Response to Intervention RTI Intervention Teams in Middle & High Schools: Challenges and Opportunities Jim Wright

Response to Intervention 2 RTI ‘Pyramid of Interventions’ Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 1: Universal interventions. Available to all students in a classroom or school. Can consist of whole-group or individual strategies or supports. Tier 2: Individualized interventions. Subset of students receive interventions targeting specific needs. Tier 3: Intensive interventions. Students who are ‘non-responders’ to Tiers I & II may be eligible for special education services, intensive interventions.

Response to Intervention 3 Tier 3: Intensive Individualized Interventions Tier 3 interventions are the most intensive offered in a school setting. Students qualify for Tier 3 interventions because: –they are found to have a large skill gap when compared to their class or grade peers; and/or –They did not respond to interventions provided previously at Tiers 1 & 2. Tier 3 interventions are provided daily for sessions of 30 minutes. The student-teacher ratio is flexible but should allow the student to receive intensive, individualized instruction. The reading progress of students in Tier 3 interventions is monitored at least weekly. Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools. Routledge: New York.

Response to Intervention 4 Secondary Level: Classroom Performance Rating Form

Response to Intervention 5 Tier 3 Interventions Are Developed With Assistance from the School’s RTI (Problem-Solving) Team Effective RTI Teams: Are multi-disciplinary and include classroom teachers among their members Follow a structured ‘problem-solving’ model Use data to analyze the academic problem and match the student to effective, evidence-based interventions Develop a detailed research-based intervention plan to help staff with implementation Check up on the teacher’s success in carrying out the intervention (‘intervention integrity’)

Response to Intervention 6 The Problem-Solving Model & Multi-Disciplinary Teams A school consultative process (‘the problem-solving model’) with roots in applied behavior analysis was developed (e.g., Bergan, 1995) that includes 4 steps: –Problem Identification –Problem Analysis –Plan Implementation –Problem Evaluation Originally designed for individual consultation with teachers, the problem-solving model was later adapted in various forms to multi-disciplinary team settings. Source: Bergan, J. R. (1995). Evolution of a problem-solving model of consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 6(2),

Response to Intervention 7 Tier 3 Targets: Intervention, Curriculum, and Environment “For [a tier 3] intervention to be effective and robust, it must focus on the specific needs of the student. It should also address the reason that the student is experiencing difficulty…. Rather than considering a [student] problem to be the result of inalterable student characteristics, teams are compelled to focus on change that can be made to the intervention, curriculum or environment that would result in positive student outcome. The hypothesis and intervention should focus on those variables that are alterable within the school setting. These alterable variables include learning goals and objectives (what is to be learned), materials, time, student-to-teacher ratio, activities, and motivational strategies.” p. 95 Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools. Routledge: New York.

Response to Intervention 8 RTI Problem-Solving Teams at the Secondary Level: The Necessary Art of ‘Satisficing’ “The word satisfice was coined by Herbert Simon as a portmanteau of "satisfy" and "suffice". Simon pointed out that human beings lack the cognitive resources to maximize: we usually do not know the relevant probabilities of outcomes, we can rarely evaluate all outcomes with sufficient precision, and our memories are weak and unreliable. A more realistic approach to rationality takes into account these limitations: This is called bounded rationality.” ( Satisficing, 2008) Source: Satisficing (2008). Wikipedia. Retrieved on July 2, 2008, from

Response to Intervention 9 How Is a Secondary RTI Team Like a MASH Unit? The RTI Team must deal with complex situations with limited resources and tight timelines, often being forced to select from among numerous ‘intervention targets’ (e.g., attendance, motivation, basic skill deficits, higher-level deficits in cognitive strategies) when working with struggling students. The ‘problem-solving’ approach is flexible, allowing the RTI Team quickly to sift through a complex student case to identify and address the most important ‘blockers’ to academic success. Timelines for success are often short-term (e.g., to get the student to pass a course or a state test), measured in weeks or months.

Response to Intervention 10 Teams of educators at a school are trained to work together as effective problem-solvers. RTI Teams are made up of volunteers drawn from general- and special-education teachers and support staff. These teams use a structured meeting process to identify the underlying reasons that a student might be experiencing academic or behavioral difficulties The team helps the referring teacher to put together practical, classroom-friendly interventions to address those student problems. The RTI Team: Definition

Response to Intervention 11 RTI: Research Questions Q: Does a ‘Problem-Solving’ Multi-Disciplinary Team Process Help Children With Severe Learning Problems? The team-based ‘problem-solving’ process (e.g., Bergan, 1995) that is widely used to create individualized intervention plans for students has been studied primarily for motivation and conduct issues. There is less research on whether the problem-solving process is effective in addressing more significant learning issues. Source: Bergan, J. R. (1995). Evolution of a problem-solving model of consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 6(2), Fuchs, D., & Deshler, D. D. (2007). What we need to know about responsiveness to intervention (and shouldn’t be afraid to ask).. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 22(2), 129–136.

