Smart is not Easy: What Research Says about Highly Capable Learners

Speaker: Austina De Bonte

This presentation will cover the latest research and neuroscience about highly capable learners, informing the most pressing concerns students are facing at home well as in the classroom. We’ll discuss the social-emotional characteristics of HiCap learners, ranging from perfectionism and twice exceptionality to grit and executive function difficulties, as well as the recent neuroscience that is helping explain where these characteristics may be originating, giving us big insights on how best to support students. We’ll also touch on the most important considerations for equitable identification of highly capable students, and why universal screening is not just a good idea, but a social justice issue.

Cost
Washington State Residents: $36
Non-Washington State Residents: $40
Scholarships available. Use code SCHOLARSHIP when registering.
A recording of the presentation will be provided to paid registrants after the event.

About the Presenter
Austina De Bonte is a consultant, speaker, coach, and advocate for gifted and twice exceptional students with Smart is not Easy (smartisnoteasy.com). She is also President of the WA Coalition for Gifted Education (wacoalition.com), Past President of NW Gifted Child Association (nwgca.org), President of the Northshore HiCap Parents Council (hcparents.org), and Advisor to The G Word documentary (thegwordfilm.com). A dynamic and engaging presenter, Austina speaks regularly at regional and national conferences, as well as conducts professional development workshops for educators, and provides consulting for individual families. She works with school district teams to develop and fine-tune their program models, especially concerning equitable identification strategies. Her signature style combines her experience as a student, parent, and family consultant along with synthesized research, current district practices, and cutting edge neuroscience. She has particular passion for supporting gifted and twice exceptional students in public schools and helping families get to the root causes of their child’s challenges, looking beyond the usual suspects. She received the “People to Watch” Award from Variations 2e magazine in 2020, and has won three Outstanding Advocate awards from the PTA. She has a Masters degree from MIT and is a doctoral student at The Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education. Contact Austina at austina@smartisnoteasy.com.