Response to Intervention
Finding the Right Spark:
Strategies for Motivating the
Resistant Learner at the
Middle & High School Level
Jim Wright
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Response to Intervention
Workshop PPTs and Handouts
Available at:
• http://www.jimwrightonline.com/
CFIHS.php
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Response to Intervention
Workshop Agenda
1. ‘Big Ideas’ in Student Motivation
2. Building Student Motivation
Through…Instructional Environment & Activities
3. Building Student Motivation by…Challenging
Faulty Thinking
4. Building Student Motivation Through…Promoting
Student Involvement in Problem-Solving
5. Building Student Involvement Through…Establishing
a Positive Relationship
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Response to Intervention
‘Big Ideas’ in Motivation
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Response to Intervention
The Myth of the ‘Lazy Student’: Student Motivation
Levels Are Strongly Influenced by the Instructional
Setting (Lentz & Shapiro, 1986)
• Students with learning or motivation problems do
not exist in isolation. Rather, their instructional
environment plays an enormously important role
in these students’ degree of academic
engagement.
Source: Lentz, F. E. & Shapiro, E. S. (1986). Functional assessment of the academic environment. School Psychology Review,
15, 346-57.
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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., & Noell, 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
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., & Noell, 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
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
Defining Motivation…
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Response to Intervention
Definitions of ‘Motivation’
Source: Motivation. (2007). Wikipedia.
“…motivation refers to the
Retrieved March 13, 2007, from
initiation, direction, intensity and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation
persistence of behavior.”
“Motivation is an internal state that
activates, guides and sustains
behavior.”
“Motivation is typically defined as
the forces that account for the
arousal, selection, direction, and
continuation of behavior.”
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Source: Educational psychology. (2007).
Wikipedia. Retrieved March 13, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_psycho
logy#Motivation
Source: Excerpted from Chapter 11 of
Biehler/Snowman, PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED
TO TEACHING, 8/e, Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
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Response to Intervention
Motivation in Action: ‘Flow’
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Response to Intervention
Definition of the ‘Flow’ State
“Being completely involved in an activity for
its own sake. The ego falls away. Time
flies. Every action, movement, and thought
follows inevitably from the previous one,
like playing jazz. Your whole being is
involved, and you're using your skills to the
utmost.”
--Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Source: Geirland, J. (Septermber, 1996). Go with the flow. Wired Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2007, from
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.09/czik_pr.html
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Response to Intervention
Qualities of Activities that May Elicit a ‘Flow’ State
•
•
•
•
The activity is challenging and requires skill to complete
Goals are clear
Feedback is immediate
There is a ‘merging of action and awareness’. ‘All the attention
is concentrated on the relevant stimuli’ so that individuals are
no longer aware of themselves as ‘separate from the actions
they are performing’
• The sense of time’s passing is altered: Time may seem
slowed or pass very quickly
• ‘Flow’ is not static. As one acquires mastery over an activity,
he or she must move to more challenging experiences to
continue to achieve ‘flow’
Source: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row
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Response to Intervention
Flow Channel
• Student A:
C: Low
High
Challenge
D:
HighChallenge
Challenge
B:
HighSkills,
Skills,Low
Low
(High)
C Anxiety
Challenges
D
BoredomB
A
(Low)
(Low)
Skills
Source: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row
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(High)
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Response to Intervention
Motivation in the Classroom
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Response to Intervention
Unmotivated Students: What Works
Motivation can be thought of as having two dimensions:
1. the student’s expectation
of success on the task
2.
………………100
Multiplied by
X
the value that the student places ...…………
100
on achieving success on that
learning task
0
100
The relationship between the two factors is multiplicative. If EITHER of
these factors (the student’s expectation of success on the task OR the
student’s valuing of that success) is zero, then the ‘motivation’ product will
also be zero.
