The Academy team took top honors in both the team and 11th/12th grade male divisions. Alex Hare (’11, Rowan Co.) was the top male competitor in the upper division. Rohith Palli (’11, Fayette Co.) tied for second in the same division.
Team members included Alex Hare, Jacob Haven, Alex Naumann, Kaitlyn Oliver, Rohith Palli, and Forrest Simmons.
This event featured a half-day of activities for high school students with an interest in mathematics. The day began with an individual problem solving competition. The problems required students to think creatively and use these algebraic tools in new and creative ways.
“The test was more computational than anything,” added Forrest Simmons (’11, Boone Co.) “Some of the problems were interesting.”
The rest of the morning featured presentations and hands on activities with UK faculty and students that introduced students to some new mathematics and applications of mathematics.
“I enjoyed the challenging problems,” Palli noted. “The seminars were very interesting, especially the one about fractal geometry and origami.”
For more information, contact Corey Alderdice at (270) 745-2971.
Dr. Julia Link Roberts and Tracy Ford Inman of The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU have received a 2009 Legacy Book™ Award from the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT).
Dr. Roberts and Inman were honored with the Legacy Book™Award for the Most Outstanding Book for Educators for Strategies for Differentiating Instruction: Best Practices for the Classroom (published by Prufrock Press).
The Legacy Book™Awards are recognized nationally and honor outstanding literature related to gifted children and their education. TAGT distributes nominated books to a nationwide panel of reviewers who evaluate the books according to their long-term potential for improving the lives of gifted youth.
“We are honored to have our book recognized on a national level,” Dr. Roberts said. “Our goal was to write the book to be useful to preservice teachers and teachers new to differentiation as they implement strategies to ensure that each student makes continuous progress.”
Dr. Roberts is the Mahurin Professor of Gifted Studies and executive director of The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU and the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky. Inman is associate director of The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU.
Other winners include Carol Fertig’s Raising a Gifted Child: A Parenting Success Handbook (also from Prufrock) as the Most Outstanding Book for Parents; Social-Emotional Curriculum with Gifted and Talented Students, edited by Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Dr. Tracy L. Cross and Dr. F. Richard Olenchak (Prufrock Press), as the Most Outstanding Book for Scholars.
Prufrock, the nation’s leading resource for gifted and advanced learners, also published Roberts’ and Inman’s book Assessing Differentiated Student Products: A Protocol for Development and Evaluation.
TAGT will recognize the Legacy Book™ Award honorees Dec. 3 during the First General Session of the annual TAGT Professional Development Conference: Growing their Gifts at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. In addition, TAGT has invited the authors to present sessions during the conference.
Contact: Gifted Studies, (270) 745-6323; or TAGT, (512) 499-8248.
Ballard Metcalfe of Eminence, Ky., didn’t seem nervous as he stood before a panel of legislators, policy advocates and business leaders in a meeting room of the Library of Congress.
Metcalfe wasn’t worried that his audience would dismiss the group’s message because of their age. Instead, it made him all the more confident.
“Students are able to create solutions that are ultimately bipartisan and pragmatic solutions, without many of the anxieties our current leaders face, such as protecting their own power,” Metcalfe said. “We are objective and our only goal is for the future.”
The Energy Board is a unique group of 50 national leaders on energy policy issues. Metcalfe and his colleagues from other National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Math, Science and Technology (NCSSSMST) schools were granted a tremendous opportunity to take action and affect energy policy in the country today, and as they consider their college and career choices in the future.
The proposal’s genesis came during the 8th Keystone National Youth Policy Summit (YPS). In June 2009, 30 students from seven math and science schools from across the country came together in Keystone, Colo., to develop consensus-based recommendations on reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the United States.
Additional Gatton Academy students participating in the conference included Elaine Flynn of Demossville, Ky., Alexander Hare of Morehead, Ky., Holly Mitchell of Salvisa, Ky., Kaitlin Oliver of Central City, Ky., and Hunter Smith of Elizabethtown, Ky.
The summit and subsequent white paper allowed participants to take stock of the larger technical, legal, environmental, social, economic, and political problems associated with current and future reductions in emissions across 10 sectors of the economy. Students shared their own research, sharpened the definition of the issues and options, and sought consensus on recommendations.
Derick Strode, the academy’s coordinator for research, internships, and scholarships, explained the summit and presentation were an extraordinary opportunity to combine advanced research with real implications.
“This was a chance for Ballard to apply his research, learning, and ideas to an important, real-world application,” Strode said. “As one member of the energy board pointed out, the presentation was especially influential because the students’ were not coming with any special interests to represent.”
