Core Strength Training: Tier I for All! Dean Richards Jon Potter Northwest PBIS Conference March 9, 2010

Targets Universal Screening Core Instruction delivered with Fidelity Tier 1 Data-Based Decision Making

Universal Screening “Screening involves brief assessments that are valid, reliable, and evidence-based. They are conducted with all students or targeted groups of students to identify students who are at risk of academic failure and, therefore, likely to need additional or alternative forms of instruction to supplement the conventional general education approach.” – National Center on Response to Intervention

Screening Tools are designed to: – Compare all students to the same grade-level standard – Accurately identify those who are on track to meet grade level expectations, and those who will need more support – Evaluate the quality of your schoolwide instructional system – Be efficient, standardized, reliable, and valid Screening tools are NOT designed to: – Identify specific instructional levels for individual students – Identify WHY some students will need more support – Evaluate individual teachers – Take a large amount of instructional time and vary between classrooms Good Screening Tools

Maze EasyCBM AIMSweb ORF DIBELS Math Computation Math Applications Math Tests of Early Numeracy Writing (Total Words Written) Writing (Correct Word Sequences) Quick Phonics assessment QRI-IV CORE Multiple Measures Assessment DRA2 Fountas and Pinnell Report cards Meeting OAKS standards Read Well Unit Tests, core curriculum weekly tests on skills that are learned Screeners Not Screeners

What is CBM? Curriculum Based Measures are usually composed of a set of standard directions, a timing device, set of materials, scoring rules, standards for judging performance, and record form or charts. These are also called General Outcome Measures (GOM)

Essential Features of CBM Tools Robust indicator of academic health Brief and easy to administer Can be administered frequently Must have multiple, equivalent forms – (If the metric isn’t the same, the data are meaningless) Must be sensitive to growth

Why use a Universal Screener to Track Progress? Good, R.H., Simmons, D.C., & Smith, S.B. (1998). Effective academic interventions in the United States: Evaluating and enhancing the acquisition of early reading skills. School Psychology Review, 27, Children who are poor readers in 1st grade are highly likely to fall further and further behind

Overtly teaching each step through teacher modeling and many examples (Gradual Release Model). Explicit Systematic Practice and Mastery Application and Feedback Essential Components of Effective Reading Instruction

Breaking lessons and activities into sequential, manageable steps that progress from simple to more complex concepts and skills. i.e. scope and sequence of program Explicit Systematic Practice and Mastery Application and Feedback Essential Components of Effective Reading Instruction

Providing many opportunities for students to respond and demonstrate what they are learning, which may include teacher modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. Explicit Systematic Practice and Mastery Application and Feedback Essential Components of Effective Reading Instruction

Generalize what is learned in different contexts. We want students to apply the lessons to the next text they read. Explicit Systematic Practice and Mastery Application and Feedback Essential Components of Effective Reading Instruction

Fidelity to the core The BIG 5 The scope and sequence State standards

What we teach… Phonemic Awareness Phonics Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension How we teach it… Classroom Organization Matching students to text Access to interesting text with choice and collaboration Writing and Reading Expert Tutoring Big 5 + 5

Fidelity to the core The BIG 5 The scope and sequence State standards

Scope and sequence We want to be sure that we know what has and what will be taught. This relieves pressure. Mastery of skills looks different at all levels Repeated opportunities to learn

Summarize K Unit 4Week 1, U4W2, U4W3, U7W1, U7W2, U7W3 1 U1W1, U1W2, U1W3, U4W4, U4W5, U6W4, U6W5 2 U1W3, U1W4, U1W5, U2W1, U2W2, U2W3, U5W1, U5W3, U5W4, U5W5 3 U1W3, U1W4, U2W3, U2W5, U5W1, U5W5 4 U1W2, U1W3, U3W3, U3W4 5 U2W2, U2W3, U2W4, U6W1, U6W5 6 U2W4, U2W5, U6W3, U6W5 (Example from one Oregon approved core)

Fidelity to the core The BIG 5 The scope and sequence State standards

Why is fidelity important? Comprehensive program that incorporates all components of reading Students have the opportunity to make connections Students read text that supports vocabulary, phonics, and comprehension lessons The whole school has a common language, common goal, and common tools

Fidelity to the core Worksheets Fidelity

The core program provides the answer to what we teach.... we must bring our best instruction to answer “how we teach.” --Amy Petti, PSU Fidelity to the core

