Response to Intervention ‘Doing More With Less’: Using Research Findings & Internet Resources to Make RTI Work in Challenging

Response to Intervention

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‘Doing More With Less’: Using Research Findings & Internet Resources to Make RTI Work in Challenging Budgetary Times

Jim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org


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Download PowerPoints and Handouts from this workshop at:

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Workshop Agenda

Systems Change in a Time of Limited Resources

Tools and a Framework for Analytic (‘Instructional’) Assessment

Linking Assessment to Intervention

Building Teacher Understanding and Support for RTI



Implementing Response to Intervention in Secondary Schools: Key Challenges to Changing a System




RTI: Research QuestionsQ: 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, finding the needed resources, and monitor ingthe 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.



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



Middle & High School RTI: Targeting the Reform of Classroom Practices

“Restructuring efforts that appear promising are those that focus on changing what happens within classrooms, specifically on improving curriculum and instruction; however, programs typically welcomed by districts are those that accommodate the district and school.”

Source: Jimerson, S., Reschly, A.L., & Hess, R. (2008). Best practices in increasing the likelihood of school completion. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds). Best Practices in School Psychology - 5th Ed (pp. 1085-1097). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.. p.1090



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



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



‘Scaling Up’: Four Stages of RTI Development




RTI Development: Four Stages of ‘Scaling Up’

1. Preparation. Planning activities & creating readiness in the school system for the RTI component.

2. Initial Implementation. Bringing the component into the school setting.

3. Institutionalization. Institutionalizing the RTI component as a part of routine school and district practices.

4. Ongoing Development/Updating. Ensuring that the RTI component stays current with changing revisions in state and federal guidelines and emerging findings in RTI research.

Source: Ervin, R. A., & Schaughency, E. (2008). Best practices in accessing the systems change literature. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp. 853-873). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.





RTI Implementation Planning Sheet: Example“GOAL: Creating Consistent Use of Effective Tier 1 Academic Strategies in Content-Area Classrooms”

Stage 1: Preparation: List any preparation steps such as development of materials or staff training.Examples of Preparation Tasks: Inventory Tier 1 Interventions Already in Use Create a Standard Menu of Evidence-Based Tier 1

Intervention Ideas for Teachers




Stage 2: Initial Implementation: Describe the tasks required to actually implement the goal.Examples of Initial Implementation Tasks: Train Teachers to Write Specific, Measureable,

Observable ‘Problem Identification Statements Establish Tier 1 Coaching and Support Resources Provide Classroom (Tier 1) Problem-Solving Support

to Teachers Create Formal Guidelines for Teachers to Document

Tier 1 Strategies




Stage 3: Institutionalization: Once the goal is initially carried out successfully, devise a plan to weave various activities that support the goal into the day-to-day institutional routine of the school.Examples of Institutionalization Tasks: Develop Decision Rules for Referring Students from

Tier 1 to Higher Levels of Intervention




Stage 4: Ongoing Development/Updating: The RTI model is steadily evolving as new research indicates better methods for data collection, intervention planning, etc. The RTI Implementation Plan should include Ongoing Development/Updating tasks--ongoing activities to ensure that the district’s practices confirm to best practices over time.

Examples of Ongoing Development/Updating Tasks: Set Up a System to Locate Additional Evidence-Based Tier 1

Intervention Ideas



RTI Steering Committee: Using the Four Stages of ‘Scaling Up’ in Planning

• First, the RTI Steering Committee selects a series of ‘RTI Implementation Goals.’ These goals should be more general, global goals that will require attention through all stages of the RTI implementation process.

• The RTI Steering Committee then takes each of the general RTI Implementation Goals and breaks the global goal into a series of specific subtasks. Subtasks are sorted by stage of implementation.



Engaging the Reluctant Teacher: Seven Reasons Why Middle & High School Instructors May Be Reluctant to Implement Classroom RTI Literacy Interventions




‘Teacher Tolerance’ as an Indicator of RTI Intervention Capacity

“I call the range of students whom [teachers] come to view as adequately responsive – i.e., teachable – as the tolerance; those who are perceived to be outside the tolerance are those for whom teachers seek additional resources. The term “tolerance” is used to indicate that teachers form a permissible boundary on their measurement (judgments) in the same sense as a confidence interval. In this case, the teacher actively measures the distribution of responsiveness in her class by processing information from a series of teaching trials and perceives some range of students as within the tolerance.” (Gerber, 2002)

Source: Gerber, M. M. (2003). Teachers are still the test: Limitations of response to instruction strategies for identifying children with learning disabilities. Paper presented at the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities Responsiveness-to-Intervention Symposium, Kansas City, MO.