Given the global emphasis on reducing greenhouse emissions, the topic serves as both a timely and relevant for emerging young leaders in science and mathematics. With guidance from the experts in science and public policy, these high school students produced viable approaches to dealing with a problem that is confounding national policy makers as well as those in state legislatures across the U.S.
Keystone Naitonal Energy Board Meeting
“Reducing greenhouse gases will be of utmost importance for the preservation of the environment for my generation, and many generations to come,” Metcalfe said. “It is important that we work towards achieving the goal of reducing greenhouse gases before it is too late, and one way to work toward that goal is by means of our recommendations.”
The findings were reported to energy and government leaders within their communities. Greenhouse Gas Reductions in the U.S. (PDF Link) represents the results of the students’ deliberations in the form of a written set of consensus recommendations.
Participants noted, if implemented fully and completely, the suggestions in this proposal would, over a four-decade time horizon, slow, stop and then reverse the trend of increasing carbonemissions in the United States. The primary driving force for these reductions in emissions is a market-oriented cap-and-trade system. Although the consensus statement was developed separate from, and independently of, other national initiatives, the economics bears striking similarities to H.R. 2454, or the Waxman-Markey Bill, which passed the House on June 26, 2009 — two weeks after the end of the student summit.
Student participants acknowledged the proposal is a compromise, and that it is not a perfect or a complete solution to the climate problem facing the United States. Instead, the policy suggestions were offered as possible catalysts for a shift in the nation’s perception of pollution, environmentally-friendly lifestyles, and policy making.
Metcalfe shared the advice given to him by a member of the board after Wednesday’s session.
“There are many people on either end of the spectrum, those in academia on one side, and the policymakers and politicians on the other,” he said. “Many times, these groups are not proficient at communicating ideas or understanding one another. Mediating between the two sides is an important task in our age, one that requires people who possess skills in both areas. Hard work on the part of people like myself and the other students who attended the YPS will be needed in order to mediate between the two ends of the spectrum, in order to form the policy that will make the world a better place for all.”
For information, contact Derick Strode at (270) 745-3167.
This week’s View From the Hill television segment also focuses on Chinese Language Flagship.
Ashley Norman of Union, Ky., planned to attend another university until she learned about a new program at Western Kentucky University—The Chinese Flagship Institute Pilot Program.
The Flagship is an intensive, four-year Chinese language program funded through a Diffusion of Innovation Flagship Partner Planning Grant from The Language Flagship of the National Education Security Program at the U.S. Department of Defense.
Norman, who studied Chinese at Larry A. Ryle High School, said she changed her mind “almost instantly” upon learning of the Flagship program and other opportunities offered through WKU’s Honors College.
“The Honors College opportunity and the Flagship program are the primary reasons I decided to attend WKU,” she said. “The Chinese experience I had in high school motivated me to continue with Chinese language education, and I feel as though I caught on to the language rather quickly. For this reason, I felt that an intensive program would keep me enthralled to the highest degree.”
Amy Eckhardt, Director of WKU’s Office of Scholar Development, said WKU and the University of Kentucky are the only universities in Kentucky to offer four years of intensive Chinese language instruction.
“We are part of one of the most exciting innovative advances in foreign language education in this country,” Eckhardt said. “This will provide needed opportunities for Kentucky high school graduates to continue Chinese language studies.”
WKU is one of nine funded programs in the United States, along with Indiana University, Ohio State University, Brigham Young University, Arizona State University, University of Rhode Island, University of Oregon, University of Mississippi and San Francisco State University.
Ed McDermott, program manager for The Language Flagship, said the organization was proud to add WKU by creating the pilot program because of the commitment the University demonstrated in its proposal.
“Western Kentucky demonstrated that it intends to integrate this program across disciplines and meet the students’ needs,” he said. “That’s the direction we want to go.”
WKU has recruited Liping Chen as Academic Director of the Flagship and an assistant professor of Chinese language and linguistics. Dr. Chen, who has a doctorate in linguistics from Rutgers University, came from the University of Pittsburgh where she was the Chinese language coordinator.
“The moment I saw the job posting, I told myself I wanted this job because it fits both my passion and my expertise and experience with Chinese language and linguistics,” Dr. Chen said. “I see WKU as an exciting opportunity to use my expertise in Chinese linguistics and language pedagogy to help shape and develop its Chinese Flagship program.”
The Flagship curriculum incorporates a series of overseas experiences and internships, she said. It is also outcome based and student proficiency level will be measured by a series of assessment tools.
