Jennifer Hayes
E-mail: jennifer.hayes.1@my.und.edu
Major: Elementary Education
Mentor: Patti Mahar
Expected Graduation Date: May 2015
Honors: President's Honor Roll every semester, McNair Scholarship, Outstanding Student Employee Nomination, Outstanding Student Awards (SSS)
About me:I am currently a senior at UND seeking a major in Elementary Education as well as a minor in Literacy and a minor in Special Education. Additionally, I am taking coursework toward an ELL endorsement. My expected graduation date is May 2015 and will then (hopefully) enter the Resident Special Education Teacher program to obtain my Masters in Special Education in 2017. I moved to Grand Forks in 2005 from Juneau, Alaska, and now call Grand Forks my home. Although my family still lives in Alaska, I have fallen in love with all the seasons North Dakota has to offer (unlike Juneau); therefore, I am staying. Being a full-time student, and a single mother, I am pretty busy. When I can find time to do other things non-school related, I find myself driving to places where I can explore the outdoors with my son. I love tent camping, too. Music has always been important in my life and enjoy a wide range of genres. Cooking and baking are other passions of mine and there are many occasions when awesome aromas are emitting from my kitchen, especially in the fall time. i love to read about most everything. I consider myself a life-long learner and enjoy not only learning knew things but also gaining more knowledge in what I already know.
I have been a McNair scholar since Spring 2012. I can say with the most conviction that I would not be where I am without the program and what it has offered me. I am the first in my family to attend college so the whole college experience is something that I have been learning as I go. The McNair program has been a vital support system for when I feel frustrated or just have some questions. I have been exposed to what to expect in the future, such as graduate school and even exploring some PhD programs, something that may not have been able to explore on my own - I did not know what questions to answer, let alone what my possible options even were. The program has many wonderful contributing points to my success. It is hard to pinpoint just one or even two of them, but the simple fact that I have a place to go with any issue that may come up or to ask questions relating to my education, I have a place to go. Since being a McNair scholar, my educational journey has been more clear and directional. Before, it seemed that it was as though I was going in circles trying to find which way I needed to go. I have so much thanks to give to the opportunities the McNair program has given me so far.
Abstract: Social and Academic Issues of the Gifted and Talented
Through a literature review, an interview, and survey results, this research will addresses how gifted and talented students may conceptually struggle when it comes to social and academic successes. Some main points on how to educate these children are not entirely agreed upon. Administrators, teachers, and parents seems to struggle to find the delicate balance of appropriate education opportunities and ensuring these students gain appropriate social skills. There are many characteristics of what it means to be gifted and talented so there is not one particular framework in which to teach them; each of those students has a different set of needs beyond what is accommodated for in the general classroom. This research will focus on exploring the myths people hold regarding the abilities and capabilities of the gifted and talented, the ramifications of these particular students are not given the appropriate opportunities for social and academic growth, and provide some insight as to what these students go through on a day-to-day basis. In order for the talented and gifted to be better educated and socially adjusted, there must be an understanding that there are misconceptions of how these children develop. With their unique characteristics and developmental stages, they require special handling.