Response to Intervention
Classroom Management:
Identifying & Teaching
Student Replacement
Behaviors
Jim Wright
www.interventioncentral.org
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Response to Intervention
Workshop Agenda
1. RIOT/ICEL Framework to Organize
Student Data
2. 5-Step Process for Defining Problem Behaviors
3. Common Pitfalls in Behavior Interventions
4. Internet Resources
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Response to Intervention
Resources from this workshop can be
downloaded from:
• http://www.interventioncentral.org/
RCSD.php
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Response to Intervention
“This workshop will build on the material presented this summer,
with the focus on positive behavioral intervention strategies and
the teaching of replacement behaviors. Your team will bring a
BIP for one student, along with the assessment data collected for
that BIP.”
Source: Linda Blankenhorn, Executive Director of Specialized Services, Rochester City School District. 12 Nov 2009 Principals’
Letter
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Response to Intervention
RTI: Listening to the ‘Teacher’s Voice’…
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Response to Intervention
What is the Logic of the Functional
Behavior Assessment (FBA) That Can
Help to Solve Student Problem
Behaviors?
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Response to Intervention
Essential Elements of the Functional Behavioral
Assessment (FBA)
“Functional assessment is a collection of methods for obtaining
information about antecedents…, behaviors…, and consequences…
The purpose is to identify the reason for the behavior and to use that
information to develop strategies that will support positive student
performance while reducing the behaviors that interfere with the child’s
successful functioning.”
Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Moell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and
behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West..pp. 3-4.
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Response to Intervention
Essential Elements of the Functional Behavioral
Assessment (FBA) (Cont.)
“From this definition, several things are clear. First, functional
assessment is not a single test or observation. It is a collection of
methods involving a variety of assessment techniques, including
observations, interviews, and review of records, that are conducted to
acquire an understanding of a child’s behavior.
Second, the definition clarifies exactly what is assessed—that is, the
child’s behavior as well as what happens just before the behavior occurs
and what happens as a result of the behavior.
Third, the definition states clearly the goal of functional assessment,
which is to identify strategies and interventions to help the child.”
Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Moell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and
behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West..pp. 3-4.
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Response to Intervention
Factors Influencing the Decision to Classify as BD
(Gresham, 1992)
Four factors strongly influence the likelihood that a student
will be classified as Behaviorally Disordered:
• Severity: Frequency and intensity of the problem
behavior(s).
• Chronicity: Length of time that the problem behavior(s)
have been displayed.
• Generalization: Degree to which the student displays
the problem behavior(s) across settings or situations.
• Tolerance: Degree to which the student’s problem
behavior(s) are accepted in that student’s current
social setting.
Source: Gresham, F. M. (1992). Conceptualizing behavior disorders in terms of resistance to intervention. School Psychology
Review, 20, 23-37.
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Response to Intervention
‘Big Ideas’ in Student Behavior
Management
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Response to Intervention
Big Ideas: Similar Behaviors May Stem from Very
Different ‘Root’ Causes
(Kratochwill, Elliott, & Carrington Rotto, 1990)
• Behavior is not random but follows purposeful patterns.
Students who present with the same apparent ‘surface’
behaviors may have very different ‘drivers’ (underlying reasons)
that explain why those behaviors occur.
A student’s problem behaviors must be
carefully identified and analyzed to
determine the drivers that support them.
Source: Kratochwill, T. R., Elliott, S. N., & Carrington Rotto, P. (1990). Best practices in behavioral consultation. In A. Thomas
and J. Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school psychology-II (pp. 147=169). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School
Psychologists..
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Response to Intervention
Common ‘Root Causes’ or ‘Drivers’ for Behaviors
Include…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Power/Control
Protection/Escape/Avoidance
Attention
Acceptance/Affiliation
Expression of Self
Gratification
Justice/Revenge
Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Moell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and
behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West..pp. 3-4.
