Strategic Intervention Model SIM: An Evidence-based Academic Support Approach Dr. Ginger Blalock, Consultant, REC 6 Transition Project Education-Transition Consulting LLC

STRATEGIC INTERVENTION MODEL Multifaceted approach to help students in upper elementary, middle, high school, and higher ed to become independent and successful learners Why? Research in classrooms showed that preteens/teens were low achieving, did not generalize learning, had narrow social skills – i.e., did not problem solve for academic, social, or self-management tasks

More… SIM consists of both learning strategies (for students) and content enhancement routines (for teachers) Why? Research showed that teachers used traditional methods with increasingly less payoff (eg., remedial, study skills) or increasing costs (eg., tutorial, compensatory), thus poor (i.e., nonstrategic) learners were set up to fail

Learning Strategies viewed as cognitive behavior modification, integrating metacognitive strategies with behavioral supports Why? Each approach by itself doesn’t have the payoff that a combined approach does – all learners benefit from BOTH structure, stimuli, and reinforcement along with self-questioning, transformational language, and meaning connections

Analysis of a Learning Strategy Mnemonic device (self-teaching, triggers memory) 3 simple steps (aids memory) Self-questioning Read a paragraph. Transformational language Ask yourself what were the main idea and details. Put the main idea & details in your own words. Each step begin with an action or behavior (covert or overt) Triggers what to do (stimuli) Simple, easy to follow

Based on 30 years of extensive classroom research, by team at University of Kansas Headed by Don Deshler, with research lead Jean Schumaker, visionary Gordon Alley, preservice researchers Ed Ellis and Keith Lenz, and inservice researcher Fran Clark (among many others since the beginning)

LEARNING STRATEGIES Teach students how to approach an academic or a social task Teach students how to learn and perform independently Are not basic or study skills but more a series of problem-solving steps Only 1 or 2 might be considered core curriculum but only in a short-term, intensive sense

EXAMPLE LEARNING STRATEGIES WORD IDENTIFICATION STRATEGY – students decode and identify unknown multisyllable words in their reading materials. PARAPHRASING STRATEGY – read short passages, identify the main idea and key details, and rephrase those in their own words. VOCABULARY STRATEGY – learn the meaning of new vocabulary words using powerful memory-enhancement techniques. FIRST-LETTER MNEMONIC STRATEGY – identify lists they need to learn, generate a label or title, select a mnemonic device for each set of information, create a study card, and master the set for recall.

More Learning Strategies FUNDAMENTALS IN SENTENCE WRITING STRATEGY – learn the basic requirements of a complete simple sentence, how to identify major parts of sentence (subjects, verbs, prepositions, infinitives, and adverbs) PROFICIENCY IN SENTENCE WRITING STRATEGY –recognize and write 14 sentence patterns within simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. ERROR MONITORING STRATEGY – independently detect and correct errors in written work and develop personal strategies to avoid errors. TEST-TAKING STRATEGY – learn to allocate time and order to test sections, focus on directions, use mnemonic devices, make informed guesses, check their work, and approach test-taking proactively.

A little depth with the strategies 8 instructional stages that help cement learning (half require mastery): Pretest & gain commitment to learn Describe (when/where, steps to use) Model (show what its use looks like) Verbal rehearsal (automatic level) Guided practice with feedback Independent practice with feedback Posttest and commitment to generalize 3 phases of generalization (orientation, activation, maintenance) with feedback

A little depth (cont’d) . . . Self-contained modules with: Instructional lessons, detailing how to prepare, what to bring, what to discuss Instructional cue cards Student practice materials Student assessment materials Record-keeping materials

PARAPHRASING STRATEGY (RAP) 3 steps: Read a paragraph. Ask yourself, what were the main idea and details in the paragraph? Put the main idea and details in your own words. Significantly aids comprehension and memory.

RAP (cont’d) Cue cards teach couple of strategies for identifying main ideas (first sentence in paragraph, repeated word or phrase) Criteria for “paraphrase” also taught: one general idea per passage, important information, complete thought, etc.

Sample Passage to Apply RAP Neighbors were shocked to find that their next door neighbors were actually husband and wife instead of grandmother and grandson. Maude and Harold Newman’s next-door neighbors described a nice but quirky pair who seemed to greatly enjoy their garden, their animals, and each other and who kept odd hours. Neighbors along the street also reported no apparent employment for either and an unusual sense of fashion and home decoration.

