Giftedness - Peer to peer sessions - Giftedness

Giftedness - Peer to peer sessions

Do you often feel different from others, but don't know why?
Do you experience external stimuli intensely?
Do you have difficulties with maintaining motivation and interest when working on something for a longer period of time?
Do you doubt (yourself) a lot and do you always have questions?
Are you interested in many different things?

If you recognize yourself in some of these questions, this peer to peer meetings might support you. Contrary to the stereotype, giftedness is not about just having good cognitive abilities or having an IQ above 130. It also entails having a range of characteristics, including high sensitivity, doubt and a critical attitude. These characteristics may add an extra layer of complexity to seemingly common problems. How nice would it be to talk about these topics with others?

During these informal gatherings, we discuss giftedness. The aim of these meetings is to increase your knowledge about giftedness and to share some insights and experiences in a casual atmosphere with fellow peers. You don’t have to be officially ‘diagnosed’ to join the meetings: also if you’re just interested in one of the themes and/or you recognize yourself in the description, you’re welcome! Furthermore you can sign in for all meetings separately, so you can choose which topics interest you the most!

‘Training giftedness’ and ‘peer to peer sessions giftedness’. What is the difference?
In the context of project ‘shining a light to bright students’ both peer to peer meetings as well as a training giftedness are offered. What is the difference?

Peer to peer meetings are informative meetings in a low key atmosphere organized 8 times a year. In each peer to peer meeting, different themes related to giftedness are discussed together and experiences are shared. Anyone who recognizes themselves in characteristics of giftedness is welcome to join, also if you don’t experience any specific problems regarding your giftedness. You can register separately for each peer to peer meeting.
The (small group) training, on the other hand, is intended for students who experience challenges in the field of giftedness and who want to encounter these challenges in a more constructive way in a small group environment. When you sign up for the training, you commit yourself to attending all four meetings and to working towards your own individual goals. If you are not sure what suits you best, you’re always welcome to join one of the peer to peer meetings first.

-Tuesday February 14, 2023 - 15.30-17.00h  - Giftedness and study skills
The highest concentration of gifted people is found among the population of students in university (10-15%). Despite their talents, there is quite a chance that gifted students do not feel smart at all, underachieve or even drop out their studies.
As a gifted student you may encounter all different sorts of study related problems. For example you have been smart enough to pass previous education without much effort, but in university, you encounter a larger and probably more difficult workload….without earlier developed study skills. Or maybe you never have failed an assignment before and when you do in university, you feel incapable and not smart at all… You may have the feeling that all people who told you before how smart you are, have been totally wrong. Maybe you encounter problems like lack of motivation or setting too high bars and related themes like fear of failure or fear of success, which can lead to lower self-confidence, to procrastination and to underachievement. In this meeting we will have a closer look at different study related pitfalls gifted students more often experience and also we will talk about some advices regarding studyskills and time management. You’re very welcome to join!

-Tuesday March 21, 2023 - 15.30-17.00h  - Let's talk about... Paradoxes in giftedness
This peer to peer meeting is all about starting a conversation together, finding recognition in each other's experiences and getting inspired. Some gifted people struggle with so-called 'all-or-nothing thinking' or, in other words, seeing things in extremes. This can make it really difficult to find and maintain a balance in professional and social life, as well as a balance between these two. In accordance with the World Café concept, we will discuss different paradoxes in giftedness like:
-curious vs easily bored.
-need for autonomy vs enjoying the boundaries set by clear rules.
-setting high expectations for yourself vs difficulties dealing with high expectations.
-need for challenge and variety vs avoidance behavior due to performance anxiety.
-doesn’t want to be mistaken for a ‘know-it-all’ vs knowing it better.
-strong need for authenticity vs propensity for adaptive behavior.

-Tuesday April 18, 2023 - 15.30-17.00h - Life philosophy with like-minded peers
Do you experience difficulties having a deeper conversation with peers? Do you feel misunderstood when talking about existential and philosophical themes, or even about daily news items? Due to their quick thinking and keen analyses in a variety of situations, gifted people often experience a sense of loneliness and misunderstanding in conversations with others. This session is all about starting a conversation together, with like-minded peers. We will prepare a few interesting themes to initiate a dialogue, and as experienced in previous meetings, an in-depth discussion will follow soon! There will be sufficient time and room for your own input and creativity, and we look forward to hearing your opinions and insights.

-Tuesday May 16, 2023 - 15.30-17.00h - Giftedness in relation to future choices and working life…
Some know exactly what profession they would like to pursue from an early age and can work towards it throughout their school career, while gifted persons are often unsure "what they want to be when they grow up"...
It can cause a lot of frustration and indecision, if you are not sure which profession you want to pursue. You have diverse interests and talents in different fields (multipotentialities), but you can't find anything in the 'profession list' that really gets you excited. You would prefer to combine everything, instead of just choosing 1 subject. But that option does not exist.
Also, many gifted people spend a lot of their time doing what is expected of them within the existing frameworks. The things they would prefer to do later in life, may not been seen as the way to a successful career, but as a hobby, something you do when the “real” work is done.
In this peer-to-peer meeting we will have small group discussions about the influence of your personal choices regarding the future and what possible challenges giftedness might bring along in working life.

-Tuesday June 13, 2023 - 15.30-17.00h - Social gathering: picnic!
In the last peer-to-peer meeting of this academic year it is time for a meeting with a more social character. We would like to invite you to a nice chat and small picnic in a low key atmosphere in the Stadspark. We will bring some drinks, feel free to bring a snack and a (board)game to play in small groups. With this gathering we hope to wrap up our second academic year of giftedness-related activities in a positive, casual way!

You can join the topics of your interest! Our team will prepare a number of questions for each topic to initiate a conversation, of course in a low key atmosphere. The exchange and mutual inspiration is up to the participants… We hope to see you!