Change for tomorrow: Leadership Curriculum for the Gifted Joyce VanTassel-Baska, College of William and Mary

Overview of session What do we mean by a leadership curriculum? What concepts are important to teach? How might biography be an important tool for understanding leadership? How can technology be integrated into the work? Prototypical activities Leadership assessment

Draw a concept map of leadership. Label the relationships in your map. Describe the connections you have drawn. Leadership

Goals of the curriculum To provide role models To develop skills in collaboration and communication To develop metacognitive skills To understand the construct of leadership in different fields of human endeavor

Generalizations about leadership Leadership requires vision. Leadership requires the ability to communicate effectively with multiple stakeholders on ideas. Leadership is based in action and requires risk-taking. Leadership requires the ability to influence and motivate others by word and action. Leadership requires perseverance in the face of hardship.

Leaders by curriculum levels Elementary Leaders studied: Walt Disney, Ben Carson, Amelia Earhart, Bill Gates, Clara Barton, and Tecumseh Middle school Leaders studied: Robert Ballard, Charles Darwin, Margaret Thatcher, Duke Ellington, Pablo Picasso, Emily Dickinson, Nelson Mandela High School Leaders studied: Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Dwight David Eisenhower, Thurgood Marshall, Maya Lin, Nikola Tesla

Choose one leader and discuss how s/he fits the generalizations about leadership. Questions of interest: How does a field influence qualities of leadership? How are intellectual and artistic leadership fields like science and music different from social-political ones? What aspect of leadership is most critical, do you think?

Exploration of the Art of Picasso Periods/Forms Picture Features Blue Rose Cubist Other forms

Resources www.pablo-picasso.paintings.name/biography (advise them to read all sections of the biography at this site) Biography.com/people/pablo-picasso Pablopicasso.org (for quotations) www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fNvBJAJw4s (for a 5 minute video clip made by a young student for show and tell and posted on April 23, 2009)

Assignment Answer the following questions about Picasso: --How did his talent development process evolve? --What were important milestones in his development/ --What or who influenced him the most? --What has been his greatest contribution to our world as an artistic leader?

Journal activity Picasso said “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” What does he mean by this? In what ways are you an artist? What can you do to enhance your artistic ability?

Activity Prototypes Debate and developing argument Journaling Analyzing leadership across individuals and domains Interviewing leaders Creating generalizations

Leadership Inventory: What are your best skills Visioning skills Motivational skills Communication skills Team-building skills Conflict resolution skills Decision-making skills Strategic planning skills Managerial and follow- through skills Critical thinking and problem-solving skills Advocacy and public relations skills Domain-specific skills

Quotations by Leaders of Note The door that no one will go through seems to swing open for me. The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity. Many problems in society are just poorly designed algorithms. A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.