Response to Intervention
Making RTI Work at the
Middle and High School
Levels
Jim Wright
www.interventioncentral.org
www.interventioncentral.org
Response to Intervention
Download PowerPoints and Handouts from this
workshop at:
http://www.interventioncentral.org/
NASP_Atlantic_City_2008.php
www.interventioncentral.org
2
Response to Intervention
Workshop Agenda…
RTI & Secondary Schools: An Introduction
The ‘Intervention Footprint’: Issues in Planning & Documentation
Tier I: Promoting (Classroom) Interventions at the Secondary Level
Tier II: Establishing an Effective RTI Problem-Solving Team
RTI Assessment & Progress-Monitoring in Secondary Settings
Empowering Students to Participate in Their Own RTI Plans
RTI & Secondary Schools: Preparing for Systems-Level Change
Next Steps: Creating an RTI Action Plan for Your School
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Response to Intervention
Discussion: Read the quote below:
“The quality of a school as a learning
community can be measured by how
effectively it addresses the needs of
struggling students.”
--Wright (2005)
Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Why?
Source: Wright, J. (2005, Summer). Five interventions that work. NAESP Leadership Compass, 2(4) pp.1,6.
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Response to Intervention
Secondary Students: Unique Challenges…
Struggling learners in middle and high school may:
• Have significant deficits in basic academic skills
• Lack higher-level problem-solving strategies and
concepts
• Present with issues of school motivation
• Show social/emotional concerns that interfere with
academics
• Have difficulty with attendance
• Are often in a process of disengaging from learning
even as adults in school expect that those students will
move toward being ‘self-managing’ learners…
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Response to Intervention
Why Do Students Drop Out of School?: Student Survey
•
•
•
•
•
•
Classes were not perceived as interesting (47 percent)
Not motivated by teachers to ‘work hard’ (69 percent)
Failing in school was a major factor in dropping out (35 percent)
Had to get a job (32 percent)
Became a parent (26 percent)
Needed to care for a family member (22 percent)
Source: Bridgeland, J. M., DiIulio, J. J., & Morison, K. B. (2006). The silent epidemic: Perspectives of high school dropouts.
Seattle, WA: Gates Foundation. Retrieved on May 4, 2008, from
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/downloads/ed/TheSilentEpidemic3-06FINAL.pdf
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Response to Intervention
What Are Some Attributes of High Schools That Address
the Needs of Struggling Learners?
• Small schools (i.e., 400 students or fewer)
• Well-articulated school mission that guides ‘development of a
coherent curriculum’; unified approach to effective instruction
across classrooms; and cohesive school culture
• Strong relationships between staff and students
• Close monitoring of student performance required for graduation
and college eligibility
• ‘Challenging and coherent instruction’: ‘High school standards,
curricula, and textbooks are amile wide and an inch deep.’
• Relevant, functional ‘real-world’ application of instructional
content and learning activities
Source: Gates Foundation (n.d.). High schools for the new millenium: Imagine the possibilities. Retrieved on July 2, 2008, from
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/downloads/ed/edwhitepaper.pdf
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Response to Intervention
Overlap Between ‘Policy Pathways’ & RTI Goals:
Recommendations for Schools to Reduce Dropout Rates
• A range of high school learning options matched to the needs of
individual learners: ‘different schools for different students’
• Strategies to engage parents
• Individualized graduation plans
• ‘Early warning systems’ to identify students at risk of school
failure
• A range of supplemental services/’intensive assistance strategies’
for struggling students
• Adult advocates to work individually with at-risk students to
overcome obstacles to school completion
Source: Bridgeland, J. M., DiIulio, J. J., & Morison, K. B. (2006). The silent epidemic: Perspectives of high school dropouts.
Seattle, WA: Gates Foundation. Retrieved on May 4, 2008, from
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/downloads/ed/TheSilentEpidemic3-06FINAL.pdf
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Response to Intervention
Five Core Components of RTI Service Delivery
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Student services are arranged in a multi-tier model
Data are collected to assess student baseline levels
and to make decisions about student progress
Interventions are ‘evidence-based’
The ‘procedural integrity’ of interventions is measured
RTI is implemented and developed at the school- and
district-level to be scalable and sustainable over time
Source: Glover, T. A., & DiPerna, J. C. (2007). Service delivery for response to intervention: Core components and directions
for future research. School Psychology Review, 36, 526-540.
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Response to Intervention
RTI ‘Pyramid of
Interventions’
Tier III
Tier II
Tier I
Tier III: Intensive interventions.
Students who are ‘nonresponders’ to Tiers I & II may be
eligible for special education
services, intensive interventions.
Tier II: Individualized
interventions. Subset of
students receive interventions
targeting specific needs. An RTI
Team may assist with the plan.
Tier I: Universal interventions.
Available to all students in a
classroom or school. Can consist
of whole-group or individual
strategies or supports.
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Response to Intervention
Tier I Interventions
Tier I interventions are universal—available to all students.
Teachers often deliver these interventions in the classroom (e.g.,
providing additional drill and practice in reading fluency for students
with limited decoding skills).
Tier I interventions are those strategies that instructors are likely to put
into place at the first sign that a student is struggling.
Tier I interventions attempt to answer the question: Are routine
classroom strategies for instructional delivery and classroom
management sufficient to help the student to achieve academic
success?
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11
Response to Intervention
Tier II Interventions
Tier II interventions are individualized, tailored to the unique needs of
struggling learners.
They are reserved for students with significant skill gaps who have
failed to respond successfully to Tier I strategies.
Tier II interventions attempt to answer the question: Can an
individualized intervention plan carried out in a general-education
setting bring the student up to the academic level of his or her peers?
www.interventioncentral.org
12
Response to Intervention
Tier II Interventions
There are two different vehicles that schools can use to deliver Tier II interventions:
Standard-Protocol (Standalone Intervention). Group intervention programs based on
scientifically valid instructional practices (‘standard protocol’) are created to address
frequent student referral concerns. These services are provided outside of the classroom. A
middle school, for example, may set up a structured math-tutoring program staffed by adult
volunteer tutors to provide assistance to students with limited math skills. Students referred
for a Tier II math intervention would be placed in this tutoring program. An advantage of the
standard-protocol approach is that it is efficient and consistent: large numbers of students
can be put into these group interventions to receive a highly standardized intervention.
However, standard group intervention protocols often cannot be individualized easily to
accommodate a specific student’s unique needs.
Problem-solving (Classroom-Based Intervention). Individualized research-based
interventions match the profile of a particular student’s strengths and limitations. The
classroom teacher often has a large role in carrying out these interventions. A plus of the
problem-solving approach is that the intervention can be customized to the student’s needs.
However, developing intervention plans for individual students can be time-consuming.
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13
Response to Intervention
Tier III Interventions
Tier III interventions are the most intensive academic supports
available in a school and are generally reserved for students with
chronic and severe academic delays or behavioral problems.
In many schools, Tier III interventions are available only through
special education.
Tier III supports try to answer the question, What ongoing supports
does this student require and in what settings to achieve the greatest
success possible?
