Intervention Design
A collaborative project between the Florida Department of Education and the University of South Florida
FloridaRtI.usf.edu
Advance Organizer
Update: Consensus, Infrastructure, Implementation
Data Review: Problem ID, Problem Analysis
Linking Problem Analysis to Intervention
Intervention Design
Intervention Content
Intervention Plan
Intervention Integrity, Support, Documentation
Integrating Tiers of Intervention
Intervention Selection/Design &
Implementation in Context
Identify
the Problem
Analyze
the Problem
Select/Design
Intervention
Implement
Intervention
Monitor
Progress
Evaluate
Intervention
Effectiveness
J
L
Timeline
Review
Consensus
Infrastructure
Implementation
Discussion - Consensus
• What activities are occurring to facilitate
consensus building among school and district
staff?
• What activities need to occur to better
facilitate consensus building among school
and district staff?
• What consensus building activities should be
given top priority between now and the end of
the school year?
Discussion - Infrastructure
• What activities are occurring to facilitate the
development of the infrastructure needed to
implement a PS/RtI model?
• What activities need to occur to better
facilitate the development of the infrastructure
needed to implement a PS/RtI model?
• What infrastructure development activities
should be given top priority between now and
the end of the school year?
Discussion - Implementation
• Given answers to the questions addressing
consensus & infrastructure, what are implications for
facilitating implementation of PS/RtI model in your
building?
• What components of model can be targeted for
implementation between now and end of school year
given the levels of consensus and infrastructure?
• What components of model would need to be
targeted for implementation later to allow more time
to build support from staff and capacity (e.g.,
assessments, technology, training, policies,
procedures) to implement?
Review Previous Skill
Assessments
• Problem ID
 Gap between desired performance and current
performance
• Problem Analysis
 Most likely barriers to desired performance
• Using what you now understand of Problem ID and
Problem Analysis, consider your Tier One data,
identify a problem and analyze it. Later, you’ll link
your Problem Analysis to the development of a
comprehensive intervention plan.
Problem
Analysis
Intervention
Design
The problem is occurring because ______________.
If ___________ would occur, then the problem would
be reduced.
Intervention Development
• Interventions derived from effective
problem-solving strategies
• Research/knowledge used to develop
hypotheses.
• Verified hypotheses lead naturally to
interventions
• Interventions will be evidence-based if
hypotheses are evidence-based
Types of Interventions
• Skill Deficit
 Student lacks skills to successfully complete
task
• Performance Deficit
 Factors interfering with student’s capability of
performing the skill
Intervention Development:
Verified Hypotheses
• H: Only 55% of second grade students are
achieving reading fluency benchmark
because the curriculum lacks fluency focus.
• P: If we modify the curriculum to focus on
reading fluency, then more students will
achieve benchmark.
• Intervention: Modification of second grade
curriculum to include more reading fluency
focus
Intervention Development:
Verified Hypotheses
• H: Brandon is unable to stay in his seat
because he lacks the self-monitoring skills
necessary for self-control
• P: If we teach Brandon self-monitoring
skills, then he will display improved selfcontrol.
• Intervention: Self-instructional and selfmonitoring training
Intervention Development:
Verified Hypotheses
• H: Ernesto is unable to complete arithmetic
seatwork on time because he has not acquired
math facts at the automatic level
• P: If we provide Ernesto with strategies to increase
fact fluency, then he will complete work on time.
• Intervention:
 Provide Ernesto with strategies to increase fact fluency
 Provide Ernesto more time until strategies to increase
fact fluency have had time to work
Intervention Development:
Verified Hypotheses
• H: Gail is not attending school daily because
she believes that all of the students she goes to
class with exclude her from social activities
• P: If we help Gail to restructure her beliefs about
being excluded, then attendance will improve.
• Intervention:
 Cognitive restructuring regarding belief system
 Identify students who would be willing to include Gail
in their activities
 Ensure adult prompting and monitoring of social
activities
Intervention Development:
Verified Hypotheses
• H: Susanna is unable to comprehend at 5th grade
level because she is disfluent in 5th grade reading
material.
• P: If we improve her fluency, then comprehension
will improve.
• Interventions:
 Limit comprehension expectations to current fluency level
 Develop hypotheses to explain low rate of fluency
Tiers of Intervention
I & II
Tier I Intervention
•
•
•
Tier One- Examining “Universal” Interventions
Questions:

What percent of students are achieving district
benchmarks? Effectiveness of instruction

How are these students doing compared to grade level
benchmarks? GAP analysis
Hypotheses

Ho: These students have not had access to an
effective learning environment.

