Jim Wright Academic Interventions That Really Work! Jim Wright Jim Wright Download selected PowerPoint Slides from this presentation, as well as copies of handouts. View links to recommended websites and view additional intervention ideas mentioned during this workshop: Jim Wright Workshop Goals In this workshop, we will learn about: Effective components of instruction Ideas for motivating reluctant learners Classic techniques to improve instruction Behavior management strategies to promote learning Ways to promote study skills A sampling of reading interventions Jim Wright None of us is as smart as all of us. --Anonymous Jim Wright Any darn mule can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build one. --Lyndon Johnson Jim Wright Curriculum Train Jim Wright Difficult-To-Teach Students Experience greater difficulty with learning and retention of information May also have behavioral problems Fall along a continuum, with some students showing more severe needs than others Jim Wright Difficult-To-Teach Students: The Numbers One in ten children in schools is classified as Special Education 3-5% of students may qualify for ADHD In 1998, about 40% of 4 th grade youngsters fell below grade-level on a national reading test Jim Wright Difficult-To-Teach Students An increasing body of evidence supports the need for students with disabilities to be directly taught the processes and concepts that nondisabled children tend to learn naturally through experiences. --Office of Special Education Programs 21 st Annual Report to Congress (1999) Jim Wright Teacher Circle of Accountability Identify students who need additional support Use research-based interventions to assist students Monitor these students progress on ongoing basis Jim Wright 1. Identify & Verify the Scope of the Problem 2. Select Interventions That Address Root Cause 3. Set Goals for Improvement 4. Monitor Student Progress & Evaluate Outcome Solving Student Academic or Behavioral Problems: A Four- Part Model Jim Wright Building Blocks of Effective Instruction Jim Wright Big Ideas as an Academic Intervention Jim Wright The notion of big ideas is roughly comparable to important ideas,knowledge, and concepts. Specifically, instead of teaching for coverage (i.e., exposing students to all the objectives of a lesson), only a few big ideas would be taught, but more thoroughly. It is better to do a few robust things well than lots of things poorly p.346 Example: Fractions, decimals, ratios, percents all represent the concept of proportion. Big Ideas As an Academic Intervention (Carnine, 1994) Jim Wright Instructional Hierarchy (Haring, et al, 1978) Jim Wright Instructional Building Blocks Instructional Hierarchy (Haring, et al., 1978) Acquisition Fluency Generalization Adaptation Jim Wright Jim Wright Learn Unit (Heward, 1996) Jim Wright Instructional Building Blocks Learn Unit (Heward, 1996) 1.Academic Opportunity to Respond 2.Active Student Response 3.Performance Feedback Jim Wright Common academic trouble points: Lack of instructional control in the classroom Independent seatwork Reading Homework Test-taking Student motivation ! Jim Wright How to Assert Academic Control in the Classroom Jim Wright Increasing Time Devoted to Instruction Allocated Time Academic Learning Time Instructional Time Engaged Time Academic Learning Time Jim Wright Key Concept: Behavior Stream (Schoenfeld & Farmer, 1970) Individuals are always performing SOME type of behavior: watching the instructor, sleeping, talking to a neighbor, completing a worksheet ( behavior stream ) When students are fully engaged in academic behaviors, they are less likely to get off-task and display problem behaviors Academic tasks that are clearly understood, elicit student interest, provide a high rate of student success, and include teacher encouragement and feedback are most likely to capture student behavior effectively Jim Wright Ideas to Increase Student Understanding of Instructions Write instructions on the board and deliver them verbally as well Have students write down, repeat, or paraphrase directions for assignments Complete a sample task item for the group or otherwise demonstrate how to perform the task Source: Gettinger, 1990 Jim Wright Ideas to Increase Academic Learning Time Have all necessary work or study materials on hand in the room prior to the lesson Use student assistants to distribute and collect materials while the teacher monitors the transition Divide class up into teams. Time group transitions, awarding points or allow other incentives for the members of either team for rapid and appropriate transitions Source: Gettinger, 1990 Jim Wright Adopt Interactive Teaching Style & Encourage Student Responding During group lessons: Match difficulty level of question to ability of the student Have students respond chorally (younger children) or Ask question, give wait time, then call on individual student (older students) If a students answer is incorrect or only partially correct, assist the student by prompting or rephrasing the question so the student answers it correctly Ask students to comment or elaborate on answers given by other students During small group instruction or individual seatwork, circulate through room, checking in periodically with each student or group (visiting students at their desks minimizes student movementa good thing). Keep individual interactions short (30 seconds). Source: Gettinger, 1990 Jim Wright Give Students Academic Feedback Students benefit from: Specific, timely feedback about whether their response is correct or incorrect Ideas for approaching the problem or task in a different way Source: Gettinger, 1990 Jim Wright Give Students Academic Feedback Students benefit from frequent feedback. Teachers can efficiently increase their academic feedback by: Collecting short samples of student work often (e.g., collect individual paragraphs rather than waiting for a full term paper) Creating rubrics for students to evaluate own work Have students maintain own records of self-graded or self-evaluated work Source: Gettinger, 1990 Jim Wright References Gettinger, M. (1990). Best practices in increasing academic learning time. In. A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology-II (pp ). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Psychologists. Jim Wright Helping Students to Complete Independent Seatwork Jim Wright Jim Wright 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 Jim Wright Elements to Support Independent Seatwork Directions & Instructional Match. The teacher ensures that the student understands the assignment and can do the work. Help Routine. The student knows how to request help without drawing attention (e.g., by asking a peer). 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. Performance Feedback. The student can access an answer key (if appropriate) to check his or her work. 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. Jim Wright Sample Reference Sheet: Multiplication Table x Problem: 8 X 7 = ?