C-MITES NewsIssue # 37 Fall 2011

~ Calendar ~September

Weekend Workshops at Carnegie Mellon.

OctoberWeekend Workshops at Carnegie Mellon and Kennett Square.

NovemberWeekend Workshops at Carnegie Mellon and Ardmore.11/30: Early registration deadline for EXPLORE testing

December12/12: Final registration deadline for January EXPLORE testing.

JanuarySpring Weekend Workshops brochures and newsletters mailed.1/16: Final registration for February EXPLORE testing.1/21, 22: EXPLORE test

February2/18: EXPLORE test

Check out what’s inside . . .

A great article on ‘Parenting Gifted Girls’ . . . p. 3

Meet a C-MITES teacher . . . p. 4

What’s happening with our Summer Program . . . p. 5

Meet Hannah, our newest staff member . . . p. 6

Get a new t-shirt for your ‘Back-to-School’ wardrobe . . . p. 8

. . . and don’t forget to check out our website (www.cmites.org) and Facebook page

for all the latest C-MITES information

C-MITES NEWS Fall 2011●2

C-MITES NEWSC-MITES News is published by the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary and Secondary Students. C-MITES sponsors a talent search for 3rd-6th graders as well as summer and weekend programs for K-9th graders throughout Pennsylvania.• Director: Dr. Ann Lupkowski Shoplik• Program Coordinator: Pamela J. Piskurich• Web Designer: Raymond T. Budd• C-MITES Program Assistant: Elizabeth Rheinfrank• C-MITES Assistant: Hannah Rosen

A portion of the funding for C-MITES is provided by Mr. Mark Gelfand, The Grable Foundation, Dr. Bernard Meisner, The Pittsburgh Foundation, C-MITES families, and several anonymous donors.

Contact InformationC-MITESCarnegie Mellon University5136 Margaret Morrison St., MMP30Pittsburgh, PA 15213Phone: (412) 268-1629Fax: (412) 268-1049Website: www.cmites.orgEmail: cmites@cmu.edu

Thanks to theSummer Program Host Schools!

C-MITES would like to extend a sincere thanks to all of the following sites that served as Summer Program locations:

Aquinas Academy, GreensburgCampus School of Carlow University, OaklandCarnegie Mellon University, OaklandThe Ellis School, OaklandForest Hills High School, SidmanIndiana University of Pennsylvania, IndianaLearning Enrichment Center, WarrenLinntown Elementary School, LewisburgNorthgate Middle/Senior High School, North HillsSeton-La Salle High School, Mount LebanonWexford Elementary School, WexfordWinchester Thurston School, Oakland

We really appreciate the support!

The Student Page

H ave you written a short story or poem you would like to share with other C-MITES students? Do you have a fa-vorite puzzle or brain teaser you would like our readers to try to solve? Here’s your chance! In each issue of the C-

MITES NEWS, we will have a section called “The Student Page” that will be devoted exclusively to C-MITES students.

We are looking for original work by our students, including, but not limited to, poetry, short stories, mind benders, brain teasers or puzzles. To be considered for the next issue of the C-MITES NEWS, submissions must reach our office by October 1, 2011. Submissions are best sent in a Word document or in the body of an email. Emails of your work should be sent to Ray Budd at budd@andrew.cmu.edu.

Any work submitted is subject to the approval of the editor and must include contact information for the person submitting the work. We reserve the right to reject any submissions that are inap-propriate for our readers.

Professional Developmentfor Teachers

C-MITES is continuing to offer its Professional Develop-ment series for teachers and administrators who work with gifted students. The sessions for the 2011-2012 school year will be held at Carnegie Mellon University. Check our website at www.cmites.org for a registration form. You are also welcome to provide this information to a teacher who might be interested. C-MITES awards ACT 48 credit for participation in these workshops.

Save the dates:October 13, 2011: Collaborating to Teach Gifted

Students: Regular Education Teachers and Teachers of the Gifted Working Together. Presented by: Linda Block-Love.

October 20, 2011: Hands-On Architecture Explorations. Presented by: Kelly Doctor, Carnegie Mellon University Dept. of Architecture.

November 15, 2011: Writing Effective GIEPs. Presented by Linda Deal.

March 13, 2012: Acceleration: Making Well-Informed Decisions. Presented by Dr. Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik.

Fall 2011 C-MITES NEWS● 3

Parenting Gifted Girls: Focus on Math, Science and Technologyby Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, Ph.D., and Pamela J. Piskurich, M.S.