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Response to Intervention
Teacher Referral Example…
“Showed disrespect towards me when she yelled inappropriately
regarding an instruction sheet. I then asked her to leave the
room. She also showed disrespect when I called her twice earlier
in the class to see her report card grade.”
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Response to Intervention
Big Ideas: Attend to the Triggers and
Consequences of Problem Behaviors (Martens & Meller,
1990)
• Intervening before a student misbehaves or when the
misbehavior has not yet escalated increases the
likelihood of keeping the student on task and engaged
in learning. Consequences of behaviors that are
reinforcing to the student will increase the occurrence of
that behavior.
ABC Timeline
A
B
C
Source: Martens, B.K., & Meller, P.J. (1990). The application of behavioral principles to educational settings. In T.B. Gutkin &
C.R.Reynolds (Eds.), The handbook of school psychology (2nd ed.) (pp. 612-634). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
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Response to Intervention
Big Ideas: Behavior is a Continuous ‘Stream’
(Schoenfeld & Farmer, 1970)
• Individuals are always performing SOME type
of behavior: watching the instructor, sleeping,
talking to a neighbor, completing a worksheet
(‘behavior stream’).
• When students are fully engaged in
academic behaviors, they are less likely to get
off-task and display problem behaviors.
• Academic tasks that are clearly understood, elicit student
interest, provide a high rate of student success, and include
teacher encouragement and feedback are most likely to
effectively ‘capture’ the student’s ‘behavior stream’.
Source: Schoenfeld, W. N., & Farmer, J. (1970). Reinforcement schedules and the ‘‘behavior stream.’’ In W. N. Schoenfeld
(Ed.), The theory of reinforcement schedules (pp. 215–245). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
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Response to Intervention
Big Ideas: Academic Delays Can Be
a Potent Cause of Behavior
Problems
(Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000)
Student academic problems cause many
school behavior problems.
“Whether [a student’s] problem is a behavior problem or an
academic one, we recommend starting with a functional
academic assessment, since often behavior problems occur
when students cannot or will not do required academic work.”
Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Moell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and
behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West, p. 13
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Response to Intervention
Direct Instruction & Behaviors
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Response to Intervention
Applying ‘RTI Logic’ to Social Behavior Support
(Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007)
Tier I (‘Universal System’) for behavioral support:
•
•
•
•
•
Is implemented schoolwide for all students
Requires that the school "identify and explicitly teach”
schoolwide expectations
Includes a system to "acknowledge expectationcompliant behavior"
Defines inappropriate behaviors and applies
consequences for those behaviors with consistency
Reviews group progress toward schoolwide goals
(data collection and feedback)
Source: Fairbanks, S., Sugai, G., Guardino, S., & Lathrop, M. (2007). Response to intervention: Examining classroom behavior
support in second grade. Exceptional Children, 73, p. 289.
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Response to Intervention
Using a Direct Instruction Approach to
Teaching Replacement Behaviors
 Describe to the student the expected replacement
behavior that the student is to engage in.
 Provide a series of examples of the replacement
behavior.
 Provide immediate positive feedback to the student for
appropriate demonstration of the replacement
behavior.
 Ensure that the instructional environment supports and
rewards expected behaviors.
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Response to Intervention
Common Reasons Why Behavior Plans Fail
1. Student problems are defined in vague rather than
specific terms, making it more difficult to select the
right intervention(s) to support the student.
2. The problem behavior is viewed as residing primarily
within the student, causing schools to overlook the
important positive impact that they can have on
students by changing instruction, work (curriculum)
demands, and the learning environment.
3. The school selects an incorrect hypothesis about what
is supporting the student’s problem behavior, so the
strategies to promote the positive, replacement
behavior don’t work.
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Response to Intervention
Common Reasons Why Behavior Plans Fail
4. The student’s problem behavior continues, even after
the replacement behavior has been taught-- because
antecedents (triggers) and / or consequences that
support the problem behavior still remain in place.