Response to Intervention 12 believe referring to the RTI Team is a sign of failure do not think that your team has any ideas that they haven’t already tried believe that an RTI Team referral will mean a lot more work for them (vs. referring directly to Special Education) don’t want to ‘waste time’ on kids with poor motivation or behavior problems when ‘more deserving’ learners go unnoticed and unrewarded don’t want to put effort into learning a new initiative that may just fade away in a couple of years Teachers may be reluctant to refer students to the RTI Team because they…

Response to Intervention 13 can engage in collegial conversations about better ways to help struggling learners learn instructional and behavior-management strategies that they can use with similar students in the future increase their teaching time are able to access more intervention resources and supports in the building than if they work alone feel less isolated when dealing with challenging kids have help in documenting their intervention efforts Teachers may be motivated to refer students to the RTI Team because they…

Response to Intervention 14 Team Roles Coordinator Facilitator Recorder Time Keeper Case Manager

Response to Intervention Step 1: Assess Teacher Concerns 5 Mins Step 2: Inventory Student Strengths/Talents 5 Mins Step 3: Review Background/Baseline Data 5 Mins Step 4: Select Target Teacher Concerns 5-10 Mins Step 5: Set Academic and/or Behavioral Outcome Goals and Methods for Progress- Monitoring 5 Mins Step 6: Design an Intervention Plan Mins Step 7: Plan How to Share Meeting Information with the Student’s Parent(s) 5 Mins Step 8: Review Intervention & Monitoring Plans 5 Mins RTI Team Consultative Process

Response to Intervention Writing Quality ‘Problem Identification’ Statements

Response to Intervention 17 Writing Quality ‘Problem Identification’ Statements A frequent problem at RTI Team meetings is that teacher referral concerns are written in vague terms. If the referral concern is not written in explicit, observable, measurable terms, it will be very difficult to write clear goals for improvement or select appropriate interventions. Use this ‘test’ for evaluating the quality of a problem- identification (‘teacher-concern’) statement: Can a third party enter a classroom with the problem definition in hand and know when they see the behavior and when they don’t?

Response to Intervention 18 Writing Quality ‘Problem-Identification’ Statements: Template Format for Writing RTI Team Teacher Concerns Conditions when the behavior is observed or absent Description of behavior in concrete, measurable, observable terms During large-group instruction The student calls out comments that do not relate to the content being taught. When reading aloudThe student decodes at a rate much slower than classmates. When sent from the classroom with a pass to perform an errand or take a bathroom break The student often wanders the building instead of returning promptly to class.

Response to Intervention 19 Writing Quality ‘Teacher Referral Concern’ Statements: Examples Needs Work: The student is disruptive. Better: During independent seatwork, the student is out of her seat frequently and talking with other students. Needs Work: The student doesn’t do his math. Better: When math homework is assigned, the student turns in math homework only about 20 percent of the time. Assignments turned in are often not fully completed.

Response to Intervention 20 Secondary RTI Teams: Recommendations Secondary RTI Teams should be multi-disciplinary, to include teachers, administration, and support staff (e.g., school psychologist, guidance counselors). Fixed times should be set aside each week for the RTI Team to meet on student referrals. Sufficient time (i.e., 30 minutes) should be reserved for initial student referrals to allow adequate discussion and intervention planning.

Response to Intervention 21 Secondary RTI Teams: Combining Consistency & Flexibility Schools should ensure that RTI Teams follow a structured problem-solving model. Schools do have flexibility in when and where they use the RTI problem-solving model. For example: –If a person (e.g., school psychologist, school administrator) is trained to facilitate an RTI Team meeting, that meeting can be scheduled during shared teacher planning times or during parent-teacher conferences.

Response to Intervention 22 Discuss the problem-solving team that your middle or high school uses to create individualized RTI intervention plans for students. What are strengths of your team? What are areas of your team’s functioning that could be targeted for improvement? Small-Group Activity: Rate Your RTI Problem- Solving Team Effective RTI Teams: Are multi-disciplinary and include teachers among their members Follow a structured ‘problem-solving’ model Use data to analyze the academic problem and match the student to effective, evidence-based interventions Develop a detailed research-based intervention plan to help staff with implementation Check up on the teacher’s success in carrying out the intervention (‘intervention integrity’)