*****************
Thomas G. West is the author of the award-winning book In the Mind's Eye, recognized as one of the "best of the best" for 1998 by the American Library Association. It was published in Japanese translation as Geniuses Who Hated School and a Chinese translation is currently in process. According to one reviewer: "Every once in a while a book comes along that turns one's thinking upside down. In the Mind's Eye is just such a book. . . ." The book argues that major advances in computer visualization technologies promise to transform education and the workplace -- greatly increasing the perceived value of visual talents for understanding patterns in complex systems in business, the sciences and other fields. Many dyslexics are leaders in areas of technological innovation as well as science and business -- as technological change makes their areas of weakness less and less important. Mr. West joined the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study at the George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, to develop a program of research which will investigate the visual and non-visual talents shown by many dyslexics. In connection with In the Mind's Eye, the author has been invited to provide presentations for scientific, design and business groups in the U.S. and overseas, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Taiwan and The Netherlands. West has organized conferences and consulted on visualization for the National Library of Medicine as well as for business leaders and media innovators. He writes a column on visualization issues for a publication of the international professional society for computer graphics artists and technologists. Prior to writing In the Mind's Eye, Mr. West worked with engineering and consulting organizations where he managed a large international research and training program, helped to redesign a national computer information system and integrated strategic planning for several federal government agencies, with periodic travel to the Middle East and the Far East. Based in Washington, D.C., Mr. West has appeared on TV programs produced by the BBC and by Twenty Twenty Television for broadcast by UK Channel 4. Articles reviewing or citing In the Mind's Eye have appeared in The Boston Globe, Vanity Fair, Computers in Physics, The American Bar Association Journal, The Roeper Review, The Financial Times, The Times Educational Supplement, The Independent, The Times, The Evening Standard, The Oxford Mail, The Australian, Kagaku Asahi Science Magazine and Nikkei Daily among others.
West was born in Indianapolis in 1943, and his family later moved to Maryland's Eastern Shore. His father was an art teacher; his mother, now 96, painted until recent years.
West majored in English at Gettysburg College and received a master's degree in international relations from the University of Southern California. He spent three semesters in a doctoral program at Georgetown University before working for local energy and high-tech firms in the 1970s and '80s.
In 1991, he published In the Mind's Eye: Visual Thinkers, Gifted People With Dyslexia and Other Learning Difficulties, Computer Images and the Ironies of Creativity. The American Library Association called the updated edition one of the "best of the best."
West has consulted for the National Library of Medicine, and he's on the advisory board of the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study at George Mason University.
For years, he wrote a column on visualization for a computer-graphics journal. These columns were collected in last year's Thinking Like Einstein: Returning to Our Visual Roots With the Emerging Revolution in Computer Information Visualization. He's now writing a book on visual thinking and dyslexia in three scientific families.
West lives in DC's Barnaby Woods neighborhood with his wife, Margaret West, a radio producer and editor. They have two sons. Ben, 31, is a freelance journalist; Jonathan, 28, is studying at the Southern California Institute of Architecture.
In the Mind's Eye was written by
Thomas G. West and published in May 1991 by Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New York.
Now in its fourth printing, the book is currently being translated by Kodansha
Scientific for a 1994 Japanese language edition. In the Mind's Eye deals with
visual thinkers, creativity, computer graphics, recent neurological research
and gifted persons with learning difficulties -- examining the role of visual-spatial
strengths and verbal weaknesses in the lives of ten historical persons, including
Albert Einstein, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Sir Winston Churchill,
Gen. George Patton and William Butler Yeats. A special focus is the way major
changes in computer visualization technologies promise to gradually transform
education and the workplace -- greatly increasing the perceived value of visualization
talents and skills, while traditional verbal and text-memorization skills may
come to be perceived as less important.