Source: Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., & Nolet, V. (2002). Prevention and management of behavior
problems in secondary schools. In M. A. Shinn, H. M. Walker & G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for
academic and behavior problems II: Preventive and remedial approaches (pp.373-401). Bethesda,
MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
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Response to Intervention
Our Working Definition of ‘Academic Motivation’
For This Workshop
The student puts reasonable effort into
completing academic work in a timely
manner.
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Response to Intervention
Building Student Motivation
Through…Instructional
Environment & Activities
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Response to Intervention
Five ‘Levers of Influence’ to Promote Student Motivation
1. School & Classroom Environment
2. Social Interactions
3. Instructional Activities
4. Individual Learning Challenges
5. Pay-Offs for Learning
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Response to Intervention
1. School & Classroom Environment
The setting in which we work can encourage us
to give our best effort or discourage us from
even trying to perform.
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Response to Intervention
“We shape our buildings and
afterwards our buildings shape us.”
--Winston Churchill
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Response to Intervention
School & Classroom Environment: Selected Ideas…
Employ Proximity Control (Ford, Olmi, Edwards, & Tingstrom,
2001; Gettinger & Seibert, 2002; U.S. Department of Education,
2004). Students typically increase their attention to task and show
improved compliance when the teacher is in close physical
proximity. During whole-group activities, circulate around the
room to keep students focused. To hold an individual student's
attention, stand or sit near the student before giving directions or
engaging in discussion.
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Response to Intervention
School & Classroom Environment: Selected Ideas…
Give Clear Directions (Gettinger & Seibert, 2002; Gettinger,
1988). Students will better understand directions when those
directions are delivered in a clear manner, expressed in language
the student understands, given at a pace that does not
overwhelm the student, and posted for later review. When giving
multi-step directions orally, write those directions on the board or
give to students as a handout to consult as needed. State multistep directions one direction at a time and confirm that the
student is able to comply with each step before giving the next
direction.
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Response to Intervention
School & Classroom Environment: Selected Ideas…
Give Opportunities for Choice (Martens & Kelly, 1993; Powell &
Nelson, 1997). Allowing students to exercise some degree of
choice in their instructional activities can boost attention span and
increase academic engagement. Make a list of 'choice' options
that you are comfortable offering students during typical learning
activities. During independent seatwork, for example, you might
routinely let students choose where they sit, allow them to work
alone or in small groups, or give them 2 or 3 different choices of
assignment selected to be roughly equivalent in difficulty and
learning objectives.
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Response to Intervention
2. Social Interactions
We define ourselves in relation to others by our
social relationships. These connections are a
central motivator for most people.
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Response to Intervention
Social Interactions: Selected Ideas…
Emphasize the Positive in Teacher Requests (Braithwaite,
2001). When an instructor's request has a positive 'spin', that
teacher is less likely to trigger a power struggle and more likely to
gain student compliance. Whenever possible, avoid using
negative phrasing (e.g., "If you don't return to your seat, I can’t
help you with your assignment"). Instead, restate requests in
positive terms (e.g., "I will be over to help you on the assignment
just as soon as you return to your seat").
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Response to Intervention
Social Interactions: Selected Ideas…
Seat the Student Next to Distraction-Resistant or Supportive
Peers (DuPaul & Stoner, 2002; Kerr & Nelson, 1998). One useful
strategy for managing low-level motor behaviors is to seat the
student next to peers who can generally ignore those behaviors.
Or handpick a classmate who has a good relationship with the
student but is not easily drawn off-task and appoint that student
as a 'helper peer'. Tell the peer that whenever he or she notices
that the student's verbal or motor behavior has risen to the level
of distracting others, the peer should give the student a brief,
quiet, non-judgmental signal (e.g., a light tap on the shoulder) to
control the behavior.
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Response to Intervention
3. Instructional Activities
Motivated students are engaged in interesting
activities that guarantee a high success rate and
relate to real-world issues.