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14
Response to Intervention
Levels of Intervention: Tier I, II, & III
Tier I: Universal
100%
Tier II: Individualized
10-20%
www.interventioncentral.org
Tier III: Intensive
5-10%
Response to Intervention
RTI &
Secondary
Schools: A Walk
on the ‘Wild’
Side
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16
Response to Intervention
RTI at the Secondary Level: ‘In a Perfect World’…
Teachers are able and willing to individualize instruction
in their classrooms to help struggling learners.
The school has adequate programs and other supports
for students with basic-skill deficits.
The school can provide individualized problem-solving
consultation for any struggling student.
The progress of any student with an intervention plan is
monitored frequently to determine if the plan is effective.
Students are motivated to take part in intervention
plans.
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Response to Intervention
RTI is a Model in Development
“Several proposals for operationalizing response
to intervention have been made…The field can
expect more efforts like these and, for a time at
least, different models to be tested…Therefore, it
is premature to advocate any single model.”
(Barnett, Daly, Jones, & Lentz, 2004 )
Source: Barnett, D. W., Daly, E. J., Jones, K. M., & Lentz, F.E. (2004). Response to intervention: Empirically based special
service decisions from single-case designs of increasing and decreasing intensity. Journal of Special Education, 38, 66-79.
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Response to Intervention
Two Ways to Solve Problems: Algorithm vs. Heuristic
• Algorithm. An explicit step-by-step procedure for
producing a solution to a given problem.
Example: Multiplying 6 x 2
• Heuristic. A rule of thumb or approach which
may help in solving a problem, but is not
guaranteed to find a solution. Heuristics are
exploratory in nature.
Example: Using a map to find an appropriate
route to a location.
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Response to Intervention
MODERN DARYOLS RECIPE (ALGORITHM):
As Knowledge Base Grows,
Heuristic Approaches
(Exploratory, Open-Ended
Guidelines to Solving a Problem)
Can Sometimes Turn into
Algorithms (Fixed Rules for
Solving a Problem )
Example: Recipes Through History
DARYOLS: ORIGINAL14th
CENTURY ENGLISH RECIPE
(HEURISTIC):
Take cream of cow milk, or of
almonds; do there-to eggs with
sugar, saffron and salt. Mix it fair.
Do it in a pie shell of 2 inch deep;
bake it well and serve it forth.
INGREDIENTS
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts
1 1/4 cups cold water
1 pinch saffron powder
5 eggs
1 teaspoon rose water
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1 cup half-and-half cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup white sugar
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Press pie crusts into
the bottom and up the sides of two 9 inch pie pans. Prick with a fork all over
to keep them from bubbling up. Bake pie crusts for about 10 minutes in the
preheated oven, until set but not browned. Set aside to cool.
Make an almond milk by placing almonds in the container of a food
processor. Process until finely ground, then add water, and pulse just to
blend. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, then strain through a cheesecloth.
Measure out 1 cup of the almond milk, and mix with half and half. Stir in the
saffron and cinnamon, and set aside.
Place the eggs and sugar in a saucepan, and mix until well blended. Place
the pan over low heat, and gradually stir in the almond milk mixture and
cinnamon. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to
thicken. When the mixture is thick enough to evenly coat the back of a
metal spoon, stir in rose water and remove from heat. Pour into the cooled
pie shells….
Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the center is set, but the
top is not browned. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until serving.
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Response to Intervention
RTI is a Work in Progress: Some Areas Can Be Managed Like
an Algorithm While Others Require a Heuristic Approch
• Reading Fluency. Can be approached as a fixed algorithm.
– DIBELS allows universal screening and progress-monitoring
– DIBELS benchmarks give indication of student risk status
– Classroom-friendly research-based fluency building interventions
have been validated
• Study Skills. A complex set of skills whose problem-solving
approach resembles a heuristic.
– Student’s basic set of study skills must be analyzed
– The intervention selected will be highly dependent on the
hypothesized reason(s) for the student’s study difficulties
– The quality of the research on study-skills interventions varies and is
still in development
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21
Response to Intervention
“RTI implementation has clearly focused on
elementary grades, with few attempting it on the
secondary level…However, school districts will need
to decide when and how—rather than if—RTI will
begin in their middle schools and high schools. We
suggest focusing on elementary schools in the initial
phase of implementation, but eventually including
secondary schools in practice and throughout the
planning process.”
-- Burns & Gibbons (2008) p. 10
Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools:
Procedures to assure scientific-based practices. New York: Routledge.
www.interventioncentral.org
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Response to Intervention
RTI: Research Questions
Q: How Relevant is RTI to Secondary
Schools?
The purposes of RTI have been widely defined as:
• Early intervention in general education
• Special education disability determination
How relevant is RTI at the middle or high school level?
Source: Fuchs, D., & Deshler, D. D. (2007). What we need to know about responsiveness to intervention (and shouldn’t be
afraid to ask).. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 22(2),129–136.
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Response to Intervention
The Purpose of RTI in Secondary Schools: What
Students Does It Serve?
While the dual use of the RTI model (1) for early
identification/remediation of at-risk students and (2) for the
classification of children needing special education is
adequate for the elementary level, in middle and high
school there are also significant numbers of students who
have a long history of poor school performance yet will
probably not quality for special education services.
In secondary schools, RTI must expand its mission to help
chronically struggling, unmotivated students in a systematic
way. In particular, how does RTI manage the needs of the
chronically underachieving secondary student who does not
(and likely will not) qualify for special education but requires
ongoing academic support?
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Response to Intervention
The Purpose of RTI in Secondary Schools: What
Students Should It Serve?
Early Identification.
As students begin to
show need for
academic support, the
RTI model proactively
supports them with
early interventions to
close the skill or
performance gap with
peers.
Chronically At-Risk.
Students whose
school performance is
marginal across
school years but who
do not qualify for
special education
services are identified
by the RTI Team and
provided with ongoing
intervention support.
www.interventioncentral.org
Special Education.
Students who fail to
respond to
scientifically valid
general-education
interventions
implemented with
integrity are classified
as ‘non-responders’
and found eligible for
special education.
25
Response to Intervention
Measuring the ‘Intervention
Footprint’: Issues of
Planning, Documentation, &
Follow-Through
Jim Wright
www.interventioncentral.org
www.interventioncentral.org
Response to Intervention
Elements of an Effective Intervention Plan
(Grimes & Kurns, 2003)
“Intervention design and implementation. Interventions
are designed based on [a thorough] analysis, the
defined problem, parent input, and professional
judgments about the potential effectiveness of
interventions. The interventions are described in an
intervention plan that includes goals and strategies; a
progress monitoring plan; a decision-making plan for
summarizing and analyzing progress monitoring data;
and responsible parties. Interventions are implemented
as developed and modified on the basis of objective
data and with the agreement of the responsible parties.”
Source: Grimes, J. & Kurns, S. (2003). An intervention-based system for addressing NCLB and IDEA expectations: A multiple
tiered model to ensure every child learns. Retrieved on September 23, 2007, from
http://www.nrcld.org/symposium2003/grimes/grimes2.html
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Response to Intervention
Essential Elements of Any Academic or Behavioral
Intervention (‘Treatment’) Strategy:
•
Method of delivery (‘Who or what delivers the treatment?’)
Examples include teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, volunteers,
computers.
•
Treatment component (‘What makes the intervention effective?’)
