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MILLIGAN UNIVERSITY, Tenn. (Sept. 23, 2022) – Milligan University’s annual Faculty Lecture Series launches on Thursday, Sept. 29, with a presentation from Dr. Vicki Phelps, assistant professor of education. Phelps’ lecture, “Motivating Gifted Adolescents through the Power of PIE: Preparedness, Innovation & Effort,” begins at 7 p.m. in Milligan’s Hyder Auditorium.
Phelps’ will present research exploring “gifted adolescents’ perspectives on motivation in learning as a means to better understand their complex motivational and academic needs.” Participants included six students identified as gifted through holistic measures including cognition scores, interviews and other diagnostic procedures.
“From data analysis, answers to the guiding research questions and the construct of PIE emerged,” explained Phelps. “Three major outcomes indicated a need for specialized gifted curricula, continued professional development and strategies to increase task valuation for gifted adolescents.”
Phelps’ research was published in the Roeper Review in January and was presented at the National Association for Gifted Children’s (NAGC) Annual Conference. In addition, her research was featured at the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children’s World Conference and at TAGT’s giftED Conference.
The Faculty Lecture Series provides students and members of the community a glimpse into the active world of academic research and writing at Milligan. The lecture is free and open to the public.