C. June Maker, an education researcher who developed a unique performance-based assessment designed to identify the academic and creative strengths of children, will deliver the 2008 E. Paul Torrance Lecture at 5:30 p.m. on March 17 in Masters Hall of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel.
Maker, a professor of special education at the University of Arizona, will briefly explain the assessment, present research on its usefulness and validity and provide information about ways it has been used in the lecture. She will describe the curriculum model designed to mesh with the assessment, giving an overview of the research on its effectiveness—both in the development of academic skills and creativity.
Maker initially designed the assessment to increase the participation of students from diverse groups in programs for the gifted, but later expanded it to include the identification of the strengths of all children so their positive traits could be recognized and developed.
The lecture is open to all UGA faculty, students and the general public. A welcome reception will be held at 5 p.m. and a closing reception at about
6:30 p.m. Further information is available at creative@uga.edu or (706) 542-5104.