Susan Baum || To Be Gifted & Learning Disabled

Nov 26, 2020

Susan Baum, a leading expert in twice-exceptional education and director of the 2e Center at Bridges Academy, unpacks the complexities of students who are both gifted and learning disabled. She discusses the differences between gifted and non-gifted learners with disabilities and advocates for a broader understanding of giftedness. The conversation highlights the importance of community support, creativity in education, and the innovative Cognitiversity graduate school, all aimed at nurturing the unique strengths of these remarkable students.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

Navigating Challenges in Gifted Education Research

02:34 • 2min

Understanding Twice-Exceptional Learners

04:07 • 16min

Cognitiversity: Nurturing Strengths in Education

20:26 • 14min

Exploring the Complexity of Learning: Beyond Styles to Strengths

34:16 • 3min

Unlocking Learning Through Music

37:01 • 7min

Building Community Support for Gifted Children

44:03 • 4min

Today it’s great to have Susan Baum on the podcast. Dr. Baum is the Director of the 2e Center for Research and Professional Development at Bridges Academy, a school for twice-exceptional children. She is also Provost of the Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education. She is the author of many books and articles primarily focusing on understanding and nurturing the needs of special populations of gifted underachieving students including the award-winning 3rd edition of her seminal work To Be Gifted & Learning Disabled. Her research and experience in the field of twice-exceptional education have earned her much recognition: 2010 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award granted by the Weinfeld Group, 2011 recipient of the Connecticut Association for the Gifted “Friend of the Gifted Award; the 2015 Distinguished Professional Alumni Award from the Neag School of Education; the Lifetime Achievement Award from AEGUS and the 2e Newsletter in 2017, as well as the Alexinia Baldwin Award from National Association for Gifted Students in 2019.

Time Stamps

[01:30] Dr. Baum’s experience in the field of twice-exceptional education

[02:53] “Gifted Education” research in 1985

[04:07] What it means to be 2e

[06:00] The difference between gifted and non-gifted in students with learning disabilities

[07:50] What counts as “gifted”

[09:25] The importance of divergent thinking in creative problem-solving

[14:07] Dr. Baum’s work on multiple intelligences theory

[16:18] Dr. Baum’s assessment tools for identifying strengths, interests and talents

[19:54] The 4 personality types identified by Dr. Baum’s assessment tools

[24:48] Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education and embracing neurodiversity

[30:18] “It isn’t easy being green”

[36:33] Learning styles vs. strengths

[41:58] General intelligence and working memory in 2e learners

[46:05] Circumventing the limitations of working memory and strengths-based education

[49:41] The importance of a community of support in 2e education

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