Poster Presentation 27 — Pathways Between the Paradigms: Perceptions of Maine’s Gifted and Talented Teachers During Initial MTSS Implementation — Emily Gerry MacKinnon
Monday, May 20, 2024, 5:00 – 7:00 pm, Student Union Ballroom, Rooms 330/331
This study seeks to explore the perceptions of any change in the role of Maine’s Gifted and Talented specialists in their local context as they support the three increasing levels of tiered intervention, particularly the Universal Tier, within the Maine Department of Education’s newly adopted Multiple Tiers System of Supports for Gifted and Talented students (MTSS-GT) framework. Known problems of policy and professional practice before the adoption of MTSS include: the wide range of GT programming and costs in the state; the under-identification of twice-exceptional students, minorities, and English Language Learners; and differences in local practices for screening and identification criteria. MTSS-GT implies greater reliance on the sustained use of differentiated instruction for gifted students at the Universal Tier to be delivered by classroom teachers who have little specialized training in gifted education. All Gifted and Talented specialists in Maine (n~189) were offered an opportunity to participate in a confidential electronic survey in October 2023 (followed by interviews in November), with six participants further selected to explore their perceptions of how this recent policy implementation may be changing their professional practice.