“Clearly, it is an ambitious project that calls for the commitment and dedication from both the administration and the students,” Dr. Chen said. “And I am convinced that WKU has both.”
“Students who participate in the Chinese Flagship program are committing to studying Chinese during their entire course of study at WKU,” Eckhardt said. “Along with access to excellent and personalized teaching and advising, students will receive scholarships to support summer language study and at least two funded overseas experiences in China as part of the pathway to proficiency.”
With China’s importance in the global economy, the Chinese Flagship program will play an important role in Kentucky’s economic development, Eckhardt said. Not only will learning Chinese help students become global professionals, having the program in Kentucky will have a positive impact on the state’s trade relationship with China, she said.
That importance was cited by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear in a letter to WKU President Gary Ransdell. Beshear, who recently attended an economic development conference in China, said the Flagship program would be a positive correlation for Chinese investors and for economic development with China in Kentucky.
Dr. Ransdell added: “If there is a language that is going to help define this small global village, we’ll put our stake with the Chinese language.”
Eckhardt added that Chinese is also considered a critical language to the U.S. military.
Rachel Reetzke, a senior from Franklin, enrolled in the Flagship program after traveling to China this summer through the Honors College. For one month she volunteered and observed at the Chengdu Autism Training Center as an independent research project.
“It was through my volunteering and observations that I developed a passion for further learning the Chinese language in order to continue to help the children that I had the opportunity to work with,” the communication disorders major said. “After completing this Flagship program at WKU, I hope to utilize my new language skills to continue helping the individuals with autism in China.”
The Flagship is already attracting the “kind of students every teacher wants,” Dr. Chen said. “They are extremely smart, polite, motivated and dedicated,” she said. Of the 16 currently enrolled in the Elementary Chinese class, eight are members of the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, a residential program at WKU for select gifted high school juniors and seniors. Others are studying in areas such as photojournalism, the arts and psychology.
“Students came to my office hour the first day of class to practice their pronunciation and they could tell each other’s Chinese names in the second meeting of class,” Dr. Chen said. “I can’t wait to see them communication in Chinese when we are in China in January.”
Participants in the inaugural Chinese Flagship Institute Elementary Chinese class
WKU Students
Chris Groves, Bowling Green, Ky.
Jesse Hazel, Bowling Green, Ky.
Charles Meredith, Bowling Green, Ky.
Sara Moody, Bowling Green, Ky.
Ashley Norman, Union, Ky.
Angel Piper, Sebree, Ky.
Rachel Reetzke, Franklin, Ky.
Darra Jackson, Atlanta, Ga.
Students in the Gatton Academy for Mathematics and Science in Kentucky at WKU
Amy Cordero, Pikeville, Ky.
Samuel Firkins, Taylorsville, Ky.
Jason Ludden, Columbia, Ky.
Ballard Metcalfe, Eminence, Ky.
Jared Mink, East Bernstadt, Ky.
Joshua Robinson, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Sarah Schrader, Bowling Green, Ky.
Benjamin Venable, LaGrange, Ky.
More about the Chinese Flagship program at WKU
The WKU Chinese Flagship Pilot Program is an intensive undergraduate four-year course of study that leads to an Honors degree in a home major and to certified proficiency in Chinese. It is the only fully articulated four-year Chinese language program in the state and will offer students from Kentucky and throughout the U.S. an affordable, high-quality undergraduate education that combines the study of Mandarin Chinese with rigorous academics in an engaged Honors community setting.
The WKU Chinese Flagship Pilot Program will be an independent Honors-level certificate program housed in University College, with formal affiliations with the Honors College, Potter College of Arts & Letters and the International Office.
No prior Chinese language experience is required, but students must commit to the intensive study of Chinese for the duration of their degree program at WKU. Students must also commit to a year of study and professional internship in Nanjing, China, and all students must be admitted to, or be in good standing in, the Honors College.
There is a Pre-Flagship Summer Intensive Language Training for students with no Chinese or with beginning (Novice level) Chinese. Students (entering freshman, transfer, or currently matriculated students) who are accepted into the program will receive full scholarships for an intensive Mandarin language course in the summer term before their first fall term in the Flagship program.
In years 1-4, students will enroll each year in a minimum of 12 Chinese credits (eight credits in fall and spring and four credits during winter term). These classes will count toward Honors College credit requirements.
Additionally, each year between the fall and spring semester, students will participate in an intensive four-week Winter Language Practicum in China during WKU’s winter term. This immersion overseas language program will allow students to engage authentically with the culture and language from the outset. Financial support for this program is available to all Flagship students through the generous support of the Honors College and the Office of Internationalization.