Parents of 5th and 6th grade gifted girls sometimes express con-cern to us because they have noticed their middle school daughters are beginning to achieve less in school and/or are less interested in school than they were just a few years before. These parents are not alone in their concerns. Research has shown that, beginning in middle school or junior high school, girls often show decreased self-confidence and career aspirations. They are less likely to pur-sue interests in high-level math, science and computer program-ming courses as time goes on.

As early as 3rd grade, gender differences start to emerge. Girls begin shying away from math, science, and computer science. A number of different things become barriers to girls’ participation in these fields: the girls perceive that the material is too difficult, they assume they are not capable in math or science, and their teachers have lower expectations for girls than they do boys. The self-image that girls have doesn’t typically match up well to their image of a “scientist.” They perceive math and science as not be-ing relevant to their futures. In addition, math and science instruc-tion is often boring, and is not compatible with the girls’ values of relationships, connectedness, and doing things that help people.

Research FindingsSeveral factors contribute to fe-males shying away from careers in math, science, and technology. From a very young age, boys are more likely to be interested in computers. For example, research shows that boys monopolize com-puters, even in preschool. When boys and girls are paired, girls de-fer to their partner’s wishes. Par-ents are more likely to purchase computers for their sons and give more encouragement to their sons in using computers. Most math, science and technology teachers are male. Boys attribute their com-petence to internal factors, such as ability, while girls attribute suc-cesses to external factors, such as luck. At the same time, boys blame problems on external factors, not on their mistakes, while girls attribute problems to their own failures.

To counteract this, parents and teachers need to make a concen-trated effort to teach gifted girls to question and speak out. Girls benefit from career counseling, and they need mentors and role models in their lives. Other, slightly older, girls can be important role models. Parents need to be made aware of the special needs of gifted girls.

To make instruction more “female-friendly” in math, science and technology, teachers can use hands-on learning, show how the information at hand connects to other fields and connects to the girls’ everyday lives. Female-oriented problems are also help-ful. Some teachers find it useful to have girls generate their own

problems. Girls enjoy learning in a collaborative atmosphere with opportunities for discussion. Research also shows that single-sex teaching groups are beneficial. Since girls can get caught up in taking notes (and this reduces the time they have for processing, questioning and integrating the information), providing the notes to them helps them to move to the next level in their studies.

Allowing thinking time and wait time when asking questions in class is also helpful. Girls also benefit when teachers show stu-dents that there are multiple ways of approaching problems.

Other suggestions for teachers and parents of academically tal-ented girls include:

• Communicate high expectations.• Provide frequent feedback and encouragement.• Avoid subtly sexist language.• Let girls choose their own partners.• As a parent, be an active role model for learning and devel-

oping in your own career. However, no matter how busy you are, set aside daily time to talk with your daughters.

• Provide help but avoid solving problems for them.• Ensure equitable access and experience.• Consider traveling with your daughter (whole family trips, as

well as mother/daughter or father/daughter trips). Travel provides adventure, enrichment, family bonding, and a boost in self-confi-dence.• Attribute girls’ successes to their ability, not just their hard work.• Talk about women in science, math and technology and encour-age girls to read stories about them.• Pair girls at computers, some-times even when the assignment doesn’t require pairs.• Add manipulatives to the cur-riculum in the lower grades to help girls’ spatial skills.• When using a visual of a scien-

tist, show a female scientist.• Teach healthy competition. Don’t always let girls win. Win-

ning builds confidence, while losing builds character.• If your daughter doesn’t feel that she fits in socially, help re-

direct her energy toward positive activities such as drama, debate, sports, science, or music.

• Encourage girls to participate in all-girls activities, such as Girl Scouts.

By empowering girls with technological literacy, we help them to become the problem solvers of tomorrow. With the support of teachers, parents and others we can generate excitement about engineering, math and science and inspire girls to pursue these career fields. Continued on page 6

C-MITES NEWS Fall 2011●4

Facebook to the Rescue!Recently, C-MITES has decided to ramp up its facebook page. We want to reach out to our students even when they’re not in our classes! We will be posting weekly activities that you can do at home, such as online educational games, video experiments, and informa-tion about local intellectual com-petitions. Learning doesn’t have to stay inside the classroom; there are lots of fun activities kids can do without leaving their own homes. And our facebook page doesn’t benefit the kids alone – we will be posting merchandise discounts for the fall workshops, as well as the usual important registration information for our classes. Our facebook page is meant to keep you connected with our organiza-tion. We are trying to bring the fun to you – in return, please, feel free

PAGE(Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education)

The annual conference for the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education will be held May 3-4, 2012, at the Wyndham Garden Ho-tel in Exton, Pa. (just a mile or so from the Downingtown TP exit). Save the dates! For more information, see www.giftedPAGE.org

We encourage you to join PAGE. This statewide advocacy organi-zation is for parents and teachers of gifted students. PAGE offers a free Helpline for families, a network of local affiliates, an an-nual conference, resources, and effective advocacy. Working with state legislators and members of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, PAGE fostered the passage of Pennsylvania’s Chapter 16, Special Education for the Gifted, one of the strongest pieces of legislation for gifted education in the nation. The PAGE website, http://www.giftedPage.org/, provides many resources for parents, including parents’ guides, links to outside-of-school programs, and information about advocating for gifted students within the school system.