Examples include activation of prior knowledge to help the student to
make meaningful connections between ‘known’ and new material;
guide practice (e.g., Paired Reading) to increase reading fluency;
periodic review of material to aid student retention. As an example of a
research-based commercial program, Read Naturally ‘combines
teacher modeling, repeated reading and progress monitoring to
remediate fluency problems’.
Source: Yeaton, W. H. & Sechrest, L. (1981). Critical dimensions in the choice and maintenance of successful treatments:
Strength, integrity, and effectiveness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 156-167.
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Response to Intervention
Interventions, Accommodations & Modifications:
Sorting Them Out
• Interventions. An academic intervention is a strategy
used to teach a new skill, build fluency in a skill, or
encourage a child to apply an existing skill to new
situations or settings.
An intervention is said to be research-based when it has
been demonstrated to be effective in one or more
articles published in peer–reviewed scientific journals.
Interventions might be based on commercial programs
such as Read Naturally. The school may also develop
and implement an intervention that is based on
guidelines provided in research articles—such as
Paired Reading (Topping, 1987).
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Response to Intervention
Interventions, Accommodations & Modifications:
Sorting Them Out
• Accommodations. An accommodation is intended to help
the student to fully access the general-education curriculum
without changing the instructional content. An
accommodation for students who are slow readers, for
example, may include having them supplement their silent
reading of a novel by listening to the book on tape.
An accommodation is intended to remove barriers to
learning while still expecting that students will master the
same instructional content as their typical peers. Informal
accommodations may be used at the classroom level or be
incorporated into a more intensive, individualized
intervention plan.
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Response to Intervention
Interventions, Accommodations & Modifications:
Sorting Them Out
• Modifications. A modification changes the expectations of
what a student is expected to know or do—typically by
lowering the academic expectations against which the
student is to be evaluated.
Examples of modifications are reducing the number of
multiple-choice items in a test from five to four or shortening
a spelling list. Under RTI, modifications are generally not
included in a student’s intervention plan, because the
working assumption is that the student can be successful in
the curriculum with appropriate interventions and
accommodations alone.
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Response to Intervention
Evaluating the Quality of Intervention Research:
The ‘Research Continuum’
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Response to Intervention
Intervention ‘Research Continuum’
Evidence-Based Practices
“Includes practices for which original data have been
collected to determine the effectiveness of the
practice for students with disabilities. The research
utilizes scientifically based rigorous research designs
(i.e., randomized controlled trials, regression
discontinuity designs, quasi-experiments, single
subject, and qualitative research).”
Source: The Access Center Research Continuum (n.d.). Retrieved on June 1, 2008 from
http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/documents/ACResearchApproachFormatted.pdf
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Response to Intervention
Intervention ‘Research Continuum’
Promising Practices
“Includes practices that were developed based on
theory or research, but for which an insufficient
amount of original data have been collected to
determine the effectiveness of the practices.
Practices in this category may have been studied,
but not using the most rigorous study designs.”
Source: The Access Center Research Continuum (n.d.). Retrieved on June 1, 2008 from
http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/documents/ACResearchApproachFormatted.pdf
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Response to Intervention
Intervention ‘Research Continuum’
Emerging Practices
“Includes practices that are not based on
research or theory and on which original data
have not been collected, but for which
anecdotal evidence and professional wisdom
exists. These include practices that
practitioners have tried and feel are effective
and new practices or programs that have not
yet been researched.”
Source: The Access Center Research Continuum (n.d.). Retrieved on June 1, 2008 from
http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/documents/ACResearchApproachFormatted.pdf
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Response to Intervention
Writing Quality ‘Problem Identification’
Statements
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Response to Intervention
Writing Quality ‘Problem Identification’ Statements
• A frequent problem at RTI Team meetings is that
teacher referral concerns are written in vague terms. If
the referral concern is not written in explicit, observable,
measurable terms, it will be very difficult to write clear
goals for improvement or select appropriate
interventions.
• Use this ‘test’ for evaluating the quality of a problemidentification (‘teacher-concern’) statement: Can a third
party enter a classroom with the problem definition
in hand and know when they see the behavior and
when they don’t?
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Response to Intervention
Writing Quality ‘Problem-Identification’ Statements: Template
Format for Writing RTI Team Teacher Concerns
Conditions when the behavior is observed
or absent
Description of behavior in concrete,
measurable, observable terms
During large-group instruction
The student calls out comments
that do not relate to the content
being taught.
When reading aloud
The student decodes at a rate
much slower than classmates.
When sent from the classroom with
a pass to perform an errand or
take a bathroom break
The student often wanders the
building instead of returning
promptly to class.
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Response to Intervention
Writing Quality ‘Teacher Referral Concern’ Statements:
Examples
• Needs Work: The student is disruptive.
• Better: During independent seatwork , the
student is out of her seat frequently and talking
with other students.
• Needs Work: The student doesn’t do his math.
• Better: When math homework is assigned, the
student turns in math homework only about 20
percent of the time. Assignments turned in are
often not fully completed.
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Response to Intervention
Evaluating ‘Intervention Follow-Through’
(Treatment Integrity)
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40
Response to Intervention
Why Monitor Intervention Follow-Through?
If the RTI Team does not monitor the quality of
the intervention follow-through, it will not know
how to explain a student’s failure to ‘respond to
intervention’.
• Do qualities within the student explain the lack of
academic or behavioral progress?
• Did problems with implementing the intervention
prevent the student from making progress?
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Response to Intervention
What Are Potential Barriers to Assessing
Intervention Follow-Through?
Direct observation of interventions is the ‘gold
standard’ for evaluating the quality of their
implementation. However:
• Teachers being observed may feel that they are being
evaluated for global job performance
• Non-administrative staff may be uncomfortable
observing a fellow educator to evaluate intervention
follow-through
• It can be difficult for staff to find time to observe and
evaluate interventions as they are being carried out
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Response to Intervention
Supplemental Ideas to Collect Information About
Classroom Implementation of Interventions
• Assign a ‘case manager’ from the RTI Intervention Team to check in with
the teacher within a week of the initial meeting to see how the
intervention is going.
• Have the teacher use a data tool to collect information about the
student’s response to intervention (e.g., Daily Behavior Report Card) or
about the implementation of the intervention itself (e.g. Teacher
Intervention Evaluation Log)
• Include a scripted question at the RTI Intervention Team Follow-Up
Meeting that explicitly asks the referring teacher or instructional team to
provide details about the implementation of the intervention.
• Leave a notebook in the classroom for the teacher to jot down any
questions or concerns about the intervention. Assign an RTI Team
member to stop by the classroom periodically to check the notebook and
respond to any concerns noted.
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Response to Intervention
Tier II ‘Standard Protocol’ Interventions in the
Middle or High School
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Response to Intervention
RTI ‘Pyramid of
Interventions’
Tier III
Tier II
Tier I
Tier III: Intensive interventions.
Students who are ‘nonresponders’ to Tiers I & II may be
eligible for special education
services, intensive interventions.
Tier II: Individualized
interventions. Subset of
students receive interventions
targeting specific needs. An RTI
Team may assist with the plan.
Tier I: Universal interventions.
Available to all students in a
classroom or school. Can consist
of whole-group or individual
strategies or supports.
www.interventioncentral.org
45
Response to Intervention
Tier II Interventions
Tier II interventions are individualized, tailored to the unique needs of
struggling learners.
