Passion Powered: Helping Your Gifted Child Flourish by Following Their Interests
Interest acts like a gateway to learning and growth. It motivates children to spend more time exploring, practicing, and pushing their boundaries. Talent goes beyond potential. It is something that emerges from the interplay between a child’s natural interests, the motivation those interests spark, and the opportunities and encouragement they receive to engage deeply over time. In this session, we’ll discuss specific strategies families can use to recognize, support, and expand their children’s interests over time. Join NWGCA & Dr. Jann Leppien for this engaging presentation!
Dr. Jann H. Leppien is Professor Emerita at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. From 2013 to 2021, she served as the Margo Long Chair in Gifted Education and Program Director for the university’s graduate programs in gifted education. Her professional background includes work as a research associate at the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, teaching at the elementary and middle school levels, and coordinating K–8 gifted education services in Montana. She provides professional development for educators across the U.S. and internationally, focusing on differentiated instruction, curriculum design and assessment for advanced learners, thinking skills, and gifted program development. She has served on the boards of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) and the Washington State Gifted and Talented Advisory Board. Currently, she serves on the board of the 2e Center for Research and Professional Development at Bridges Academy Bridges Academy in Studio City, California, and is core faculty at Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education. She also serves on the Editorial Review Board for Teaching for High Potential, an NAGC publication. She is coauthor of The Multiple Menu Model: A Practical Guide for Developing Differentiated Curriculum and The Parallel Curriculum: A Design to Develop High Potential and Challenge High-Ability Students, and serves as series editor for related Parallel Curriculum Model books. She continues to support educators working with advanced students by being the President of Edufest, a nonprofit organization that has provided high-quality professional development in gifted education for over 28 years, held annually at Boise State University.
