![\"Attendee](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/40th-DSC_8472-1024x684.jpg\")
\u2026 Educators from India, Italy, Brazil, Qatar, and Switzerland teaming up for a surprisingly entertaining math lesson led by the wittiest individual in the room, a sprightly octogenarian math whiz who liberally sprinkles her lecture with wisecracks.<\/p>\n
These are just a few of the scenes you would catch at what is known as Confratute<\/a>, an annual, weeklong event sponsored by the Renzulli Center for Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Development<\/a> at the University of Connecticut\u2019s Neag School of Education. Arguably the most global initiative in all of UConn\u2019s history, Confratute has, since 1978, drawn a total of more than 30,000 educators from around the world to the University\u2019s Storrs campus to gain insight into research-based strategies intended to engage all types of students in learning.<\/p>\n \u201cConfratute is a kind of gathering together of people who think there has got to be a different way \u2014\u00a0I would say a better way \u2014\u00a0of making schools more engaging, more enjoyable, and more exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014\u00a0Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Celebrating its 40th anniversary this July, Confratute earlier this month brought together 600-plus educators from more than a dozen countries for nearly 50 sessions covering everything from how to incorporate CSI forensic science tactics into the classroom to creative storytelling using kinesthetics, music, and mime.<\/p>\n \u201cConfratute is a kind of gathering together of people who think there has got to be a different way \u2014\u00a0I would say a better way \u2014\u00a0of making schools more engaging, more enjoyable, and more exciting,\u201d says Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Joseph Renzulli<\/a>, a longtime educational psychology professor in the Neag School and Confratute\u2019s co-founder.<\/p>\n Renzulli, after whom the Renzulli Center is named, established this \u201cgathering\u201d four decades ago with Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Letitia Neag Morgan Chair in Educational Psychology Sally Reis<\/a>. From the outset, Renzulli says, he and Reis wanted to make it unlike any other professional development conference or training \u2014\u00a0and set out to create part conference, part institute, with \u201ca great deal of fraternity in between.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018The Most Energizing Learning Experience I\u2019ve Ever Had\u2019 \u201cHalf of the doctoral students who come through the door are smarter than me,\u201d he says. \u201cSo I can\u2019t teach them everything that I know, but I can teach them how to develop an investigative and creative mindset \u2014\u00a0and that is what I did with [my middle-school students]; I got them involved in many different projects and hands-on activities.\u201d<\/p>\n Keeping these early-career experiences in mind, Renzulli sought, in establishing Confratute, to share with educators a wealth of effective instructional approaches used in the field of gifted education \u2014\u00a0still a somewhat peripheral academic discipline 40 years ago \u2014 as well as to show how these approaches could be applied successfully\u00a0across all types of students.<\/p>\n \u201cAt that time, most gifted education was all about acceleration and advanced courses covering material faster and in greater depth. I\u2019ve never argued against that,\u201d says Renzulli. \u201cHowever, it did not promote the kinds of experiences I had as a teacher, where kids [of all levels] got interested in investigative projects.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the most energizing learning experience I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Karen Kraeger,\u00a0elementary gifted specialist,\u00a0Cobb County (Ga.) Schools<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The intention of Confratute was not to advocate for doing away with any school\u2019s regular curriculum, he says, but to bring together teachers and help them find ways to \u201cjazz up\u201d curricula in a way that would appeal to students at all levels. Confratute, he hoped, would show educators how to make school the kind of place that encouraged students to pursue their personal interests. \u201cSchools should be places for talent development,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n And even beyond the end goal of engaging all students, Renzulli wants Confratute to engage all teachers. \u201cIf you don\u2019t enjoy teaching, you\u2019re not going to get engaged; you\u2019re not going to enjoy the act of learning,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n For Confratute devotees, the program structure, which invites attendees to take part in dedicated weeklong sessions that concentrate on active learning, helps set it apart from other professional development opportunities in the realm of education. In addition, a focus on the Schoolwide Enrichment Model, developed by Renzulli and Reis more than 30 years ago, helps participants plan how to implement enriching and engaging programs in their schools and districts.<\/p>\n \u201cThe weeklong format allows for extensive time to dig deeply into a topic for thorough explanation \u2026 enough time to have a paradigm shift,\u201d says Karen Kraeger, an elementary gifted specialist for Cobb County Schools, located outside of Atlanta, who this summer attended Confratute for the second time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe extended time allows a group of people to grow, bond, and develop into a community of learners focused on improving learning for students,\u201d she adds. \u201cThe collaboration and synergies that happened over the course of the week were amazing. It is the most energizing learning experience I\u2019ve ever had, both times I attended.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt a more traditional conference,\u201d says Melissa Thom, a longtime Confratute instructor and library media specialist in West Hartford, Conn., \u201cyou get a short overview of many different topics each day and, after three to four days, one often leaves feeling energized, but overwhelmed with all the new ideas and unsure of how to actually make something happen.\u201d<\/p>\n In contrast, she says, Confratute\u2019s weeklong strands \u201cenable participants to explore a topic of interest much more deeply.\u00a0\u2026 They leave Confratute with a product and\/or a plan for how to implement the new ideas in their educational situation in the fall.\u00a0In addition, deeper relationships are developed among the educators in the strand due to the added time together spent learning and sharing.\u201d<\/p>\n Not to mention \u201cthe combination of learning, teaching, socializing, networking, and overall feeling of collegiality\u201d that she believes makes Confratute unique. Thom, who this summer led a session titled \u201cTalent Development Opportunities in the Library Media Center,\u201d has been participating in Confratute for nine years.<\/p>\n While this annual event has endured year after year with an ever-ardent following, the road to Renzulli and Reis sharing their innovative work certainly posed its own challenges along the way.<\/p>\n Changing the Definition of Giftedness One of the major concepts he championed \u2014 and for which he was in fact criticized, early on \u2014 is the idea that educators can successfully apply teaching strategies used in gifted education to engage all<\/em> students, in part by giving students freedom to choose the kinds of projects and topics they explore, based on their own personal interests.