A C-MITES Welcome to Hannah RosenWe are very happy to welcome Hannah Rosen to the C-MITES staff. Hannah has been working as a C-MITES assistant since January.

However, most of us met Hannah for the first time at the holiday office party in December at Dave and Buster’s. She won a Crayola stuffed dragon from the Claw crane machine, an auspicious start to her new job. You may have already spoken with her on the phone, as she helped you with your class registration or met her at one of the spring Weekend Work-shops. “I love seeing the kids walking out of their classrooms,” she says about working at the registration table. “Not only do I enjoy all the light-up sneakers but I also enjoy watch-ing kids showing their parents what they have done in class. Even the kids who are trying to act cool can’t help looking excited about the new things they have learned!”

Hannah graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a bachelor’s degree in social and cultural history and a minor in Spanish language. A self-described “humanities nerd,” she grew up in Maryland, right outside Wash-

ington, DC, and was inspired by her experi-ences at the Smithsonian museums as a young person. According to Hannah, “there is nothing more satisfying than a good museum exhibit…unless there’s an equally good house tour.” One of her favorite activities outside the office is watching movies. “I watch all the old classics,” she says, “like Casablanca and Ben-Hur, but really I’m a culture vulture. I just love experiencing new things. I like salsa dancing, hiking in Frick Park, buying antique prints and trying new restaurants, just to name a few.”

One of Hannah’s duties at C-MITES is updating the C-MITES facebook page, and she encourages everyone to check us out on facebook. There are useful links and updates there that you will not find anywhere else. Please join us in welcoming Hannah to C-MITES! She is a wonderful addition to our team.

C-MITES Begins Weekend Classesin Unionville/Chadds Ford School District

We would like to thank Jim Fulginiti for helping us establish the C-MITES classes at Patton Middle School in Unionville/Chadds Ford School District. These classes, located in Kennett Square, offer another opportunity for students from the eastern part of the state to enjoy C-MITES classes. Mr. Fulginiti was instrumental in securing Patton Middle School as a site and assisting us in finding teachers and teaching assistants who could provide exciting courses for our students. We offered classes in October and April, and we have plans to offer an additional set of classes on Oct. 22, 2011. Thanks, Mr. Fulginiti!

“I really appreciate all you do to offer such a wonderful program. Your workshops and camps are our son’s all time favorites. They really get a boy like [my son] excited about learning!”

C-MITES Parent

Hannah, the latest addition to C-MITES

Fall 2011 C-MITES NEWS● 5

Teacher Featurehe teacher featured in this issue of the C-MITES Newsletter joined our program in the summer of 2005. Ms. Adriane LaRussa began assisting in Look, Mom, No HTML!, Crazy Coasters and Observational Astronomy that summer. Now,

six years later, Ms. LaRussa has taught several humanities, sci-ence, mathematics and technology courses and made them fun and enjoyable for all of the students who participated!

The other courses Adriane has taught over the years include Robots Are a Girl’s Best Friend, Amazing Apples, Creative Writing, Sci-ence of Sports and Mag Lev. Students who have taken her Amazing Apples class collect data, analyze characteristics—shape, color, size

and weight—while enjoying the taste of the apples. They discuss the many ways to prepare apples and their nutritional value. All come out of the class with a new appreciation of the fruit and fun stories to tell their family and friends! Adriane has developed a new course, Kitchen Chemistry, which was offered in the Step-pingstones program.

Adriane’s courses are so exciting and fun, students always enjoy what they are learning! Teachers who have worked with Adriane want to work with her again, because she is fun to work with and is truly a wonderful teacher.

Ms. LaRussa teaches at Winchester Thurston School when she is not busy teaching for the C-MITES programs. Her dual teaching degrees are from Chatham University. She also coaches a variety of sports and just finished her 11th season of varsity lacrosse. She currently coaches at Shady Side Academy and for the Intrepid La-crosse Club. When Adriane is not teaching or coaching she enjoys traveling the world and scuba diving.