Ho: These students have not been engaged in an
effective learning environment.
Tier 1 Intervention
• Consider altering whole group instruction,
curriculum materials, instructional routine,
independent practice (e.g., literacy/math centers)
• Breadth of skill focus might vary
• Group students based on skill data (data come
from many sources)
• Differentiate instruction based on grouping
• Organize students based on skill performance
 Higher performing, more students,
 Lower performing, fewer students
• Same amount of time, different use of that time
Tier 2 Intervention
•
Tier Two- Examining “Supplemental” Interventions
•
Hypotheses:
•

Ho: Student requires additional time for direct instruction

Ho: Focus of the curriculum must narrow
Assessment:

•
DIBELS, CBM, district assessments
Interventions:

Increase AET (90-120-180)
e.g., K-3 Academic Support Plan

Narrow focus to fewer, barrier skills

District Supplemental Curriculum
Characteristics of
Tier 2 Interventions
• Available in general education settings
• Opportunity to increase exposure (academic
engaged time) to curriculum
• Opportunity to narrow focus of the curriculum
• Sufficient time for interventions to have an effect
(10-30 weeks)
• Often are “standardized” supplemental
curriculum protocols – identified through a
problem solving process
Tier 2 Intervention
• First resource is TIME (AET)
 HOW much more time is needed?
• Second resource is CURRICULUM
 WHAT does the student need?
• Third resource is PERSONNEL
 WHO & WHERE will it be provided?
Tier 2: Getting TIME
• “Free” time--does not require additional personnel
 Staggering instruction
 Differentiating instruction
 Cross grade instruction
 Skill-based instruction
•
•
•
•
Standard Protocol Grouping
Reduced range of “standard” curriculum
After-School
Home-Based
Tier 2: Curriculum
• Standard protocol approach
• Focus on essential skills
• Most likely, more EXPOSURE and more FOCUS
of core instruction
• Linked directly to core instruction materials and
benchmarks
• Criterion for effectiveness is ≈70% of students
receiving Tier 2 will reach benchmarks
Tier 2: Personnel
• EVERYONE in the building is a potential
resource
•
•
•
•
Re-conceptualize who does what
Personnel deployed AFTER needs are identified
WHERE matters less and less
REMEMBER, student performance matters more
than labels, locations and staff needs.
• A school cannot deliver intensive (Tier 3)
services to more than ≈7% of the population
Outline – Implementing An
RtI System
• Tier 2 Decision Making –
 Identify less than proficient students
 Administer additional brief assessments to
examine performance profiles
 Group students with like performance profiles
for supplemental instruction
 Provide supplemental instruction based on
skill needs
Outline – Implementing An
RtI System (continued)
• Tier 2 Decision Making –
 Monitor progress
 Review student progress monitoring data at
scheduled intervals
 How successful are students in response to
Tier 2 Interventions?
• ≈70 - 80% is a good criterion
 Modify supplemental instruction as necessary
 Move students across tiers as data warrant
Job-Alike
• What is your role with respect to the PS/RtI
model at your school?
• What is working well with PS/RtI?
• What is not working well?
• What is the best part when it comes to
implementing PS/RtI at your school?
Intervention Content
Why Intervene?
Problem Definition & Problem Analysis have
revealed information the problem solving
team will use to determine what and how the
students need to be taught.
The purpose of Intervention is to
create an
instructional match
Instructional Match =
Explicit Evidence-Based Instruction
in
Targeted Skills
within a
Supported Learning Environment
Criteria for Interventions
•
•
•
•
•
•
Evidence-based
Delivered with Integrity
Scaled for Intensity
Implemented for Sufficient Time
Evaluated Frequently
Integrated Across Tiers
Evidence-Based
SCIENTIFICALLY BASED RESEARCH -
• means research that involves the application of rigorous,
systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable
and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and
programs
•
Section 9101(37) of ESEA, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001
Evidence-Based
• Employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on
observation or experiment
• Involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test
the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions
• Relies on measurements or observational methods that
provide reliable and valid data across evaluators and
observers, across multiple measurements and