5. The student’s problem behavior continues, even after
the replacement behavior has been taught-- because
the new, desired behavior is not being adequately
reinforced.
6. Educators working with the student are inconsistent in
supporting the new replacement behaviors.
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Data Collection: Defining Terms
Response to Intervention
Evaluation. “the process of using information collected through assessment to
make decisions or reach conclusions.” (Hosp, 2008; p. 364).
Example: A student can be evaluated for ability to ‘comply with teacher requests’
by collecting information using various sources (e.g., direct observation, teacher
and student interview, teacher behavior log, Daily Behavior Report Card, etc.),
comparing those results to peer norms or developmental expectations and making
a decision about whether the student’s current performance is acceptable.
Assessment. “the process of collecting information about the characteristics of
persons or objects by measuring them. ” (Hosp, 2008; p. 364).
Example: The construct ‘complying with teacher requests’ can be assessed using
various measurements, including direct observation, teacher and student interview,
teacher behavior log, Daily Behavior Report Card, etc.
Measurement. “the process of applying numbers to the characteristics of objects
or people in a systematic way” (Hosp, 2008; p. 364).
Example: Frequency counts can be used to measure the rate of student behaviors
that are brief in duration and have a clear onset and end point.
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Response to Intervention
RIOT/ICEL Framework:
Organizing Information to Better
Identify Student Behavioral &
Academic Problems
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
RIOT/ICEL Framework
Sources of Information
• Review (of records)
• Interview
• Observation
• Test
Focus of Assessment
• Instruction
• Curriculum
• Environment
• Learner
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Response to Intervention
RIOT/ICEL Definition
• The RIOT/ICEL matrix is an assessment guide to help
schools efficiently to decide what relevant information to
collect on student academic performance and
behavior—and also how to organize that information to
identify probable reasons why the student is not
experiencing academic or behavioral success.
• The RIOT/ICEL matrix is not itself a data collection
instrument. Instead, it is an organizing framework, or
heuristic, that increases schools’ confidence both in the
quality of the data that they collect and the findings that
emerge from the data.
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Response to Intervention
RIOT: Sources of Information
• Select Multiple Sources of Information: RIOT
(Review, Interview, Observation, Test). The top
horizontal row of the RIOT/ICEL table includes four
potential sources of student information: Review,
Interview, Observation, and Test (RIOT). Schools
should attempt to collect information from a range of
sources to control for potential bias from any one
source.
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Response to Intervention
Select Multiple Sources of Information: RIOT (Review,
Interview, Observation, Test)
• Review. This category consists of past or present records
collected on the student. Obvious examples include report
cards, office disciplinary referral data, state test results, and
attendance records. Less obvious examples include student
work samples, physical products of teacher interventions
(e.g., a sticker chart used to reward positive student
behaviors), and emails sent by a teacher to a parent
detailing concerns about a student’s study and
organizational skills.
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Response to Intervention
Select Multiple Sources of Information: RIOT (Review,
Interview, Observation, Test)
• Interview. Interviews can be conducted face-to-face, via
telephone, or even through email correspondence.
Interviews can also be structured (that is, using a predetermined series of questions) or follow an open-ended
format, with questions guided by information supplied by the
respondent. Interview targets can include those teachers,
paraprofessionals, administrators, and support staff in the
school setting who have worked with or had interactions with
the student in the present or past. Prospective interview
candidates can also consist of parents and other relatives of
the student as well as the student himself or herself.
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Response to Intervention
Select Multiple Sources of Information: RIOT (Review,
Interview, Observation, Test)
• Observation. Direct observation of the student’s academic
skills, study and organizational strategies, degree of
attentional focus, and general conduct can be a useful
channel of information. Observations can be more structured
(e.g., tallying the frequency of call-outs or calculating the
percentage of on-task intervals during a class period) or less
structured (e.g., observing a student and writing a running
narrative of the observed events).