In connection with In the Mind's Eye, the author has been invited to provide
presentations for many diverse groups in the U.S. and overseas, including the
National Institutes of Health Image Processing Group, the Association for Computing
Machinery graphics special interest group (ACM SIGGRAPH), the European computer
graphics society (Eurographics), the Orton Dyslexia Society, the University
of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, the first conference of the new
Netherlands Design Institute in Amsterdam, a conference in Goettingen, Germany,
for computer users and research scientists from some 50 Max Planck Institutes,
the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer *EXIT* Graphics in Darmstadt, the Washington
Society for the History of Medicine, the visualization group of the MITRE Corporation,
the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation and the Board of Regents of the National
Library of Medicine. In addition, the author has visited Western Australia to
give a series of talks at the invitation of the Dyslexia SPLED Foundation in
Perth -- a trip that included additional meetings and interviews in Sydney,
Melbourne and Singapore.
Current speaking engagements include a conference of the British and European Dyslexia Associations in Manchester, England, along with a series of talks for The Arts Dyslexia Trust and the Dyslexia Institute in London. The author has been invited to be keynote speaker for the Neuhaus Education Foundation, Houston, Texas, for the Illinois Branch of the Orton Dyslexia Society and for a National Forum on Disabled New Students sponsored by the University of South Carolina.
************************************************
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Engineering (electrical)
Monash University, 1972
Specialisation: Digital electronics and logic
Diploma of Education
Rusden State College, 1973
Specialisation: mathematics and physics, senior secondary level
Graduate Diploma of Computing
Deakin University, 1984
Specialisation: Digital logic, hardware, operating systems, assembly language
and COBOL
Master of Education (CHIP)
University of Melbourne, 1994
Specialisation: Gifted education of high ability mathematics, computing and
physics students
Thesis was later published as 'Exploring Chaos and Fractals'
Personal background:
Having taught for nearly thirty years in public and private schools, I am now an author, public speaker and educational consultant. I run extension units in various schools to stay in touch with the realities of the classroom - and because I love it! For ten years I was Principal of the Virtual School for the Gifted. This role has now changed to supporting schools all over the world in setting up their own virtual extension internally through EUMY Education I have published nine educational titles and an educational CD-ROM with special emphasis on material for able students. With a passion for science and mathematics, my first popular science book, The Skeptic’s Guide to the Paranormal, was published in 2004 in Australia and 2005 in the US. Science and the paranormal is also the theme of my first novel, Avenging Janie, published in 2003. My next book, Crocodile: evolution's greatest survivor, will be published in August 2006 by Allen & Unwin.
With qualifications in engineering, computing and education, I have presented at conferences in Australia, America and New Zealand on the use of technology in education, teaching mathematics and science, and on gifted education. Although a secondary teacher, I have also worked extensively with primary teachers and students in both government and private schools. I am constantly working on the Enrichment Units for the Middle Years, online and printable enrichment units for upper primary to middle secondary levels to run parallel to the regular curriculum. They are used in schools in six countries. I am now writing further non-fiction books with science and sceptical themes, as well as another novel.
As an entertainer, I enjoy talking to groups from a few people to hundreds at a time. To embellish the talks, which are usually about science but also about writing, I have trained as a magician specialising in effects which replicate claims which appear to defy known science: mind reading, bending metal psychically and predicting the future. I am now one of the few female members of The Australian Society of Magicians.
I am married with one adult daughter. Born, bred and still living around Melbourne, Australia, I live with my husband, Damian, and two dogs on eighteen acres of bush - growing fruit, vegetables and masses of pelargoniums, observing wildlife, reading, teaching, performing magic, and writing.
Publications:
Fiction:
Avenging Janie Lothian Books, 2003
Non-fiction, Trade, popular science:
The Skeptic’s Guide to the Paranormal (Australia) Allen & Unwin, 2004
The Skeptic’s Guide to the Paranormal (United States) Thunder’s
Mouth, 2005
Crocodile: evolution's greatest survivor (in press) Allen & Unwin, 2006
Non-fiction, Education:
Practical Computing (co-author) Jacaranda-Wiley, 1987
Nuclear Technology (co-author) STAV Publishing, 1991
Lasers Sunshine Books 1994
Challenging Minds Hawker-Brownlow, 1994
Mathematics by Computer: Iteration Wizard Books , 1996*
Sound and Light Wizard Books, 2000*
Maths Wizard Wizard Books, 2000*
Motion: Simple Concepts in Physics Wizard Books, 2001*
Words and Images (co-author) Wizard Books, 2002*
Science Kit:
Motion: Simple Concepts in Physics Wizard Books, 1996*
* All Wizard Books publications are now published by Curriculum Corporation.
