Teaching Advanced Learners in the General Education Classroom: Doing More with Less!

Joan Franklin Smutny is founder and director of the Center for Gifted, a Northern Illinois University Partner. She directs programs for thousands of bright, talented and gifted children in the Chicago area annually. She also teaches creative writing in many of these programs as well as courses on gifted education for graduate students at the university level. She is editor of the "Illinois Association for Gifted Children Journal," contributing editor of "Understanding Our Gifted," and a regular contributor to "Gifted Education Communicator," "Parenting for High Potential," and the "Gifted Education Press Quarterly." She has authored and co-authored many books on gifted education including: Teaching Advanced Learners in the Genral Education Classroom, Manifesto of the Gifted Girl, Differentiating for the Young Child, Second Edition, and Designing and Developing Programs for Gifted Students.

S.E. von Fremd is an independent scholar, writer and editor with a background in education, cultural studies and dance. Her interest in creativity and culture eventually led her to do a doctorate in performance studies at Northwestern Univesity. This included a year's research in Uganda, where she focused on the role of popular theater and dance in reviving cultural identy and educating children and young people throughout the country.