They are reserved for students with significant skill gaps who have
failed to respond successfully to Tier I strategies.
Tier II interventions attempt to answer the question: Can an
individualized intervention plan carried out in a general-education
setting bring the student up to the academic level of his or her peers?
www.interventioncentral.org
46
Response to Intervention
Tier II Interventions
There are two different vehicles that schools can use to deliver Tier II interventions:
Standard-Protocol (Standalone Intervention). Group intervention programs based on
scientifically valid instructional practices (‘standard protocol’) are created to address
frequent student referral concerns. These services are provided outside of the classroom. A
middle school, for example, may set up a structured math-tutoring program staffed by adult
volunteer tutors to provide assistance to students with limited math skills. Students referred
for a Tier II math intervention would be placed in this tutoring program. An advantage of the
standard-protocol approach is that it is efficient and consistent: large numbers of students
can be put into these group interventions to receive a highly standardized intervention.
However, standard group intervention protocols often cannot be individualized easily to
accommodate a specific student’s unique needs.
Problem-solving (Classroom-Based Intervention). Individualized research-based
interventions match the profile of a particular student’s strengths and limitations. The
classroom teacher often has a large role in carrying out these interventions. A plus of the
problem-solving approach is that the intervention can be customized to the student’s needs.
However, developing intervention plans for individual students can be time-consuming.
www.interventioncentral.org
47
Response to Intervention
Tier II Individual Student Intervention Plans Can
Have Several Components
• ‘Pull-Out’: Student receives the intervention in a separate
group or during a class period.
• Classroom: Content-area teachers implement classroomappropriate interventions.
• Push-In: An adult (e.g., helping teacher,
paraprofessional) pushes into the classroom setting to
provide intervention support.
• Student-Directed: The student is responsible for
accessing elements of the intervention plan such as
seeking extra teacher help during ‘drop-in’ periods.
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Response to Intervention
7-Step ‘Lifecycle’ of a Tier II Intervention Plan…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Information about the student’s academic or
behavioral concerns is collected.
The intervention plan is developed to match student
presenting concerns.
Preparations are made to implement the plan.
The plan begins.
The integrity of the plan’s implementation is
measured.
Formative data is collected to evaluate the plan’s
effectiveness.
The plan is discontinued, modified, or replaced.
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49
Response to Intervention
Caution About Secondary Tier II Standard-Protocol
Interventions: Avoid the ‘Homework Help’ Trap
• Tier II group-based or standard-protocol
interventions are an efficient method to deliver
targeted academic support to students (Burns &
Gibbons, 2008).
• However, students should be matched to specific
research-based interventions that address their
specific needs.
• RTI intervention support in secondary schools
should not take the form of unfocused
‘homework help’.
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50
Response to Intervention
Traditional Schedule: Tier II Intervention Delivery for
‘Standard Protocol’ Interventions
• Class length of 50-60 minutes
• 6-8 classes per day
• Typical solution: Students are scheduled for a remedial course.
Drawbacks to this solution are that students may not receive
targeted instruction, the teacher has large numbers of students,
and students cannot exit the course before the end of the school
year.
• Tier II Recommendation (Burns & Gibbon, 2008): Pair a reading
interventionist with the content-area teacher. The reading
teacher can provide remedial instruction to rotating small groups
(e.g, 7-8 students) for 30 minute periods while the content-area
teacher provides whole-group instruction to the rest of the class.
Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools:
Procedures to assure scientific-based practices. New York: Routledge.
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Response to Intervention
Block Schedule: Tier II Intervention Delivery for
‘Standard Protocol’ Interventions
• Class length of 1.5 to 2 hours
• Four classes per day
• Alternating schedule to accommodate full roster of classes
in a year (either alternating days –AB– or alternating
semesters—’4 X 4’)
• Tier II Recommendation (Burns & Gibbon, 2008): Pair a
reading interventionist with the content-area teacher. The
reading teacher can provide remedial instruction to rotating
small groups (e.g, 7-8 students) for 30 minute periods
while the content-area teacher provides whole-group
instruction to the rest of the class.
Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools:
Procedures to assure scientific-based practices. New York: Routledge.
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52
Response to Intervention
How Do We Define a Tier I
(Classroom-Based)
Intervention?
Jim Wright
www.interventioncentral.org
www.interventioncentral.org
Response to Intervention
RTI: Research Questions
Q: What is the nature of Tier I Instruction?
There is a lack of agreement about what we mean by ‘scientifically
validated’ classroom (Tier I) interventions. Districts should establish a
‘vetting’ process—criteria for judging whether a particular instructional or
intervention approach should be considered empirically based.
Source: Fuchs, D., & Deshler, D. D. (2007). What we need to know about responsiveness to intervention (and shouldn’t be
afraid to ask).. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 22(2),129–136.
www.interventioncentral.org
54
Response to Intervention
Tier I Interventions
Tier I interventions are universal—available to all students. Teachers
often deliver these interventions in the classroom.
Tier I interventions are those strategies that instructors are likely to put
into place at the first sign that a student is struggling.
These interventions can consist of:
-Effective ‘whole-group’ teaching & management strategies
-Modest individualized strategies that the teacher uses with specific
students.
Tier I interventions attempt to answer the question: Are routine
classroom instructional strategies sufficient to help the student to
achieve academic success?
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55
Response to Intervention
Examples of Evidence-Based Tier I Management Strategies
(Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007)
•
•
•
•
Consistently acknowledging appropriate behavior in
class
Providing students with frequent and varied
opportunities to respond during instructional activities
Reducing transition time between instructional
activities to a minimum
Giving students immediate and direct corrective
feedback when they commit an academic error or
engage in inappropriate behavior
Source: Fairbanks, S., Sugai, G., Guardino, S., & Lathrop, M. (2007). Response to intervention: Examining classroom behavior
support in second grade. Exceptional Children, 73, p. 290.
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56
Response to Intervention
Tier I Ideas to Help Students to Complete
Independent Seatwork
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57
Response to Intervention
Independent Seatwork: A Source of Misbehavior
When poorly achieving students must work independently, they
can run into difficulties with the potential to spiral into
misbehaviors. These difficulties can include:
• Being unable to do the assigned work without help
• Not understanding the directions for the assignment
• Getting stuck during the assignment and not
knowing how to resolve the problem
• Being reluctant to ask for help in a
public manner
• Lacking motivation to work independently on the assignment
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58
Response to Intervention
Elements to Support Independent Seatwork
Directions & Instructional
Match. The teacher ensures that
Performance Feedback. The
student can access an answer key (if
appropriate) to check his or her work.
the student understands the
assignment and can do the work.
Reference Sheets. The student
has a reference sheet with steps to
follow to complete the assignment or
other needed information.
Completed Models. The student
has one or more models of correctly
completed assignment items for
reference.
Help Routine. The student knows
how to request help without drawing
attention (e.g., by asking a peer).
www.interventioncentral.org
Teacher
Feedback &
Encouragement.
The teacher circulates
around the room
(proximity) , spending
brief amounts of time
checking students’
progress and giving
feedback and
encouragement as
needed.
