Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Response to Intervention (RTI): Where to Begin

In this era of educational accountability, it is difficult to navigate the many initiatives as we work to do the right things for each of our students. As educators, we know that we cannot have a one-size-fits-all approach about instruction. So what can we do to ensure each student receives the instruction and behavior support that they, as individuals require to be successful? Well, we begin by getting to know all we can about each student's educational and behavior profile. This will require using the Problem Solving/Response to Intervention process. This involves collaboration with colleagues and administrators to develop and manage a plan of action for school-wide assessments, intervention systems, monitoring, and instruction revisions. Academic and behavior instruction will be guided by data collected from the instruction and intervention outcomes. As teachers work with their colleagues and administrators to manage a plan for instructional precision, it is important to have resources within reach for each stage of the problem solving process.



The first thing that is needed is a shift in the way of thinking about instruction. Differentiated instruction is a way of thinking. It refers to more than just reaching each student where they are in their abilities and concept acquisition. It is a focus on closing the gap between the current level and goal for each student. So where do we begin? By using the school-wide assessment data to inform our lesson planning. Overall performance in specific grade level standards should guide us in our focus during instructional planning. Begin with  the assessment data to guide instruction and follow up with weekly or bi-weekly assessments in the objectives. After the beginning-of-year universal assessment results are made available, intervention planning begins. Students whose scores fall in the below grade level zone should be placed in tier II groups of 3-5 and provided with small group instruction.

Response to Intervention

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