L A U R A I S B E L L , P H D T E X A S A & M - C O M M E R C E

Response to Intervention(RTI): Understanding the model to guide

classroom instruction

“The quality of a school as a learning community can be measured by how effectively it addresses the needs of struggling students.” --Wright (2005)

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Source: Wright, J. (2005, Summer). Five interventions that work. NAESP Leadership Compass, 2(4) pp.1,6.

Discussion: Read the quote below:

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

Defining RTI

�  Schools identify students at-risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions and adjust the intensity and nature of the interventions based on a student’s responsiveness

�  RTI may be used as part of the determination process for identifying students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) or other disabilities

Activity 1: What do you think?

� ACTIVITY 1: take a few minutes to write down your thoughts about the following features of RTI

1) What do I know about RTI? 2) Have I heard about RTI from a professor? Mentor? Administrator? Who else? 3) What does RTI look like in the classroom?

What is RTI?

�  Response to intervention (RTI) integrates assessment and intervention within a school-wide, multi-level prevention model to maximize student achievement and reduce behavior concerns/challenges

(National Center on Response to Intervention)

RTI model

In the RTI model: ¡  A student with academic delays is given one or more research-

validated interventions. ¡  The student's academic progress is monitored frequently to see if

those interventions are sufficient to help the student to catch up with his or her peers.

¡  If the student fails to show significantly improved academic skills

despite several well-designed and implemented interventions, this failure to 'respond to intervention' can be viewed as evidence of an underlying Learning Disability.

RTI Preventative Framework

�  RTI is a multi-level instructional framework aimed at improving outcomes for ALL students

�  RTI is a preventative and provides immediate support to students who are at-risk for poor learning outcomes

�  RTI may be a component of a comprehensive evaluation for students with learning disabilities

Components of RTI

�  School-wide, Multi-level prevention system ¡  Tier 1- Primary level ¡  Tier 2- Secondary level ¡  Tier 3- Tertiary level

�  Progress Monitoring �  Early Intervention �  Data-Based Decision Making

¡  Instruction ¡  Movement within the multi-level system ¡  Disability identification (in accordance with state law)

RTI model

Tier 3:Tertiary Intervention Individualized supports and services

2%-5% of students

Tier 2: Secondary Intervention Small group of students needing additional supports and

services 10%-15% of students

Tier 1: Primary Intervention Available to all students in all settings

80% of students

Tier 1: Primary Level

�  Tier 1 intervention includes a differentiated, empirically validated mathematics curriculum available to all students.

�  At the primary intervention, Tier 1, efforts are established to promote learning for all students, anticipating that at least 80% of students will respond to these strategies and will not require additional intervention (Ervin, 2009).

�  If less than 80% of students are meeting standards, additional focus on the core curriculum and teaching methods should be considered.

Tier 1 Recommendations

No Child Left Behind (2002) provides the following recommendations for Tier 1 intervention:

¡  Systematic monitoring of student learning for all students ¡  Adjustment of instruction with acceleration or deceleration as

needed ¡  Appropriately sequenced instruction that builds on existing skills and

knowledge ¡  Review of previously mastered skills ¡  Focus on maintenance, feedback on correct and incorrect responses ¡  Opportunity for practice of newly acquired skills with support and

immediate feedback ¡  Independent practice once a high level of mastery is attained

How frequently should teachers assess students at Tier 1?

�  Teachers should administer a mathematics assessment to all students a minimum of three times per year to determine student progress and the need for intervention or additional supports. (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006)

Tier 2: Secondary Level

�  Tier 2 intervention is for those students who have mathematics difficulty and/or are at-risk mathematics disabilities and are performing below their peers. These students have not demonstrated sufficient progress in Tier 1

�  Secondary Intervention, Tier 2, instruction is provided to those students, approximately 15%, who display poor response to the group instructional procedures in Tier 1 (Murawski & Hughes, 2009).

Tier 2 recommendations

�  Match the difficulty level of the task to the capability of the student(s)

�  Provide frequent opportunities to practice the skill being taught under close supervision with immediate feedback

�  As the skill performance improves, include different materials, different modes of presentation again under close supervision with immediate feedback

�  Consider supplemental programs such as FASTT Math, Accelerated Math and additional resources such as an intervention coach or resource teacher to provide instruction and to monitor daily progress.

How frequently should teachers assess students at Tier 2?

�  Systematic interventions for approximately 15% of these students in small groups of 4-5 students and more regular (bi-weekly) progress monitoring (Bradley, Danielson, & Doolittle, 2007).

Tier 3: Tertiary Level

�  In the tertiary stage, tier 3 interventions, this level of intensive intervention is appropriate for those students who continue to show extensive gaps in their skills after Tier 2 intervention.