Multimedia CD-ROM:
Exploring Chaos and Fractals (co-author) Informit, 1994
Online Course Material:
Being Mathematical self-published
(now part of the Enrichment Units for the Middle Years )
Magazine and newspaper articles:
Physics and Infinity
Lab Talk, Science Teachers Association of Victoria (STAV)
1984
It’s a Total Internal Reflection
Lab Talk, STAV
1985
Book Reviews
Lab Talk, STAV
1986/7
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a - total internal reflection
The Australian Skeptic, 4:2 24
1988
Chaos Rules the Classroom?
Classroom 2000, The Age
1993
Multimedia Authoring
Australian Author, 26.3
1994
Managing Change in I.T.
The Source
1996
It's virtually a school
The Source, Vol2, No.4
1997
Virtual schooling is online now
News and Views, ICPA, Qld., December
1997
I.T. and Gifted Students
Gifted
1998
I.T. and Gifted Students
Vision
1999
Mirror Gazing: From Critical Reflection Toward Evaluation (co-author)
Gifted and Talented International, Volume XV, No 2
2000
How to build a cyberschool that has soul
The Age, I.T. Opinion
2000
How a native goddess stole my heart
The Age, Extra/Gardening, 10 February
2001
Just Killing Time? (co-author)
Principal Matters, April
2001
Book Chapters:
Four chapters: In Coping for Capable
Kids ed.Cohen and Frydenberg
Hawker-Brownlow, Education
1993
A Teacher's Perspective: In Geniuses, Prodigies and Savants: extraordinary people
- what makes them tick?
Centre for the Mind
1999
Editing:
Mathematics online units
Britannica.com
2000
Competitions:
Second Born
1st Prize, Begonia Writing Short Story Competition
1992
Conference Presentations and Media:
I have presented at many conferences in Australia in areas of Information Technology, Gifted Education, Physics and Management. Also in America and New Zealand on use of laptop technology in schools and Management of Change. Prior to 1997, many presentations were on HSC and VCE Physics and Information Technology (two subjects: Information Processing & Management and Information Systems) as I served on the state committees for those subjects. Presentations since 1997 are:
Summit '97, Atlanta, USA, 5 presentations:
Management of Notebook Programs 1997
Integrating the Curriculum with Notebooks
1997
Working with Your Channel Partner 1997
Management of a Notebook Scheme: Technical Issues 1997
Case studies in Notebook Implementation 1997
EduTech '97, Melbourne
Management of Change 1997
EduTech '97, Sydney Management of Change and the Future in Virtual Education
1997
IARTV Computer Coordinators Information Technology at Melbourne Grammar 1997
Expanding Horizons, Sydney The Virtual Classroom, A Case Study for the Gifted
1997
The Association of the Heads of the Independent Schools of New Zealand, Wellington
(Keynote and 3 presentations) Planning, Establishing and Maintaining Information
Technology
1997
VAGTC Using Computers with Gifted Students 1997
Edutech '98 The Virtual School and Remote Access Models 1998
JSHAA Virtual Schooling and Gifted Students 1998
IARTV Computer Co-ordinators, Using Computing in the Classroom
1998
IARTV Gifted Education at MLC 1998
VAGTC Virtual Schooling and Gifted Students 1998
TiSP The Virtual School for the Gifted 1998
CEGV Gifted Education and Computing at MLC
1999
CEGV Virtual Schooling - Two Models 1999
IARTV Computing and Gifted Students at MLC 1999
Parents for Gifted Children Virtual Schooling for the Gifted 1999
Post Graduates, Uni Melb Models in Education for Gifted Students 1999
Mordiallic Parents’ Group Virtual Schooling for the Gifted 1999
International Conference on Gifted Virtual Schooling for the Gifted 1999
Northern Region PD (Teachers) Virtual Schooling for Gifted Students 1999
Prodigies, Savants and Genius: Centre for the Mind conference, Sydney (2 presentations)
Dare to be Different
Education of the Gifted (Panel session)
1999
Night Live - Philip Adams (ABC radio) Education of Gifted Students 1999
ABC TV and radio interviews Gifted Education
1999
The Morgan Centre Seminars Teaching gifted and reflective practice, a view from
