GlobalInnovationLab


  • Stop Researching Other Countries: Let Students Become Local Data Experts

    Stop Researching Other Countries: Let Students Become Local Data Experts

    The Global Innovation Lab: Every Drop Counts transforms traditional country research into an authentic global collaboration. Each classroom investigates its own community’s water sources, use, challenges, and conservation efforts before contributing findings to a shared dashboard. Students compare common indicators, question patterns and differences, and consider the context behind the data. They then use what…


  • #smithingifted Teacher Lab: Where Teaching Ideas Get Tested

    #smithingifted Teacher Lab: Where Teaching Ideas Get Tested

    The #smithingifted Teacher Lab is a place where teaching ideas move from theory into real classrooms. I’ll share the successes, challenges, surprises, and adjustments that come from using gifted education, STEM, robotics, technology, and creative-thinking strategies with real students. But the Teacher Lab isn’t just about my classroom—teachers who use #smithingifted curriculum can share their…


  • 💧 From Data to Innovation: The Every Drop Counts Google Sheet

    💧 From Data to Innovation: The Every Drop Counts Google Sheet

    What if a Google Sheet could move students from researching global water problems to thinking like Water Systems Engineers? See how the Every Drop Counts KPI Tracker helps gifted students compare countries, analyze inequities, uncover patterns, and turn real-world data into evidence-based innovation.


  • Stop Doing All the Talking: How to Use Socratic Seminar in the 3–8 Gifted Classroom

    Stop Doing All the Talking: How to Use Socratic Seminar in the 3–8 Gifted Classroom

    By Beth Smith, M. Ed. | #smithingifted One of the biggest shifts we can make in gifted education is surprisingly simple: Stop doing so much of the thinking for our students. Gifted students do not need a teacher standing at the front of the room explaining every idea, asking every question, and confirming every correct…


  • The Global Innovation Lab Is Coming to the NMAGT Fall Institute 2026 🌎💡

    The Global Innovation Lab Is Coming to the NMAGT Fall Institute 2026 🌎💡

    This blog post introduces The Global Innovation Lab, a student-centered learning experience designed to help gifted learners tackle real-world challenges through collaboration, creativity, design thinking, data analysis, and systems thinking. It also highlights the program’s upcoming appearance at the New Mexico Association for the Gifted Fall Institute 2026: Unmasking Brilliance, where educators can learn how…