Enhancing RtI: Instruction and Intervention Doug Fisher PowerPoints available at Click “Resources” Videos on YouTube “fisherandfrey”

I ’ ll go back to school and learn more about the brain!

400+ page textbook “Somites are blocks of dorsal mesodermal cells adjacent to the notochord during vertebrate organogenesis.” “Improved vascular definition in radiographs of the arterial phase or of the venous phase can be procured by a process of subtraction whereby positive and negative images of the overlying skull are superimposed on one another.” “Somites are blocks of dorsal mesodermal cells adjacent to the notochord during vertebrate organogenesis.” “Improved vascular definition in radiographs of the arterial phase or of the venous phase can be procured by a process of subtraction whereby positive and negative images of the overlying skull are superimposed on one another.”

“I don’t know how you’re going to learn this, but it’s on the test.”

Quick, build background!

Expand understanding through reading

Reading increasingly difficult texts

Read “non-traditional” texts To date, over 100 YouTube videos! PBS (The Secret Life of the Brain) Internet quiz sites about neuroanatomy Talking with peers and others interested in the brain

But, the midterm comes 17 pages, single spaced, 200 multiple choice questions

Besides some Neuroanatomy, what did I learn? Besides some Neuroanatomy, what did I learn? You can’t learn from books you can’t read (but you can learn) Reading widely builds background and vocabulary Interacting with others keeps me motivated, clarifies information and extends understanding I have choices

The teacher needed to… Establish learning goals Check for understanding Provide feedback Align future instruction with student performance

Purpose of RtI An alternative way to identify students as having learning disabilities, making sure that students who struggle were not misidentified as disabled when different and/or more intensive instruction addressed their needs.

Purpose of RtI An alternative way to identify students as having learning disabilities, making sure that students who struggle were not misidentified as disabled when different and/or more intensive instruction addressed their needs. “Big RTI”

A school improvement process designed to ensure that students receive the instruction, intervention, and support necessary to be successful.

“little rti”

Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI 2 ) Tier 1: 75+% Tier 2: 10-15% Tier 3: 5-10% Manipulate variables…

Tiers 2 and 3 intervention are not a Band-Aid … …for ineffective Tier 1 instruction.

What could Tier 1 look like? Tier 1: 75+%

Implementation of Gradual Release of Responsibility instructional framework Increase productive group work Feed-forward not just feedback Tier 1: Quality Core Instruction

TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY Focus Lesson Guided Instruction “ I do it ” “ We do it ” “ You do it together ” Collaborative Independent “ You do it alone ” A Model for Success for All Students Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

The sudden release of responsibility TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY Focus Lesson “ I do it ” Independent “ You do it alone ” Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

DIY School TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY (none) STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY Independent “ You do it alone ” Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY Focus Lesson Guided Instruction “ I do it ” “ We do it ” “ You do it together ” Collaborative Independent “ You do it alone ” A Model for Success for All Students Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

The established purpose focuses on student learning, rather than an activity, task, or assignment. The established purpose focuses on student learning, rather than an activity, task, or assignment.

Quality Indicator #1 Complexity of Task: The task is a novel application of a grade-level appropriate concept and is designed so that the outcome is not guaranteed (a chance for productive failure exists).

Quality Indicator #2 Joint attention to tasks or materials Students are interacting with one another to build each other’s knowledge. Outward indicators include body language and movement associated with meaningful conversations, and shared visual gaze on materials.

Quality Indicator #3 Argumentation not arguing: Student use accountable talk to persuade, provide evidence, ask questions of one another, and disagree without being disagreeable.

Quality Indicator #4 Language support: Written, verbal, teacher, and peer supports are available to boost academic language usage.

Quality Indicator #5 Grouping: Small groups of 2-5 students are purposefully constructed to maximize individual strengths without magnifying areas of needs ( heterogeneous grouping ).

Quality Indicator #6 Teacher role: What is the teacher doing while productive group work is occurring ?

Fisher & Frey, 2009 Feed up: establishing purpose Check for understanding: daily monitoring of learning Feed back: providing students with information about their success and needs Feed forward: using student performance for “next steps” instruction and feeding this into an instructional model

Feedback is not enough

What do students do with anchorless feedback?

Tier 2: 10-15% What could Tier 2 look like?

Tier 2 Schedule Intervention to Supplement, Not Supplant Core Instruction

Mostly classroom teachers as students work productively Push-in staff (15% rule) Who provides Tier 2?