Adriane is busy and on her toes all year long. She is a real asset to our program and we hope that she continues to develop new classes and remains with C-MITES for a very, very, long time. We are very thankful to have her as an instructor in our program!

T

Adriane LaRussa - C-MITES Teacher

C-MITES Summer Programs we began the summer program this year we had over 1,000 requests for summer placement. Some of the classes had well over 65 students who applied. The C-MITES Summer Program has become quite popular with 446

students applying to be a part of the program. Students as far as Qatar and Singapore sent in applications. This year’s summer group consisted of 9 students from Qatar, 1 from Singapore, 3 from Ohio, 2 from Connecticut and Florida, and 1 each from Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Friendships now go across the country and even the ocean!

The 2011 courses were as follows: Alice for Beginning Pro-grammers, Amusement Park Physics, Bridge Boom, CO2 Dragsters, Dollars and Sense, Explorations in Science, Foren-sics Science, Geo-Pardy!, Green Engineering, Harry Potter’s Science Adventure, Human Anatomy 101, K’NEX Geometry, Math Olympiad, Problem Solving Using Puzzles & Games, Programming Using Alice, Roaming Ancient Rome, Robotics Programming and Design, Solar System Astronomy, Solve a Murder Mystery and Why Aren’t Manhole Covers Square?.

There were fifteen different classes on the CMU campus. For seven weeks, students were seen programming robots to follow lines, navigate through mazes and even follow the students around the classroom. The green engineers were busy devel-oping designs to improve our environment while the science students were seen sifting through clay and dirt attempting to identify all the rocks and minerals they uncovered. The Bridge Boom class constructed a variety of bridges while the Solar System Astronomy students searched through a telescope to locate the morning moon high above Flagstaff Hill. The Roaming Ancient Rome student donned their togas and designed shields and archways. Harry Potter’s Science Adventure was a big hit the

day the students made Bernie Bott’s Every Flavored Beans. K’NEX Geometry students were busy constructing castles and other structures that de-picted the geometric concepts they studied all week. The Programming Using Alice and Beginning Alice students were in computer clusters and created outstanding computer games and stories!

There were 29 classes at 12 different sites during the program. Twenty-four were in Allegheny County and five were in other counties. In June there were 18 classes and in

July there were 11 classes. A total of 10 math classes, 12 science classes, 1 humanities course, and 6 technology classes were of-fered and enjoyed by the 426 students who participated. Thanks to those students who shared a part of their summer in the C-MITES program and to the teachers who made it possible!

A

C-MITES NEWS Fall 2011●6

Websites for Girlswww.braincake.org This website is targeted at girls who are in-terested in math and science. According to the website, “We’re here to help girls be confident, solve problems, and think inde-pendently. We engage girls in current science, helping them un-derstand its relevance to their life today. We create and link girls to programs that educate and prepare them to understand and use science in their everyday lives. And, we embrace girls as archi-tects of change - envisioning, planning, organizing, shaping, and building a better world - with math and science as their tools.”

www.girlstart.com Features science experiments that girls can do at home and online lessons in areas such as bridge-building, insects, women’s history, investing money, and how to create a website (from Web Diva to Webmaster!)

Books for Girls, Parents, and Teachers:

1. Rimm, S. (2003). See Jane Win for Girls. Minneapolis: Free Spirit. This is a workbook for middle school girls, which serves as a guide to self-awareness.

2. Karnes, F. A., & Stephens, K. R. (2002). Young Women of Achievement: A Resource for Girls in Science, Math and Technol-ogy. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. Written for young teens and useful as a reference for teachers.

3. Kerr, B. A. (1997). Smart Girls (Revised edition). Scottsdale, AZ: Gifted Psychology Press. Includes research and suggestions for educating gifted girls.

4. Hartley-Brewer, E. (2001). Raising Confident Girls. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. Includes tips for parenting adolescent girls.

5. Odean, K. (2002). Great Books for Girls. New York: Ballantine Books.

Special thanks to Dr. Mary Ann Swiatek for her contributions to this article.

Continued from page 3Parenting Gifted Girls . . .

The Davidson Fellows ScholarshipThe Davidson Fellows Scholarship awards $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 scholarships to extraordinary young people, 18 and un-der, who have completed a significant piece of work.

Application categories are Mathematics, Science, Literature, Mu-sic, Technology, Philosophy and Outside the Box. Davidson Fel-lows are honored every year in Washington, D.C. with Congres-sional meetings and a special reception.