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Response to Intervention
Instructional Activities: Selected Ideas…
Make the Activity Stimulating (U.S. Department of Education,
2004). Students require less conscious effort to remain on-task
when they are engaged in high-interest activities. Make
instruction more interesting by choosing a specific lesson topic
that you know will appeal to students (e.g., sports, fashion). Or
help students to see a valuable 'real-word' pay-off for learning the
material being taught. Another tactic is to make your method of
instruction more stimulating. Students who don't learn well in
traditional lecture format may show higher rates of engagement
when interacting with peers (cooperative learning) or when
allowed the autonomy and self-pacing of computer-delivered
instruction.
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Response to Intervention
Instructional Activities: Selected Ideas…
Class Participation: Keep Students Guessing (Heward, 1994).
Students attend better during large-group presentations if they
cannot predict when they will be required to actively participate.
Randomly call on students, occasionally selecting the same
student twice in a row or within a short time span. Or pose a
question to the class, give students 'wait time' to formulate an
answer, and then randomly call on a student.
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Response to Intervention
Instructional Activities: Selected Ideas…
Instruct at a Brisk Pace (Carnine, 1976; Gettinger & Seibert,
2002). When students are appropriately matched to instruction,
they are likely to show improved on-task behavior when they are
taught at a brisk pace rather than a slow one. To achieve a brisk
pace of instruction, make sure that you are fully prepared prior to
the lesson and that you minimize the time spent on housekeeping
items such as collecting homework or on transitions from one
learning activity to another.
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Response to Intervention
4. Individual Learning Challenges
Motivated students are engaged in interesting
activities that guarantee a high success rate and
relate to real-world issues.
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Response to Intervention
Individual Learning Challenges: Selected Ideas…
Have the Student Monitor Motor Behaviors and Call-Outs
(DuPaul & Stoner, 2002). Have the student monitor his or her
motor behaviors or call-outs. First, choose a class period or part
of the day when you want the student to monitor distracting
behaviors. Next, meet privately with the student to discuss which
of that student's behaviors are distracting. Then, together with the
student, design a simple distractible behavior-rating form with no
more than 3 items (For a student who calls out frequently, for
example, a useful rating item might be "How well did I observe
the rule today of raising my hand and being called on before
giving an answer? Poor – Fair – Good".) Have the student rate
his or her behaviors at the end of each class period.
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Response to Intervention
Individual Learning Challenges: Selected Ideas…
Allow Discretionary Motor Breaks (U.S. Department of
Education, 2004). When given brief 'movement' breaks, highly
active students often show improvements in their behaviors.
Permit the student to leave his or her seat and quietly walk
around the classroom whenever the student feels particularly
fidgety. Or, if you judge that motor breaks within the classroom
would be too distracting, consider giving the student a
discretionary pass that allows him or her to leave the classroom
briefly to get a drink of water or walk up and down the hall.
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Response to Intervention
Individual Learning Challenges: Selected Ideas…
Adopt a 'Silent Signal' (U.S. Department of Education, 2004).
You can redirect overactive students in a low-key manner by
using a silent signal. Meet privately with the student and identify
for the student those motor or verbal behaviors that appear to be
most distracting. With the student's help, select a silent signal that
you can use to alert the student that his or her behavior has
crossed the threshold and now is distracting others. Role-play
several scenarios with the student in which you use the silent
signal and the student then controls the problem behavior.
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Response to Intervention
Individual Learning Challenges: Selected Ideas…
Provide a Quiet Work Area (U.S. Department of Education,
2004). Distractible students benefit from a quiet place in the
classroom where they can go when they have more difficult
assignments to complete. A desk or study carrel in the corner of
the room can serve as an appropriate workspace. When
introducing these workspaces to students, stress that the quiet
locations are intended to help students to concentrate. Never use
areas designated for quiet work as punitive 'time-out' spaces, as
students will then tend to avoid them.
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Response to Intervention
Individual Learning Challenges: Selected Ideas…
Break Larger Assignments into Smaller Chunks (Skinner,
Pappas & Davis, 2005). Students are likely to show higher levels
of motivation and academic engagement when they are given a
series of shorter assignments in place on a single longer
assignment. Keep assignments short and give students frequent
performance feedback to ensure their understanding of the
content.
