Fall Conference Takeaways

MTSS for Advanced Learning

At the National Association for Gifted Children conference, CTD director Susan Corwith and associate director Eric Calvert facilitated a panel discussion with Susan Johnsen, Baylor University; Sheyanne Smith, Nebraska Department of Education; and Rebecca McKinney, Colorado Department of Education where we discussed gifted education program design leveraging MTSS. In Colorado and Nebraska, MTSS is the state-led approach to gifted education and we explored why.

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support is a framework designed to meet the needs of all students by ensuring that schools optimize data-driven decision making, progress monitoring, and evidence-based supports and strategies with increasing intensity to sustain student growth. As a continuum-based model, it can be adapted and extended to include services that address advanced learning and development while capitalizing on educator familiarity with MTSS/RTI.

It allows educators and administrators to promote high expectations for all students in a holistic way by

1. Creating a shared sense of responsibility for challenging and supporting students with advanced learning needs
2. Providing potential to better integrate advanced learning services with other services and supports for students with complex learning needs
3. Making gifted education more equitable through integration of MTSS with universal screening, use of Type I enrichments as frontloaded interventions, use of UDL and integration of accommodations and supports in gifted

It can help assure that practices, policies, programs, and professional development are aligned at the school and district level (Heacox & Cash, 2020).

• Nebraska Approach: https://www.education.ne.gov/hal/
• Colorado Approach: https://www.cde.state.co.us/mtss

To learn more about professional development opportunities and resources for designing talent development and gifted education services using an MTSS framework, contact ctd-school-services@northwestern.edu.

Measuring Growth for Advanced Learners

CTD assessment and school services coordinator, Melissa Hinshaw, regularly presents to educators and other school leaders about the importance of being able to measure growth and set learning goals for advanced learners. She is passionate about this topic because it is important for our students, and because many schools are still grappling with how best to measure growth for the most advanced learners.

Under ESSA, it is necessary to measure growth for all learners, which can be a challenge for students who are ready to learn beyond grade level content. Here are some important considerations and takeaways about growth for advanced learners:

• Readiness matters because it defines the space for learning (zone of proximal development).
• Readiness has a direct impact on growth.
• The right tools are necessary to measure growth for advanced learners.
• The right skills are necessary to use the data effectively (formatively and summatively).
• It is important to know what amount of growth is appropriate as a result of services.
• Continuous high achievement is not a substitute for understanding growth and the effect of programming.

If we are committed to helping all students learn and grow maximally, these considerations and takeaways are important to get beyond proficiency. Let us know if we can be of assistance. Contact Center for Talent Development at ctd-school-services@northwestern.edu.

Finding Evidence-Supported Curriculum that Supports Advanced Learning 

Educators know that depth, complexity, and rigor are critical to learning for all students, and particularly for students who are advanced learners, but what does this look like and who can help? At the National Association for Gifted Children’s Conference, 4 experts shared their frameworks and elements to look for when selecting curriculum.

You probably know the names Tamra Stambaugh, Shelagh Gallagher, Catherine Little, and Christine Dietz if you are responsible for working with curriculum and advanced learning programs. Each of these powerhouses in gifted education have devoted years to “what works” and developing tools, resources, and frameworks. There is no single, best curriculum, but there are common elements: concepts and systems, connections across disciplines, questioning, discourse, and authenticity to name a few.

Here are a few questions Stambaugh and Dietz (2023) suggest educators consider when selecting curriculum, that connect to what we know about talent development as well:

• How is pre-assessment used to compact what is known and optimize learning?
• Do learning activities support thinking processes that mirror those of experts?
• Is there a connection to career development and the showcasing of habits, practices, and vocabulary of the discipline?
• Are there opportunities to explore interests in depth?
• Are assessments linked to higher level outcomes?