This five week course will explore Emily Hollett and Anna Cassalia’s five Thinking for Advanced Learners books and equip educators with proven strategies to cultivate higher-level thinking in gifted students. Each week, participants will complete independent work and meet online to focus on a different thinking skill for advanced thinking—evaluative, analytical, convergent, divergent, and visual-spatial—while modeling cohesive, focused, scaffolded lessons to teach target skills of competency.
By the end of the 5 weeks, participants will
- Understand the five dimensions of advanced thinking and their importance for gifted learners.
- Be equipped with scaffolded lessons, strategies, and authentic application activities from each book.
- Learn how to integrate these thinking skills into reading, writing, STEM, and interdisciplinary contexts.
- Develop a toolkit for nurturing evaluative, analytical, convergent, divergent, and visual-spatial thinking in grades 3–6.
This professional learning series, involving synchronous and asynchronous content and assignments, is designed for gifted educators, classroom teachers, and instructional leaders seeking to deepen students’ capacity for advanced, critical, and creative thinking.
The entire course will take 16 hours and these hours can count towards the Arizona Gifted Endorsement.
Copies of the five different Thinking for Advanced Learners books will be available for participants to borrow from Marianne Landrith, or can be purchased independently.
Date: Tuesdays: April 7, 14, 21, 28, and May 5
Time: 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual. Synchronous and Asynchronous
Cost: $50
Facilitator: Kari Sjursen, M.ED., NBCT
Kari Sjursen is the Elementary Gifted and Advanced Programming Specialist for the Marana Unified School District, as well as one of the Gifted Education teachers at Dove Mountain CSTEM K-8. Supporting a variety of programming models, Kari strives to provide students with gifted learning opportunities that both stimulate and support their developing brains. She is a 2021 Notre Dame Trustey STEM Fellow and a 2022 Arizona State University ASAP STEM Fellow, and currently sits on the Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented (AAGT) Board of Directors. A Nationally Board Certified Teacher, Kari has presented both nationally and internationally on topics related to gifted education, problem based learning, computer science, and STEM Integration.
Date: Tuesdays: April 7, 14, 21, 28, and May 5
Time: 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual through the Pima County School Superintendent's Office
Cost: $
Facilitator: Kari Sjursen, M.ED., NBCT
Kari Sjursen is the Gifted Education Specialist at Dove Mountain CSTEM K-8 in the Marana Unified School District. Utilizing a variety of programming models, including K-2 Talent Development, content acceleration, K-5 send-out, and Middle School Gifted Elective, Kari strives to provide students with gifted services that both stimulates and supports their developing brains. She is a 2021 Notre Dame Trustey STEM Fellow and a 2022 Arizona State University ASAP STEM Fellow. A Nationally Board Certified Teacher, Kari has presented both nationally and internationally on topics related to gifted education, problem based learning, computer science, and STEM Integration.
