Addressing the Needs of Students With Persistent Reading Difficulties Through Intensive Intervention

Douglas Fuchs, Devin Kearns, and Laura MagnusonVanderbilt University, Boston University, and American Institutes for ResearchApril 11, 2014

This document was produced under U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Award No. H326Q110005. Celia Rosenquist serves as the project officer. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service or enterprise mentioned in this document is intended or should be inferred.

1. The intensive intervention framework (5 min.)2. Overview of Data-Based Individualization (DBI) in

reading (10 min.)3. Critical elements of DBI in reading (25 min.)4. Important considerations for making DBI work (5 min.)5. Group discussion (15 min.)

Session Overview

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The Intensive Intervention Framework

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Intensive intervention addresses severe and persistent learning or behavior difficulties. Intensive intervention should be:

Driven by data Characterized by increased intensity (e.g., smaller

group, expanded time) and individualization of academic instruction and/or behavioral supports

What Is Intensive intervention?

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1. Secondary intervention program, delivered with greater intensity

2. Progress monitoring3. Informal diagnostic assessment4. Adaptation5. Continued progress monitoring, with adaptations

occurring whenever needed to ensure adequate progress

Five DBI Steps

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A Bird’s Eye View of DBI

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Overview of DBI in Reading: Why Do We Do DBI?

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Why? Many Students With Disabilities Are Struggling in School

U.S. elementary-age children with learning disabilities (LD) below 20th percentile on

comprehension64%

High school students with LD years below grade level in reading 3.4 years

Fraction of high school students with LD who drop out ¼

Percentage of students with LD with paid employment, two years postsecondary 46%

“Virtually all children and youth with disabilities, including those with very serious learning problems, are helped sufficiently by the core curriculum with co-teaching, modifications to the core instructional program, or other such supports.”

Why? Unfounded and Naïve Beliefs About Teaching Kids with LD

9Fuchs, Fuchs, & Vaughn, 2014, p. 14

Unfounded and naïve belief

Why? Primary and Secondary Prevention Often Are Not Enough

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Primary prevention

Low-salt diet Stress reduction

Secondary

prevention

Intensive

interventio

n

Inexpensive diuretics

Beta-blockersACE inhibitorsOther novel, patient-specific treatments

The Medical Analogy: High Blood Pressure Treatment

A Case Study: Kelsey

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In fourth grade

Reads at a second-grade level

Participated in a secondary intervention using a research-validated program

Group of six 30 minutes, 4 times a week, for 7 weeksExplicit instruction Led by knowledgeable paraprofessional

Kelsey’s Secondary Intervention Progress

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0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Num

ber o

f wor

ds re

ad c

orre

ctly

in 1

min

ute

Date

Baseline

Goal Line

Initial Instruction

Instructional Change

Progress monitored on a measure of passage reading fluency

Her aim/goal line (where we want her weekly scores to be)

Her progress(her actual scores)

Kelsey is exactly the type of child who needs intensive intervention.

• Kelsey received good instruction.

• Kelsey needs a more intensive instructional program.

Kelsey Is Not Responding to Secondary Prevention

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Many children in intensive intervention participated in good programs.Their problems are not anyone’s “fault.”

Some children just need more

time structure practice clarity teacher attention different methods of explanation content

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Secondary intervention delivered with fidelity

Does student need a smaller

group?

Does student need more time in intervention?

Does student have problem with attention/

motivation?

Secondary Intervention with… Smaller group 1:1 intervention

Qualitative Changes to Intervention based on assessment data, including, but not limited to…

Change interventionist Adjust language/vocabulary use Explicit instruction and error correction Modified response format

Secondary Intervention with…

Additional sessions More sessions per week More minutes per

session

Secondary Intervention with…

Strategies to promote attention/ engagement

and/or

and/or

Non-Responders

Non-Responders

After Secondary Prevention: What Do We Do for Kelsey Now?