the trenches (Co-presenter with Dr Julie Landvogt)
2000
Learning Technologies Institute conference, Sydney
Chaos Theory and Fractal Geometry 2001
Learning Technologies Institute Conference, Sydney
Qualitatively Different Thinking 2001
Mathematics Association of South Australia (Keynote)
Being Mathematical 2001
Mathematics Association of South Australia Deconstructivism in the Mathematics
Classroom 2001
Mathematics Association of Victoria Chaos in the Classroom 2001
Gifted Education Conference, MacRobertson Girls’ Creativity in Mathematics
2002
Mathematics Association of Victoria Being Mathematical 2002
Ruyton and Trinity conference Virtual schooling for the gifted 2003
World Conference for the Education of Gifted Students, Adelaide
Being Mathematical 2003
Great Australian Science Show, Melbourne
Cold Reading 2003
Young Skeptics conference, Science Week, CSIRO Centre, Canberra
The Big Topics in Small Bites 2003
Australian Skeptics Conference, Canberra Capturing the young 2003
BRIT, Bendigo Industry overview: An author’s perspective 2003
Eltham Bookshop Avenging Janie 2003
ABC radio, Hobart, with Annie Warburton
Avenging Janie 2003
Late Night with Brett de Hoet (radio) Avenging Janie 2003
Flying High Convention, Melbourne Science and the paranormal 2004
Psychology Teachers' Conference, Melbourne
The psychology of cold reading 2004
Compass Centre, MLC, Melbourne Magical thinking 2004
Science Department, MLC, Melbourne (3 presentations) Science and the paranormal
2004
NMIT, Melbourne Writing from experience 2004
Canberra Skeptics, Canberra Writing a paranormal perspective 2004
Sydney Skeptics, Sydney Science and the paranormal 2004
Victorian Skeptics, Melbourne Science and the paranormal 2004
Authors Anonymous, MLC, Melbourne Writing - in the real world 2004
Australian Skeptics, National Convention, Sydney Preaching to the unconverted
- the Ten Condiments 2004
Radio interviews, 2004 and later:
The Skeptic's Guide: over 30 radio interviews were done as a result of the publication of The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal. These covered all states of Australia and New Zealand. They varied from ten minute interviews, to fifty minutes of interview plus talk back, to participating in The Conversation Hour with John Faine, 774 Melbourne.
Press interviews, 2004:
Press interviews were done for The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal . It was reviewed in all states of Australia as well as a number of online sites, magazines and journals. The reviews were great - a very pleasing outcome given the controversial nature of the book.
2005:
I do a weekly radio segment with Kathy Bedford, ABC Statewide Drive. Visit the 'regulars' page here. I also do other radio and podcast interviews on a range of topics, usually skeptical or educational.
Presentations:
International Baccalaureate workshop,Tintern
Girls’ Grammar, Melbourne Ethics, morals and religion: an atheist’s
perspective 2005
GATEways, Melbourne Differentiating the Curriculum 2005
Kingswood College Science and the Paranormal 2005
Korowa Anglican Girls' Grammar Being Mathematical 2005
MLC, Melbourne (multiple groups) Science and the Paranormal 2005
Melbourne Boys Grammar School Science and the Paranormal 2005
Korowa Anglican Girls' Grammar (workshop) Extending the Science Curriculum 2005
BRIT, Bendigo Industry Overview: Writing science and skepticism 2005
CityCite Science Science and the Paranormal 2005
STAVCON: Science Teachers' Conference Science and the Paranormal 2005
STAV Psychology Teachers' Conference The Use and Abuse of Psychology in the
New Age 2006
Present Employment
I am doing a host of things: contract work in writing, education, public speaking and teaching extension classes, particularly in science and mathematical areas – with some magic thrown in. I am working with GATEways, Melbourne delivering extension units - this keeps me in touch with real students in real classrooms.