Engaging the Reluctant Teacher: Seven Reasons Why Instructors May Resist Implementing Classroom RTI

Literacy Interventions1. Teachers believe that their ‘job’ is to provide content-

area instruction, not to teach vocabulary and reading-comprehension strategies (Kamil et al., 2008).

2. Teachers believe that they lack the skills to implement classroom vocabulary-building and reading-comprehension strategies. (Fisher, 2007; Kamil et al., 2008).

3. Teachers feel that they don’t have adequate time to implement vocabulary-building and reading-comprehension strategies in the classroom. (Kamil et al., 2008; Walker, 2004).




Literacy Interventions (Cont.)

4. Teachers are not convinced that there will be an adequate instructional ‘pay-off’ in their content-area if they implement literacy-building strategies in the classroom (Kamil et al., 2008).

5. Teachers are reluctant to put extra effort into implementing interventions for students who appear unmotivated (Walker, 2004) when there are other, ‘more deserving’ students who would benefit from teacher attention.

6. Teachers are afraid that, if they use a range of classroom strategies to promote literacy (e.g., extended discussion, etc.), they will have difficulty managing classroom behaviors (Kamil et al., 2008).




Literacy Interventions (Cont.)

7. Teachers believe that ‘special education is magic’ (Martens, 1993). This belief implies that general education interventions will be insufficient to meet the student’s needs and that the student will benefit only if he or she receives special education services.



Ideas to Build Teacher Understanding and Support for RTI




1. Offer RTI information to teachers in a series of short presentations or discussion forums

• A common mistake that schools make in rolling out RTI is to present their teachers with RTI information in a single, long presentation—with little opportunity for questions or discussion. Instead, schools should plan a series of RTI information-sharing sessions with teachers throughout the school year. Any large-group RTI training sessions (e.g., at faculty meetings) should be kept short, to ensure that the audience is not overwhelmed with large volumes of information. Consider using smaller instructional team or department meetings as a vehicle for follow-up presentations, discussion, and teacher questions about RTI.



1. Offer RTI information to teachers in a series of short presentations or discussion forums

• ACTION STEP: Create a year-long RTI information-sharing plan. Determine what RTI information your school would like to present to staff, as well as the degree of faculty input and discussion needed. Then draft a year-long plan to communicate with staff about RTI. Each year, update the plan to keep faculty updated about implementation of the RTI model.



2. Present RTI as a coordinated, schoolwide approach to address long-standing teacher

concerns about struggling students• Schools should consider framing RTI as a broad,

schoolwide solution to help teachers to better instruct, motivate, and manage the behaviors of struggling learners. Teachers want fewer class disruptions, more uninterrupted instructional time, higher performing students, targeted supplemental academic help for students who need it, and better communication among educators about the needs of all students. As schools make the case for RTI, they should demonstrate how it will help teachers to manage the day-to-day challenges that they face in their classrooms.



• ACTION STEP: Get feedback from teachers about their classroom concerns. Find opportunities to engage teachers in productive discussions about what they see as the greatest challenges facing them as instructors. Note the teacher concerns that surface most often. For each teacher concern, generate ideas for how an RTI model in your school might help teachers with that issue. Craft these ideas for instructor support into ‘talking points’ and include them in your school’s RTI presentations.

2. Present RTI as a coordinated, schoolwide approach to address long-standing teacher

concerns about struggling students



3. Solicit teacher input when building your school’s RTI model

• Teachers are a valuable resource that schools should tap when implementing RTI. When schools solicit teacher questions about RTI, include teachers on planning teams to help to develop the RTI process, and treat teacher objections or concerns about RTI as helpful feedback rather than stubborn resistance, those schools send the message that teachers are full partners in the RTI planning process.