59
Response to Intervention
Building Positive Relationships
With Students
Jim Wright
www.interventioncentral.org
www.interventioncentral.org
Response to Intervention
Avoiding the ‘Reprimand Trap’
When working with students who
display challenging behaviors,
instructors can easily fall into the
‘reprimand trap’. In this sequence:
1.
2.
3.
The student misbehaves.
The teacher approaches the student to reprimand and
redirect. (But the teacher tends not to give the student
attention for positive behaviors, such as paying
attention and doing school work.)
As the misbehave-reprimand pattern becomes
ingrained, both student and teacher experience a
strained relationship and negative feelings.
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61
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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62
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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63
Response to Intervention
Discussion Question
Why would a teacher at
your school be very happy
to see an RTI model
adopted? What is
in it for him or her?
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64
Response to Intervention
How Do Schools ‘Standardize’ Expectations for
Tier I Interventions? A Four-Step Solution
1.
2.
3.
4.
Develop a list of your school’s ‘top five’ academic and
behavioral referral concerns (e.g., low reading fluency,
inattention).
Create a survey for teachers, asking them to jot down the
‘good teaching’ ideas that they use independently when they
encounter students who struggle in these problem areas.
Collect the best of these ideas into a menu. Add additional
research-based ideas if available.
Require that teachers implement a certain number of these
strategies before referring to your RTI Intervention Team.
Consider ways that teachers can document these Tier I
interventions as well.
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65
Response to Intervention
RTI Intervention Teams in
Middle & High Schools:
Challenges and
Opportunities
Jim Wright
www.interventioncentral.org
www.interventioncentral.org
Response to Intervention
Tier II Interventions
There are two different vehicles that schools can use to deliver Tier II interventions:
Standard-Protocol (Standalone Intervention). Group intervention programs based on
scientifically valid instructional practices (‘standard protocol’) are created to address
frequent student referral concerns. These services are provided outside of the classroom. A
middle school, for example, may set up a structured math-tutoring program staffed by adult
volunteer tutors to provide assistance to students with limited math skills. Students referred
for a Tier II math intervention would be placed in this tutoring program. An advantage of the
standard-protocol approach is that it is efficient and consistent: large numbers of students
can be put into these group interventions to receive a highly standardized intervention.
However, standard group intervention protocols often cannot be individualized easily to
accommodate a specific student’s unique needs.
Problem-solving (Classroom-Based Intervention). Individualized research-based
interventions match the profile of a particular student’s strengths and limitations. The
classroom teacher often has a large role in carrying out these interventions. A plus of the
problem-solving approach is that the intervention can be customized to the student’s needs.
However, developing intervention plans for individual students can be time-consuming.
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67
Response to Intervention
The RTI Team: Definition
• Teams of educators at a school are trained to work together
as effective problem-solvers.
• RTI Teams are made up of volunteers drawn from generaland special-education teachers and support staff.
• These teams use a structured meeting process to identify the
underlying reasons that a student might be experiencing
academic or behavioral difficulties
• The team helps the referring teacher to put together practical,
classroom-friendly interventions to address those student
problems.
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68
Response to Intervention
The Problem-Solving Model &
Multi-Disciplinary Teams
A school consultative process (‘the problem-solving
model’) with roots in applied behavior analysis was
developed (Bergan, 1995) that includes 4 steps:
– Problem Identification
– Problem Analysis
– Plan Implementation
– Problem Evaluation
Originally designed for individual consultation with teachers,
the problem-solving model was later adapted in various
forms to multi-disciplinary team settings.
Source: Bergan, J. R. (1995). Evolution of a problem-solving model of consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological
Consultation, 6(2), 111-123.
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69
Response to Intervention
RTI: Research Questions
Q: Does a ‘Problem-Solving’
Multi-Disciplinary Team Process
Help Children With Severe Learning Problems?
The team-based ‘problem-solving’ process (e.g., Bergan, 1995) that is
widely used to create individualized intervention plans for students has
been studied primarily for motivation and conduct issues. There is limited
research on whether the problem-solving process is effective in
addressing more significant learning issues.
Source: Bergan, J. R. (1995). Evolution of a problem-solving model of consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological
Consultation, 6(2), 111-123.
Fuchs, D., & Deshler, D. D. (2007). What we need to know about responsiveness to intervention (and shouldn’t be afraid to
ask).. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 22(2),129–136.
www.interventioncentral.org
70
Response to Intervention
RTI Problem-Solving Teams at the Secondary
Level: The Necessary Art of ‘Satisficing’
“The word satisfice was coined by Herbert
Simon as a portmanteau of "satisfy" and
"suffice". Simon pointed out that human
beings lack the cognitive resources to
maximize: we usually do not know the
relevant probabilities of outcomes, we can
rarely evaluate all outcomes with sufficient
precision, and our memories are weak and
unreliable. A more realistic approach to
rationality takes into account these limitations:
This is called bounded rationality.” (Satisficing,
2008)
Source: Satisficing (2008). Wikipedia. Retrieved on July 2, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satisficing
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71
Response to Intervention
How Is a Secondary RTI Team
Like a MASH Unit?
• The RTI Team must deal with complex situations with
limited resources and tight timelines, often being forced
to select from among numerous ‘intervention targets’
(e.g., attendance, motivation, basic skill deficits, higherlevel deficits in cognitive strategies) when working with
struggling students.
• The ‘problem-solving’ approach is flexible, allowing the
RTI Team quickly to sift through a complex student case
to identify and address the most important ‘blockers’ to
academic success.
• Timelines for success are often short-term (e.g., to get
the student to pass a course or a state test), measured
in weeks or months.
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72
Response to Intervention
Teachers may be reluctant to refer students to
the RTI Team because they…
• believe referring to the RTI Team is a sign of failure
• do not think that your team has any ideas that they haven’t
already tried
• believe that an RTI Team referral will mean a lot more work
for them (vs. referring directly to Special Education)
• don’t want to ‘waste time’ on kids with poor motivation or
behavior problems when ‘more deserving’ learners go
unnoticed and unrewarded
• don’t want to put effort into learning a new initiative that may
just fade away in a couple of years
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73
Response to Intervention
Teachers may be motivated to refer students to
the RTI Team because they…
• can engage in collegial conversations about better ways to help
struggling learners
• learn instructional and behavior-management strategies that
they can use with similar students in the future
• increase their teaching time
• are able to access more intervention resources and supports in
the building than if they work alone
• feel less isolated when dealing with challenging kids
• have help in documenting their intervention efforts
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74
Response to Intervention
Team Roles (pp. 23-24)
•
•
•
•
•
Coordinator
Facilitator
Recorder
Time Keeper
Case Manager
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75
Response to Intervention
RTI Team Consultative Process (pp. 9-13)
Step 1: Assess Teacher Concerns 5 Mins
Step 2: Inventory Student Strengths/Talents 5 Mins
Step 3: Review Background/Baseline Data 5 Mins
Step 4: Select Target Teacher Concerns 5-10 Mins
Step 5: Set Academic and/or Behavioral Outcome Goals and Methods for
Progress-Monitoring 5 Mins
Step 6: Design an Intervention Plan 15-20 Mins
Step 7: Plan How to Share Meeting Information with the Student’s Parent(s) 5
Mins
Step 8: Review Intervention & Monitoring Plans 5 Mins
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Response to Intervention
Small-Group Activity: Complete the RTI Team
Effectiveness Self-Rating Scale
• As a group, use the RTI Team
Self-Rating Scale to evaluate
your current team’s level of
functioning.