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Response to Intervention
Select Multiple Sources of Information: RIOT (Review,
Interview, Observation, Test)
• Test. Testing can be thought of as a structured and
standardized observation of the student that is intended to
test certain hypotheses about why the student might be
struggling and what school supports would logically benefit
the student (Christ, 2008). An example of testing may be a
student being administered a math computation CBM probe
or an Early Math Fluency probe.
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Response to Intervention
Formal Tests: Only One Source of Student Assessment
Information
“Tests are often overused and misunderstood in and
out of the field of school psychology. When necessary,
analog [i.e., test] observations can be used to test
relevant hypotheses within controlled conditions.
Testing is a highly standardized form of observation.
….The only reason to administer a test is to answer
well-specified questions and examine well-specified
hypotheses. It is best practice to identify and make
explicit the most relevant questions before
assessment begins. …The process of assessment
should follow these questions. The questions should
not follow assessment. “ p.170
Source: Christ, T. (2008). Best practices in problem analysis. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school
psychology V (pp. 159-176). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
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Response to Intervention
ICEL: Factors Impacting Student Learning
• Investigate Multiple Factors Affecting Student
Learning: ICEL (Instruction, Curriculum,
Environment, Learner). The leftmost vertical column of
the RIO/ICEL table includes four key domains of
learning to be assessed: Instruction, Curriculum,
Environment, and Learner (ICEL). A common mistake
that schools often make is to assume that student
learning problems exist primarily in the learner and to
underestimate the degree to which teacher instructional
strategies, curriculum demands, and environmental
influences impact the learner’s academic performance.
The ICEL elements ensure that a full range of relevant
explanations for student problems are examined.
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Response to Intervention
Investigate Multiple Factors Affecting Student Learning:
ICEL (Instruction, Curriculum, Environment, Learner)
• Instruction. The purpose of investigating the ‘instruction’
domain is to uncover any instructional practices that either
help the student to learn more effectively or interfere with
that student’s learning. More obvious instructional questions
to investigate would be whether specific teaching strategies
for activating prior knowledge better prepare the student to
master new information or whether a student benefits
optimally from the large-group lecture format that is often
used in a classroom. A less obvious example of an
instructional question would be whether a particular student
learns better through teacher-delivered or self-directed,
computer-administered instruction.
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Response to Intervention
Investigate Multiple Factors Affecting Student Learning:
ICEL (Instruction, Curriculum, Environment, Learner)
• Curriculum. ‘Curriculum’ represents the full set of academic
skills that a student is expected to have mastered in a
specific academic area at a given point in time. To
adequately evaluate a student’s acquisition of academic
skills, of course, the educator must (1) know the school’s
curriculum (and related state academic performance
standards), (2) be able to inventory the specific academic
skills that the student currently possesses, and then (3)
identify gaps between curriculum expectations and actual
student skills. (This process of uncovering student academic
skill gaps is sometimes referred to as ‘instructional’ or
‘analytic’ assessment.)
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Response to Intervention
Investigate Multiple Factors Affecting Student Learning: ICEL
(Instruction, Curriculum, Environment, Learner)
• Environment. The ‘environment’ includes any factors in the
student’s school, community, or home surroundings that can
directly enable their academic success or hinder that success.
Obvious questions about environmental factors that impact
learning include whether a student’s educational performance is
better or worse in the presence of certain peers and whether
having additional adult supervision during a study hall results in
higher student work productivity. Less obvious questions about
the learning environment include whether a student has a setting
at home that is conducive to completing homework or whether
chaotic hallway conditions are delaying that student’s transitioning
between classes and therefore reducing available learning time.