�  Tertiary intervention, tier 3, provides more intensive interventions for about 2-5% of students for whom Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions were not adequate (Murakski & Hughes, 2009)

Tier 2 recommendations

�  Functional assessment to identify the skills that must be addressed

�  Data-based processes to identify the cause(s) of the poor math performance

�  Development of individual intervention to target the specific deficits identified through the individualized functional assessment

�  Interventions that are individualized with monitoring and specific instruction in application of newly acquired skills similar to the application required in the classroom setting

Fuchs & Fuchs (2008)

How frequently should teachers assess students at Tier 3?

�  Systematic, on going progress monitoring should be in place. Assessments should be administered at a minimum once per week.

The IRIS Center

http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/rti01-overview/

What are advantages of RTI?

� One advantage of RTI in the diagnosis of educational disabilities is that it allows schools to intervene early to meet the needs of struggling learners.

� Another advantage is that RTI maps those specific instructional strategies found to benefit a particular student. This information can be very helpful to both teachers and parents.

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Vignette 1: Handout �  The final bell rings for Ms. Kilpatrick’s third period Math class as students

wait outside the door for their teacher to arrive. The students, ranging from 6th to 8th grade, receive special education due to learning or emotional disabilities. This class is at the lowest level within the school wide math curriculum the district adopted to address students’ low scores on the statewide achievement test. Ms. Kilpatrick arrives nearly 5 minutes late and lets the students into the classroom. As she puts away her materials from her previous class in another building, the students move to take their seats, chatting amongst themselves. Ms. Kilpatrick passes out a worksheet for the day’s lesson and begins copying the problems to the board. As she does this, she states that they will be covering the addition and subtraction of positive and negative integers. She calls on the student on in the first row to give her the first step for solving problem

�  1. He stumbles through his response as the other students continue to talk around him. Angel and Pilar sit in the back row, speaking softly to each other in Spanish. After he supplies the correct response, Ms. Kilpatrick hastily fills in the rest of the problem, including the answer, and asks the next student in the row to tell her the first step for problem

�  2. Beven calls out to ask how to do the problem on his calculator and Ms. Kilpatrick says that he must save his questions until he is called on to do a problem. As she writes the answer for the fourth problem, Ms. Kilpatrick tells the class they must show all their work to receive credit.

Vignette 1

�  See handout

Answer the following questions in groups of 2 or 3

�  How do the rules and routines of classroom participation, conversation, and interaction affect (both positively and negatively) opportunities to learn?

�  Does the teacher use students’ unique preferences, identities, and backgrounds to create and support opportunities to learn? If yes, how so?

�  How do issues related to the larger educational system (e.g., standardized curricula, class size, etc.) impact opportunities for learning?

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What do schools have to do differently under the RTI model?

To implement RTI effectively, schools must develop a specialized set of tools and competencies, including: ¡  A structured format for problem-solving. ¡  Knowledge of a range of scientifically based interventions

that address common reasons for school failure. ¡  The ability to use various methods of assessment to

monitor student progress in academic and behavioral areas.

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Sample Elementary Model #1

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Progress Monitoring

�  Monitor student’s response to primary, secondary, or tertiary interventions in order to determine future interventions

Educators should consider and document: 1)  Are students meeting short- and long-term

performance goals? 2)  Does the instruction need to be adjusted or

changed? 3)  Are students making progress at appropriate rates?

Data-based decision making

�  Data-based decision making guides intensity, frequency, and duration of interventions

�  Establish routines and procedures for making decisions

�  Compare state, district, national benchmarks to assess student progress

�  Using student data to make instructional decisions Video: RTI Data in Action

The Logic of RTI: Data-based Problem Solving

�  Problem Identification ¡ “Is there a discrepancy between current and

expected performance?” �  Problem Analysis

¡ “Where is the instructional mismatch?” �  Goal Setting

¡ “By how much should the student grow over the next 8 weeks?”

�  Plan Implementation ¡ “What will be done to resolve the problem?”

�  Plan Evaluation ¡ “Did it work? What do we do next?”

Successful implementation of RTI: Working together for students

For RTI to be successful, a wide array of strategies: �  Teachers need to actively collaborate with their

colleagues to make sure that �  (a) lessons are research based �  (b) lessons address the wide variety of needs in the

general education classroom �  (c) lessons ensure access to the general education

curriculum for diverse learners, stakeholders needs to collaborate

�  (d) data consistent; We don’t want no Dirty data

Closing activity

Write down something you: *Learned ! Aha moment ? Still wonder Goal and assignment: Find out how your campus is currently implementing RTI.