Previous Positions
Principal, Virtual School for the Gifted.
The Virtual School for the Gifted was a totally virtual school with no physical location. For ten years, it offered courses to students all over the world. As a result, schools started to purchase VSG material, in particular being Mathematical, to run internally. As this direction became more pronounced, the focus now changed to working with school to develop their own internal online enrichment programs through EUMY Education.
Co-ordinator, Gifted and Talented
Program, MLC, Melbourne (0.6)
MLC is a very large girls' school of approximately 2 200 students. It is very
well resourced in both technology and Gifted Education. I established and managed
the Compass Centre for extension programs. I also developed and taught programs
in Mathematics, Science and IT.
Whenever a student needed enrichment (ahead in class, pre-testing showed mastery, needs motivation and more challenge, or whatever) the teacher can refer them to the Compass Program at any time. It existed in both physical and virtual locations. Parents and students themselves also referred students directly to Compass staff. The centre served the school from young primary students through to year 12. I resigned from this position in 2004 to concentrate on writing.
Head of Information Technology, Melbourne Grammar School (FT)
This 3 year appointment involved introducing the laptop scheme of over 1200 laptop computers in 12 months, networking the three campuses with a wide area network, and working with all staff, both academic and administrative, on the introduction and application of computer technology. An exciting and demanding position, I worked with all aspects of the school giving me a unique insight into the overall working of a complex school.
Head of Computing, Ballarat Grammar School (FT)
Employed by Ballarat Grammar for ten years, I was responsible for heading the Physics Department and the establishment of Information Technology as both a teaching and service department.
I lead the establishment of an enrichment program in four main facets: extension within existing curriculum, specialist enrichment classes (Ad Astra), a year 8, 9 and 10 elective (Challenge Studies) and a support / social / intellectually stimulating group, Think Inc, meeting at lunchtimes and after school.
Prior Appointments
Prior to my appointment at Ballarat
Grammar I had 5 years teaching in the State system. Subjects taught were primarily
Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics and Junior Science
Mary Ruth Coleman is the director of Project U-STARS ~ PLUS, Using Science, Talents and Abilities to Recognize Students ~ Promoting Learning in Under-served Students, a Javits Gifted and Talented Student Education Program and the director of Project ACCESS (Achievement in Content and Curriculum for Every Student's Success) funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Special Education Programs, a project of national significance. She is co-principal investigator for the Early Learning Disabilities Initiative sponsored by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. Dr. Coleman is a senior scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and research associate professor in the School of Education. From 1994 to 1998, she co-directed North Carolina's Statewide Technical Assistance for Gifted Education Center. Prior to this, she was associate director of the Gifted Education Policy Studies Program at the Frank Porter Graham Center.
Dr. Coleman has numerous publications and will be the junior author on the 11th Edition of the seminal textbook, Teaching Exceptional Children by Samuel A. Kirk, James J. Gallagher, and Nicholas J. Anastasiow, due out in spring 2005. She served as the associate editor of the Journal for the Education of the Gifted for over seven years, and has put together two special issues of JEG — the first on gifted girls and women, and the second on underserved gifted. She has also guest edited the Journal for Secondary Gifted focus issue on gifted students with learning disabilities. Prior to this, she developed and chaired a new department at Chowan College in Murfreesboro, N.C., designed to address the needs of special populations — disabled, culturally diverse, and economically disadvantaged college students.
Dr. Coleman's teaching experiences include five years in public and private elementary schools, with both regular classroom and special education assignments. She taught for three years as an adjunct faculty member at East Carolina University, has been a guest lecturer at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville and the College of William and Mary, and currently teaches classes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to teaching, she has presented numerous seminars, workshops, and staff development programs on a variety of topics.