• Appoint a spokesperson to
share your findings with the
large group.
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77
Response to Intervention
Monitoring Student
Progress at the Secondary
Level
Jim Wright
www.interventioncentral.org
www.interventioncentral.org
Response to Intervention
“Everybody is entitled to their own
opinion but they’re not entitled to
their own facts. The data is the data.”
Dr. Maria Spiropulu, Physicist
New York Times, 30 September 2003
(D. Overbye) Other dimensions? She’s in pursuit. F1, F4
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79
Response to Intervention
“Few agree on an appropriate curriculum
for secondary students…; thus it is difficult
to determine in what areas student
[academic] progress should be
measured.”
-- Espin & Tindal (1998)
Source: Espin, C. A., & Tindal, G. (1998). Curriculum-based measurement for secondary students. In M. R. Shinn (Ed.) Advanced
applications of curriculum-based measurement. New York: Guilford Press.
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80
Response to Intervention
RTI: Research Questions
Q: What RTI Identification Method Will Best
Determine What Students Are ‘Responders’ or
‘Non-Responders’ to Intervention?
There are several methods in the research literature to
determine ‘non-responders’ to intervention (e.g., dual
discrepancy, slope discrepancy). What is the ‘best’
method to reliably differentiate students who do or do
Source:not
Fuchs, D.,
& Deshler, D. D. (2007).
What weinterventions?
need to know about responsiveness to intervention (and shouldn’t be
respond
to
RTI
afraid to ask).. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 22(2),129–136.
www.interventioncentral.org
81
Response to Intervention
Secondary Students: Should Interventions Be ‘OffLevel’ or Focus on Grade-Level Academics?
There is a lack of consensus about how to
address the academic needs of students with
deficits in basic skills in secondary grades (Espin
& Tindal, 1998).
– Should the student be placed in remedial instruction
at a point of ‘instructional match’ to address those
basic-skill deficits? (Instruction adjusted down to the
student)
– Or is time better spent providing the student with
compensatory strategies to learn grade-level content
and ‘work around’ those basic-skill deficits? (Student
Source: Espin, is
C. A.,
& Tindal, G. (1998).
Curriculum-based
measurement
for secondary students. In M. R. Shinn (Ed.) Advanced
brought
up
to
current
instruction)
applications of curriculum-based measurement. New York: Guilford Press.
www.interventioncentral.org
82
Response to Intervention
Remediating Academic Deficits: The Widening Curriculum Gap…
Widening academic Largest academic gap
(middle school).(high school). Student is
Smallgap
academic
Student is
significantly off-level. The
gap (elementary
significantly
school).
Student off-level. building curriculum does
building
not overlap the student’s
is onlyThe
mildly
offbarely
point of ‘instructional
level.curriculum
The
overlaps the student’smatch’ at all.
building
Reading Fluency
Rdng-Basic Comprehension
Reading Fluency
point
of
‘instructional
curriculum
match’.
overlaps
the
student’s point of
Subject-Area Rdng Comprehension
‘instructional
match’.
Rdng-Basic Comprehension
Rdng Fluency
K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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83
Response to Intervention
Measuring General vs. Specific Academic
Outcomes
• General Outcome Measures: Track the student’s
increasing proficiency on general curriculum
goals such as reading fluency. An example is
CBM-Oral Reading Fluency (Hintz et al., 2006).
• Specific Sub-Skill Mastery Measures: Track
short-term student academic progress with clear
criteria for mastery. An example is CBA-Math
Computation Fluency (Burns & Gibbons, 2008).
Sources: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools:
Procedures to assure scientific-based practices. New York: Routledge.
Hintz, J. M., Christ, T. J., & Methe, S. A. (2006). Curriculum-based assessment. Psychology in the Schools, 43, 45-56.
www.interventioncentral.org
84
Response to Intervention
Making Use of Existing (‘Extant’) Data
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Response to Intervention
Extant (Existing) Data (Chafouleas et al., 2007)
• Definition: Information that is collected by
schools as a matter of course.
• Extant data comes in two forms:
– Performance summaries (e.g., class grades, teacher
summary comments on report cards, state test
scores).
– Student work products (e.g., research papers, math
homework, PowerPoint presentation).
Source: Chafouleas, S., Riley-Tillman, T.C., & Sugai, G. (2007). School-based behavioral assessment: Informing intervention
and instruction. New York: Guilford Press.
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86
Response to Intervention
Summative data is static information that provides a fixed ‘snapshot’
of the student’s academic performance or behaviors at a particular
point in time. School records are one source of data that is often
summative in nature—frequently referred to as archival data.
Attendance data and office disciplinary referrals are two examples of
archival records, data that is routinely collected on all students.
In contrast to archival data, background information is collected
specifically on the target student. Examples of background information
are teacher interviews and student interest surveys, each of which can
shed light on a student’s academic or behavioral strengths and
weaknesses. Like archival data, background information is usually
summative, providing a measurement of the student at a single point in
time.
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87
Response to Intervention
Formative assessment measures are those that can be administered
or collected frequently—for example, on a weekly or even daily basis.
These measures provide a flow of regularly updated information
(progress monitoring) about the student’s progress in the identified
area(s) of academic or behavioral concern.
Formative data provide a ‘moving picture’ of the student; the data
unfold through time to tell the story of that student’s response to
various classroom instructional and behavior management strategies.
Examples of measures that provide formative data are CurriculumBased Measurement probes in oral reading fluency and Daily Behavior
Report Cards.
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88
Response to Intervention
Advantages of Using Extant Data (Chafouleas et al., 2007)
• Information is already existing and easy to
access.
• Students are less likely to show ‘reactive’ effects
when data is collected, as the information
collected is part of the normal routine of schools.
• Extant data is ‘relevant’ to school data
consumers (such as classroom teachers,
administrators, and members of problem-solving
teams).
Source: Chafouleas, S., Riley-Tillman, T.C., & Sugai, G. (2007). School-based behavioral assessment: Informing intervention
and instruction. New York: Guilford Press.
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89
Response to Intervention
Drawbacks of Using Extant Data (Chafouleas et al., 2007)
• Time is required to collate and summarize the data (e.g.,
summarizing a week’s worth of disciplinary office referrals).
• The data may be limited and not reveal the full dimension of
the student’s presenting problem(s).
• There is no guarantee that school staff are consistent and
accurate in how they collect the data (e.g., grading policies
can vary across classrooms; instructors may have differing
expectations regarding what types of assignments are given
a formal grade; standards may fluctuate across teachers for
filling out disciplinary referrals).
• Little research has been done on the ‘psychometric
Source: Chafouleas, S., Riley-Tillman, T.C., & Sugai, G. (2007). School-based behavioral assessment: Informing intervention
and instruction.
New York: Guilford
adequacy’
of Press.
extantwww.interventioncentral.org
data sources.
90
Response to Intervention
‘Elbow Group’ Activity: What Data Should Be Collected
for RTI Team Meetings?
What are the ‘essential’ sources of
archival data that you would like
collected and brought to every RTI
Problem-Solving Team meeting?