• ACTION STEP: Include teachers on the RTI Leadership Team. One of the best ways to ensure that teachers have input into the RTI development process is to include teacher representatives on the RTI Leadership Team, the group that oversees the district’s implementation of RTI.

3. Solicit teacher input when building your school’s RTI model



4. Link all significant school and district initiatives to RTI

• RTI is a comprehensive, proactive model to identify and assist struggling students. Yet teachers may erroneously perceive RTI as just another ‘program’ that is likely to last for only a short time and then disappear. Any RTI training for staff should make the point that RTI is not a single-self contained program but is actually an all-inclusive and flexible framework for student support that encompasses all existing student support programs and strategies.



• ACTION STEP: Organized all school programs under the RTI framework. Schools should present RTI as an elastic multi-tier problem-solving framework. First, the school lists all of its significant current programs or initiatives intended to assess or intervene with students with academic or behavioral needs. The school then assigns each of the programs or initiatives to Tier 1, 2, or 3 in the RTI framework. The message for staff is that, while specific programs may come and go, the overarching RTI model is both adaptable and durable--and that much of the power of RTI rests on its potential to integrate a series of isolated programs into a larger unified and coordinated continuum of student support.

4. Link all significant school and district initiatives to RTI



Building Teacher Capacity to Deliver Tier 1 Interventions: An 8-Step Checklist Jim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org























RTI & Issues Relating to Student Assessment & Progress-Monitoring




Use Time & Resources Efficiently By Collecting Information Only on ‘Things That Are Alterable’

“…Time should be spent thinking about things that the intervention team can influence through instruction, consultation, related services, or adjustments to the student’s program. These are things that are alterable.…Beware of statements about cognitive processes that shift the focus from the curriculum and may even encourage questionable educational practice. They can also promote writing off a student because of the rationale that the student’s insufficient performance is due to a limited and fixed potential. “ p.359

Source: Howell, K. W., Hosp, J. L., & Kurns, S. (2008). Best practices in curriculum-based evaluation. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp.349-362). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.



Formal Tests: Only One Source of Student Assessment Information

“Tests are often overused and misunderstood in and out of the field of school psychology. When necessary, analog [i.e., test] observations can be used to test relevant hypotheses within controlled conditions. Testing is a highly standardized form of observation. ….The only reason to administer a test is to answer well-specified questions and examine well-specified hypotheses. It is best practice to identify and make explicit the most relevant questions before assessment begins. …The process of assessment should follow these questions. The questions should not follow assessment. “ p.170

Source: Christ, T. (2008). Best practices in problem analysis. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp. 159-176). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.



Mining Archival Data: What Are the ‘Early Warning Flags’ of Student Drop-Out?

A sample of 13,000 students in Philadelphia were tracked for 8 years. These early warning indicators were found to predict student drop-out in the sixth-grade year:

• Failure in English• Failure in math• Missing at least 20% of school days• Receiving an ‘unsatisfactory’ behavior rating from at least one

teacher

Source: Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., MacIver, D. J. (2007). Preventing student disengagement and keeping students on the graduation path in urban middle grades schools: Early identification and effective interventions. Educational Psychologist,42, 223–235. .



What is the Predictive Power of These Early Warning Flags?

Source: Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., MacIver, D. J. (2007). Preventing student disengagement and keeping students on the graduation path in urban middle grades schools: Early identification and effective interventions. Educational Psychologist,42, 223–235. .

Number of ‘Early Warning Flags’ in Student Record

Probability That Student Would Graduate

None 56%

1 36%

2 21%

3 13%

4 7%



Breaking Down Complex Academic Goals into Simpler Sub-Tasks: Discrete

Categorization



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.



Discrete Categorization: A Strategy for Assessing Complex, Multi-Step Student Academic TasksDefinition 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 as sub-tasks ‘wrote down homework assignment correctly’ and ‘created a work plan before starting homework’

Source: Kazdin, A. E. (1989). Behavior modification in applied settings (4th ed.). Pacific Gove, CA: Brooks/Cole..



