it arrives at the admissions office.
Discuss the various components of an application, how they’re used in the application process, and come to understand what colleges are really looking for. W orkshop
participants will act as an admissions committee to decide which applicants will be admitted.
Presenter: Rachel Boyle, Assistant Director of Admissions, Boston University
b. Beyond Grades, Rubrics, Extra Credit & Contracts: How to Motivate Your
Talented & Gifted Child
Terrace Lounge
Talented children are accustomed to competitive environments – the ones that pressure students to be the best and to win accolades and prizes. This discussion will
look at ways to shift from a competitive learning environment, which is all too readily quantifiable in recognizing achievement, to a healthier creative model that supports
motivation and comfort. How can a learning environment support and augment intellectual strength effectively with social and collaborative opportunities that foster
comfort, camaraderie and excellence?
Presenter: Diane Cook, English Chair, Cheshire Academy (CT), Director Access Cheshire
11:00 – 12:00 a. Shakespeare, Good Education, and Bad Education
Terrace Lounge
Shakespeare's plays have become a staple of contemporary education, but can the plays teach us anything about education? Do they tell us what a student should
seek through education? Get a taste of the relevance of Shakespeare and the importance of integrating his works into curricula through the context of “The Taming of
the Shrew”. That’s the story of a young man who goes to Padua, the home of one of Italy's great universities, to study Aristotle but gets distracted by the poet Ovid.
Presenter: Andrew Moran, Ph.D, Assoc. Professor of English, U. of Dallas, Director Shakespeare in Italy, U. of Dallas High School Summer Programs
b. Understanding & Supporting Gifted Adolescents Through Middle School & Beyond
Conference Auditorium
This presentation will review the challenges that middle schoolers and early adolescents typically face, ie. the transition between lower school and upper school,
homework, increased independence, social difficulties …, and ways to address them in the context of gifted and intellectually curious students. Issues will include the
theoretical - the importance and the achievement of balance, as well as the practical - seeking out educational opportunities (appropriate school choice, dual
enrollment, scholarships, summer programs …). Questions and talking points are encouraged!
Presenter: Jennfer Tanner, Spanish Instructor, Secondary School Placement Coordinator, The Sage School
c. Tour of Boston University Academy
12:00 – 1:00 ---------------------
LUNCH BREAK
Meet at BUA table in main exhibithall
Families welcome to meet one another in the Academy Room
1:00 – 2:00 a. What Your Parents Didn’t Know About Raising Gifted Children
---------------------
Conference Auditorium
When They Raised You
... and you turned out fine, didn't you? There have been some landmark findings in the field of gifted education over the last three decades, and as a parent of an
academically advanced child, you may find them eye opening and useful. Are we born with hard wired math ability? W hat do experts think about grade skipping? W hat
motivates kids to try hard? Insights on these and other questions will inform the one hour presentation on the subject of raising academically advanced learners in
today's world.
Presenter: Charles Beckman, Director of Communications and Marketing, The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth
b. Arts and Leadership
Terrace Lounge
The arts and leadership related? Absolutely! Come hear about the ways leadership may be developed through the study and practice of the arts. Using a premier arts
program as a model, this session will focus on the often surprising ways that knowledge of and involvement in the arts enhances personal, intellectual, professional,
and even community development.
Presenter: Nancy Wolfe, Managing Director, Center for Creative Youth at W esleyan University
c. Tour of Boston University Academy
Meet at BUA table in main exhibithall
2:00 – 3:00 a. Studying at College as a High School Age Student – Panel Discussion
Conference Auditorium
Recent press has devoted significant attention to the idea of early college admission and the policies of some states that encourage their academically strongest high
school sophomores and juniors to forego their final years of high school for college. Join students and administrators from two renowned early college programs as
they discuss life and learning on college campuses for 16 18 year olds. W hat works, what doesn't and why.
Presenters: Paige Brewster, Director of Admission & Financial Aid, Boston University Academy; Joseph Corso, Assistant Director of Admission, Bard College at
Simon’s Rock, and students
b. Playing with Math Tools: Using Online Games and Manipulatives for Serious Play
Terrace Lounge
There are lots of computer games, apps, and websites out there that offer to help students learn math. But so many resources are just fancy flashcards and lectures. In
this session we'll explore games, puzzles, and virtual manipulatives from Math Tools (the Math Forum's free library of great math technology) that inspire creative,
mathematical play. And yeah, we'll play math together during the session!
Presenter: Max Ray, The Math Forum @ Drexel University
3:00 – 4:00 a. Designing Plants For the Future: Detect Explosive Land Mines, Collect Gold, and More
Terrace Lounge
Similar to the canaries that were used by coal miners to monitor toxic gases in coal mines, self-reporting plants can be generated that will monitor the environment for
things that are undesirable, as pollutants and biohazards, or desirable, like gold. But how about having a plant eliminate the biohazards, or collect the gold for you, or
call you (on your cell phone) when it is under attack by pests? W elcome to the challenges and opportunities of plant biotechnology. Discover the science of plant
design and the excitement in store for the future.
Presenters: Subhash Minocha. Professor of Plant Biology and Genetics and Director of Project SMART – University of New Hampshire
b. A Conversation About Homeschooling – A Panel Discussion
Conference Auditorium
Come hear from parents who homeschool their children (and others in the know) and join in a spontaneous and open discussion about an educational option embraced
by an ever-growing number of families. Why homeschool? W hat approaches work? W hat resources are available? Pose your own questions, state your opinions, and
fsadd to what promises to be a lively and informative conversation.
