Response to Intervention Finding the Spark: Strategies for Working With the Unmotivated Learner Jim Wright

Response to Intervention 2 Download PowerPoints and Handouts from this workshop at: mspa08.php

Response to Intervention 3 Workshop Agenda… RTI & Motivation: An Introduction Tier I Interventions: Motivating Teachers to Try Motivating Strategies With Students Using Rewards as Motivators: Recommendations ADHD Student Interventions Levers of Influence in the Classroom: A 5-Part Framework for Motivating Students Motivating Students to Participate in Their Own RTI Plans Web Resources to Assist in Motivation Interventions and Assessment

Response to Intervention 4 Essential Elements of RTI (Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007) 1.A “continuum of evidence-based services available to all students" that range from universal to highly individualized & intensive 2.“Decision points to determine if students are performing significantly below the level of their peers in academic and social behavior domains" 3.“Ongoing monitoring of student progress" 4.“Employment of more intensive or different interventions when students do not improve in response" to lesser interventions 5.“Evaluation for special education services if students do not respond to intervention instruction" Source: Fairbanks, S., Sugai, G., Guardino, S., & Lathrop, M. (2007). Response to intervention: Examining classroom behavior support in second grade. Exceptional Children, 73, p. 289.

Response to Intervention 5 Tier I Tier II Tier III How can a school restructure to support RTI? The school can organize its intervention efforts into 3 levels, or Tiers, that represent a continuum of increasing intensity of support. (Kovaleski, 2003; Vaughn, 2003). Tier I is the lowest level of intervention and Tier III is the most intensive intervention level. Universal intervention: Available to all students Example: Additional classroom literacy instruction Individualized Intervention: Students who need additional support than peers are given individual intervention plans. Example: Supplemental peer tutoring in reading to increase reading fluency Intensive Intervention: Students whose intervention needs are greater than general education can meet may be referred for more intensive services. Example: Special Education

Response to Intervention 6 How a Classroom Lacking Tier I Strategies is Like a Pinball Machine…

Response to Intervention 7 The Myth of the ‘Lazy Student’: Student Motivation Levels Are Strongly Influenced by the Instructional Setting (Lentz & Shapiro, 1986) Students with learning or motivation problems do not exist in isolation. Rather, their instructional environment plays an enormously important role in these students’ degree of academic engagement. Source: Lentz, F. E. & Shapiro, E. S. (1986). Functional assessment of the academic environment. School Psychology Review, 15,

Response to Intervention 8 Student academic problems cause many school behavior problems. “Whether [a student’s] problem is a behavior problem or an academic one, we recommend starting with a functional academic assessment, since often behavior problems occur when students cannot or will not do required academic work.” Big Ideas: Academic Delays Can Be a Potent Cause of Behavior Problems (Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000) Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Noell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West, p. 13

Response to Intervention 9 Big Ideas: Similar Behaviors May Stem from Very Different ‘Root’ Causes (Kratochwill, Elliott, & Carrington Rotto, 1990) Behavior is not random but follows purposeful patterns. Students who present with the same apparent ‘surface’ behaviors may have very different ‘drivers’ (underlying reasons) that explain why those behaviors occur. A student’s problem behaviors must be carefully identified and analyzed to determine the drivers that support them. Source: Kratochwill, T. R., Elliott, S. N., & Carrington Rotto, P. (1990). Best practices in behavioral consultation. In A. Thomas and J. Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school psychology-II (pp. 147=169). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Psychologists..

Response to Intervention 10 Common ‘Root Causes’ or ‘Drivers’ for Behaviors Include… Power/Control Protection/Escape/Avoidance Attention Acceptance/Affiliation Expression of Self Gratification Justice/Revenge Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Noell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West..pp. 3-4.

Response to Intervention 11 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 effectively ‘capture’ the student’s ‘behavior stream’. Big Ideas: Behavior is a Continuous ‘Stream’ (Schoenfeld & Farmer, 1970) Source: Schoenfeld, W. N., & Farmer, J. (1970). Reinforcement schedules and the ‘‘behavior stream.’’ In W. N. Schoenfeld (Ed.), The theory of reinforcement schedules (pp. 215–245). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Response to Intervention 12 A Profile of the ‘Difficult-to-Teach’ Student Struggling learners may: Have significant deficits in basic academic skills Lack higher-level problem-solving strategies and concepts Present with issues of school motivation Show social/emotional concerns that interfere with academics Have difficulty with attendance Lack the organizational skills and confidence to become ‘self-managing’ learners…

Response to Intervention Defining Motivation…

Response to Intervention 14 Definitions of ‘Motivation’ “…motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of behavior.” Source: Motivation. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 13, 2007, from “Motivation is an internal state that activates, guides and sustains behavior.” Source: Educational psychology. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 13, 2007, from logy#Motivation “Motivation is typically defined as the forces that account for the arousal, selection, direction, and continuation of behavior.” Source: Excerpted from Chapter 11 of Biehler/Snowman, PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED TO TEACHING, 8/e, Houghton Mifflin, 1997.

Response to Intervention 15 Motivation in Action: ‘Flow’

Response to Intervention 16 Definition of the ‘Flow’ State “Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost.” --Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Source: Geirland, J. (Septermber, 1996). Go with the flow. Wired Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2007, from

Response to Intervention 17 Qualities of Activities that May Elicit a ‘Flow’ State The activity is challenging and requires skill to complete Goals are clear Feedback is immediate There is a ‘merging of action and awareness’. ‘All the attention is concentrated on the relevant stimuli’ so that individuals are no longer aware of themselves as ‘separate from the actions they are performing’ The sense of time’s passing is altered: Time may seem slowed or pass very quickly ‘Flow’ is not static. As one acquires mastery over an activity, he or she must move to more challenging experiences to continue to achieve ‘flow’ Source: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row

Response to Intervention 18 Flow Channel Source: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row Anxiety Boredom (High) (Low) (High)(Low) Student A: Low Skills, Low Challenge A Student B: High Skills, Low Challenge B Student C: Low Skills, High Challenge C Student D: High Skills, High Challenge D Challenges Skills

Response to Intervention 19 Motivation in the Classroom

Response to Intervention 20 Unmotivated Students: What Works The relationship between the two factors is multiplicative. If EITHER of these factors (the student’s expectation of success on the task OR the student’s valuing of that success) is zero, then the ‘motivation’ product will also be zero. 1.the student’s expectation of success on the task 2.the value that the student places on achieving success on that learning task Motivation can be thought of as having two dimensions: Multiplied by Source: Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., & Nolet, V. (2002). Prevention and management of behavior problems in secondary schools. In M. A. Shinn, H. M. Walker & G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for academic and behavior problems II: Preventive and remedial approaches (pp ). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists. ……………… 10 X 0...………… 0 ……………… 0 X 10...………… 0 ……………… 10 X...………… 100

Response to Intervention 21 Our Working Definition of ‘Academic Motivation’ For This Workshop The student puts reasonable effort into completing academic work in a timely manner.

Response to Intervention 22 ‘Elbow Group’ Activity: What Are Your School’s Top Motivation Concerns? In your group: 1.Discuss specific concerns that your school or district has about student motivation. 2.Note any common themes of motivation concerns shared by your group and be prepared to share them.