observations.
• Is evaluated using experimental or quasi-experimental
designs… with appropriate controls… with a preference
for random-assignment experiments
•
Section 9101(37) of ESEA, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001
Evidence-Based
• Ensures that experimental studies are presented in
sufficient detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a
minimum, offer the opportunity to build systematically on
their findings
• Has been accepted by a peer reviewed journal or
approved by a panel of independent experts through a
rigorous scientific review
•
Section 9101(37) of ESEA, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001
Practitioner journals or education magazines are not the
same as peer-reviewed academic journals
More
Less
Measurement Frequency
Evidence Base
Measurement Precision
Group Size
Measurement Focus
Depth of Problem Analysis
Instructional Time
Less
More
Principles of Intervention
Design
Intervention is…
• Planful- procedures to be applied are
specified clearly and completely
• Environmentally Focused- actions taken
modify the environment not the individual
• Goal Directed- the team writes an
ambitious, yet attainable goal statement
prior to intervention design
Principles of Intervention
Design
Intervention should be designed to:
• Adjust what is being taught
and / or
• how it is taught
Intervention Plan
Components of an Effective
Intervention Plan
Address:
•
•
•
•
•
Persons Responsible
Skills Targeted
Implementation Arrangements
Measurement Strategy
Decision Making Rule
In essence - who, what, when, where
Designing an
Intervention Plan
Person(s) Responsible:
These should include names of those implementing the intervention,
supporting the intervention, collecting the data and making decisions
about the effectiveness of the intervention.
Targeted skills & Instructional strategies:
Specific information about
What & How to teach here
Implementation Arrangements:
Determine: Where, When-(frequency, length of time), Materials
Measurement Strategy:
Measurement conditions (how, what, where, monitoring schedule)
Decision-making Plan
Determine frequency of data collection, number of data points/decision
rule - More on this during Day 5
Persons Responsible
Specifically named individuals that will be
responsible for:
implementing the intervention,
supporting the intervention,
assessing the integrity of the intervention,
and monitoring the effectiveness of the
intervention
Target Skills & Instructional Strategies
Explicitly define the skills to be taught
and strategies that will be utilized.
Select evidence based instructional
strategies that are based on the
defined problem and verified
hypotheses in order to maximize
likelihood of success.
Implementation Arrangements
•
•
•
•
•
Where
When
Frequency
Length of time
Materials
Intervention Plan
• Must include:
 Who is responsible?
 What will be done?
 When will it occur?
 Where will it occur?
Design an Intervention Plan:
Measurement Strategy
Record information about:
• Who is responsible for the on-going collection of
data
• The method of data collection(ex.:probes/graphs, frequency counts/graphs)
• The measurement conditions(ex.: environmental factors are consistent)
• The monitoring schedule(ex.: establishing consistent measurement
intervals)
Design an Intervention Plan:
Decision-making Plan
How do we decide if a plan is or isn’t working?
Decisions will be made based on the following:
• Level of skill
• Rate of progress
• Decision rule
Decision Rules: What is a “Good”
Response to Intervention?
• Positive Response
 Gap is closing
 Can extrapolate point at which target student will “come in
range” of peers--even if this is long range
• Questionable Response
 Rate at which gap is widening slows considerably, but gap
is still widening
 Gap stops widening but closure does not occur
• Poor Response
 Gap continues to widen with no change in rate.
Positive Response to Intervention
Performance
Expected Trajectory
Observed Trajectory
Time
Decision Rules: What is a “Good”
Response to Intervention?
• Positive Response
 Gap is closing
 Can extrapolate point at which target student will “come in
range” of peers--even if this is long range
• Questionable Response
 Rate at which gap is widening slows considerably, but gap
is still widening
 Gap stops widening but closure does not occur
• Poor Response
 Gap continues to widen with no change in rate.
Questionable Response to Intervention
Performance
Expected Trajectory
Observed Trajectory
Time
Decision Rules: What is a “Good”
Response to Intervention?
• Positive Response
 Gap is closing