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91
Response to Intervention
Grades as a Classroom-Based ‘Pulse’ Measure
of Academic Performance
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Response to Intervention
Grades & Other Teacher Performance Summary
Data (Chafouleas et al., 2007)
• Teacher test and quiz grades can be useful as a
supplemental method for monitoring the impact
of student behavioral interventions.
• Other data about student academic performance
(e.g., homework completion, homework grades,
etc.) can also be tracked and graphed to judge
intervention effectiveness.
Source: Chafouleas, S., Riley-Tillman, T.C., & Sugai, G. (2007). School-based behavioral assessment: Informing intervention
and instruction. New York: Guilford Press.
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93
Response to Intervention
Marc Ripley
2-Wk
9/23/07
4-Wk
10/07/07
6-Wk
10/21/07
(From Chafouleas et al., 2007)
8-Wk
11/03/07
10-Wk
11/20/07
12-Wk
12/05/07
Source: Chafouleas, S., Riley-Tillman, T.C., & Sugai, G. (2007). School-based behavioral assessment: Informing intervention
and instruction. New York: Guilford Press.
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94
Response to Intervention
Assessing Basic Academic Skills: CurriculumBased Measurement
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Response to Intervention
Assessing Basic Academic Skills:
Curriculum-Based Measurement
Reading: These 3 measures all proved
‘adequate predictors’ of student performance on
reading content tasks:
– Reading aloud (Oral Reading Fluency): Passages
from content-area tests: 1 minute.
– Maze task (every 7th item replaced with multiple
choice/answer plus 2 distracters): Passages from
content-area texts: 2 minutes.
– Vocabulary matching: 10 vocabulary items and 12
definitions (including 2 distracters): 10 minutes.
Source: Espin, C. A., & Tindal, G. (1998). Curriculum-based measurement for secondary students. In M. R. Shinn (Ed.) Advanced
applications of curriculum-based measurement. New York: Guilford Press.
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96
Response to Intervention
Assessing Basic Academic Skills:
Curriculum-Based Measurement
Mathematics: Single-skill basic
arithmetic combinations an ‘adequate
measure of performance’ for low-achieving
middle school students.
•www.interventioncentral.org
Websites
to create CBM math computation
probes:
•www.superkids.com
Source: Espin, C. A., & Tindal, G. (1998). Curriculum-based measurement for secondary students. In M. R. Shinn (Ed.) Advanced
applications of curriculum-based measurement. New York: Guilford Press.
www.interventioncentral.org
97
Response to Intervention
Assessing Basic Academic Skills:
Curriculum-Based Measurement
Writing: CBM/ Word Sequence is a ‘valid
indicator of general writing proficiency’. It
evaluates units of writing and their
relation to one another. Successive pairs
of ‘writing units’ make up each word
sequence. The mechanics and
conventions of each word sequence must
be correct for the student to receive credit
for that
CBM/ Word
Sequence
Source:
Espin, C. sequence.
A., & Tindal, G. (1998). Curriculum-based
measurement
for secondary students. In M. R. Shinn (Ed.) Advanced
applications of curriculum-based measurement. New York: Guilford Press.
is the most comprehensive
CBM writing
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98
Response to Intervention
A Note About Monitoring Behaviors Through
Academic Measures…
Academic measures (e.g., grades, CBM data) can be
useful as part of the progress-monitoring ‘portfolio’ of
data collected on a student because:
• Students with problem behaviors often struggle
academically, so tracking academics as a target is
justified in its own right.
• Improved academic performance generally correlates
with reduced behavioral problems.
• Individualized interventions for misbehaving students
frequently contain academic components (as the
behavior problems can emerge in response to chronic
academic deficits).www.interventioncentral.org
Academic progress-monitoring
99
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 at the Middle and High School Level
• Students at the secondary level can present with
a range of concerns that interfere with academic
success.
• 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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101
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 sub-task 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
asA. sub-tasks
‘wrote indown
homework
Source: Kazdin,
E. (1989). Behavior modification
applied settings
(4 ed.). Pacific assignment
Gove, CA: Brooks/Cole..
th
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102
Response to Intervention
Discrete Categorization Example: Math Study Skills
General Academic Goal: Improve Tina’s Math Study Skills
The student Tina:
Approached the teacher at the end of class for a copy of
class note.
Checked her daily math notes for completeness against a set
of teacher notes in 5th period study hall.
Reviewed her math notes in 5th period study hall.
Started her math homework in 5th period study hall.
Used a highlighter and ‘margin notes’ to mark questions or
areas of confusion in her notes or on the daily assignment.
Entered into her ‘homework log’ the amount of time spent
that evening doing homework and noted any questions or
areas of confusion.
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103
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
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teacher during T/Th drop-in
period.
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Response to Intervention
‘Motivation Assessment in
Advanced Subject Areas’ Activity
Brief behavior analysis of motivation (e.g.,
Schoolwork Motivation Assessment) is most
effective for basic skill areas.
In your ‘elbow groups’:
Discuss ways that RTI Teams could collect
information about whether motivation is an
‘academic blocker’ on more advanced
academic tasks (e.g., writing a term paper)
or subject areas (e.g., trigonometry).
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Response to Intervention
RTI Teams: Recommendations for Data
Collection
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Response to Intervention
RTI Teams: Recommendations for Data Collection
• Collect a standard set of background information on each
student referred to the RTI Team.
RTI Teams should develop a standard package of background
(archival) information to be collected prior to the initial problemsolving meeting. For each referred student, a Team might elect to
gather attendance data, office disciplinary referrals for the
current year, and the most recent state assessment results.
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Response to Intervention
RTI Teams: Recommendations for Data Collection
• For each area of concern, select at least two progress-monitoring
measures.
RTI Teams can place greater confidence in their progressmonitoring data when they select at least two measures to track
any area of student concern (Gresham, 1983)-ideally from at
least two different sources (e.g., Campbell & Fiske, 1959).
With a minimum of two methods in place to monitor a student
concern, each measure serves as a check on the other. If the
results are in agreement, the Team has greater assurance that it
can trust the data. If the measures do not agree with one
another, however, the Team can investigate further to determine
the reason(s) for the apparent discrepancy.
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Response to Intervention
RTI Teams: Recommendations for Data Collection
• Monitor student progress frequently.
Progress-monitoring data should reveal in weeks--not months-whether an intervention is working because no teacher wants to
waste time implementing an intervention that is not successful.
When progress monitoring is done frequently (e.g., weekly), the
data can be charted to reveal more quickly whether the student’s
current intervention plan is effective.
Curriculum-based measurement, Daily Behavior Report Cards,
and classroom observations of student behavior are several
assessment methods that can be carried out frequently.
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Response to Intervention
Ideas to Empower Students
to Take a Role in Their Own
Intervention Plans
Jim Wright
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Response to Intervention
Intervention Responsibilities: Examples at Teacher,
School-Wide, and Student Levels
Teacher
Student
• Signed agenda
• ‘Attention’ prompts
• Peer-Guided Pause
• Take agenda to
teacher to be
reviewed and signed
• Self-monitor and chart
their organizational
skills (e.g., bringing
work materials to
class)
• Seeking help from
teachers during free
periods
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School-Wide
• Lab services (math,
reading, etc.)