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Response to Intervention
Individual Learning Challenges: Selected Ideas…
Use Preferential Seating (U.S. Department of Education, 2004).
Preferential seating simply means that you seat the student in a
location where he or she is most likely to stay focused on what
you are teaching. Remember that all teachers have an 'action
zone', a part of the room where they tend to focus most of their
instruction; seat the student somewhere within that zone. The
ideal seating location for any particular student will vary,
depending on the unique qualities of the target student and of
your classroom. Consider whether the student might be selfconscious about sitting right next to the teacher. Select a seat
location that avoids other distractions—e.g., avoid seating the
student by a window or next to a talkative classmate.
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Response to Intervention
Individual Learning Challenges: Selected Ideas…
Capture Students' Attention Before Giving Directions (Ford,
Olmi, Edwards, & Tingstrom, 2001; Martens & Kelly, 1993). Gain
the student's attention before giving direction. When giving
directions to an individual student, call the student by name and
establish eye contact before providing the directions. When giving
directions to the whole class, use group alerting cues such as
'Eyes and ears on me!' to gain the class's attention. Wait until all
students are looking at you and ready to listen before giving
directions. When you have finished giving directions to the entire
class, privately approach any students who appear to need
assistance. Quietly restate the directions to them and have them
repeat the directions back to you as a check for understanding.
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Response to Intervention
Individual Learning Challenges: Selected Ideas…
Schedule Challenging Tasks for Peak Attention Times (Brock,
1998). Many students with limited attention can focus better in the
morning, when they are fresh. Schedule those subjects or tasks
that the student finds most difficult early in the day. Save easier
subjects or tasks for later in the day, when the student's attention
may start to wane.
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Response to Intervention
5. Pay-Offs for Learning
Motivated students are engaged in
interesting activities that guarantee a
high success rate and relate to realworld issues.
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Response to Intervention
Pay-Offs for Learning: Selected Ideas…
Pay Attention to the On-Task Student (DuPaul & Ervin, 1996;
Martens & Meller, 1990). Teachers who selectively give students
praise and attention only when those students are on-task are
likely to find that these students show improved attention in class
as a result. When you have a student who is often off-task, make
an effort to identify those infrequent times when the student is
appropriately focused on the lesson and immediately give the
student positive attention. Examples of teacher attention that
students will probably find positive include verbal praise and
encouragement, approaching the student to check on how he or
she is doing on the assignment, and friendly eye contact.
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Response to Intervention
Five ‘Levers of Influence’ to Promote Student Motivation
1. School & Classroom Environment
2. Social Interactions
3. Instructional Activities
4. Individual Learning Challenges
5. Pay-Offs for Learning
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Response to Intervention
Building Student Motivation
By…Challenging ‘Faulty
Thinking’
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Response to Intervention
How Attributions About Learning Contribute to
Academic Outcomes
People regularly make ‘attributions’ about
events and situations in which they are
involved that ‘explain’ and make sense of
those happenings.
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Response to Intervention
How Attributions About Learning Contribute to Academic Outcomes
Attribution Theory: Dimensions Affecting Student
Interpretation of Academic Successes & Failures
(Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002)
The situation or event is…


Unstable (changes often)
Internal (within the student)
Uncontrollable (beyond the
ability of the student to
influence)

Stable (can be counted on to
remain relatively unchanged)

External (occurring in the
surrounding environment)

Controllable (within the
student’s ability to influence)

Source: Linnenbrink, E.A., & Pintrich, P.R. (2002). Motivation as an enabler for academic success. School
Psychology Review, 31, 313-327..
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Response to Intervention
How Attributions About Learning Contribute to
Academic Outcomes
So
I did
lousy
on this
oneborn
test.done
That’s
Next
This
teacher
always
springs
pop
quizzes
on us—
I can’t
get
any
studying
atOK.
home
because my
Some
people
are
writers.
time,
I will listens
study
harder
my
grades
bounce
and
picks
questions
are
impossible
to study
for! back.
brother
to that
theand
radio
all theshould
time.