 Can extrapolate point at which target student will “come in
range” of peers--even if this is long range
• Questionable Response
 Rate at which gap is widening slows considerably, but gap
is still widening
 Gap stops widening but closure does not occur
• Poor Response
 Gap continues to widen with no change in rate.
Poor Response to Intervention
Performance
Expected Trajectory
Observed Trajectory
Time
Response to Intervention
Performance
Expected Trajectory
Observed Trajectory
Time
Monitoring Plan for
Determining Student Progress
• Must include:
 Who is responsible?
 What data will be collected and
how often?
 How will we decide if the plan
effective?
Decision Rules: Linking RtI
to Intervention Decisions
• Positive, Questionable, Poor Response
• Intervention Decision Based on RtI (General Guidelines)
 Positive
• Continue intervention until student reaches benchmark
(at least).
• Fade intervention to determine if student has acquired
functional independence.
 Questionable
• Increase intensity of current intervention for a short
period of time and assess impact. If rate improves,
continue. If rate does not improve, return to problem
solving.
 Poor
• Return to problem solving for new intervention
Intervention Selection/Design &
Implementation in Context
Identify
the Problem
Analyze
the Problem
Select/Design
Intervention
Implement
Intervention
Monitor
Progress
Evaluate
Intervention
Effectiveness
J
L
Timeline
Intervention Integrity,
Support, &
Documentation
Problem-Solving and
Treatment Fidelity
• Response to Intervention is based on the
•
•
•
actuality of interventions (Tier 1,2,3) delivered as
intended
We CANNOT do RtI if the intervention was not
implemented or was implemented poorly
Therefore, intervention integrity must be ensured
and documented if we are to use RtI
It will become part and parcel of the procedural
safeguard process for students with disabilities.
Problem-Solving and
Treatment Fidelity
• Strategies that improve fidelity
 Follow-up by a consultant/support staff
 Presentation of student data illustrating
response to intervention
 Review of intervention implementation plans
 Frequency — range from daily to weekly initially
(Noell, Witt, Slider, Connell, Gatti, Williams, Keonig, Resetar, &
Duhon, in press)
Problem-Solving and
Treatment Fidelity
• Teacher responsiveness to implementing
interventions
 Understands the “need” for intervention
 Perceives self as possessing skills to implement
OR has the social support to implement while
acquiring skills
(Bev Showers and colleagues)
Problem-Solving and
Treatment Fidelity
• Based on the research, the following
intervention protocol should be considered:
 Ensure that teacher/parent understands need
 Evaluate skill of parent/teacher and determine level of
support
 Delineate intervention in stepwise fashion
 Create implementation schedule for intervention
• Time of day, times per day, etc.
 Create intervention support/fidelity schedule
Problem-Solving and
Treatment Fidelity
• IF YOU CANNOT CREATE A SUPPORT
SCHEDULE DO NOT DO INTERVENTION
UNTIL ONE CAN BE ESTABLISHED
• It is critical that building administrators
understand that the support schedule is as
or more important than the intervention
schedule
Intervention Integrity Decisions
Evidence based intervention linked
to verified hypothesis planned
Evidence based intervention
implemented
Student
Outcomes (SO)
Assessed
Treatment
Integrity (TI)
Assessed
Continue Intervention
Data-based
Decisions
Implement strategies to promote
treatment integrity
Modify/change Intervention
From Lisa Hagermoser Sanetti, 2008 NASP Convention
Intervention Documentation Worksheet
Documentation Plan
• Must include:
 Who is responsible?
 What will be done?
 When will it occur?
 How will data be shared?
Support Plan
• Must include:
 Who is responsible?
 What will be done?
 When will it occur?
 Where will it occur?
Intervention Support
• Intervention plans should be developed based on
student need and skills of staff
• All intervention plans should have intervention
support
• Principals should ensure that intervention plans
have intervention support
• Teachers should not be expected to implement
plans for which there is no support
Critical Components of
Intervention Support
• Support for Intervention Integrity
• Documentation of Intervention Implementation
Intervention and eligibility decisions and
outcomes cannot be supported in an RtI model
without these two critical components
Intervention Support Plan
• Before Intervention Implementation
 Review data
 Review steps to intervention
 Determine logistics
• First 2 weeks




