Response to Intervention Academic Interventions for Difficult-to-Teach Students Jim Wright .

Response to Intervention

www.interventioncentral.org

Academic Interventions for Difficult-to-Teach StudentsJim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org


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“RTI: How sloppy can we be and still be effective?”

What is your reaction to this statement?



What is ‘Response to Intervention’ (RTI)?

'Response to Intervention' is an emerging approach to the diagnosis of Learning Disabilities that holds considerable promise. 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.



-You're a pretty smart fella.-Not that smart.-How'd you figure it out?-I imagined someone smarter than me. Then I tried to think,"What would he do?”

From HEIST (2001)Written by David Mamet

‘RTI Logic’: The Power of Working Smarter…



What does RTI look like when applied to an individual student?

A widely accepted method for determining whether a student has a Learning Disability under RTI is the ‘dual discrepancy model’ (Fuchs, 2003). – Discrepancy 1: The student is found to be performing

academically at a level significantly below that of his or her typical peers (discrepancy in initial skills or performance).

– Discrepancy 2: Despite the implementation of one or more well-designed, well-implemented interventions tailored specifically for the student, he or she fails to ‘close the gap’ with classmates (discrepancy in rate of learning relative to peers).



Target Student

Discrepancy 1: Skill Gap (Current Performance Level)

Avg Classroom Academic Performance Level

‘Dual-Discrepancy’: RTI Model of Learning Disability (Fuchs 2003)

Discrepancy 2:Gap in Rate of Learning (‘Slope of Improvement’)



Tier ITier I

Tier IITier II

Tier IIITier III

How can a school restructure to support RTI? The school can organize its intervention efforts into 3 levels, or Tiers, that represent a continuum of increasing intensity of support. (Kovaleski, 2003; Vaughn, 2003). Tier I is the lowest level of intervention and Tier III is the most intensive intervention level.

Universal intervention: Available to all studentsExample: Additional classroom literacy instruction

Individualized Intervention: Students who need additional support than peers are given individual intervention plans. Example: Supplemental peer tutoring in reading to increase reading fluencyIntensive Intervention: Students whose intervention needs are greater than general education can meet may be referred for more intensive services.Example: Special Education



Tier I: Universal100%

Tier II: Individualized10-15%

Tier III: Intensive5-10%

Levels of Intervention: Tier I, II, & III



RTI: We’re in Dragon Country Now!

Jim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org



Hic sunt dracones.

[Latin for “Here be dragons…”]

Phrase appearing on the Lenox Globe circa 1503, denoting unknown dangers on the unexplored east coast of Asia.

This term now is used to describe any instance in which decision-making or action is difficult because the situation is so complex or because so many variables are unknown. Source: Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_be_dragons#Dragons_on_maps



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.



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.

MODERN DARYOLS RECIPE (ALGORITHM):INGREDIENTS

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts 1/2 cup blanched almonds 1 1/4 cups cold water 1 cup half-and-half cream 1 pinch saffron powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 5 eggs 3/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon rose water

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.



RTI is a Work in Progress: Some I\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



What Are 5 ‘dragon regions’ of RTI?Scarcity of research demonstrating the effectiveness of RTI vs. traditional methods of special education identification (Fuchs, Mock, Morgan, & Young, 2003)

Indeterminate decision rules for length of time an intervention should be implemented, number of intervention trials required, etc. (Barnett, Daly, Jones, & Lentz, 2004; Gresham 2001)

Gaps in the intervention literature—limited information about effective interventions for certain target concerns (e.g., reading comprehension) andfor higher age-groups (e.g., high school) (Gresham 2001; Gresham, 1998; Kratochwill & Shernoff, 2003; Vaughn & Fuchs, 2003)

Questions of how scalable and cost-effective the RTI model is (Gresham 2001; Gresham, 1998; Kratochwill & Shernoff, 2003; Vaughn & Fuchs, 2003)

Lack of clarity regarding how RTI fits in to the Special Education referral process (34 C.F.R. 300 & 301, 2006)



‘Big Ideas’ About Student Learning



Big Ideas: Student Social & Academic Behaviors Are Strongly Influenced by the Instructional Setting

(Lentz & Shapiro, 1986)

• Students with learning problems do not exist in isolation. Rather, their instructional environment plays an enormously important role in these students’ eventual success or failure

Source: Lentz, F. E. & Shapiro, E. S. (1986). Functional assessment of the academic environment. School Psychology Review, 15, 346-57.