I was born to watch TV.
The situation or event is…


Unstable (changes often)
Internal (within the student)
Uncontrollable (beyond the
ability of the student to
influence)

Stable (can be counted on to
remain relatively unchanged)

External (occurring in the
surrounding environment)

Controllable (within the
student’s ability to influence)

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Response to Intervention
Building Student Motivation
Through… Promoting Student
Involvement in Problem-Solving
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Response to Intervention
RTI: Promoting Student Involvement
• Schools should strongly consider having middle
and high school students participate in the RTI
problem-solving process—for two reasons. First,
as students mature, their teachers expect that
they will take responsibility in advocating for their
own learning needs. Second, students are more
likely to fully commit to RTI intervention plans if
they have a voice in the creation of those plans.
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
Building Student Motivation
Through… Establishing a
Positive Relationship
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Response to Intervention
Tier 1 Case Example: Justin:
Non-Compliance
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Response to Intervention
Case Example: Non-Compliance
The Problem
• Justin showed a pattern from the start of the school year of not
complying with teacher requests in his English class. His
teacher, Mr. Steubin, noted that – when given a teacher
directive—Justin would sometimes fail to comply. Justin would
show no obvious signs of opposition but would sit passively or
remain engaged in his current activity, as if ignoring the
instructor.
When no task demands were made on him, Justin was typically
a quiet and somewhat distant student but otherwise appeared
to fit into the class and show appropriate behavior.
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Response to Intervention
Case Example: Non-Compliance
The Evidence
• Student Interview. Mr. Steubin felt that he did not have a strong
relationship with the student, so he asked the counselor to talk with Justin
about why he might be non-compliant in English class. Justin told the
counselor that he was bored in the class and just didn’t like to write.
When pressed by the counselor, Justin admitted that he could do the
work in the class but chose not to.
• Direct Observation. Mr. Steubin noted that Justin was less likely to
comply with writing assignments than other in-class tasks. The likelihood
that Justin would be non-compliant tended to go up if Mr. Steubin pushed
him to comply in the presence of Justin’s peers. The odds that Justin
would comply also appeared to increase when Mr. Steubin stated his
request and walked away, rather than continuing to ‘nag’ Justin to
comply.
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Response to Intervention
Case Example: Non-Compliance
The Evidence (Cont.)
• Work Products. Mr. Steubin knew from the assignments that he did
receive from Justin that the student had adequate writing skills. However,
Justin’s compositions tended to be short, and ideas were not always as
fully developed as they could be—as Justin was doing the minimum to
get by.
• Input from Other Teachers. Mr. Steubin checked with other teachers who
had Justin in their classes. The Spanish teacher had similar problems in
getting Justin to comply but the science teacher generally found Justin to
be a compliant and pleasant student. She noted that Justin seemed to
really like hands-on activities and that, when potentially non-compliant, he
responded well to gentle humor.
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Response to Intervention
Case Example: Non-Compliance
The Intervention
• Mr. Steubin realized that he tended to focus most of his attention on
Justin’s non-compliance. So the student’s non compliance might be
supported by teacher attention. OR the student’s compliant behaviors
might be extinguished because Mr. Steubin did not pay attention to them.
• The teacher decided instead that Justin needed to have appropriate
consequences for non-compliance, balanced with incentives to engage in
learning tasks. Additionally, Mr. Steubin elected to give the student
attention at times that were NOT linked to non-compliance.
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Response to Intervention
Case Example: Non-Compliance
The Intervention (Cont.)
• Appropriate Consequences for Non-Compliance. Mr. Steubin adopted a
new strategy to deal with Justin’s episodes of non-compliance. Mr.
Steubin got agreement from Justin’s parents that the student could get
access to privileges at home each day only if he had a good report from
the teacher about complying with classroom requests.