Dr. Coleman served three terms on
the board of directors for the Association for Gifted (TAG) one of which she
was president. She recently completed her third term on the board of the National
Association for Gifted Children (NAGC); and is serving on the board of directors
for the Council for Exceptional Children. The NAGC recognized her with their
1992 Early Leader Award.
Publications of Mary Ruth Coleman Ph.D. (partial list)
Coleman, M.R. (2003). Four Variables for Success. Gifted Child Today, Winter
2003, 26 (1), 22-24.
Huan, B. & Coleman, MR (2002). Preparing Twice Exceptional Students for
Adult Lives: A Critical Need. Understanding Our Gifted, Winter (2002), .
Coleman, M. R. (2001). Curriculum Differentiation: Sophistication. Gifted Child
Today, 24 (2), 24-25.
Coleman, M.R. (2001). Middle Schools: New Trends and Issues. Gifted Child Today,
24 (4), 20-21.
Coleman, M.R. (2001). Surviving or Thriving?. Gifted Child Today, 24 (3), 56-63.
Coleman, M. R. (2000). Back to the future. Gifted Child Today, 22 (6), 16-18.
Coleman, M. R. (1999). Cooperative learning and gifted students. In S.M. Bean,
& F.A., Karnes (Eds.), Methods and materials for teaching gifted and talented
students. Waco: Prufrock Press.
Coleman, M. R. (1998). Are we serious about meeting student needs?. Gifted Child
Today, 21 (1), 40-41.
Coleman, M. R. (1997). Developing a comprehensive array of high school services.
Gifted Child Today, 20 (3), 32.
Coleman, M.R. & Gallagher, J. (1997). Computational training for teacher
enhancement, action, and motivation (CT-Team), Year Three Report. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina: Statewide Technical Assistance for Gifted Education
Program.
Computational training for teacher enhancement, action, and motivation (CT-TEAM),
Year Two Report (1997). Coleman, M.R. & Gallagher, J. Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina: Statewide Technical Assistance for Gifted Edcuation Program.
Gallagher, J., Harradine, C. C., & Coleman, M. R. (1997). Challenge or boredom?
Gifted students' views on their schooling. Roeper Review, 19 (3), 132-136.
Wilson, V.k Litle, J., Coleman, M., & Gallagher, J. (1997). Distance learning:
One School's Experience on the Information Highway. The Journal for Secondary
Gifted Education, IX (2), 89-100.
Coleman, M. R. (1996). Recognizing social and emotional needs of gifted students.
Gifted Child Today, 19 (3), 36-37.
Coleman, M. R. (1996). How to reward achievement: Creating individualized learning
experiences. Gifted Child Today, 19 (5), 48-49.
Coleman, M. R., Gallagher, J., Harrison, A., & Robinson, L. (1996). Planning
components for the education of gifted students: Suggested guidelines for plan
development. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Frank Porter Graham
Child Development Center, State Technical Assistance for Gifted Education.
Coleman, M.R. & Gallagher, J. (1996). Computational training for teacher
enhancement, action, motivation (CT-Team), Year Two Report. Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina: Statewide Technical Assistance for Gifted Education Program.
Tomlinson, C.A., Coleman, M.R., Allan, S., Udall, A. & Landrum, M. (1996).
Interface between gifted education and general education: Toward communication,
cooperation and collaboration.. Gifted Child Quarterly, 40 (3), .
Coleman, M. R. (1995). Exploring options: The importance of cluster grouping.
Gifted Child Today, 18 (1), 38-40.
Coleman, M. R. (1995). Problem-based learning. Gifted Child Today, 18 (3), 18-19.
Coleman, M. R. & Gallagher, J. (1995). State identification policies: Gifted
students from special populations. Roeper Review, 17 (4), 268-275.
Coleman, M. R., & Gallagher, J. (1995). Gifted education: Historical perspectives
and current concepts. In Genshaft, J., Bireley, M., Hollinger, C. (Eds.), Serving
Gifted and Talented Students (pp. 3-16).Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Coleman, M. R., & Gallagher, J. (1995). The successful blending of gifted
education with middle schools and cooperative learning: Two studies. Journal
for the Education of the Gifted, 18 (4), 362-384.