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that all students can benefit from enjoyable and challenging learning opportunities,\u201d states Confratute\u2019s website. \u201cLearning is maximized when we consider each student\u2019s abilities, interests, learning styles, and preferred modes of expression.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet these perspectives were not always popular.<\/p>\n During Renzulli\u2019s early years in academia, his ideas were rejected outright by his contemporaries, with one article he authored about his research receiving rejections from every major gifted education academic journal. Eventually, Phi Delta<\/em> Kappan<\/em> accepted the piece for publication in 1978; today, that article continues to stand as the most frequently cited publication in the field of gifted education.<\/p>\n \u201cPrior to Joe\u2019s work on the definition [of giftedness], most professional educators equated giftedness strictly with high IQ scores,\u201d writes Thomas P. H\u00e9bert[1]<\/a><\/sub><\/sup>, a friend and former graduate student of Renzulli, now a professor of gifted education at the University of South Carolina. \u201cRenzulli\u2019s definition challenged this antiquated approach and enabled gifted ed programs to be open to children of poverty, children from bilingual backgrounds, and children of color.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is unusual for innovative or revolutionary ideas to be easily accepted by most, especially at the beginning. People want to see proof that changing from the known will offer better outcomes,\u201d says Kraeger, the two-time Confratute attendee. Renzulli \u201cpersevered with his ideas, putting them into practice and studying the outcomes. His ideas \u2026 are still as relevant and powerful today as they were initially. That is the sign of a truly transcendent thinker.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou leave Confratute with a network of like-minded individuals \u2014\u00a0a vital aspect in today\u2019s educational world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Melissa Thom, Confratute instructor<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n International Reach Under Renzulli\u2019s visionary leadership, perhaps it is no wonder, then, that Confratute stands out from the crowd. In taking an approach unlike other professional development programs in education, in following an unconventional format, in bringing together a cast of colorful and keenly dedicated instructors, and even in touting a name that resists convention, Confratute continues to unite educators far and wide.<\/p>\n \u201cYou leave Confratute with a network of like-minded individuals \u2014\u00a0a vital aspect in today\u2019s educational world, where educators who believe education should be joyful can often feel alone and isolated,\u201d says longtime instructor Thom.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere else can you spend a week with so many of the eminent thinkers in education?\u201d Kraeger says. \u201cIt is an experience unlike any other, one that is not to be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n Even through Confratute\u2019s decades-long evolution,\u00a0from a yearly \u201cgathering\u201d at the UConn Storrs campus to an event with remarkable international reach,\u00a0Renzulli, now in his 80s, has remained front and center at Confratute \u2014\u00a0\u201ca kind of little oasis for people,\u201d according to Renzulli, who affectionately calls Confratute supporters \u201cpositive malcontents who want to make a difference in their schools.\u201d<\/p>\n With a career that now spans a near half-century, Renzulli has traveled around the globe many times over to share his research. He has won many accolades, advised doctoral students who have gone on to become prestigious researchers and experts in their field, has obtained more than $50 million in research grants, and is widely recognized as one of the world\u2019s most influential psychologists. But ask what Renzulli considers his greatest legacy of such a long and storied career, and it is clear where his passion lies.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve published hundreds of articles and dozens of books, but when people ask what I feel is my major contribution, I say Confratute,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve been able to reach more kids and more teachers serving more kids in schools around the country and around the world. This is what the theme of Confratute is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n Watch the opening ceremony for 40th annual Confratute<\/a>, with welcome remarks by Joseph Renzulli, Sally Reis,\u00a0Education Commissioner Dianna Wentzell, and Dean Gladis Kersaint of the Neag School.<\/em><\/p>\n View the Confratute 2017 photo album<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Arguably the most global initiative in all of UConn\u2019s history, Confratute has, since 1978, drawn a total of more than 30,000 educators from around the world to the University\u2019s Storrs campus to gain insight into research-based strategies intended to engage all types of students in learning. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":128021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1855],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1878],"class_list":["post-128020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-neag"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 06:31:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/128021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128020"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=128020"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=128020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nJoseph Renzulli<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"CSI](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/CSI-DSC_8769-300x193.jpg\")
\n<\/strong>Early in his career, working as a middle-school math and science teacher in his home state of New Jersey, Renzulli says he found that many of his students were \u201csmarter\u201d than him. As a professor in higher education years later, he says he witnessed the same attribute in his doctoral students.<\/p>\n![\"Silk](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Silk-Screen-DSC_8646-300x200.jpg\")
![\"Confratute](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Creativity-DSC_8316-300x199.jpg\")
\n<\/strong>Renzulli, a pioneering force in the field of educational psychology, giftedness, and creativity for nearly half a century, has, in that time, helped change the face of gifted education.\u00a0He is quick to admit that his viewpoint on gifted education \u201chas always been a little bit different.\u201d To him, intelligence and giftedness are not defined solely by test scores or high IQ<\/a>, and all students should be given the opportunity to develop their gifted behaviors.<\/p>\n![\"Educators](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Math-DSC_8375-300x157.jpg\")
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Confratute](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Mime-DSC_8718-300x200.jpg\")
![\"Joseph](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Renzulli-DSC_8245-1024x684.jpg\")
[1]<\/a> Excerpt from a piece authored by H\u00e9bert and reprinted in Reflections on Gifted Education: Critical Works by Joseph S. Renzulli and Colleagues<\/em> (Prufrock, 2016).<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"