Evaluating your Core Program

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” --Winston Churchill, British prime minister Strong data analysis guides decisions

Tier 1 Meetings: Purpose To determine the effectiveness of the core, supplemental and intensive programming AND Make necessary adjustments to these programs if they are not meeting the needs of most students

General Features When: 2-3 times per year (following collection of your schoolwide screening data) Who: Principal, Literacy Specialist/Title I, Counselor, Grade level team (could include Special Education teacher, ELL teacher, School Psychologist, Paraprofessionals)

General Features What: Use schoolwide data to answer questions about core instruction and supplemental and intensive instruction Outcomes: Identify prioritized areas of need for the core curriculum and develop a plan (with a goal) for improving schoolwide achievement

Do not get stuck in problem admiring

How do you help staff understand and use data? 1.Focus on data – What do the data tell you? 2.Define the problem – Develop hypotheses 3.Link to instruction Use an agenda or guiding questions to guide staff through the process

Guiding Questions Based on districtwide screening data, is our core program sufficient for most students? – Review and analyze benchmark screening data. Determine percentage of students at low risk, some risk and at-risk levels Determine percentages compared to previous years and earlier in the year Determine percentages of student movement amongst levels – Review annual OAKS testing data. Determine percentage of students meeting minimum proficiency standards as set by the district – For example, Proficiency > 35%ile

Determine percentage of students at low risk, some risk and at-risk levels 17% 15%

Determine percentages compared to previous years and earlier in the year 15% 23% 17% 15%

Determine percentages of student movement amongst levels Intensive at Beginning of the yearStrategic at Beginning of the year Benchmark at Beginning of the year

Data Walls

Determine percentage of students meeting minimum OAKS proficiency standards… As set by your district

OAKS Passing OAKS 3 rd grade (204) places a child in the 17 th percentile Passing 3 rd grade is not enough. By 5 th grade, if these students stay at the same percentile they will fail OAKS By 10 th grade, if these students stay at the same percentile they will fail OAKS This student will score a 236 and pass at the 37 th percentile Based on ODE percentiles

What now?

Instructional needs a) What are the common instructional needs of the students this grade level?

Phonemic Awareness Phoneme deletion and manipulation Blending and segmenting individual phonemes Onset-rime blending and segmentation Syllable segmentation and blending Sentence segmentation Rhyming Word comparison Instructional needs

Phonics Letter sounds VC and CVC Consonant Digraphs CVCC and CCVC Silent E R-control vowels Advanced consonants (i.e.,-tch, kn, soft c &g) Vowel Teams Multi-syllable words Prefixes and suffixes Instructional needs

95%98%99% The Secret Life of Bees My Brother Sam is Dead 1563 The Magic School Bus Fluency Accuracy Prosody – Expression – Emphasis – Phrasing – Volume – Smoothness Rate – CWPM The old man the vegetable garden. Instructional needs

Vocabulary Contextual Analysis: A strategy readers use to infer or predict a word from the context in which it appears. Morphemic Analysis: A strategy in which the meanings of words can be determined or inferred by examining their meaningful parts (i.e., prefixes, suffixes, roots, etc.) Expressive Vocabulary: Requires a speaker or writer to produce a specific label for a particular meaning. Receptive Vocabulary: Requires a reader to associate a specific meaning with a given label as in reading or listening. Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Oregon Instructional needs

Comprehension Text Structure Make Inferences and Analyze Evaluate Story Structure Generate Questions Summarize Monitor Comprehension Keep in mind: Reading OAKS strand information is more related to the difficulty of the passage than the ability for the student to use the skill Instructional needs

Identify and celebrate what works i) What has worked?

Examine the data Which teachers/grade levels/buildings have people heard are successful? Opportunities for peer observation? – Coach or administrator cover class for 20 minutes Identify and celebrate what works

Instructional adjustments ii) What agreements can the grade level make on common instructional strategies? (1) How are you going to make the instruction more explicit? (2) How are you going to provide extra guided practice when needed? (3) How are you going to provide more corrective feedback to students? (4) How and when are you going to have students practice skills independently?