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Response to Intervention
Investigate Multiple Factors Affecting Student Learning:
ICEL (Instruction, Curriculum, Environment, Learner)
• Learner. While the student is at the center of any questions
of instruction, curriculum, and [learning] environment, the
‘learner’ domain includes those qualities of the student that
represent their unique capacities and traits. More obvious
examples of questions that relate to the learner include
investigating whether a student has stable and high rates of
inattention across different classrooms or evaluating the
efficiency of a student’s study habits and test-taking skills. A
less obvious example of a question that relates to the learner
is whether a student harbors a low sense of self-efficacy in
mathematics that is interfering with that learner’s willingness
to put appropriate effort into math courses.
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
• The teacher collects
several student math
computation worksheet
samples to document
work completion and
accuracy.
• Data Source: Review
• Focus Areas: Curriculum
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Response to Intervention
• The student’s parent tells
the teacher that her son’s
reading grades and
attitude toward reading
dropped suddenly in Gr 4.
• Data Source: Interview
• Focus: Curriculum,
Learner
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Response to Intervention
• An observer monitors the
student’s attention on an
independent writing
assignment—and later
analyzes the work’s
quality and completeness.
• Data Sources:
Observation, Review
• Focus Areas:
Curriculum,
Environment, Learner
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Response to Intervention
• A student is given a timed
math worksheet to
complete. She is then
given another timed
worksheet & offered a
reward if she improves.
• Data Source: Review,
Test
• Focus Areas:
Curriculum, Learner
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Response to Intervention
• Comments from several
past report cards describe
the student as preferring
to socialize rather than
work during small-group
activities.
• Data Source: Review
• Focus Areas:
Environment
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Response to Intervention
• The teacher tallies the
number of redirects for an
off-task student during
discussion. She designs a
high-interest lesson, still
tracks off-task behavior.
• Data Source:
Observation, Test
• Focus Areas: Instruction
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Response to Intervention
Activity: Use the RIOT/ICEL Framework
• Review the RIOT/ICEL matrix.
Take the student data that you
brought to the workshop and
organize it using the matrix.
• Identify any areas in the matrix
that have only limited
information and should be
investigated more fully.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Student Problem
Behaviors: A Key to
Identifying Effective
Interventions
Jim Wright
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Response to Intervention
Defining Problem Student Behaviors…
1.
Define the problem behavior in clear, observable, measurable
terms (Batsche et al., 2008; Upah, 2008). Write a clear description of
the problem behavior. Avoid vague problem identification statements
such as “The student is disruptive.”
A well-written problem definition should include three parts:
– Conditions. The condition(s) under which the problem is likely to
occur
– Problem Description. A specific description of the problem behavior
– Contextual information. Information about the frequency, intensity,
duration, or other dimension(s) of the behavior that provide a
context for estimating the degree to which the behavior presents a
problem in the setting(s) in which it occurs.
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
Defining Student Problem Behaviors:
Team Activity
As a team:
Using the data brought on
your student:
• Step 1: Define the
problem behavior in
clear, observable,
measurable terms.
Five Steps in Understanding &
Addressing Problem Behaviors:
1. Define the problem behavior in
clear, observable, measurable
terms.
2. Develop examples and nonexamples of the problem
behavior.
3. Write a behavior hypothesis
statement.
4. Select a replacement behavior.
5. Write a prediction statement.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Problem Student Behaviors…
2. Develop examples and non-examples of the problem
behavior (Upah, 2008). Writing both examples and nonexamples of the problem behavior helps to resolve uncertainty
about when the student’s conduct should be classified as a
problem behavior. Examples should include the most frequent
or typical instances of the student problem behavior. Nonexamples should include any behaviors that are acceptable
conduct but might possibly be confused with the problem
behavior.
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
Defining Student Problem Behaviors:
Team Activity
As a team:
Using the data brought on
your student:
• Step 2: Develop
examples and nonexamples of the
problem behavior.
Five Steps in Understanding &
Addressing Problem Behaviors:
1. Define the problem behavior in
clear, observable, measurable
terms.
2. Develop examples and nonexamples of the problem
behavior.
3. Write a behavior hypothesis
statement.
