SENGinar: Supporting the Well-Being of Young Advanced Learners and Their Families

The COVID pandemic has disrupted young learners’ daily routines, their learning environments, and their home life stability which has had a grave impact on their mental health. Specifically, young children are facing anxiety, and depression at alarming rates. The pandemic impacted their social and emotional well-being, and issues with mental health greatly influenced their ability and their interests to achieve in school settings. The pandemic has also shed light onto the systemic inequities affecting students of color, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and students from families where English is not their first language. These students have traditionally been underrepresented in gifted programs, and now more than ever, the risks to their well-being are being impacted by the pandemic.

Young children's mental health and well-being are an integral part of their learning journey and development that needs to be understood by educators, families, and those in the community who work with children. It is possible that some young children with more advanced understandings of the dangers of the pandemic or with more sensitivities to the losses they may have suffered could be more at risk of developing social or emotional problems.

Findings from an extensive literature review revealed that parents and caregivers also saw increases in depression and anxiety which impacted their mental health and their children's. Presenters will share resources and strategies to help provide stability in relationships among children, adults and peers, and to ensure that routines provide students assurances and supports in their altered environments.

About the Presenters:

Nancy B. Hertzog, PhD, University of Washington, USA, is professor and director of Learning Sciences and Human Development and the former Director of the Robinson Center for Young Scholars. In addition to studying the outcomes of Robinson Center alumni, her research focuses on teaching strategies designed to differentiate instruction and challenge children with diverse abilities. From 1995 to 2010, she was on the faculty in the Department of Special Education and directed University Primary School, an early childhood gifted program, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has published three books and several chapters on early childhood gifted education, and numerous articles in gifted education.

Pauline C. Dott is a Ph.D. student in Learning Sciences and Human Development at the University of Washington in Seattle. She received her B.S. in Applied Learning and Development with a focus on Bilingual Elementary Education from the University of Texas at Austin and her M.Ed. from the University of Washington. She is a multilingual learner and professional. At the moment, Pauline’s research focuses on the intersection between Bilingual Education and Gifted Education. She recently finalized a study to understand the role of bilingual elementary teachers in identifying bilingual gifted students. Pauline continues to pursue research in the multi/bilingual field to continue her passion for supporting teachers.

Emma H. Cho, MBA, M.Ed., is a Ph.D. student in Learning Sciences and Human Development at the University of Washington, Seattle. She studied gifted and special education at Korea University, Seoul, South Korea, and worked as an educator and researcher in gifted education, including KEDI. Her research focuses on students' well-being, nurturing giftedness, culturally responsive/sustaining learning, creativity, education policy, and the learning process in interdisciplinary research. Previously, she served as the president and leader of several student committees, a diverse and passionate group of people, including the Graduate Association in Education at Korea University and the MBA Student Association.