Coleman, M. R., & Gallagher, J. (1995). Appropriate differentiated services:
Guides for best practices in the education of gifted children. Gifted Child
Today, 18 (5), 32-33.
Coleman, M. R., & Gallagher, J. (1995). Middle schools and their impact
on talent development. Middle School Journal, 26 (3), 47-56.
Coleman, M. R., Gallagher, J. J., & Nelson, S. (1995). An up close look
at distance learning: RJR Nabisco down to earth distance learning final evaluation
report. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Frank Porter Graham Child
Development Center, Statewide Technical Assistance for Gifted Education.
Gallagher, J., Coleman, M. R. (1995). Report on technical assistance: Nine model
sites on academically gifted for the Department of Public Instruction. University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center,
State Technical Assistance for Gifted Education.
Gallagher, J., Coleman, M. R., & Nelson, S. (1995). Perceptions of educational
reform by educators representing middle schools: Cooperative learning, and gifted
education. Gifted Child Quarterly, 39 (2), 66-76.
Coleman, M. R. (1994). Middle school and gifted––A natural fit.
Gifted Child Today, 17(4), 38-39., 17 (4), 38-39.
Coleman, M. R. (1994). Using cooperative learning with gifted students. Gifted
Child Today, 17 (6), 36-37.
Coleman, M. R. (1994). Post secondary education decisions for gifted learning
disabled students. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 5 (3), 53-59.
Coleman, M., Gallagher, J., & Foster, A. (1994). Updated report on state
policies related to the identification of gifted students. Chapel Hill, NC:
The University of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center,
Gifted Education Policy Studies Program (GEPSP).
Coleman, M.R. & Gallagher, J. (1994). Computational training for teacher
enhancement, action, and motivation (CT-Team), Year One Report. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina: Statewide Technical Assistance for Gifted Education
Program.
Coleman, M.R., Gallagher, J., & Nelson, S. (1994). Down-to-earth distance
learning. Year Two: Formative evaluation. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina:
Gifted Education Policy Studies Program.
Foster, A., Gallagher, J., & Coleman, M. (1994). Model legislation: Gifted
and talented. Chapel Hill, NC: Gifted Education Policy Studies Program.
Gallagher, J. & Coleman, M.R. (1994). A Javits Project: Gifted Education
and Policy studies Program, Final Report . Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina: Gifted Education Policy Studies Program.
Gallagher, J., & Coleman, M. R. (1994). Cooperative learning and gifted
students: Five case studies. Cooperative Learning, 14 (4), 21-25.
Coleman, M. Gallagher, J., & Howard, J. (1993). Middle school site visit
report: Five schools in profile. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina,
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, Gifted Education Policy Studies
Program.
Coleman, M., Gallagher, J., & Nelson, S. (1993). Cooperative learning and
gifted students: Report on five case studies. Chapel Hill, NC: The University
of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, Gifted Education
Policy Studies Program.
Coleman, M.R., Gallaher, J., & Nelson, S (1993). Down-to-earth distance
learning. Year One: Formative evlauation. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina:
Gifted Education Policy Studies Program.
Gallagher, J., Coleman, M., & Nelson, S. (1993). Cooperative learning as
perceived by educators of gifted students and proponents of cooperative education.
Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child
Development Center, Carolina Policy Studies Program.
Nelson, S., Gallagher, J., & Coleman, M. R. (1993). Cooperative learning
from two different perspectives. Roeper Review, 16 (2), 117-121.
Coleman, M.R. (1992). Middle School Survey Report: Impact on Gifted Students.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina: Gifted Education Policy Studies Program.
Coleman, M.R. (1992). A comparison of how gifted/LD and average/LD boys cope
with school frustration.. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 15 (3), 239-265.
Coleman, M.R. (1992). Evaluation of SEP at St. Claire Elementary. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina: Gifted Education Policy Studies Program.
Coleman, M.R. & Gallagher, J. (1992). Report on State policies related to
the identificaion of gifted students. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
: Gifted Education Policy Studies Program.