Manipulate the variables Manipulate the variables

Access to Expertise Access to Expertise

Time and Duration

Group size

Increased guided instruction with smaller groups Increased guided instruction with smaller groups

Zone of Proximal Development Scaffolding

“As easy as learning to ride a bike”

Scaffolds in Classroom Instruction Robust questions to check for understanding Prompts that focus on cognitive and metacognitive processes Cues to shift attention to sources Direct explanation and modeling to re-teach

Robust Questions to Check for Understanding

Intention uncovering, not testing

Teacher: What is a nocturnal animal? Student: An animal that stays awake at night. Teacher: Good. What is a diurnal animal? I-R-E

Teacher: What is a nocturnal animal? Student: An animal that stays awake at night. Teacher: Tell me more about that. Does a nocturnal animal have special characteristics? Student: Well, it doesn’t sleep a lot. Probe

Teacher: What is a nocturnal animal? Student: An animal that stays awake at night. Teacher: Tell me more about that. Does a nocturnal animal have special characteristics? Student: Well, it doesn’t sleep a lot. Misconception

Prompting for Cognitive and Metacognitive Thinking

Background knowledge prompts invite students to use what they know to resolve problems

Process or Procedure Prompts To perform a specific task

Reflective prompt knowing about knowing “What are we learning today?”

Heuristic prompt Informal and less defined “Make a graph so you can see it.”

How do you find parking?

Teacher: What is a nocturnal animal? Student: An animal that stays awake at night. Teacher: Tell me more about that. Does a nocturnal animal have special characteristics? Student: Well, it doesn’t sleep a lot. Teacher: I’m thinking of those pictures we saw of the great horned owl and the slow loris in the daytime and at night. Does your answer still work? PROMPT

Cues to Shift Attention

Cues Shift attention to sources of information More direct and specific than prompts

the expert commentator sees things you don’t cues do the same for novices Attention grows with competence

Visual Verbal Gestural Physical Positional Environmental 6 Types

Using Prompts and Cues Context: Students are creating a Jeopardy®-style game. The teacher is building the background knowledge of a group of students. He draws their attention to a sentence in the text: “When you eat foods—such as bread, meat, and vegetables— they are not in a form that the body can use as nourishment.” He asks Mauricio to retell it is his own words...

Mauricio: So, I think it says that your body can’t use meat like it is meat. It has to be changed. Jessica: But that’s what we eat to live. That’s good eating. Russell: I don’t eat any vegetables. I only like the meat and bread from this, like a hamburger. Mr. Jackson: How does that meat change so that your body can use it? Russell? Russell: It doesn’t change. It’s meat. Mr. Jackson: So let’s think about what we know about nourishment and our food. There’s a process that it goes through, right? [they nod in agreement] What’s the first step? You know this because you do it several times a day. Sarah: The first thing to eat? Is that what you mean? Mr. Jackson: Yeah, the first thing. Sarah: You take a bite. Mr. Jackson: Exactly, right on. So you’ve changed the food, right? Russell: Yeah, but it’s still meat. Mr. Jackson: It sure is. But it’s changed a bit, and will change more. Remember we talked about different kinds of changes. Physical … Chemical Russell: So the first thing, when you bite it, it’s a physical change, right? Mr. Jackson: You know it! And then what happens?

Direct Explanation and Modeling

When prompting and cueing fail, it’s time for direct explanation. When prompting and cueing fail, it’s time for direct explanation.

Direct Explanation Take care not to re-assume responsibility too quickly Identify Explain Think aloud Monitor

CBMs 1-2 times per month for progress monitoring

CBMs 1-2 times per month for progress monitoring Cloze assessments Oral fluency measures Timed math exercises Timed writing

Tier 3: 5-10% What could Tier 3 look like?

Daily 1:1 instruction

Tier 3: Intensive Interventions

Keep the teacher at the center of communication

Increased Progress Monitoring with specialized assessments Increased Progress Monitoring with specialized assessments

Increased Progress Monitoring with specialized assessments Increased Progress Monitoring with specialized assessments Analytic writing samples Vocabulary CBMs

Every certificated adult meets with students

The Takeaway

Instruction and Intervention are linked Manipulate variables (time, assessment, expertise, instruction) to intensify intervention Build in a feed forward method so that RtI 2 results inform classroom instruction and programmatic improvements Keep the teacher and family at the center of communication The Takeaway

Enhancing RtI: Instruction and Intervention Nancy Frey and Doug Fisher PowerPoints available at Click “Resources” Book available from ASCD