All students graduating in this program will complete a capstone year of study at Nanjing University and an internship experience in China. The timing of the Capstone year is determined by each student’s language proficiency and academic major. Staff and faculty from the Honors College, the WKU Chinese Flagship, the Office of Scholar Development, and the Study Abroad office are available to provide guidance and personalized advising to students. While at Nanjing, they complete courses in their major and work individually with native-speaking tutors. Immediately following the semester in Nanjing, scholars complete professional internships at various locations in China.
An evening session for parents is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Oct. 26 followed by an all-day professional development workshop for educators and administrators from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CDT Oct. 27. Both events will be held at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center on Nashville Road in Bowling Green.
Thanks to the generosity of the Berta family, these events are free and open to the public. Presenters Dr. Virginia H. Burney and Dr. Kristie Speirs Neumeister, experts in educational psychology relating to gifted children, will discuss the social and emotional needs of gifted young people.
During the parent seminar, Social and Emotional Characteristics and Issues of High Ability Children, Dr. Burney and Dr. Neumeister will discuss the characteristics of gifted children and associated (possibly problematic) behavioral manifestations of those characteristics. Tips for parents and teachers in assisting positive development will also be explored.
On Oct. 27, teachers will spend the day learning how the characteristics and needs of gifted children interact with school culture in Meeting the Social and Emotional Needs of the Gifted in School. Participants will practice strategies for meeting the needs of these students and for assisting others in understanding gifted children. Resources will be provided. EILA credit is available.
About the Berta Seminar: Thanks to the generosity of Vince and Kathleen Berta, this event is free and open to the public. The Bertas realized that gifted children had needs that came from their strengths and meeting those needs required both parents and teachers. The Berta Seminar brings in experts in the field of education to conduct seminars and presentations designed specifically for the parents of gifted children. And because educating gifted students requires teachers as well as parents, The Berta Seminar sponsors a professional development seminar for educators to learn how to better meet the needs of gifted young people in the classroom.
For more information, contact The Center for Gifted Studies, (270) 745-6323.
As students in Western Kentucky University residence halls turn off and unplug, take shorter showers and make other energy conservation measures in this month’s “Reduce Your Use!” competition, they will be able to see how their halls rank thanks to a real-time energy monitoring and display website.
WKU’s Building Dashboard® designed by Lucid Design Group (http://www.wku.edu/housing/dashboard.htm) provides information on energy use for each residence hall, converting kilowatt hours to relatable units such as pails of coal and hamburgers.
Students not only will be able to track which building is winning, but also see whether efforts such as turning off all lights in a building make a big difference.
“The dashboard will help us save energy, but more importantly, it is a great awareness tool,” Sustainability Coordinator Christian Ryan-Downing said. “It empowers us to see immediately the results of our conservation efforts and makes it much more fun and engaging. The dashboard is like a new toy. I keep showing it to everyone.”
Ryan-Downing said energy feedback websites are proving to have great results on college campuses. Reports from both Lucid Design and universities and colleges using the technology say that real-time feedback on energy use is resulting in energy use reductions from 10 percent to 50 percent.
Before the software and dashboard could do their work, residence hall energy meters had to be connected to the centralized computer software system that the WKU Energy Management Team uses to remotely read and control heating, cooling and ventilation in many campus buildings. This system allows the Building Dashboard® to “read” the meters and provide real-time feedback.
“The Dashboard system has an integrated competition module which allows us to easily manage ‘Reduce Your Use!’” said David Baskett, coordinator for Facilities for Housing and Residence Life. “The competition module allows me to set up the parameters of the competition and from there it runs itself. Students will be able to see their hall’s standing along with other real time data by simply going to the Dashboard website. By allowing the residents to see real time data we hope this encourages a healthy competitive spirit and educates them on energy conservation.”
People are always talking about how much has changed in their lifetime. My grandmother is 95. She has seen some changes. Flight, a person on the moon, the phone evolution, television, microwave ovens, robots, medical technology, nanotechnology, calculators, computers, it can go on for days. Talking with her recently, she shared the awe of seeing all of these things develop over her time on this planet. It made me wonder: what are the next stages of change, how will it impact our lives, and who is going to lead the way?
As an educator for the past 25 years, my intentions have been to prepare students for this big adventure. However, we all know about good intentions. I have become increasing aware of the great chasm between what we are teaching students and what they are going to need to be successful in this ever-evolving global environment. Reflecting on this dilemma, here are a few thoughts about what is needed:
We are unable to teach “all’ the content. So we need to teach process: How do we access information? What can we do with that information? How can we make decisions based on that information?