Presenters: Nicole Sheehan, Kenneth Danford and Olive Brown; Moderated by Patsy Kumekawa
STUDENT
SESSIONS
EDUCATIONAL FORUM: OCT. 14, 2012
BOSTON UNIVERSITY 10 am – 4 pm
Unless otherwise specified, each student session is open to all students in 3rd-12th grades. The Robotics Workshop sessions (#3) will take place in
the Boston University Academy building next door to George Sherman Union. Students attending off-site sessions will meet at the Boston University
Academy table in the exhibit area on the second floor of George Sherman at the time the session is to start and will be escorted to the site.
1) Viral Zombies: Fact Versus
Fiction
Zombies aren't they lovable? Most of the zombies in movies become that way thanks to some bizarre viral infection. This session will examine the facts behind the
fiction. Participants will learn about cells, viruses, and immune response. How do viruses affect the body and why does an immune system effectively fight some viruses but
not others? Participants will learn about disease transmission through interactive simulations. They will also learn about real life diseases that cause symptoms
associated with fictional zombies. (For grades: 3-6 and 7-9, session limit: 25)
Conducted by: Karen Weeks, Program Manager, CTY Summer Programs, The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented
Youth
2) Wei ch'i - The Game that Teaches
Mastery
Are you all about strategy games? Do you lose yourself mastering puzzles and thinking through new challenges on video games, board games, and cards? Try your hand at
the world's oldest game called W ei ch'i, more commonly known as "Go". Mentioned in works by Confucius, Go originated over 4,000 years ago. It is thought to teach
players about power, governance, diplomacy and balance because the goal of the game is to extend influence without confrontation. Go is one of the four cultivated arts of a
Chinese scholar, and even detectives in modern China study Go to solve mysteries. (For grades: 5-9, session limit: 25)
Conducted by: James Rogers, History Chair, Cheshire Academy
(CT)
3)
Robotics
Workshop
Construct a LEGO Mindstorm robot, input the “brains” by programming capabilities, then explore and understand gear operations and their impact on movement .
grades: 3+, session limit: 10)
(For
Conducted by: Gary Garber, Instructor of Physics, Boston University
Academy
4) Team
Challenge
Problem
Solving
With a minimal list of materials, get together with a team of students to generate/construct a solution to a provided challenge that trumps your opponents. Creativity,
imagination, and patience will rule the day. (For grades: 5-9, session limit: 25)
Conducted by: Ray Cirmo, Science Chair, Cheshire Academy
(CT)
5) And the Subject is …
Latin!
Here’s an introduction to an ancient language that has been nourishing the roots of contemporary expressions forever. Get a handle on the basics of sentence structure and
see how English words are derived from their Latin origins. Discover how Latin connects with other languages you may well know. W ith this knowledge, you will come away
being able to read a simple story, in Latin!. (For grades: 5-8, session limit: 25)
Conducted by: Michelle Cannon, Assistant Head of School and Latin Teacher, Boston University
Academy
6) The Genius' s Guide to the Rubik's
Cube
With 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 different possible positions of a Rubik's Cube, you'd better have more than random moves on your side as you try to solve it. Here's the
secret: the Rubik's Cube isn't a toy, or even a game it's a math problem! We'll use a branch of statistics called combinatorics to increase your awesomeness with the Cube.
By the end of the session, you might not be able to solve in the 5.66 seconds it takes for 17-year old record holder F. Zemdigs, but you'll probably beat the kid down the street.
(oh … you get your own cube.) (For grades: 3-6 and 7-12, session limit: 25)
Conducted by: Joe Cutrone, Curriculum Specialist, CTYOnline, The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented
Youth
7) Let's Play Math (and Reap the
Rewards)!
A lot of important math has been invented through playing games; appreciating math can help you win lots of games, too. W e will use online and hands on games from the
Math Forum's Math Tools library to explore some math concepts, learn some math strategies for analyzing games and boost your abilities. Plus, learn about a game that
elementary school students can play with a potentially huge payoff. (For grades: 3-12+, session limit: 25)
Conducted by:
University
Max Ray, The Math Forum @ Drexel
8) Shakespeare, in Italy and in Our
Lives
Examine Shakespeare’s fascination with Italy (the setting for one third of his plays) and his ability to fashion characters and situations from which we can better understand our
own lives. W e will read and then discuss a scene from “The Merchant of Venice”, with an eye to what Shakespeare may be teaching us about friendship, business, self
knowledge, and other topics – timeless and resonant after 400 years. (For grades: 7-12, session limit: 25)
Conducted by: Andrew Moran, Ph.D, Assoc. Professor of English, University of Dallas; Director of Shakespeare in Italy, U. of Dallas High School Summer
Programs
9) Laughter Mandarin
Style
Enjoy an hour of Mandarin, a tonal language without verb tenses! Try developing your ear for the four tones and learn simple everyday phrases. W atch "The Happy Dumpling",
and create your own story and cartoon for the Happy Dumpling. Discover a whole new world beyond English … or Spanish, here in Boston. (For grades: 5-9, session limit:
25)
Conducted by: Michelle Ramadan, Access
Cheshire
10)
Word
Magic!
Have you ever been asked to write a 200 word paper but can only come up with 12? W e know a fix for that, and so will you in just one hour. Hint: it's about tuning up your
five senses and doing something magical with words that helps people see (and hear and smell and taste and feel) what you see (et cetera). W hy tell your parents school
was just "good," if what really happened was an awesome Great Dane got loose in the cafeteria, then ran up and licked the lunch lady's face right before lunging head first
into the mystery meat for lunch that day. It's so much more fun that way! (For grades: 3-6 and 7-12, session limit: 25)
Conducted by: Andrew Moss, Program Manager, CTY Summer Programs, The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented
Youth