To be eligible for consideration as a Davidson Fellow, applicants must:

Be 18 or younger as of October 10, 2012.• Be a U.S. citizen residing in the United States, or a Permanent • Resident of the United States residing in the United States, or be stationed overseas due to active U. S. military duty.There is no minimum age for eligibility.• The Davidson Institute is looking for students whose projects • are at or close to the college graduate level with a depth of knowledge in their particular area of study. This scholarship is not geared toward students at the novice level.The deadline is February 1, 2012.•

For more information, visit the Davidson Institute website at www.davidsongifted.org.

Thank You to DonorsC-MITES staff members were delighted to learn we were recently awarded a generous grant from The Robert M. Thompson Jr. Family Fund of the Pittsburgh Foundation. This gift is to be used for the everyday expenses of running the office as well as for equipment for new C-MITES classes. We are very grateful to the donor as well as to the Pittsburgh Foundation for making this gift available to C-MITES.

We would also like to thank the following donors for their continued support. Mark Gelfand provided a generous gift to the C-MITES program to support classes for middle school students. Dr. Ber-nard Meisner provided a five-year pledge for scholarships for our students. The Grable Foundation has also provided a three-year grant to C-MITES for our programs. Peter, John and Matthew Wojtechko have also supported our scholarship fund. Many C-MITES families have given gifts of $5 and more to our scholarship fund. We thank all of you!

C-MITES generates most of our income based on tuition families pay. However, about 15% of our income is derived from grants, gifts, and donations. The majority of these funds are used to pay for scholarships for students who cannot otherwise afford to par-ticipate in C-MITES classes. We are very grateful to all our donors for their support.

Fall 2011 C-MITES NEWS● 7

T-shirts! Sweatshirts! Backpacks!

Order your C-MITES apparel today!

Order your very own C-MITES t-shirt, sweatshirt and/or backpack and be the envy of all your friends! Simply fill out the order form and return it to our office with your check made payable to “Car-negie Mellon University.”

* The C-MITES tie-dye t-shirt has the “C-MITES Carnegie Mellon” logo. Cost is $17.

* The C-MITES sweatshirts are forest green. They have a hood and zipper and feature the Carnegie Mellon C-MITES logo. Cost is $27.

* The C-MITES backpack is a black string backpack with a red and white C-MITES logo. Cost is $17.

* Proceeds from these sales go to the C-MITES scholarship fund.

Make check payable to Carnegie Mellon University

Send to: C-MITES 5136 Margaret Morrison St., MMP30 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213

T-shirts Quantity:

_____ youth size M _____ adult size M_____ youth size L _____ adult size L_____ adult size S _____ adult size XL

Name: _______________________________

Address: _____________________________

City: __________ State: _____ Zip: ______

Telephone: ___________________________

Number of t-shirts X $17 =$____________

Number of sweatshirts X $27 =$_________

Number of backpacks X $17 =$__________

TOTAL ENCLOSED =$____________(Shipping & handling included in prices)

Sweatshirts Quantity:

_____ youth size M _____ adult size M_____ youth size L _____ adult size L_____ adult size S _____ adult size XL

C-MITES NEWS Fall 2011●8

C-MITES NEEDS YOUR HELPDear Friend of C-MITES:

As you may know, C-MITES is funded by grants, gifts, and income received from course tuition. Although approximately 85% of our income is derived from tuition, we still depend on grants and gifts to pay for our ongoing office expenses and for scholarships.

If you would like to make a donation to C-MITES, please complete and return the form to the right. You may wish to ask your employer whether they would match your contribution. Any amount would be gratefully appreciated. Please indicate whether or not you would like your name published as a donor in the next issue of our newsletter. Your contribution is tax-deductible, and you will receive a letter from Carnegie Mellon University acknowledging your gift. People making a donation of $100 or more can have their names listed on the C-MITES Summer Program t-shirt.

Thank you again for supporting C-MITES!

Sincerely,

Ann Lupkowski Shoplik Pamela J. Piskurich C-MITES Director Program Coordinator

Raymond T. Budd Elizabeth S. RheinfrankWeb Designer C-MITES Program Assistant

Hannah RosenC-MITES Assistant

I would like to make a donation to the C-MITES program.

Amount: $ ____________________

____ My employer will match my contribution

I would/would not (circle) like my name to ap-pear in the C-MITES Newsletter as a donor to the program.

Name as you would like it to appear in the newsletter:

Name _________________________________If donation is $100 or more, your name can be listed on the back of the C-MITES Summer Program t-shirt.

Please make checks payable toCarnegie Mellon University, and send to:

C-MITESCarnegie Mellon University

5136 Margaret Morrison St., MMP30Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Thank You!

She enjoyed the opportunity to explore entirely new concepts and material. She was thrilled to have the opportunity to do so many hands-on experiments in one afternoon. Parent of a student

in Kitchen Science