Data-Based IndividualizationImproving Skills for Students With Intensive Needs

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1. Secondary prevention with greater intensity2. Progress monitoring3. Diagnostic assessment4. Adaptation of the intervention5. Iterations

• 5A. Progress monitoring• 5B. Analysis• 5C. Adaptation

Steps of DBI in Reading

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Danielson & Rosenquist, 2014; Lemons, Kearns, & Davidson, 2014

1

x2

3

+4

5

Secondary Prevention With Greater Intensity

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Secondary prevention program• Not an approach or a loosely structured set of activities• Research-validated program (tested by researchers)• Clear sequence of lessons• Explicit instruction (I do, we do, you do) approach (Archer & Hughes, 2011)• Fidelity of implementation

Greater intensity (quantitative changes)• Greater frequency, length of sessions, or duration• Smaller group size• Less heterogeneity in the group (students more similar in level)

Secondary Prevention With Greater Intensity

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Kelsey’s Secondary Prevention Program

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Explicit Systematic

Research-Based (Fuchs, Kearns et al., 2012)

Focused on Foundational SkillsSight wordsSound-symbol correspondenceDecodingSpellingReading level-appropriate texts

Kelsey’s Progress After Secondary Prevention

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Oral reading fluency (accuracy; %)

Oral reading fluency (rate)

MAZE

Slight improvement in oral reading fluency rate, and accuracy

Intensifying Secondary Prevention: Quantitative Changes

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4 days 5 daysTime

4 students 3 studentsGroup

Progress Monitoring

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Reliable and valid measure (evaluated by researchers)• Use “Academic Progress Monitoring

Tools Chart” available at intensiveintervention.org

Easy-to-administer measure• Takes little teacher and student time• Easy to score

Measure can be given weekly• Enough parallel forms• Designed for regular administration

Choose a Progress Monitoring (PM) Measure

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Determine the correct level• Student’s instructional level • Not student’s grade level

Determine student’s aim and plot it

Collect Initial Data and Create an Aimline

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Kelsey is doing second-grade oral reading fluency • Using second-grade benchmark

(85) or • Using second-grade expected rate

of improvement (to 72)

Collect data weekly After seven weeks (8 data points), evaluate progress Is student tracking the aimline?

• Yes—stay on target• Above—increase the goal or stay on target• Below—diagnose and adapt instruction

Collect Data Through Initial DBI

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Diagnostic Assessment

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Informal Diagnostic Assessment

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Error analysis of PM data

Classroom assessments and work samples

Standardized assessments (if possible)

1. Review the diagnostic assessments

2. Come up with a theory about what might be causing the student’s academic difficulty

3. Start considering adaptations

Using the Assessment Results

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bunny vu… IDK

knife twin

Spellings include all sounds

Replaces nonwords with real words

Good sight word knowledge

PM errors are mainly for polysyllabic wordsspin … IDK count?

Kelsey tends to guess and needs

strategies to decode polysyllabic words.

Adaptation

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30

20 minutes with teacher in small group, rather than 15 minutes

5 minutes of one-to-one time with teacher 15 minutes of partner practice, rather than whole-group

reading activities in general education

Adaptation for Kelsey:Quantitative Changes

Adaptation for Kelsey:Qualitative Changes

Skip ahead in the scope and sequence to the polysyllabic lessons

Supplement with polysyllabic strategies …

Polysyllabic Strategy Options

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Peeling off

Overt strategy

Lovett, Lacarenza, & Borden, 2000 Archer, Gleason, & Vachon, 2002

“I peel off (affix) at the beginning (or end) of the word. The root is ____. The word is ____.” (p. 468)

“First, I will try /first pronunciation/, then I will try /second pronunciation/, and see which gives me a real word.” (p. 469)

Vowel alert

Covert strategy

Polysyllabic Strategy OptionsDISSECT Lenz & Hughes, 1990

Discover the context Isolate the word’s prefix Separate the word’s suffix Say the word’s stem or base word Examine the word’s stem Check with another person Try to find the word in the dictionary

BESTO’Connor et al., 2002; O’Connor, Fulmer, Harty, & Bell, 2005; O’Connor & Bell, 2004

Break the word apart Examine each part Say each part Try the whole thing in context

Mnemonic strategies

Polysyllabic Strategy Options

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Wilson, 2002 Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998

Syllable marking Tracking with syllables

How to decide:• Think about the principles for intensive

intervention– Which strategies have small steps?– Which strategies have precise language (3Cs

language: clear, concise, consistent)?– Which strategies lend themselves to modeling real

reading behavior?