Discrete Categorization Example: Math Study SkillsGeneral Academic Goal: Improve Tina’s Math Study Skills

Tina was struggling in her mathematics course because of poor study skills. The RTI Team and math teacher analyzed Tina’s math study skills and decided that, to study effectively, she needed to:

Check her math notes daily for completeness. Review her math notes daily. Start her math homework in a structured school setting. Use a highlighter and ‘margin notes’ to mark questions or areas of confusion in her

notes or on the daily assignment. Spend sufficient ‘seat time’ at home each day completing homework. Regularly ask math questions of her teacher.



Discrete Categorization Example: Math Study SkillsGeneral Academic Goal: Improve Tina’s Math Study Skills

The RTI Team—with teacher and student input—created the following intervention plan. The student Tina will:

Approach the teacher at the end of class for a copy of class note. Check her daily math notes for completeness against a set of teacher

notes in 5th period study hall. Review her math notes in 5th period study hall. Start her math homework in 5th period study hall. Use a highlighter and ‘margin notes’ to mark questions or areas of

confusion in her notes or on the daily assignment. Enter into her ‘homework log’ the amount of time spent that evening

doing homework and noted any questions or areas of confusion. Stop by the math teacher’s classroom during help periods (T & Th only)

to ask highlighted questions (or to verify that Tina understood that week’s instructional content) and to review the homework log.



Discrete Categorization Example: Math Study SkillsAcademic Goal: Improve Tina’s Math Study SkillsGeneral 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 teacher during T/Th drop-in period.

Stopped by the math teacher’s classroom during help periods (T & Th only) to ask highlighted questions (or to verify that Tina understood that week’s instructional content). Teacher observation; student sign-in.



A Review of RTI Literacy Assessment/ Monitoring ToolsJim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org



RTI Literacy: Assessment & Progress-Monitoring

The RTI Literacy model collects reading assessment information on students on a schedule based on their risk profile and intervention placement.

Reading measures used are valid, reliable, brief, and matched to curriculum expectations for each grade.

Depending on the grade, the battery of reading measures used can include assessments in phonological awareness, oral reading fluency, and basic reading comprehension.

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.



RTI Literacy: Assessment & Progress-Monitoring (Cont.) To measure student ‘response to instruction/intervention’ effectively, the RTI Literacy model measures students’ reading performance and progress on schedules matched to each student’s risk profile and intervention Tier membership.

• Benchmarking/Universal Screening. All children in a grade level are assessed at least 3 times per year on a common collection of literacy assessments.

• Strategic Monitoring. Students placed in Tier 2 (supplemental) reading groups are assessed 1-2 times per month to gauge their progress with this intervention.

• Intensive Monitoring. Students who participate in an intensive, individualized Tier 3 reading intervention are assessed at least once per week.

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.



Apply the ’80-15-5’ Rule to Determine if the Focus of the Intervention Should Be the Core Curriculum, Subgroups of Underperforming Learners, or Individual Struggling Students (T. Christ, 2008)

– If less than 80% of students are successfully meeting academic or behavioral goals, the intervention focus is on the core curriculum and general student population.

– If no more than 15% of students are not successful in meeting academic or behavioral goals, the intervention focus is on small-group ‘treatments’ or interventions.

– If no more than 5% of students are not successful in meeting academic or behavioral goals, the intervention focus is on the individual student.

Source: Christ, T. (2008). Best practices in problem analysis. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp. 159-176).



Curriculum-Based Measurement: Advantages as a Set of Tools to Monitor RTI/Academic Cases

• Aligns with curriculum-goals and materials• Is reliable and valid (has ‘technical adequacy’) • Is criterion-referenced: sets specific performance levels for specific tasks• Uses standard procedures to prepare materials, administer, and score• Samples student performance to give objective, observable ‘low-inference’

information about student performance • Has decision rules to help educators to interpret student data and make appropriate

instructional decisions• Is efficient to implement in schools (e.g., training can be done quickly; the measures

are brief and feasible for classrooms, etc.)• Provides data that can be converted into visual displays for ease of communication

Source: Hosp, M.K., Hosp, J. L., & Howell, K. W. (2007). The ABCs of CBM. New York: Guilford.



Measuring General vs. Specific Academic Outcomes

• General Outcome Measures: Track the student’s increasing proficiency on general curriculum goals such as reading fluency. Example: CBM-Oral Reading Fluency (Hintz et al., 2006).

