Strength-based instruction—playing to the talents and interests of students—has been changing the game in the 2e world. It was the main topic of conversation earlier this month as over 150 parents, educators, researchers, and other professionals gathered—virtually—for the Bridges 2e Center for Research and Professional Development’s Vision and Leadership in 2e Education Symposium.
The one-day event began with a session led by innovator in the field, Dr. Susan Baum. Her book,
To Be Gifted and Learning Disabled, has become a bible for many 2e teachers and schools. Now the director of the 2e Center, Dr. Baum gave the keynote speech, “Strength-Based, Talent-Focused Education for Twice-Exceptional Learners: The Why, What, and How?” Her aim was to bring our understanding of differentiation for twice-exceptionality into a sharper context. Baum went beyond the buzz words to get into the nitty gritty about how to help 2e students grow in their areas of strength while ensuring that their areas of challenge are not ignored.
“Everyone in the world is talking about strength-based education and everyone is saying we need to be more strength-based,” said Baum, who has traveled extensively around the world consulting with 2e schools. “We need to understand what the kids’ strengths are, but what seems to happen is educators don’t really know how to find the strengths and, if they are aware of them, they don’t know quite how to use those strengths to apply to better teaching and learning for kids.”
Baum discussed diagnostic tools and practical methods that educators and parents can use to help identify their 2e learners’ strengths so that they can engage them in stretching their areas of interests. She also went over ways to approach areas of non-interest, using strengths to approach non-strengths. Importantly, she provided examples of how knowledge about individual students can be used in classrooms, in IEP meetings, and at home. There were details offered about the critical role of dual differentiation within specific assignments in order to help students invest in what they are curious about and in what they are good at, while, at the same time, also encouraging them to work around their challenges.
Multiple sessions focused on parent advocacy, from the perspective of both parents and professionals. On the parent side, during the panel on “The Evolution of Advocacy,” a half dozen parents, some of them professional educators as well, shared their journeys in advocating for their twice-exceptional children. Key takeaways included information on how to get useful assessments, techniques to collaborate with schools in a non-confrontational and productive way, how to identify the best individualized options among public, private, and homeschooling scenarios, and how to establish a network of support for their children—and also for themselves. As the session made clear, parenting is hard, parenting a 2e child is a different kind of hard.
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“Literally ask the teacher sitting around the table and the administrator sitting around the table, ‘Please tell us what you love about our child.’”[/perfectpullquote]Professional therapists and advocates discussed another angle into this important issue in the “Parent Advocacy Pathways” panel. Marci Dann, Kari Lofing, and Julie Skolnick reviewed how to productively communicate through what are often emotional minefields. They also covered how to effect legislative and policy change at the local government level. But, even more persuasively, they demonstrated how to discuss “non-negotiable environments” for 2e learners with teachers and school administrators.
“Literally ask the teacher sitting around the table and the administrator sitting around the table, ‘Please tell us what you love about our child,’” said Skolnick. “This reframes their thinking and sets the tone for the meeting. And if they simply cannot give you anything positive, that’s your first clue that, no matter what your advocacy efforts are, the environment may not be appropriate or safe for your child.” Skolnick has been at the forefront of raising awareness of 2e issues through her own yearly conference as well as her organization, With Understanding Comes Calm.
Picking up on the legal intricacies of advocacy, attorneys Barbara Shufro and Mark Woodsmall instructed parents on how to leverage their and their children’s legal rights when petitioning for educational support in “The Law and 2e!” They answered questions about what demands parents have the right to make and what provisions schools and districts must make available for 2e learners. A break-out panel, “Creating Your Advocacy Game Plan,” reviewed how to create a SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-based).
A follow-up session led by Dr. Baum featured an examination into dual differentiation, and how to support the complex learning that 2e students require. This was complemented by several opportunities to discuss experiences, lesson plans, and behavioral techniques with teachers from several 2e schools. Educators shared anecdotes and best practices regarding how these implementations have worked for them in the classroom in “Voices from the Classroom: Dual Differentiation in Action.” Visiting teachers were given the opportunity to have their own lesson plans revised during the “Educator Forum: Transforming a Lesson to Accommodate the Needs of a 2e Student” session. A panel of students was also very helpful in deepening the understanding of the benefits of strength-based learning, providing examples from their own educational journeys.
“This was another landmark event,” said the 2e Center’s Maria Kennedy of this year’s symposium. [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]
“We are looking forward to providing even more assistance to parents and educators with our next symposium in the fall.”[/perfectpullquote]Fingers crossed, Kennedy says the fall symposium may include in-person meetings, as well as virtual elements, differentiating in how we learn about differentiation. The participants in this year’s event came away considerably stronger about strength-based education.
Visit www.2ecenter.org for more information.
Note: 2e News and the Bridges 2e Center are both part of the Bridges Education Group.