RAP (cont’d) Go through the 8 instructional stages. First 4 stages best done in small group, but other configurations very possible. Next 4 stages can be individualized, self-paced. Stage 4 (verbal rehearsal) starts the mastery criteria necessary to proceed to next stage. Working through to Generalization Stage very important for real application later

SENTENCE-WRITING STRATEGY (PENS) 4 steps to follow: 1. Pick a (sentence) formula. 2. Explore (think of) words to fit the formula. 3. Note (write down) the words. 4. Search and check: - subject-verb agreement - capitalization, punctuation Greatly improves grammar, complete and varied sentences.

PENS (cont’d) Cue cards teach components of a complete sentence: Start with a capital letter Have end punctuation (. ? !) Have a subject (S) Have a verb (V) Make sense S V .?!

Practice with a Sentence Formula Simple Sentence Formulae: SV SSV SVV SSVV Compound Sentence Formula: I, c I

Teach Fundamentals in Sentence Writing first, in order for students to acquire basic grammatical skills Students eventually learn 14 different sentence formulae, from SV to I,cD Students progress from identifying parts of sentences to choosing them to generating them

CONTENT ENHANCEMENT ROUTINES Techniques for repeated use in classrooms that open up access to the content for ALL students

EXAMPLE CONTENT ENHANCEMENT ROUTINES COURSE ORGANIZER ROUTINE – teachers plan so students see “big picture” of a course, how units fit within it, and can navigate the course well. UNIT ORGANIZER ROUTINE – introduces the big ideas of a unit, how they relate to prior and future learning, and how information is organized; helps document learning. LESSON ORGANIZER ROUTINE – opens and builds a lesson in which students see main idea and lesson’s organization, relate it to background knowledge, and understand lesson’s tasks & demands CONCEPT MASTERY ROUTINE – helps students master a key concept within the curriculum using examples and non-examples and a structured process to define it.

CONTENT ENHANCEMENT ROUTINES (cont’d) CONCEPT ANCHOR ROUTINE – helps students master a difficult new concept through analogies and students’ prior knowledge. QUALITY ASSIGNMENT ROUTINE – 3 phases of planning, presenting, and evaluating help teachers improve the quality of assignments given and completed. FRAMING ROUTINE – shows students the relationships among main ideas and the essential details related to them. LEARNING EXPRESS-WAYS FOLDERS – facilitates open communication between teachers and individual students through targeted use of folders.

A little depth with the Routines… They depend heavily on evidence-based strategies such as: Priming and building on student background knowledge Graphic organizers Ongoing student engagement Small and large group interaction while able to assess individual accountability “Permanent” models

Concept Anchor Routine (cont’d)

Concept Anchor Routine Uses a known concept to help learners grasp a difficult-to-learn new concept Works across any content area Teacher needs to guide students to select known concepts that can work fairly easily (eg., learning the parts of the eye is like learning the parts of a camera)

Content Literacy Continuum = RtI Level 1: Enhanced content instruction Level 2: Embedded strategy instruction Level 3: Intensive strategy instruction Level 4: Intensive basic skill instruction Level 5: Therapeutic intervention

Level 1 – Enhanced content instruction = mastery of critical content for ALL regardless of literacy levels I.e., using a research-based core curriculum found to be appropriate for all your learners, teaching it with fidelity, and continuously monitoring (and acting upon) each student’s progress

Level 2 – Embedded strategy instruction = routinely weaving strategies within and across classes using large group instructional methods Eg., teach Paraphrasing Strategy to entire class as a useful lifelong tool that helps them grasp and remember content in hard-to-remember subjects

Level 3 – Intensive strategy instruction = mastery of specific strategies using intensive-explicit instructional sequences – 4th grade and above Eg., teach Sentence Writing Strategy to small group of students who need troubleshooting to complete assignments adequately

Level 4 – Intensive basic skill instruction = mastery of entry level literacy skills at the PreK-3rd level (decoding, fluency, …) Eg., pull student(s) out for intensive, relentless instruction of core skills over short term (2 months – 1 semester?), using evidence-based curriculum

Level 5 – Therapeutic intervention = mastery of language underpinnings of curriculum content and learning strategies I.e., intensive, perhaps short-term language therapy

Other SIM Offerings Motivation strategies Team collaboration strategies Building learning communities Communication strategies between teachers and students E-learning opportunities Summer and regional conferences Many other emerging works based on extensive, school-based research

WANT MORE? For more information, go to www.ku-crl.org For training in New Mexico, contact: Ginger Blalock blalock@unm.edu Kristi Noel kknoel@comcast.net (plus have info on group in El Paso)