• Specific Sub-Skill Mastery Measures: Track short-term student academic progress with clear criteria for mastery (Burns & Gibbons, 2008). Example: Letter Identification.

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.





CBM Literacy Measures: Sources• DIBELS (https://dibels.uoregon.edu/)• AimsWeb (http://www.aimsweb.com)• Easy CBM (http://www.easycbm.com)• iSteep (http://www.isteep.com)• EdCheckup (http://www.edcheckup.com)• Intervention Central (http://www.interventioncentral.org)



“ ”“…One way I have used the Maze in the past at the secondary level, is as a targeted screener to determine an instructional match between the student and the text materials. By screening all students on one to three Maze samples from the text and/or books that were planned for the course, we could find the students who could not handle the materials without support (study guides, highlighted texts, alternative reading material). …This assessment is efficient and it seems quite reliable in identifying the potential underachievers, achievers, and overachievers. The real pay back is that success can be built into the courses from the beginning, by providing learning materials and supports at the students' instructional levels.”

Lynn Pennington, Executive Director, SSTAGE

(Student Support Team Association for Georgia Educators)



Comparison of RTI Assessment/Monitoring Systems

DIBELS [Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills]• Initial Sound Fluency: Preschool > Middle K• Letter Naming Fluency: Beginning K > Beginning Gr 1• Phoneme Segmentation Fluency: Middle K > End Gr 1• Nonsense Word Fluency: Middle K > Beginning Gr 2• Oral Reading Fluency: Middle Gr 1 > Gr 6




Easy CBM• Letter Naming Fluency: K > Gr 1• Letter Sound Fluency: K > Gr 1• Phoneme Segmentation Fluency: K > Gr 1• Word Reading Fluency: K > Gr 3• Oral Reading Fluency: Gr 1 > Gr 8




AimsWeb• Letter Naming Fluency: Beginning K > Beginning Gr 1• Letter Sound Fluency: Middle K > Beginning Gr 1• Phoneme Segmentation Fluency: Middle K > Middle Gr 1• Nonsense Word Fluency: Middle K > End Gr 1• Oral Reading Fluency: Gr 1 > Gr 8• Maze (Reading Comprehension Fluency): Gr 1 > Gr 8



Comparison of 2 RTI Assessment/Monitoring Systems

DIBELS• Initial Sound Fluency:

Preschool > Middle K• Letter Naming Fluency:

Beginning K > Beginning Gr 1•

• Phoneme Segmentation Fluency: Middle K > End Gr 1

• Nonsense Word Fluency: Middle K > Beginning Gr 2

• Oral Reading Fluency: Middle Gr 1 > Gr 6

•

AimsWeb•

• Letter Naming Fluency: Beginning K > Beginning Gr 1

• Letter Sound Fluency: Middle K > Beginning Gr 1

• Phoneme Segmentation Fluency: Middle K > Middle Gr 1

• Nonsense Word Fluency: Middle K > End Gr 1

• Oral Reading Fluency: Gr 1 > Gr 8

• Maze (Reading Comprehension Fluency): Gr 1 > Gr 8



Defining Student Academic Concerns

67



Problem Definition Statement: A Critical Component of Intervention Planning

Develop a specific description of the academic problem to provide a meaningful instructional context. Write the problem definition to include information about:

• Conditions. Describe the environmental conditions or task demands in place when the academic problem is observed.

• Problem Description. Describe the actual observable academic behavior in which the student is engaged. Include rate, accuracy, or other quantitative information of student performance.

• Typical or Expected Level of Performance. Provide a typical or expected performance criterion for this skill or behavior. Typical or expected academic performance can be calculated using a variety of sources,

68



Problem Definition Statement: A Critical Component of Intervention Planning

69

Academic Problems: Sample DefinitionsEnvironmental Conditions or Task Demands

Problem Description

Typical or Expected Level of Performance

On a 2-minute math computation worksheet (double-digit times double-digit with no regrouping)…

…Ann computes 45 digits per minute…

…while peers in her 4th grade compute an average of 67 correct digits.

During social studies large-group instruction…

… Franklin attends to instruction an average of 45% of the time…

… while peers in the same room attend to instruction an average of 85% of the time.