Coleman, M.R. & Gallagher, J. (1992). State policies for identification
of nontraditional gifted students.. Gifted Child Today, 15 (1), 15-17.
Gallagher, J. & Coleman, M.R. (1992). State policies on the identification
of gifted students from special populations: Three states in profile. Chapel
Hill: University of North Carolina: Gifted Education Policy Studies Program.
Gallagher, J., Coleman, M.R., & Staples, A. (1989). North Carolin School
of Science and Mathematics: The second decade study. Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina: Carolina Institute for Child and Family Policy.
********************************8
Thomas S. Greenspon, Ph.D., is a
Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private
practice. He earned his B.A. from Yale and his Ph.D. in psychology from the
University of Illinois. Tom lectures and writes on a variety of topics including
perfectionism and the emotional needs of gifted children and adults.
*************************
"Bookstores have shelves filled
with self-help books for adults. But why should kids have to wait until they’re
grown to find the help they need? We offer them books that are current and solution-focused
so they can identify their needs and achieve their goals."
— Judy Galbraith, founder and president of Free Spirit Publishing
As a former classroom teacher and specialist in gifted education, Judy Galbraith recognized a clear need for books to help children and teens navigate life's challenges. Judy founded Free Spirit Publishing in 1983 becoming the first publisher to focus on self-help materials to help young people lead better lives. Her first books, and the first titles for Free Spirit Publishing, grew out of her master's thesis paper and they're still in print today...The Gifted Kids' Survival Guides (for ages 10 & under and for teens).
Not having a business or publishing background, Judy learned about growing Free Spirit the hard way. "I always tell people that I've done just about everything wrong...once. I'm a strong believer in the importance of persistence in the face of challenges. With every mistake or bad thing that might happen in our lives, there's always, always an opportunity to learn, improve, and grow. By modeling this mindset for children and teens through our deeds and through resources such as the ones we create at Free Spirit, we can help young people do and be their best in all areas of their lives. I grew up around books, and I firmly believe they have the power to inspire, inform, and transform."
Judy is proud of the accolades that Free Spirit's books consistently garner from professionals, but she says, "How do we know our books really work? The letters from our readers. Almost every day we receive fan mail about how our books have helped someone. Those letters make it easy for us to stay true to our mission which is to provide children and teens - and the adults who care about them - with the tools they need to succeed in life and to make a difference in the world."
In addition to The Gifted Kids' Survival Guides, Judy is the author of You Know Your Child Is Gifted When...A Beginner's Guide to Life on the Bright Side. She is coauthor of What Teens Need to Succeed: Proven, Practical Ways to Shape Your Own Future; What Kids Need to Succeed: Proven, Practical Ways to Raise Good Kids; and, most recently, When Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers: How to Meet Their Social and Emotional Needs.
Judy served ten years on the Board of Directors of Search Institute, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to advancing the well-being of children and adolescents. In 2004, she was named the Midwest Publisher of the Year. She has appeared on Oprah and been featured in Family Circle and Family Life, as well as numerous other magazines, newspapers, and broadcast and electronic media. She is a member of the Association of Booksellers for Children, the Association of Educational Publishers, the Midwest Independent Publishers Association, and the National Association for Gifted Children.
Judy grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, received a degree in education from the University of Wisconsin at Steven's Point, and holds a master's degree in guidance and counseling of the gifted from Norwich University, Vermont. She is a sailor and enjoys adventure travel, reading (of course!), community activism, and hanging out with her Airedale "terror" Chloe, who is Free Spirit's mascot and chief mischief maker. Judy lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
*****************************
****************************************************************************
Did your child come with an instruction
book? If not, perhaps these future guest experts
will help you with the "growth" of your child:)
Please join a future conference by sending an email to OGTOC-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
You must read the "How To" page and all the rules at http://www.neiu.edu/~ourgift/pages/HowTo.htm
Hope you join!!
In order to help cover some of the
administrative expenses and an honorarium
to the guest experts who volunteer their time we would greatly appreciate a
donation of any amount you wish.
