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Response to Intervention
by Matthew Wood
Educational approaches appear in cycles, building upon the success of
individual programs and the combination of diverse philosophies. After
all, can there be merely one way to teach or, for that matter, one way to
learn? Of course not, so educators search to improve instruction and
address contemporary concerns that committees of lawmakers create (like No
Child Left Behind), thereby developing systems that work within their
classrooms. When they pass these systems on to colleagues, they are
recognized for creating the next trend.
Response to Intervention (RTI) follows this direction. It takes a
systematic approach to complying with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act
and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004. It
helps committees develop blueprints that include well-tested programs for
teachers to do the following:
• Deliver consistent instruction
• Monitor learning levels
• Accurately identify children with special needs.
It is designed to service the Whole without neglecting the Few – no small
task.
The effectiveness of the process is measured from all sides. For most
administrators and teachers, Response to Intervention requires new
policies in the districts and new practices in the classrooms, change that
often comes with added responsibilities and increased resistance. Parents,
however, in states that have already adopted RTI as part of their
educational plan, sing its praises. A systematic approach can lead to
higher levels of awareness and communication, not to mention student
progress. Not many educators can argue against progress.
What is Response to Intervention?
 Response to Intervention is an “organizational framework for instructional
and curricular decisions and practices based on students’ responses,”
according to the National Center on Response to Intervention. It includes
both academic and behavioral interventions, methods to assist students in
their journey towards appropriate levels of learning and social
interaction.
Though most good educators already incorporate these interventions into
their own teaching styles, Response to Intervention stresses the process
as a more uniform system, ensuring all students in all classrooms receive
adequate attention during their early years of education, and some
students receive additional support necessary to progress.
Many teachers see Response to Intervention as a program similar to the
Reading First initiative. Their comparison makes sense. Response to
Intervention subscribes to many of the same principles: small student
groups to maximize exposure, additional support staff trained to provide
specialized instruction, and consistent content delivered daily for a
defined period of time. It even places great importance on well-developed
programs – “scaffolding” – to identify, deliver, monitor, and report data
to committees composed of administrators, specialists, psychologists,
teachers and parents. However, Response to Intervention is more a process
than a program, requiring the cooperation of all education professionals.
The Process
Screening
The first foundational cornerstone schools need for Response to
Intervention is a screening process for all students. To obtain useful
data, schools rely on independently tested, widely acknowledged assessment
tools. Many elementary schools choose to test for Dynamic Indicators of
Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) until the fifth grade, focusing on
phonological awareness, alphabetic principle and measure of fluency –
components necessary for reading mastery. Additionally, these schools find
other screening tools available through national centers devoted to
implementing Response to Intervention, even tests for math and behavior.
By using these measures, schools can determine students who are at-risk.
Tiers
The second foundational cornerstone schools must implement is a delivery
system based on tiers, or levels of intensity. Schools generally select
the most common model including three separate tiers; each with its own
established guidelines for content, size and assessment. However, some
schools create Response to Intervention programs that include up to five
tiers. Even these programs function with the same principle. As tier
levels increase, interventions intensify.
At the first tier level, or Tier 1, schools include 100 percent of
students, aligning intervention programs with core curriculum in general
education classrooms. All students participate. All students receive the
same instruction.
During this time, schools employ previously determined screening
assessments to identify at-risk students in need of more than this Primary
Prevention. For behavioral interventions, schools introduce Positive
Behavior Support (PBS) intended to reinforce appropriate social actions in
a classroom setting. All interventions, both academic and behavioral, are
monitored, assessed, and evaluated by members of Response to Intervention
committees created in the school.
When school committees review student assessment data and teacher
recommendations, they identify at-risk students not progressing through
Tier 1. These students need additional attention beyond what teachers
provide in the general core curriculum, and small groups of students who
have similar needs are created. Schools aim for a typical Response to
Intervention model, which identifies roughly 20 percent of the class for
this Secondary Prevention, or Tier 2. The small groups remain in the core
class, but receive strategic enrichment in addition to the primary
programs.
The programs in Tier 2 interventions are designed to produce effective
progress in specific areas of student deficiency, like reading, using
programs such as Earobics, Road to the Code, and Marie Clay’s Reading
Recovery. As with Tier 1 interventions, schools monitor, assess, and
evaluate individual student progress over a period of six to 12 weeks
before determining if specific students need the increasingly intense
interventions of the next tier.