Big Ideas: Learn Unit (Heward, 1996)

The three essential elements of effective student learning include:1. Academic Opportunity to Respond. The student is presented with

a meaningful opportunity to respond to an academic task. A question posed by the teacher, a math word problem, and a spelling item on an educational computer ‘Word Gobbler’ game could all be considered academic opportunities to respond.

2. Active Student Response. The student answers the item, solves the problem presented, or completes the academic task. Answering the teacher’s question, computing the answer to a math word problem (and showing all work), and typing in the correct spelling of an item when playing an educational computer game are all examples of active student responding.

3. Performance Feedback. The student receives timely feedback about whether his or her response is correct—often with praise and encouragement. A teacher exclaiming ‘Right! Good job!’ when a student gives an response in class, a student using an answer key to check her answer to a math word problem, and a computer message that says ‘Congratulations! You get 2 points for correctly spelling this word!” are all examples of performance feedback.

Source: Heward, W.L. (1996). Three low-tech strategies for increasing the frequency of active student response during group instruction. In R. Gardner, D. M.S ainato, J. O. Cooper, T. E. Heron, W. L. Heward, J. W. Eshleman,& T. A. Grossi (Eds.), Behavior analysis in education: Focus on measurably superior instruction (pp.283-320). Pacific Grove, CA:Brooks/Cole.



Big Ideas: The Four Stages of Learning Can Be Summed Up in the ‘Instructional Hierarchy’

(Haring et al., 1978)

Student learning can be thought of as a multi-stage process. The universal stages of learning include:

• Acquisition: The student is just acquiring the skill.• Fluency: The student can perform the skill but

must make that skill ‘automatic’.• Generalization: The student must perform the skill

across situations or settings.• Adaptation: The student confronts novel task

demands that require that the student adapt a current skill to meet new requirements.

Source: Haring, N.G., Lovitt, T.C., Eaton, M.D., & Hansen, C.L. (1978). The fourth R: Research in the classroom. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co.



Instructional Hierarchy: Stages of LearningAcquisition: Effective Intervention Ideas• Teacher actively demonstrates target skill• Teacher uses ‘think-aloud’ strategy-- especially for

thinking skills that are otherwise covert• Student has models of correct performance to consult

as needed (e.g., correctly completed math problems on board)

• Student gets feedback about correct performance• Student receives praise, encouragement for effort



Instructional Hierarchy: Stages of LearningFluency: Effective Intervention Ideas• Teacher structures learning activities to give student

opportunity for active (observable) responding• Student has frequent opportunities to drill (direct repetition

of target skill) and practice (blending target skill with other skills to solve problems)

• Student gets feedback on fluency and accuracy of performance

• Student receives praise, encouragement for increased fluency



Instructional Hierarchy: Stages of Learning

Generalization: Effective Intervention Ideas• Teacher structures academic tasks to require that the

student use the target skill regularly in assignments.• Student receives encouragement, praise, reinforcers for

using skill in new settings, situations• If student confuses target skill with similar skill(s), the

student is given practice items that force him/her to correctly discriminate between similar skills

• Teacher works with parents to identify tasks that the student can do outside of school to practice target skill

• Student gets periodic opportunities to review, practice target skill to ensure maintenance



Instructional Building Blocks…

Adaption: Effective Intervention Ideas• Teacher helps student to articulate the ‘big ideas’ or core

element(s) of target skill that the student can modify to face novel tasks, situations (e.g., fractions, ratios, and percentages link to the ‘big idea’ of the part in relation to the whole; ‘Thank you’ is part of a larger class of polite speech)

• Train for adaptation: Student gets opportunities to practice the target skill with modest modifications in new situations, settings with encouragement, corrective feedback, praise, other reinforcers.

• Encourage student to set own goals for adapting skill to new and challenging situations



‘Elbow Group’ Activity: What Are Your School’s Top Academic Intervention Needs?

In your group:

1. Have each participant list the top 3 academic intervention concerns in heror his building or district.

2. Note any common themes of intervention needs identified by multiple members of your group.

Response to Intervention Academic Interventions for Difficult-to-Teach Students Jim Wright .

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