High Ability Students Where Do They Fit in the MTSS Model

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High Ability StudentsWhere Do They Fit in the
MTSS Model?

• Marcia Lawmlaw_at_usd253.org
• Cindy Sheets
• cindysheets_at_smsd.org
• Kansas Association for Gifted, Talented and
  Creative

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PowerPoint Available

• http//Sheetsgiftedpages.com
• http//www.kgtc.org/Articles2020Resources.htm

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• Learning is
• forward progress from point of entry
• Susan Winebrenner

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MTSS

• Meeting the needs of students
• IDEA
• ALL children learn and achieve to high standards
• All children need to show growth

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• How might monitoring address above-grade-level
  performance?
• How might Tier 1 2 be differentiated for gifted
  students
• How might more intensive instruction and
  opportunities in Tiers 2 and 3 be provided for
  students whose rate of progress is above grade
  level?

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Where Do High Ability Students Fit?
Intensive Support
MTSS
Extra Support
Core Curriculum
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Core Curriculum

• For high ability and gifted students, Core
  Curriculum is necessary, but not sufficient.

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• High ability learners need varying levels of
  support,
• just as do those students who are struggling.

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• Every child deserves to learn every day
• Our challenge is to meet them where they are and
  move them forward

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• High ability students often understand and can
  perform the skills were planning to teach
• Research shows that gifted students already know
  40-50 of the material to be presented at grade
  level, experience no differentiation in the
  classroom 85 of the time, and that they retain
  new information and skills better when the pace
  is quicker and there is less repetition.

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• Gifted children typically learn in one to three
  repetitions what it takes the average student ten
  or more repetitions to learn.
• In more extreme cases, they learn it when the
  teacher says itor they may already know it!

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• High ability students who have already mastered
  content need supports to continue to be
  challenged by new learning, either
• within the classroom or
• with more intensive
• support which may be
• beyond the general
• classroom.

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Intensive Support
Extra Support
Core Curriculum
Extra Support
Intensive Support
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What Are the Supports and Interventions Needed
for High Ability Learners?
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• One way that we can assess students correct
  placement is to find that place in the curriculum
  where students need to use strategies. It is
  imperative to identify curriculum, complex,
  abstract, and challenging enough that students
  need to slow down and organize their thinking.
  Advanced learners need opportunities to practice
  and see the value of being metacognitive and
  reflective as learners. If they are successful
  without knowing why or how, if they are not
  challenged or required to work hard, then the
  curriculum and instruction they are receiving is
  not appropriate.

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• Differentiated Curriculum
• Different in level, pace, content, process, or
  products required, or in interest areas

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• Fewer repetitions - Less drill and practice
• Acceleration
• Complexity and depth
• Compacting of curriculum
• Independent work

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Reading Activities for High Ability Students

• Shorten Core Instruction Time to Essentials
• Pre-test when possible
• More focus on higher level thinking skills
• Novel studies
• Literature groups
• Independent projects
• Inquiry research
• Cross grade instruction

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• Choices
• Time with other high ability/gifted students

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Wheres the Data?

• Best Practices
• Dr. Karen B. Rogers research data
• Growth results for various strategies
• www.kgtc.org for PowerPoint slides
• NAGC position paper on Groupinghttp//www.nagc.or
  g/index.aspx?id4450

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Benchmarks and ProgressHard Data

• Students who are already in the top 5 or at
  99tile on group testing
• Results from differentiated activities
• Classroom assessments
• Pre-testing
• Out of level testing

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Soft Data

• Response to
• Extension activities
• Higher level thinking activities
• Complexity of assignments
• Participation in outside activities
• Contests
• Clubs and after school activities
• Portfolios
• Samples of work from various core areas
• Written, audio, video, photo

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Level of Support Examples
FEW Radical accelerationDual enrollmentEarly
entranceSpecialized counselingLong-term
internshipMagnet Classroom/schoolSchool for
gifted children
SOME IB, AP, Honors, AdvancedTalent
opportunitiesPull out programsSpecialized
curriculumMentorshipsAccelerationCompactingSpe
cial opportunities (contests, clubs,
etc.)Independent Study
All Quality core instructionAppropriate
screening Differentiated curriculum, instruction
and assessmentFlexible pacing, groupingCluster
groupingPre-assessment
Adapted from Colorado Model
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Two Elementary Schools

• Highlands
• Typical profile matching the 80/15/5
• About 300 students

• Crestview
• Title I, large number of at risk students
• About 370 students

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Highlands

• Two classrooms per grade level
• Common reading and math core instruction in home
  class at grade level
• Common workshop time
• Differentiated work based on need and level
• Tier 2 and 3 individual or small group work
• Grouping of students within grade level
• Enrichment
• Extension
• Review
• Independent projects
• Novel Studies/Literature groups

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Crestview

• Three classrooms per grade level
• Common instructional time on grade level
• Ability grouping within grade level for core
  reading and math instruction
• Workshop
• Across grade grouping by need
• Use of specialists for high ability groupings

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Scheduling

• Common instructional times at grade level
• Common workshop time at grade level

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Twice Exceptional

• May go unnoticed
• Need for enrichment as well as work on strategies
  for deficits

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Under-Represented StudentsChildren at Promise

• ELL
• Poverty
• Ethnicity
• Under-achieving

potential for high performance Peer group
comparison
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What Do Teachers Need?

• Information about the characteristics, needs and
  best practices for high ability/gifted students
• Training in strategies that are successful with
  high ability learners and how to create
  curriculum options that work.
• Resources and supplemental materials that do more
  than repeat already learned skills (more of the
  same)
• Support from the school team

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What Can Administrators Do?

• Know the research
• Dr. Karen B. Rogers
• Help teachers by scheduling
• Common instructional time
• Common planning/collaboration time
• Opportunities for teachers to learn more about
  high ability learners
• Materials and resources for instruction

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MTSS A Good Fit For High Ability Learners?

• Yes
• Response to student need
• Universal screening
• Quality curriculum
• Differentiation in general classroom instruction
• No
• Nature of response is different
• Assessment monitoring methods differ
• Reduced need for core curriculum
• Need to be with academic peers

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Questions ?

• What is happening (or not happening) in your own
  district/school?
• Are high ability students being included in the
  concept of MTSS?
• Do you feel that they should be included?
• Do teachers have the necessary support?
• Training
• Materials
• Administrative support
• Could MTSS initiatives help in the identification
  process for gifted services?

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Resources and Credits

• www.kansasmtss.org
• NAGC Position Paper Grouping
• http//www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id4450
• Dr. Karen B. Rogers
• Lessons Learned About Educating the Gifted and
  Talented A Synthesis of the Research on
  Educational Gifted Child Quarterly 2007 51
  382
• Coils RTI Progress Monitoring Forms for Gifted
  Learners Pieces of Learning
• Information on high ability and RtI models in
  other states

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• Thinking Points Coloradohttp//www.cde.state.co
  .us/cdesped/download/pdf/slThinkingPoints_RtI.pdf
  
• Iowa response to including gifted in RtI
• http//www.projectcriss.com/newslinks/12_S08_RTI-
  1.pdf

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Contact Information

• Cindy Sheets
• Shawnee Mission School District
• Highlands Elementary
• cindysheets_at_smsd.org
• Marcia Law
• Emporia High Schoolmlaw_at_usd253.org
• Kansas Association for Gifted, Talented and
  Creative
• www.kgtc.org