Schools reserve Tier 3 for about 5 percent of the classroom population,
labeling these students as high risk and in need of Tertiary Prevention,
though not necessarily in line for special education. With regard to
academics, school committees determine intensive programs administered by
specialists outside general classroom settings at separate times, ensuring
that students receive individualized interventions. At this stage, schools
may even implement Behavior Improvement Plans (BIP) to address more
persistent student actions not resolved through Positive Behavior Support,
closely monitoring these interventions over a set length of time. By
examining tests and progress indicators, the committee may determine a
student would benefit from special education services, but this is not
always the case. The Tier System of Response to Intervention allows
schools to accurately differentiate students with learning disabilities
from students who simply need a more concentrated approach.
Progress monitoring
Schools make these distinctions using the third cornerstone of Response to
Intervention: a commitment to monitor and evaluate student progress.
Though closely following each student may seem like a daunting task,
schools build concrete documentation tools into the original blueprint for
the Response to Intervention plan, cataloging specific charts and forms
for each tier of intervention and each stage of the evaluation process.
Rather than overload teachers with paperwork, though, administrators
promote collaboration between members of the committee, placing a great
emphasis on group work.
Fidelity
Administrators are also responsible for implementing the final cornerstone
of the Response to Intervention model. They must ensure that fidelity
indicators are in place to monitor staff instruction. Without consistent
delivery of intervention programs, schools cannot hope to achieve success.
Solid leadership is vital, and complete participation is required of all
staff.
Change is coming
A growing number of states have already embraced Response to Intervention,
setting up websites and resource centers for participating schools that,
in fact, receive funding for incorporating the new approach. For many
states and school districts, Response to Intervention will arrive in their
educational framework very soon, forcing a change in both policy and
practice.
Leaders who draft blueprints will need credible research and reference
materials as they select intervention programs and screening assessments.
Eventually, they will need training tools to share the new procedures with
a faculty that will demand practical instructional materials, developed
supports, incorporated technology and a library of literature, both for
themselves and their students.
Bondie Hankin, a reading specialist with 20 years of classroom experience
and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, is a veteran in the world of
interventions. She has served on Instructional Support Teams (IST) to help
identify students with special needs and has administered intervention
programs to small groups of at-risk and high-risk students slated for
Academic Intervention Services (AIS) both in and out of general education
classrooms.
“We’re always looking at the students as individuals and doing what’s
necessary to meet their needs,” says Dr. Hankin, who stresses a need for
accurate profiling and flexibility. “We need to be responsive to what our
students need. One program is not the answer.”
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This article is from Educational Dealer September 2009
Matthew Wood has a Bachelor’s degree in English and is certified in
secondary education. He has taught in both urban and suburban classes in
New York State, as well as International Schools in Africa and the Pacific
Islands.
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Thirteen Tips for Less Stress When Decorating Your Classroom Walls
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 Use a staple gun if you can. There are quite a few light
duty ones available that would not harm your bulletin board/wall much
more than regular staples would. To me, there is nothing more
frustrating than using an regular open stapler to decorate a bulletin
board. A staple gun is a one hand operation, which leaves your other
hand to position the piece you are attaching.
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Have a stick style staple remover handy. This type is a
lot easier to use on bulletin boards than the standard “pinch” style.
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Use a level. This saves you a lot of that tedious work
of putting something up, stepping back to look at it, repositioning it
and “lather, rinse, repeat”. Anything you want to be straight, use the
level! Paper, trimmers, posters, signs, etc. Harbor Freight sells some
very inexpensive pocket size levels for about a buck. They have a
horizontal, vertical, and angle level included. I don’t use the angle
but the horizontal & vertical levels are indispensable and the pocket
size makes it easy to have handy.
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Get a sharp utility knife with new blades. Cutting paper
to fit a board with a brand new utility knife blade is 50 times easier
than using a scissors. Put the paper up first with a few staples, then
trim it to fit the board with your utility knife. It glides through like
butter. The knife also comes in handy for trimming trimmers
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Have all your tools handy. My list includes: staple gun,
staples, stick-style staple remover, utility knife with a fresh blade,
scissor, marker, pencil, yardstick, and a pocket size level.
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Have big pockets, overalls, or an apron. Keep all your
tools on you to avoid trying to find where you placed them last or
bending over hundreds of times.
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Use a ladder/stepstool if you need it. Safety first! It
is also very uncomfortable to be on your tiptoes with your arms over
your head and your neck craned. That also makes it very difficult to see
what you are doing.
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Make it pop! Use different textures, printed papers, or
stickers to add unexpected details. If you are putting up a space theme
you can get starry night printed paper or use dark blue/black paper and
metallic star stickers to make your own. If you have a grassy area on
your bulletin board, add some tiny ladybug or butterfly stickers. If I
am doing grass, dirt, trees, or snow on my bulletin board, I like to
crumple the appropriate paper up and then flatten it a little before
stapling it up to create texture and interest. Depending on where your
bulletin board is located, you may also be able to give it a 3-D effect
by “bubbling” the object out away from the wall (this works especially
well with cylindrical items such as rockets, animals, trees, etc.). If
you have balloon or kite shapes, tie ribbon to them and have a character
holding them.