Choices• Peeling off• Vowel alert• Overt and covert strategies

Polysyllabic Strategy Chosen

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Results of Adaptation

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Iterations

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Check Progress Weekly: Are the Adaptations Still Working?

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What should we do now? Diagnose: What is the source of the

problem? Adapt: How can we change the program

again to produce greater growth?

After Four Points Below the Line, Diagnose and Adapt Again

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Important Considerations for Making DBI WorkTips From Our Work in Schools

Make Sure You Choose a Valid and Reliable PM System

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Running records Program-specific mastery measuresX X

The Instructional Platform Is a PROGRAM

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XAn adequate resource but not an instructional platform: Not systematic and explicit

The Instructional Platform Is a PROGRAM

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X An adequate website with actual lesson plans, but it is not a program that is tightly and carefully designed

The Adaptations Make Sense

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Balance training

Kearns & Fuchs (2013)

Brain workouts

Working memory treatment

Neurofeedback trainingX To date, few scientific studies suggest these “cognitive” approaches work: Stick to academics

Every other week is not enough during DBI. Weekly monitoring is needed to show small changes.

Monitor Progress Enough

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Do not forget to loop them in early in the process. Make sure the entire staff knows about DBI and basically

what will happen. Include other service providers, such as speech

pathologists, who may have insight and ideas.

Make Sure All Key Individuals Come to DBI Meetings

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Tools Charts• Academic Intervention: http://

www.intensiveintervention.org/chart/instructional-intervention-tools • Progress Monitoring: http://

www.intensiveintervention.org/chart/progress-monitoring

NCII Resources

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DBI Training Series http://www.intensiveintervention.org/content/dbi-training-series

Webinars http://www.intensiveintervention.org/resources/webinars• Register now for our April 29th webinar: “So What do I do Now?

Strategies for Intensifying Intervention when Standard Approaches Don’t Work”

NCII Resources

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Group Discussion

Archer, A. L., Gleason, M.,,& Vachon, V. (2002). REWARDS (Reading Excellence: Word Attack & Rate Development Strategies). Longmont, CO: Sopris West. Archer, A. L., & Hughes, C. A. (2011). Explicit instruction: Effective and efficient teaching. New York, NY: Guilford. Danielson, L., & Rosenquist, C. (2014). Introduction to the TEC special issue on data-based individualization. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 46, 6–12.Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L. S., & Vaughn, S. (2014). What is intensive instruction and why is it important?. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 46, 14.Lemons, C. J., Kearns, D. M., & Davidson, K. A. (2014). Data-based individualization in reading: Intensifying interventions for students with significant reading disabilities. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 46, 20–29. Lenz, B. K., & Hughes, C. A. (1990). A word identification strategy for adolescents with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 23, 149–158, 163.Lindamood, P., & Lindamood, P. (l998). The Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing program for reading, spelling, and speech, Austin, TX: PRO-ED, Inc.Lovett, M. W., Lacerenza, L., & Borden, S. L. (2000). Putting struggling readers on the PHAST track: A program to integrate phonological and strategy-based remedial reading instruction and maximize outcomes. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33, 458–476.O’Connor, R. E., Bell, K. M., Harty, K. R., Larkin, L. K., Sackor, S., & Zigmond, N. (2002). Teaching reading to poor readers in the intermediate grades: A comparison of text difficulty. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 474–485.O’Connor, R. E., & Bell, K. M. (2004). Teaching students with reading disability to read words. In A. Stone, E. Silliman, B. Ehren, & K. Apel (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy: Development and disorders (pp. 479–496). New York, NY: Guilford Press.O’Connor, R. E., Fulmer, D., Harty, K., & Bell, K. (2005). Layers of reading intervention in kindergarten through third grade: Changes in teaching and child outcomes. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 440–455.Wilson, B. (2002). The Wilson Reading System. Millbury, MA: Wilson Language Training.  

References

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This module was produced under the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Award No. H326Q110005. Celia Rosenquist serves as the project officer. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or polices of the U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned in this website is intended or should be inferred.

Disclaimer

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National Center on Intensive Intervention1000 Thomas Jefferson Street NWWashington, DC 20007-3835

866-577-5787

www.intensiveintervention.org

Email: ncii@air.org

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