4. Select a replacement behavior.
5. Write a prediction statement.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Problem Student Behaviors…
3. Write a behavior hypothesis statement (Batsche et al.,
2008; Upah, 2008). The next step in problem-solving is to
develop a hypothesis about why the student is engaging in an
undesirable behavior or not engaging in a desired behavior.
Teachers can gain information to develop a hypothesis
through direct observation, student interview, review of
student work products, and other sources. The behavior
hypothesis statement is important because (a) it can be
tested, and (b) it provides guidance on the type(s) of
interventions that might benefit the student.
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
Defining Student Problem Behaviors:
Team Activity
As a team:
Using the data brought on
your student:
• Step 3: Write a
behavior hypothesis
statement.
Five Steps in Understanding &
Addressing Problem Behaviors:
1. Define the problem behavior in
clear, observable, measurable
terms.
2. Develop examples and nonexamples of the problem
behavior.
3. Write a behavior hypothesis
statement.
4. Select a replacement behavior.
5. Write a prediction statement.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Problem Student Behaviors…
4. Select a replacement behavior (Batsche et al., 2008).
Behavioral interventions should be focused on increasing
student skills and capacities, not simply on suppressing
problem behaviors. By selecting a positive behavioral goal
that is an appropriate replacement for the student’s original
problem behavior, the teacher reframes the student concern in
a manner that allows for more effective intervention planning.
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
Defining Student Problem Behaviors:
Team Activity
As a team:
Using the data brought on
your student:
• Step 4: Select a
replacement behavior.
Five Steps in Understanding &
Addressing Problem Behaviors:
1. Define the problem behavior in
clear, observable, measurable
terms.
2. Develop examples and nonexamples of the problem
behavior.
3. Write a behavior hypothesis
statement.
4. Select a replacement behavior.
5. Write a prediction statement.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Problem Student Behaviors…
5. Write a prediction statement (Batsche et al., 2008; Upah,
2008). The prediction statement proposes a strategy
(intervention) that is predicted to improve the problem
behavior. The importance of the prediction statement is that it
spells out specifically the expected outcome if the strategy is
successful. The formula for writing a prediction statement is to
state that if the proposed strategy (‘Specific Action’) is
adopted, then the rate of problem behavior is expected to
decrease or increase in the desired direction.
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
Defining Student Problem Behaviors:
Team Activity
As a team:
Using the data brought on
your student:
• Step 5: Write a
prediction statement.
Five Steps in Understanding &
Addressing Problem Behaviors:
1. Define the problem behavior in
clear, observable, measurable
terms.
2. Develop examples and nonexamples of the problem
behavior.
3. Write a behavior hypothesis
statement.
4. Select a replacement behavior.
5. Write a prediction statement.
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
Using a Direct Instruction Approach to
Teaching Replacement Behaviors
1. Describe to the student the expected replacement
behavior that the student is to engage in.
2. Provide examples of the replacement behavior.
3. Provide immediate positive feedback to the student for
appropriate demonstration of the replacement
behavior.
4. Ensure that the instructional environment supports and
rewards expected behaviors.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Academic Problems:
Get It Right and Interventions
Are More Likely to Be
Effective
Jim Wright
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Response to Intervention
Defining Academic Problems: Recommended Steps
1. Be knowledgeable of the school academic curriculum and
key student academic skills that are taught. The teacher
should have a good survey-level knowledge of the key
academic skills outlined in the school’s curriculum—for the
grade level of their classroom as well as earlier grade levels. If
the curriculum alone is not adequate for describing a student’s
academic deficit, the instructor can make use of research-based
definitions or complete a task analysis to further define the
academic problem area. Here are guidelines for consulting
curriculum and research-based definitions and for conducting a
task analysis for more global skills.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Academic Problems: Recommended Steps
Curriculum. The teacher can review the school’s curriculum and related
documents (e.g., score-and-sequence charts; curriculum maps) to select
specific academic skill or performance goals. First, determine the
approximate grade or level in the curriculum that matches the student’s
skills. Then, review the curriculum at that alternate grade level to find
appropriate descriptions of the student‘s relevant academic deficit.