2-3 meetings/week
Review data
Review steps to intervention
Revise, if necessary
Intervention Support
• Second Two Weeks
 Meet twice each week
• Following weeks




Meet at least weekly
Review data
Review steps
Discuss Revisions
• Approaching benchmark
 Review data
 Schedule for intervention fading
 Review data
Teacher Support Activities
• Holding teachers in high regard; honoring them
and considering them worthy of esteem
• Providing teachers with access to tools that work
• Advocating for effective professional
development activities
• Actively seeking, and expecting input in:
 curriculum, instruction, and assessment
 professional development planning & decision making
 developing and implementing classroom and
individual interventions
• Having high expectations of teacher’s work
Henninger, Koerner, Morgan, 2008 NASP Conference
Teacher Support Activities
• Acknowledging and rewarding the work and
capabilities of teachers as professionals
• Validating teacher’s concerns
• Encourage teachers to work together and
recognizing teacher collaboration
• Recognizing strengths and weaknesses
• Understanding and acknowledging pressures on
teachers
• Listening to teacher’s concerns
• Providing specific supports
Henninger, Koerner, Morgan, 2008 NASP Conference
Intervention Plan Evaluation
Part One
Your project ID is:
• Last 4 digits of SS#
• Last 2 digits of year of birth
One Confirmed Hypothesis:
• Only 58% of the first grade students are
meeting benchmark at the middle of the
year because students are not provided
opportunities to practice reading connected
text on a first grade level.
Intervention Plan Evaluation
Part Two
Your project ID is:
• Last 4 digits of SS#
• Last 2 digits of year of birth
One Confirmed Hypothesis:
• Only 58% of the first grade students are
meeting benchmark at the middle of the
year because students are not provided
opportunities to practice reading connected
text on a first grade level.
Comprehensive Intervention Plan
Development - Team Activity
Intervention
Infrastructure
Using Existing Data to Predict
Intervention Needs
• Previous referral history predicts future referral
history
• How do we interpret teacher referrals?
• Previous intervention history predicts future
intervention history
• How do we use this information to establish an
infrastructure for change?
Data-Driven Infrastructure:
Establishing a Building Baseline
• Code referrals (reasons) for past 2-3 years
 Identifies problems teachers feel they do not have the
skills/support to handle
 Referral pattern reflects skill pattern of the staff, the
resources currently in place and the “history” of what
constitutes a referral in that building
 Identifies likely referral types for next 2 years
 Identifies focus of Professional Development Activities AND
potential Tier II and III interventions
 Present data to staff. Reinforces “Need” concept
Data-Driven Infrastructure:
Establishing a Building Baseline
• Assess current “Supplemental
Interventions”
 Identify all students receiving supplemental
interventions
 For those interventions, identify
• Type and Focus (academic, direct instruction, etc)
• Duration (minutes/week)
• Provider
 Aggregate
• Identifies instructional support types in building
• This constitutes Tier II and III intervention needs
Data-Driven Infrastructure:
Establishing a Building Baseline
• Identify current progress monitoring assessment
practices
 Determine if they meet needs/criteria
 Strengthen with additional methods, if necessary
• Identify how data are used, organized and
interpreted currently
 Determine how to use technology to support
Training Evaluation
No project ID needed
Final Thoughts
Problem Solving &
Response to Intervention
Resources
http://www.fcrr.org/Interventions/index.htm (Interventions for
Struggling Readers)
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/ (What Works Clearinghouse)
http://www.justreadflorida.com/instrreading.asp (F.A.I.R.)
http://www.justreadflorida.com/CAR-PD (CAR-PD)
http://www.fldoe.org/bii/curriculum/sss/ (Sunshine State
Standards)
http://www.interventioncentral.org/ (Intervention Central)
Resources
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~nirn/resources/type.cfm?typeID=4
(Articles and Reports)
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~nirn/resources/detail.cfm?resourceID=61
(Top 5 Strategies To Enable the Use of Evidence-based
Programs)
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~nirn/resources/detail.cfm?resourceID=31
(Implementation Research: A Synthesis of the Literature)
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~nirn/resources/detail.cfm?resourceID=65
(Implementation in the Real World: Taking Programs and
Practice to Scale)
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~nirn/resources/detail.cfm?resourceID=59
(Measuring Fidelity of Implementation: What it is, Why, How to
do it, and How to use it)