Serving Gifted Students Within an RtI Framework

by Susan K. Johnsen, Tracey N. Sulak, Karen Rollins

Given the federal mandate for implementing Response to Intervention (RtI) models, educators may not be aware of how to include gifted students in this system. "Serving Gifted Students Within an RtI Framework" is a practical book that provides an overview of RtI models in gifted education and describes specific details about developing levels of service, monitoring student progress, differentiating curriculum at each tier, and collaborating with gifted educators. A wealth of accessible online resources and a directory of state models in gifted education are also provided.

Genres: Nonfiction

165 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2012

About the author

Susan K. Johnsen, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at Baylor University. She directs the Ph.D. program, and programs related to gifted and talented education. She is past-president of the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented. She is editor of Gifted Child Today; coauthor of the Independent Study Program, RTI for Gifted Students, Using the National Gifted Education Standards for University Teacher Preparation Programs, Using the National Gifted Education Standards for PreK–12 Professional Development; and author of more than 200 articles, monographs, technical reports, and other books related to gifted education.

Reviews

[Alyssa Hanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a great overview of RtI with very little actionable advice for gifted RtI.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I review books, I examine the book for a) what it claims to be and b) who the target audience is (for instance, I won't fault an Arthur book for simplistic language and a stale plot, just as I won't fault a Defoe work for showcasing poor morals). So let's examine this book on both fronts:[return][return]What it claims to be (from the blurb on the back):[return]"Serving Gifted Students Within An RtI Framework is a practical book that provides an overview of RtI models in gifted education and describes specific details about developing levels of service, monitoring student progress, differentiating curriculum at each tier, and collaborating with gifted educators."[return][return]First of all, it isn't very practical; it's Spartan. It doesn't develop any of its more useful (practical) points and instead elaborates on the minutiae ad nauseum. Most of the first two chapters is stuff that you should have learned in your education programs if you are a teacher or administrator (i.e. the history of special education, NCLB legislation, and CCSS legislation). No one really needs to know the /history/ of these things; you just need to know how it applies to teaching and how it affects you and your students...the /practical/ stuff.[return][return]"specific details about developing level of service" - Yeah, no. There was almost none of that. It explains what each of the tier levels are and how students progress from one level to the next, but not a whole lot of what goes on IN each level and certainly not how to develop instruction in each level.[return][return]"monitoring student progress" - Yes, it details this. And doesn't shut up about it. This is what I think is primarily wrong with education; everything gets reduced down to data and assessment. The prevailing thought seems to be that these aren't students; they are widgets that we are churning out of a factory. "What are our quarterly gains and losses?" These are not statistics; these are CHILDREN. Children whose futures depend on US![return][return]"differentiating curriculum at each tier" - It gave more or less three options: send the kid to a gifted class, skip them ahead a grade, or ship them off to early college classes. Thank you for those useful tidbits. There was a very brief bullet list of seven ideas to help differentiate (embed creative problem solving, ask higher level questions, adding depth and complexity to the content). This is no-brainer stuff you should be differentiating for ALL your students, anyway.[return][return]"collaborating with gifted educators" - This is helpful...to an extent. It talks about the responsibilities of each person in the school as far as RtI goes and some ideas on how to collaborate. The problem here is that, as an individual, you have almost no control over that. For example, at my school, we have only a part-time guidance counselor, a literacy coach who has "checked out", no mathematics intervention program to speak of, an overworked vice principal, grade-level partners who have little to do with one another, special education teachers who are bogged down with the students that the law requires them to focus their attention on, etc. I need to know more about what I can do, as an individual, to help my students. I have to be able to prepare for the inevitability that I'll be doing it on my own. How do I handle that kind of situation?[return][return]As for target audience:[return]If it's meant for teachers...good luck. A lot of what it discusses (the necessary school resources, what kinds of staff to hire, scheduling, curriculum, etc.) is completely out of the teacher's hand.[return]If it's meant for administrators...I really hope that they'd be looking into a book that sounds a lot less like one of my graduate research papers and more like a /professionally/ written book. [return][return][return]As for the niggling little things that get to me when I read:[return]This book was drier than a saltine in the desert. Holy crap, I can't believe I was actually able to get through it in two sittings without falling asleep![return][return]The authors needed a bit more consistency. They went back and forth between referring to nonspecific students as "she/he" and "she." This is educational research; educational research goes by APA formatting which frowns on gender specific pronouns. They should have just used the indefinite "the student."

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Serving Gifted Students Within an RtI Framework: A Practical Guide” by Susan K. Johnsen, Ph.D., Tracey N. Sulak and Karen Rollins provides an overview of RtI (Response to Intervention) models in gifted education. RtI is a federally mandated program that was introduced in 2004 as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. Its purpose is to identify students with learning disabilities using the RtI process. The RtI process typically focuses on those children who have deficit skills, but this book shows how it should also focus on gifted students.

This book focuses on the following:
Overview of the Response to Intervention Process
Strong General Education Curriculum for Gifted Students
Tiers of Intervention
Monitoring Student Progress
Collaboration
Professional Development for Gifted Educators Involved in the RtI Process

This book does an excellent job of breaking down what the RtI process is and the many ways it can be implemented. It should be a must-have for all gifted teachers and for their administration. Gifted students tend not to be considered when looking at those who need more intense curriculum and support. This book shows how gifted students’ needs are not being met and how to use the RtI to meet them.

The authors include many tables throughout the book to help the reader to be able to glance over the information. The first table demonstrates the Tier Process of RtI and shows how the three tiers affect the following: curriculum, assessments, teacher, research-based intervention, and location. Each chapter also contains a summary of the chapter.

I thought that this book did an excellent job of breaking down exactly what the RtI is and how its implementation varies from state to state. It gives the gifted teacher concrete ways to use the RtI to help gifted students who tend to be overlooked. It is good for parents of gifted students also who may not quite understand what RtI is (I sure didn’t) and offers ways that parents can also help their child, such as having their child participate in Academic Talent Searches and other opportunities such as Odyessy of the Mind and Future Problem Solving Program International. It also has information about web-based resources for RtI. In the back of the book there is a table that lists each state and whether the state responded to their survey, if the state’s model includes Gifted and Talented (GT), if the model is in the drafting stage including GT, how GT is part of the state’s model, how GT is supported within RtI, if GT is part of the visual model, and who to contact in that state.

Excellent book for those who work with gifted children, whether it be parents, teachers or school administrators.

**This book was received for free through Goodreads First Reads. That in no way influenced my review.**

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does an excellent job of breaking down what the RtI process is and the many ways it can be implemented. Federal law mandates in each state require individual learning for each student to meet his or her individual needs. There are 3 separate levels of the process. The main prevention level includes high instruction. The second level includes evidence-based intervention(s) of moderate intensity. And if that does not meet the needs of the child then final prevention level includes individualized intervention for students who don't show enough advancement.

Most of the time it seems that this type of intervention is used for students below level, as it shows such promise, especially with the use of programs such as MAP testing. There are gifted students with disabilities, and/or these methods can and should be used with those above average as well.
This book has a 2012 copyright, and has the latest facts and figures, as well as useful online resources and a directory of state models. Good choice for teachers and administrators to learn more, or to help with their lesson planning.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Useful when planning to meet needs of gifted learners in a regular classroom. More of a step by step, to use when school is in session and the guidance is needed! I would recommend this book.

[Emily (Heinlen) Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book. It read like an academic paper, not a guide or a how-to. I found it too technical to enjoy and found it hard-to-read.