For science homework… … Tye turns in assignments an average of 50% of the time…

… while the classroom median rate of homework turned in is 90%.



Defining Student Problem Behaviors: A Key to Identifying Effective Interventions Jim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org



Defining Problem Student Behaviors…1. Define the problem behavior in clear, observable, measurable

terms (Batsche et al., 2008; Upah, 2008). Write a clear description of the problem behavior. Avoid vague problem identification statements such as “The student is disruptive.”

A well-written problem definition should include three parts:– Conditions. The condition(s) under which the problem is likely to

occur– Problem Description. A specific description of the problem behavior– Contextual information. Information about the frequency, intensity,

duration, or other dimension(s) of the behavior that provide a context for estimating the degree to which the behavior presents a problem in the setting(s) in which it occurs.





Defining Problem Student Behaviors…2. Develop examples and non-examples of the

problem behavior (Upah, 2008). Writing both examples and non-examples of the problem behavior helps to resolve uncertainty about when the student’s conduct should be classified as a problem behavior. Examples should include the most frequent or typical instances of the student problem behavior. Non-examples should include any behaviors that are acceptable conduct but might possibly be confused with the problem behavior.





Defining Problem Student Behaviors…3. Write a behavior hypothesis statement (Batsche et al.,

2008; Upah, 2008). The next step in problem-solving is to develop a hypothesis about why the student is engaging in an undesirable behavior or not engaging in a desired behavior. Teachers can gain information to develop a hypothesis through direct observation, student interview, review of student work products, and other sources. The behavior hypothesis statement is important because (a) it can be tested, and (b) it provides guidance on the type(s) of interventions that might benefit the student.





Defining Problem Student Behaviors…4. Select a replacement behavior (Batsche et al.,

2008). Behavioral interventions should be focused on increasing student skills and capacities, not simply on suppressing problem behaviors. By selecting a positive behavioral goal that is an appropriate replacement for the student’s original problem behavior, the teacher reframes the student concern in a manner that allows for more effective intervention planning.





Defining Problem Student Behaviors…5. Write a prediction statement (Batsche et al., 2008;

Upah, 2008). The prediction statement proposes a strategy (intervention) that is predicted to improve the problem behavior. The importance of the prediction statement is that it spells out specifically the expected outcome if the strategy is successful. The formula for writing a prediction statement is to state that if the proposed strategy (‘Specific Action’) is adopted, then the rate of problem behavior is expected to decrease or increase in the desired direction.





Core Instruction, Intervention, Accommodation, & Modification: Definitions

81



Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations & Modifications: Sorting Them Out

• Core Instruction. Those instructional strategies that are used routinely with all students in a general-education setting are considered ‘core instruction’. High-quality instruction is essential and forms the foundation of RTI academic support. NOTE: While it is important to verify that good core instructional practices are in place for a struggling student, those routine practices do not ‘count’ as individual student interventions.




• Intervention. 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 can be thought of as “a set of actions that, when taken, have demonstrated ability to change a fixed educational trajectory” (Methe & Riley-Tillman, 2008; p. 37).




• Accommodation. An accommodation is intended to help the student to fully access and participate in the general-education curriculum without changing the instructional content and without reducing the student’s rate of learning (Skinner, Pappas & Davis, 2005). An accommodation is intended to remove barriers to learning while still expecting that students will master the same instructional content as their typical peers. – Accommodation example 1: Students are allowed to supplement

silent reading of a novel by listening to the book on tape. – Accommodation example 2: For unmotivated students, the

instructor breaks larger assignments into smaller ‘chunks’ and providing students with performance feedback and praise for each completed ‘chunk’ of assigned work (Skinner, Pappas & Davis, 2005).




• Modification. A modification changes the expectations of what a student is expected to know or do—typically by lowering the academic standards against which the student is to be evaluated.

Examples of modifications:– Giving a student five math computation problems for practice

instead of the 20 problems assigned to the rest of the class– Letting the student consult course notes during a test when peers

are not permitted to do so– Allowing a student to select a much easier book for a book report

than would be allowed to his or her classmates.

Documents

Response to Intervention ‘Doing More With Less’: Using Research Findings & Internet Resources to Make RTI Work in Challenging