For example, a second-grade student had limited phonemic awareness.
The student was not able accurately to deconstruct a spoken word into its
component sound-units, or phonemes. In the school’s curriculum, children
were expected to attain proficiency in phonemic awareness by the close
of grade 1. The teacher went ‘off level’ to review the grade 1 curriculum
and found a specific description of phonemic awareness that she could
use as a starting point in defining the student’s skill deficit.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Academic Problems: Recommended Steps
Research-Based Skill Definitions. Even when a school’s curriculum identifies
key skills, schools may find it useful to corroborate or elaborate those skill
definitions by reviewing alternative definitions published in research journals
or other trusted sources.
For example, a student had delays in solving quadratic equations. The math
instructor found that the school’s math curriculum did not provide a detailed
description of the skills required to successfully complete quadratic
equations. So the teacher reviewed the National Mathematics Advisory
Panel report (Fennell et al., 2008) and found a detailed description of
component skills for solving quadratic equations. By combining the skill
definitions from the school curriculum with the more detailed descriptions
taken from the research-based document, the teacher could better pinpoint
the student’s academic deficit in specific terms.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Academic Problems: Recommended Steps
Task Analysis. Students may possess deficits in more global ‘academic
enabling’ skills that are essential for academic success. Teachers can
complete an task analysis of the relevant skill by breaking it down into a
checklist of constituent subskills. An instructor can use the resulting
checklist to verify that the student can or cannot perform each of the
subskills that make up the global ‘academic enabling’ skill.
For example, teachers at a middle school noted that many of their students
seemed to have poor ‘organization’ skills. Those instructors conducted a
task analysis and determined that--in their classrooms--the essential
subskills of ‘student organization’ included (a) arriving to class on time; (b)
bringing work materials to class; (c) following teacher directions in a timely
manner; (d) knowing how to request teacher assistance when needed; and
(e) having an uncluttered desk with only essential work materials.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Academic Problems: Recommended Steps
2. Describe the academic problem in specific, skill-based
terms (Batsche et al., 2008; Upah, 2008). Write a clear, brief
description of the academic skill or performance deficit that
focuses on a specific skill or performance area. Here are
sample problem-identification statements:
– John reads aloud from grade-appropriate text much more slowly than his
classmates.
– Ann lacks proficiency with multiplication math problems (double-digit times
double-digit with no regrouping).
– Tye does not turn in homework assignments.
– Angela produces limited text on in-class writing assignments.
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Response to Intervention
Defining Academic Problems: Recommended Steps
3. Develop a fuller description of the academic problem to provide
a meaningful instructional context. When the teacher has
described the student’s academic problem, the next step is to
expand the problem definition to put it into a meaningful context.
This expanded definition includes information about the conditions
under which the academic problem is observed and typical or
expected level of performance.
– Conditions. Describe the environmental conditions or task demands in place
when the academic problem is observed.
– Problem Description. Describe the actual observable academic behavior in
which the student is engaged. Include rate, accuracy, or other quantitative
information of student performance.
– Typical or Expected Level of Performance. Provide a typical or expected
performance criterion for this skill or behavior. Typical or expected academic
performance can be calculated using a variety of sources,
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
Defining Academic Problems: Recommended Steps
4. Develop a hypothesis statement to explain the academic skill or
performance problem. The hypothesis states the assumed
reason(s) or cause(s) for the student’s academic problems. Once it
has been developed, the hypothesis statement acts as a compass
needle, pointing toward interventions that most logically address the
student academic problems.
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
Breaking Down Complex Academic Goals
into Simpler Sub-Tasks: Discrete
Categorization
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Response to Intervention
Identifying and Measuring Complex Academic
Problems
• Students can present with a range of concerns that
interfere with academic success.