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When putting up punch-out letters, count the number of
letters, spaces, and punctuation in the phrase you are using. Figure out
where the “middle” of your phrase is – it may be a letter, a space, or
two letters. Find the middle of your board and put up the middle
letter(s) first, then work your way out to the ends.
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Do you have trouble getting your letters
up straight? Use a level, a yardstick, and a pencil. Draw
a light pencil line that is straight and level; erase it lightly when
you have your letters up. Curved lines of letters are difficult and time
consuming to do and redo. If you must do it, start in the middle top and
work out evenly on each end using a yardstick and a level to make sure
each end stays even.
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There are some funky new styles of punch-out letters out
there that are a little more irregular than the standard “marshmallow”
style that are a bit more forgiving if they are put up a little crooked
(Frog Street Press’ standard style is one of these, also Trend’s Ready
Letters in Playful, Splash, or Venture). Also, my new favorite is the
restickable/repositionable/reusable letters from Pacon – they work very
well!
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If it looks too busy, it just might be. Try hanging
rectangular pieces level instead of at various angles. Group like items
together. You also don’t have to use every piece in that bulletin board
set.
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If it isn't right, fix it. If you are like me, it
will bother you every time you see it. Believe me, you will notice
it.
Claudia Hausken, the author, can be seen
periodically climbing the ladder, armed with a staple gun and staple
remover, at a Teacher Heaven near you. She is grateful to have
several wall assistants that do a great job in the store as well! |
Curriculum Drives the Use of Technology
Integrating technology into classroom
instruction, the hottest topic in education right now, is more than simply
teaching students basic computer skills. “The goal is to have every lesson
– each and every math, science, English, music, everything –
technology-based,” said Kristine Petricas, account manager for software
publisher Daydeam Education - North America. “While students are learning
the lesson and the fundamentals of that topic, they are also using
technology.”
According to The George Lucas Educational Foundation’s edutopia.org, a
website that provides practical advice and best practices for using
technology in the classroom, tech integration must happen across the
curriculum in ways that deepen and enhance the learning process. “In
particular, it must support four key components of learning: active
engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback,
and connection to real-world experts,” said one article there. “Effective
technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is routine
and transparent, and when technology supports curricular goals.”
An Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) is today’s best tool for meaningful,
classroom-wide technology integration. “It provides engaging, multimedia
technology that appeals to today’s students,” said Paul LaPorte of San
Diego-based Classroom Complete Press. “The boards become a platform for
making lesson plans come alive. You can add a high level of interactivity,
color, motion, audio, video, embedded flash to reveal correct answers and
much more. The teachers who embrace this technology find they can offer a
more enriched and interactive learning experience to the true benefit of
the students.”
“When I would go into a classroom to demo an interactive whiteboard, the
students would immediately light up when I turned it on,” said Petricas,
who worked for an IWB reseller conducting training sessions before she
joined Daydream Education. “They became a captive audience immediately.”
She related a story about a presentation she did in a classroom of
students with behavioral problems. The teacher warned her that one
particular student would sleep throughout the presentation while another
would simply ignore the whole thing. “But when I turned on the whiteboard,
shy students raised their hands and struggling students did their best to
follow what was on the board,” Petricas said. “I saw students
collaborating as teams to solve problems together and learn from each
other. The environment became engaged and peaceful for all the different
types of learners in that classroom.”
Teachers who apply their own teaching strategy to IWB technology quickly
become passionate fans. “You can almost see the feeling of relief come
over them when they witness how the students interact with it,” said
Petricas. “They can captivate their entire audience at once.”
Not that there isn’t resistance. “It is new technology, which can be
intimidating. The teachers think, ‘Is it going to explode? Am I going to
look silly up here if I do something wrong or it freezes on me?’ But that
resistance dissolves once I show them what they can do with it. They want
to learn how to use it,” she told us.
When I asked her if interactive whiteboards had a downside, Petricas said,
“Only when the teachers have them and don’t use them.
 “I’ve gone into schools where the boards are up but they’re not connected.
I’ve seen boards upon which teachers have taped posters and used them as
bulletin boards, or as dry-erase boards and have written on them with
markers. I’ve talked to the maintenance people at schools who have told
me, ‘Oh yeah, we got two of those last year but they’re still in their
boxes.’
“It breaks my heart,” she said.
** This is an excerpt of an article by
Tina Manzer titled “You Say You Got a Real Solution” in the May 2010 issue
of Educational Dealer magazine.
See more interactive software available at
Teacher Heaven!
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