• Remedial course
• Homework club
• Providing additional
instruction to
students during
selected free
periods
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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
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
Intervention Plans for Secondary Students: The
Motivational Component
• Intervention plans for secondary students may
require ‘motivational’ strategies to encourage
engagement in learning
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Response to Intervention
Promoting Student Involvement in Secondary
School RTI Intervention Team Meetings
• Train students in self-advocacy skills to participate at
intervention team meetings (can be informal: e.g.,
conversation with Guidance Counselor)
• Provide the student with different options to
communicate needs, e.g.,:
– Learning needs questionnaire
– Personal interview prior to meeting
– Advocate at meeting to support student
• Ensure student motivation to take part in the
intervention plan (e.g., having student sign ‘Intervention
Contract’)
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Response to Intervention
When Interventions Require Student Participation...
• Write up a simple ‘Intervention Contract’ that spells out
– What the student’s responsibilities are in the intervention plan
– A listing of the educators connected to parts of the
intervention plan that require student participation--and their
responsibilities
– A contact person whom the student can approach with
questions about the contract
• Have the student sign the Intervention Contract
• Provide a copy of the Intervention Contract to the
student and parents
• Train the student to ensure that he or she is capable of
carrying out all assigned steps or elements in the
intervention plan
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Response to Intervention
Sample ‘Student Intervention Contract’ p. 16
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Response to Intervention
If the Student Appears Unwilling to Follow Through With the Plan…
1.
Verify that the student has the necessary skills to complete all steps or
elements of the intervention plan without difficulty.
Check that all adults who have a support role in the student’s personal
intervention plan are carrying out their responsibilities consistently and
correctly.
Hold an ‘Exit’ conference with the student--either with the entire RTI
Intervention Team or with the student’s ‘adult contact’. It is
recommended that the student’s parent be at this meeting.
At the ‘Exit’ meeting:
2.
3.
4.
•
•
•
•
Review all elements of the plan with the student.
Share the evidence with the student that he or she appears able to implement
every part of the personal intervention plan.
Tell the student that he or she is in control—and that the intervention cannot be
successful unless the student decides to support it.
Tell the student that his or her intervention case is ‘closed’ but that the student
can restart the plan at any time by contacting the adult contact.
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Response to Intervention
Starting RTI in Your Secondary School:
Enlisting students in intervention plans
As a team:
• Put together a set of strategies to
train students to be self-advocates
and to attend RTI Team meetings.
• Discuss ways to motivate students
to feel comfortable in accessing
(and responsible FOR accessing)
intervention resources in the
school.
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Response to Intervention
Implementing Response to
Intervention in Secondary
Schools: Key Challenges to
Changing a System
Jim Wright
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Response to Intervention
Making RTI Work in Your Schools: Key
Expectations
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Response to Intervention
Making RTI Work in Your Schools: Key Expectations
• Teachers try a larger number of research-based classroom
strategies before referring a student to the school’s
Intervention Team.
• Schools are able to find time and personnel coverage to
schedule Intervention Team (IST) meetings.
• The job descriptions of key people in a school change to
match the needs of RTI (e.g., school psychologist, special
education teacher).
• The school recognizes that RTI is an ‘umbrella’ problem=solving
approach that helps the district to address a range of important
school issues such as low state test scores, deficient academic
skills, absenteeism, and drop-outs.
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Response to Intervention
Making RTI Work in Your Schools: Key Expectations (Cont.)
• Administrators show strong support for RTI, using their
influence to encourage teacher follow-through with
classroom interventions, helping to rework job descriptions
to match RTI’s needs, etc.
• RTI is accepted by the school community as a mainstream
initiative, with the majority of representatives on the RTI Steering
Group drawn from general education (e.g., Curriculum Director).
• RTI is given the resources that it needs to grow, including funds
for staff development and for the purchase of assessment
services or products and intervention materials.
• The district has a multi-year plan to implement RTI that builds the
model at an ambitious but sustainable rate.
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Response to Intervention
Preventing Your School from
Developing ‘RTI Antibodies’
• Schools can anticipate
and take steps to address
challenges to RTI implementation in schools
• This proactive stance toward RTI adoption will
reduce the probability that the ‘host’ school or
district will reject RTI as a model
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Response to Intervention
Innovations in Education: Efficacy vs. Effectiveness
“A useful distinction has recently emerged between
efficacy and effectiveness (Schoenwald & Hoagwood,
2001). Efficacy refers to intervention outcomes that
are produced by researchers and program developers
under ideal conditions of implementation (i.e.,
adequate resources, close supervision …). In contrast,
effectiveness refers to demonstration(s) of socially
valid outcomes under normal conditions of usage in
the target setting(s) for which the intervention was
developed. Demonstrations of effectiveness are far
more difficult than demonstrations of efficacy. In fact,
numerous promising interventions and approaches fail
to bridge the gap between efficacy and effectiveness.”
[Emphasis added]
Source: Walker, H. M. (2004). Use of evidence-based interventions in schools: Where we've been, where we are, and where
we need to go. School Psychology Review, 33, 398-407. p. 400
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Response to Intervention
Role of ‘School Culture’ in the Acceptability of Interventions
“…school staffs are interested in strategies that fit a
group instructional and management template;
intensive strategies required by at-risk and poorly
motivated students are often viewed as cost
ineffective. Treatments and interventions that do not
address the primary mission of schooling are seen as
a poor match to school priorities and are likely to be
rejected. Thus, intervention and management
approaches that are universal in nature and that
involve a standard dosage that is easy to deliver (e.g.,
classwide social skills training) have a higher
likelihood of making it into routine or standard school
practice.”
Source: Walker, H. M. (2004). Use of evidence-based interventions in schools: Where we've been, where we are, and where
we need to go. School Psychology Review, 33, 398-407. pp. 400-401
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Response to Intervention
Barriers in Schools to Innovations in Interventions
“Factors that have been identified as barriers to …
acceptance and implementation by educators [of
effective behavioral interventions for at at-risk
students] include characteristics of the host
organization, practitioner behavior, costs, lack of
program readiness, the absence of program
champions and advocates within the host
organization, philosophical objections, lack of fit
between the program's key features and
organizational routines and operations, and weak staff
participation.”
Source: Walker, H. M. (2004). Use of evidence-based interventions in schools: Where we've been, where we are, and where
we need to go. School Psychology Review, 33, 398-407. p. 400
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Response to Intervention
RTI: Research Questions
Q: What Conditions Support the Successful
Implementation of RTI?
•
•
•
•
•
RTI requires:
Continuing professional development to give teachers the skills to implement RTI and
educate new staff because of personnel turnover.
Administrators who assert leadership under RTI, including setting staff expectations for
RTI implementation, find the needed resources, and monitor the fidelity of
implementation.
Proactive hiring of teachers who support the principles of RTI and have the skills to put
RTI into practice in the classroom.
The changing of job roles of teachers and support staff (school psychologists, reading
specialists, special educators, etc.) to support the RTI model.
Input from teachers and support staff (‘bottom-up’) about how to make RTI work in the
school or district, as well as guidance from administration (‘top-down’).
Source: Fuchs, D., & Deshler, D. D. (2007). What we need to know about responsiveness to intervention (and shouldn’t be
afraid to ask).. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 22(2),129–136.
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