• Often, teachers realize that the ‘replacement behavior’
that a student needs to be taught actually is a complex
strategy that must be broken down into several steps or
elements before it can be taught.
• One frequent challenge for these students is the need
to reduce complex global academic goals into discrete
sub-skills that can be individually measured and tracked
over time.
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Response to Intervention
Discrete Categorization: A Strategy for Assessing
Complex, Multi-Step Student Academic Tasks
Definition of Discrete Categorization: ‘Listing a number of
behaviors and checking off whether they were performed.’
(Kazdin, 1989, p. 59).
• Approach allows educators to define a larger ‘behavioral’ goal for
a student and to break that goal down into sub-tasks. (Each subtask should be defined in such a way that it can be scored as
‘successfully accomplished’ or ‘not accomplished’.)
• The constituent behaviors that make up the larger behavioral
goal need not be directly related to each other. For example,
‘completed homework’ may include as sub-tasks ‘wrote down
homework assignment correctly’ and ‘created a work plan before
starting homework’
Source: Kazdin, A. E. (1989). Behavior modification in applied settings (4th ed.). Pacific Gove, CA: Brooks/Cole..
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Response to Intervention
Discrete Categorization Example: Math Study Skills
General Academic Goal: Improve Tina’s Math Study Skills
Tina was non-compliant and uncooperative in her math course. Based
on a RIOT/ICEL analysis, the teaching team hypothesized that Tina
misbehaved as a means to escape academic demands. The teaching
team predicted that if Tina’s math study skills improved, she could
better understand course content, would find math to be less ‘aversive’,
and would more fully cooperate with adult requests.
The teaching team defined ‘math study skills’ as the student:
Checking math notes daily for completeness.
Reviewing math notes daily.
Starting math homework in a structured school setting.
Using a highlighter and ‘margin notes’ to mark questions or areas of
confusion in notes or on the daily assignment.
Spending sufficient ‘seat time’ at home each day completing
homework.
Regularly asking math questions of the teacher.
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Response to Intervention
Discrete Categorization Example: Math Study Skills
General Academic Goal: Improve Tina’s Math Study Skills
The teaching team—with student input—created the following intervention
plan. The student Tina will:
 Approach the teacher at the end of class for a copy of class notes.
 Check her daily math notes for completeness against a set of teacher
notes in 5th period study hall.
 Review her math notes in 5th period study hall.
 Start her math homework in 5th period study hall.
 Use a highlighter and ‘margin notes’ to mark questions or areas of
confusion in her notes or on the daily assignment.
 Enter into her ‘homework log’ the amount of time spent that evening
doing homework and noted any questions or areas of confusion.
 Stop by the math teacher’s classroom during help periods (T & Th only)
to ask highlighted questions (or to verify that Tina understood that
week’s instructional content) and to review the homework log.
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Response to Intervention
Discrete Categorization Example: Math Study Skills
Academic Goal: Improve Tina’s Math Study Skills
General measures of the success of this intervention include (1) rate
of homework completion and (2) quiz & test grades.
To measure treatment fidelity (Tina’s follow-through with sub-tasks of the
checklist), the following strategies are used :
 Approached the teacher for copy of class notes. Teacher observation.
 Checked her daily math notes for completeness; reviewed math notes, started math
homework in 5th period study hall. Student work products; random spot check by study
hall supervisor.
 Used a highlighter and ‘margin notes’ to mark questions or areas of confusion in her notes
or on the daily assignment. Review of notes by teacher during T/Th drop-in period.
 Entered into her ‘homework log’ the amount of time spent that evening doing homework and
noted any questions or areas of confusion. Log reviewed by teacher during T/Th drop-in
period.
 Stopped by the math teacher’s classroom during help periods (T & Th only) to ask
highlighted questions (or to verify that Tina understood that week’s instructional content).
Teacher observation; student sign-in.
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