Whenever the student failed to comply within a reasonable time (1
minute) to a teacher request, Mr. Steubin would approach Justin’s desk
and quietly restate the request as a two-part ‘choice’ statement. He kept
his verbal interactions brief and neutral in tone. As part of the ‘choice’
statement, the teacher told Justin that if he did not comply, his parents
would be emailed a negative report. If Justin still did not comply, Mr.
Steubin would follow through later that day in sending the report of noncompliance to the parents.
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Response to Intervention
Teacher Command Sequence: Two-Part Choice
Statement
1. Make the request. Use simple, clear language that
the student understands.
If possible, phrase the request as a positive (do)
statement, rather than a negative (don’t) statement.
(E.g., “Justin, please start your writing assignment
now.”) Wait a reasonable time for the student to
comply (e.g., 1 minute)
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Response to Intervention
Teacher Command Sequence: Two-Part Choice
Statement
2. [If the student fails to comply] Repeat the request as
a 2-part choice. Give the student two clear choices
with clear consequences. Order the choices so that
the student hears negative consequence as the first
choice and the teacher request as the second choice.
(E.g., “Justin, I can email your parents to say that you
won’t do the class assignment or you can start the
assignment now and not have a negative report go
home. It’s your choice.”) Give the student a
reasonable time to comply (e.g., 1 minute).
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Response to Intervention
Teacher Command Sequence: Two-Part Choice
Statement
3. [If the student fails to comply] Impose the preselected negative consequence. As you impose
the consequence, ignore student questions or
complaints that appear intended to entangle you in a
power struggle.
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Response to Intervention
Case Example: Non-Compliance
The Intervention (Cont.)
• Active Student Engagement. Mr. Steubin reasoned that he could probably
better motivate the entire class by making sure that lessons were
engaging.
He made an extra effort to build lessons around topics of high interest to
students, built in cooperative learning opportunities to engage students,
and moved the lesson along at a brisk pace. The teacher also made ‘realworld’ connections whenever he could between what was being taught in
a lesson and ways that students could apply that knowledge or skill
outside of school or in future situations.
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Response to Intervention
Case Example: Non-Compliance
The Intervention (Cont.)
• Teacher Attention (Non-Contingent). Mr. Steubin adopted the two-by-ten
intervention (A. Mendler, 2000) as a way to jumpstart a connection with
Justin. The total time required for this strategy was 20 minutes across ten
school days.
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Response to Intervention
Sample Ideas to Improve Relationships With
Students: The Two-By-Ten Intervention (Mendler, 2000)
• Make a commitment to spend 2 minutes per day
for 10 consecutive days in building a relationship
with the student…by talking about topics of
interest to the student.
Avoid discussing problems with the student’s
behaviors or schoolwork during these times.
Source: Mendler, A. N. (2000). Motivating students who don’t care. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.
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Response to Intervention
Sample Ideas to Improve Relationships With
Students: The Three-to-One Intervention
(Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002)
• Give positive attention or praise to problem
students at least three times more frequently
than you reprimand them.
Give the student the attention or praise during
moments when that student is acting
appropriately. Keep track of how frequently you
give positive attention and reprimands to the
student.
Source: Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., & Nolet, V. (2002). Prevention and management of behavior problems in secondary
schools. In M. A. Shinn, H. M. Walker & G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for academic and behavior problems II: Preventive and
remedial approaches (pp.373-401). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
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Response to Intervention
Case Example: Non-Compliance
The Outcome
• The strategies adopted by Mr. Steubin did not improve Justin’s level of
compliance right away. Once the teacher had gone through the full ten
days of the ‘two by ten’ intervention, however, Mr. Steubin noticed that
Justin made more eye contact with him and even joked occasionally. And
the student’s rate of compliance then noticeably improved—but still had a
way to go.
• Mr. Steubin kept in regular contact with Justin’s parents, who admitted
about 8 days into the intervention that they were not as rigorous as they
should be in preventing him from accessing privileges at home when he
was non-compliant at school. When the teacher urged them to hold the
line at home, they said that they would –and did. Justin’s behavior
improved as a result, to the point where his level of compliance was
typical for the range of students in Mr. Steubin’s class.
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