We need to be developing the right and left sides of the brain. Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind captures this extremely well. We need to integrate creativity into the left-brain worlds of “conventional” math and science. A linear approach to potential ideas will bring about some change; a nonlinear, outside-the-box approach is necessary for quantum leaps.
We need to embrace the concepts highlighted in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers. It takes an incredible amount of work and effort to get to the point of expertise (10,000 hours). Students must learn to break an academic sweat. However, it is not just talent and hard work. We need to create experiences for students to see the vast opportunities that presently exist so that they can envision possibilities yet to come.
Despite the need for major realignment of curriculum and procedures, there are some things that will never change. We cannot lose sight of the need to develop relationship skills, ethical values, and leadership dynamics. These principles will always be essential no matter the arena.
Many schools are beginning to explore these elements. The struggle is the mindset that we won’t be able to cover all that we have traditionally taught if we add anything else. The truth is we can’t do it now. Yes, there are certain fundamentals that must be taught. And we must embrace the exponential growth of new knowledge and experiences. It cannot be an either/or. The real shift is for education to stop being an information warehouse and dispenser and fully accept the role of being an equipper of skills that will enable students to be the masters of their own learning.
It isn’t a matter of “if” the next big innovation or discovery will happen; rather, it is about who will be prepared to make it. Unless we invest in this concept, our students will be spectators and passive recipients in this dynamic process. Our students deserve to be out on the edge, blazing the trails, breaking the molds, and raising the bar. Now is the time to act.
The leaves at Western Kentucky University are already starting to fall from the trees, and the weather is steadily become more like that of winter. Students across campus are soaking up the last bit of warm weather, sprawled on the grass reading and enjoying a day free of classes. Fall break is fast approaching, and no one is more eager than the students here at the Gatton Academy for those days of rest to arrive.
Even though the Gatton Academy is unlike any other high school in the state of Kentucky, the atmosphere at Gatton is much like that of any other high school in regards to fall break. One can feel the excitement growing as students and staff members start counting down the days and begin making plans.
Students recently faced their first wave of tests, and there is still studying to do before fall break finally arrives. Lots of students are eager to be able to take a break, and go back home for a while.
Leah Hayden (Henderson Co., ’11) plans to spend some time with friends and family back at home. “It’ll be nice to catch a break from all of the course work,” Hayden noted. “Once I get all of my work out of the way for the beginning of fall break, it will be great to just hang out and not have to worry about school for a few days.”
This seems to be the common trend amongst academy students. Everyone’s eager to go back home and tell their friends and family about all that they’ve missed.
Ben Neal (Estill Co., ’11) plans to go home and relax with his parents as well, but he is also going to be giving a presentation about the Academy, to help spread the word and get others involved. “The Academy still isn’t that well known, since it’s only been around for a few years,” Neal added. “So I offered to tell other students at my school about it to help get the word out and encourage them to apply.”
The seniors at the Academy have been busy as well. Not only have they been duteously studying for tests, but they’ve also spent a lot of time filling out applications for colleges and scholarships.
Justin Jatczak (Christian Co., ’10) says that he plans on taking a few of them home, so that he can finish the required essays without having to worry about classes and other distractions.
The summer won’t be all about relaxation for everyone though. Several students are going to be traveling to visit college campuses across the state and country, and many also plan on taking standardized tests such as the ACT or SAT.
Anna Walter (Boone Co., ’10) says that she’ll be taking the SAT during fall break, “I really want to do better, just to prove to myself that I can,” Walter noted. “It’s also a big consideration in a lot of scholarships, I’m hoping to get around a 2250 (out of 2400).”
There’s a lot of excitement building up as fall break comes closer. Whether students are going to home to vedge or plan on taking school home for a bit, the Gatton Academy wishes students, staff, and parents a safe and happy fall break.
The cover story (PDF link) in today’s Bowling Green Daily News relates yesterday’s human chess game held on the fourth floor of Schneider Hall.
From the story:
With several student spectators around, Sam Firkins, taunting Jason Ludden, leader of the black pieces, called out his move – bishop to F4. With that, the Gatton Academy student portraying the bishop moved on the carpeted chessboard to the appropriate spot.
Students from the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University on Sunday played chess. However, they used themselves as the pieces. Residential counselor Sue-Margaret Meador thought it would be fun for the students to play the game with live pieces.
“This is just a different way to play and engage the student,” she said. “It’s been entertaining, and hopefully it sparked some interest in the game.”
Dr. Julia Link Roberts and Tracy Ford Inman of 
The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU
