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5.3.2 Teaching Their Bodies, Not Their Brains: Instructing Physical Education Differently to Gifted Children
Perhaps surprisingly, offering effective Physical Education (PE) to an all-gifted class is not the same enterprise as teaching a PE class in a typical school environment. Despite nearly 60 years of experience, our instructors discovered that they essentially needed to reconceptualize and reinvent gym class in order to generate engagement, handle intense social-emotional responses, and nurture growth. Mindfully applying what we know about feeding gifted children’s brains to how we teach their bodies made all the difference! We will share field-tested insights and real-world strategies that have genuinely changed student participation and performance (and teacher satisfaction!) in PE.
Author(s):
Jill Wurman
JWW@TheGraysonSchool.org
The Grayson School
United States
Jill Williford Wurman is Director of Research at The Grayson School, a position demanding familiarity with the most current understanding on gifted education topics, including academic performance, pedagogy, social-emotional development, longitudinal outcomes, and best practices in gifted education. She has presented on gifted children both internationally and nationwide, at the World’s conference in Sydney; at NAGC’s annual conference; at SENG’s annual convention; at MIT; and at the American Psychological Association’s national convention. Her particular areas of interest include gifted girls, the profoundly gifted, and the importance of academic struggle and failure for gifted students.
Jessica Curtiss
JCurtiss@TheGraysonSchool.org
The Grayson School
United States
Jessica Curtiss is the Director of The Enrichment Center and a Physical Education Instructor at The Grayson School. Her experience as part of Grayson’s founding team has included a complete reimagining of the way Physical Education and giftedness intersect in elementary and middle-school students, which experience has been both a terrific opportunity and an exciting challenge to tackle. For the Enrichment Center, she works with teachers and families to create innovative, challenging programming specifically designed for and reflective of gifted children’s talents and interests, both for weekend workshops during the school year and for Grayson’s summer program.
Alexa Fusselbaugh
AFusselbaugh@TheGraysonSchool.org
The Grayson School
United States
Alexa Fusselbaugh is a Physical Education Instructor at The Grayson School because she simply loves spending time with children. She has worked for several years as a companion for young adults with special needs, including providing instruction in behavioral and life skills — experience she has put to use in developing new Physical Education programming for gifted students. She is an active athlete and dedicated runner, having completed over a dozen races from 5Ks to marathons. She loves spending time outdoors as much as possible, and her “happy place” is swimming in the ocean.