Instructional adjustments How are you going to make the instruction more EXPLICIT? Sets the purpose for the instruction Identifies the important details of the concept being taught Provides instructions that have only one interpretation Makes connection to previously learned material

Instructional adjustments How are you going to provide extra GUIDED PRACTICE when needed? Provides more than one opportunity to practice each new skill Provides opportunities for practice after each step in instruction Elicits group response when feasible Provides structured partner talk time Provides extra practice based on accuracy of student responses I do, we do, ya’ll do, you do

Instructional adjustments How are you going to provide more CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK to students? Provides affirmations for correct responses Promptly corrects errors with provision of correct model Limits corrective feedback language to the task at hand Ensures mastery of all students before moving on

How and when are you going to have student PRACTICE SKILLS INDEPENDENTLY? Independent work routines and procedures taught Models tasks before allowing students to work independently Students use previously learned strategies or routines when they come to a task they don’t understand Independent work is completed with high level of accuracy Instructional adjustments

iii) What agreements can the grade level make on common active engagement strategies? How will you increase active engagement to increase the effectiveness of the instruction? Active engagement

How many times it takes to learn something new Average Learner Everybody else Truly disabled student Jo Robinson (2008) 4-14 times times times Active engagement

Teacher Behavior Gains student attention before initiating instruction Paces lesson to maintain attention Maintains close proximity to students Transitions quickly between tasks Intervenes with off-task students to maintain their focus Active engagement

Think/pair/share Think/write/share Choral response Jobs/roles of students Graphic organizer in use as a response to instruction Physical gestures; hand signals White board responses Manipulatives Students are meaningfully engaged in reading, writing or talking about the content of the lesson Cooperative groups are productively engaged in dialogue, discourse or learning activities Guided practice is evident Student self assessment Active engagement Amy Petti & Tara Black. Adapted from LBUSD Lesson activities

Fidelity iv) What can you do to improve your teaching of the core to fidelity? How is your team using fidelity checklists to improve the instruction within the core?

5 minute walk through Core program fidelity check Intervention fidelity checks Fidelity

Come agreements around a fidelity checklist Does a grade level need to create their own? – Systematic way for the administrator and coach to agree on outcomes Fidelity

Is the whole team at the same place in the curriculum? Pacing guides provide consistency about the amount of time that will be spent on each essential learning. To be used to guide the pacing of the instruction, not a military march toward a goal. Fidelity

North Clackamas Schools

What are the most essential outcomes for the upcoming units? – Endurance: Are students expected to retain the skills or knowledge long after the unit is completed? – Leverage: Is this skill or knowledge applicable to many academic disciplines? – Readiness for the next level of learning: Is this skill or knowledge preparing the student for success in the next unit/grade? Reeves (2002) Fidelity

v) What are your professional development needs and goals? Professional development

High quality professional development... Focuses on teachers but includes all of the school community Focuses on individual, collegial and organizational improvement Nurtures leadership capacity of school community Reflects best available research and practice Promotes continuous inquiry and improvement Is planned collaboratively by those who will participate in and facilitate the development Requires time and resources Driven by a long-term plan Is evaluated on the impact on student learning Adapted from Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 6/98 Professional development

Model lessons by coach Peer lesson observation Substitute time for team planning Visit high performing schools within the district Parent communication Schedule change Professional development

Set fresh goals c) Establish an end of the year goal to work toward for the percentage of student you would like to see in each tier based on assessment data.

Look at your current reality. What is an ambitious and attainable goal? Pick a goal for each tier – Tier 1 to 80% ? – Tier 2 to 15% ? – Tier 3 at 5% ? Set fresh goals

What is the current reality 65% 98 Total 3 rd graders 22% 12% 64 students 22 students 12 students

What is the current reality 65% 98 Total 3 rd graders 22% 12% 64 students 22 students 12 students 18 students12 students

What is the current reality 53% 98 Total 3 rd graders 16% 30% 52 students 16 students 30 students 18 students12 students

Sharing this information with teachers Celebrate!!! – 65% are doing well – Over 50% of the students have met the end of the year benchmark Keep the focus – 12% of the Benchmark students are on the edge – 18% of the Strategic are on the edge

What is an ambitious and attainable goal? JanuarySpring Goal Benchmark65% Strategic22% Intensive12%

What is an ambitious and attainable goal? JanuarySpring Goal Benchmark65%75% Strategic22% Intensive12%

What is an ambitious and attainable goal? JanuarySpring Goal Benchmark65%75% Strategic22%18% Intensive12%

Establish an end of the year goal of percentages in each tier JanuarySpring Goal Benchmark65%75% Strategic22%18% Intensive12%7%