1. Response to Intervention: A Different Look
When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act was reauthorized in 2004, a
powerful new element was added to the law stressing prevention-focused instructional practices to be
used in the regular classroom.

2. Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1
Individualized, Intensive Instruction/intervention
Small group, targeted intervention
The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE)
has described RtI as a practice of:
Providing high-quality instruction and interventions matched to student need;
Monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals; and
Applying child response data to important educational decisions
Response to Intervention is a problem-solving process which includes the provision of systematic, research based instruction and interventions to struggling learners. It assumes that the instruction/interventions are matched to student needs and that the monitoring of progress is continuous. RTI is an early intervention framework to prevent long-term academic failure.
Tier I- The provision of group interventions within the general education classroom and generally represents the core instruction. If adequately differentiated to meet the needs of a varied population, 80-90% of the students will respond and achieve established benchmarks.
Tier II- If students do not make adequate progress in T1, more targeted services an interventions, usually in a small group setting, are provided in addition to the instruction in the general curriculum. Progress is monitored more closely.
Tier III – for students who do not adequately respond to the targeted interventions in T2. Intervention is intensive and individualized.
Core Instruction for all occurs.
Classroom Intervention, Screening Assessment, Differentiated Instruction by developmental level and learning style

3. Essential Components of RtI
1. Evidence-based curriculum and instruction 2. Ongoing assessment 3. Collaborative teaming 4. Data-based decision-making 5. Fidelity of implementation 6. Ongoing training and professional development 7. Community and family involvement 8. Strong leadership
From Montana Office of Public Instruction

4. What about the Gifted Learner?
But wait there’s more…
What about the Gifted Learner?
Some educators are also asking, “How does this apply to students who may already know most of what I am planning to teach them or whose ability to learn is so fast that they quickly learn the material?”

5. Look carefully at the descriptions:
Tier I- Core Instruction for all occurs. Classroom Intervention, Screening Assessment, Differentiated Instruction by developmental level and learning style Tier II- Small group, targeted intervention Tier III- Individualized, Intensive Instruction/intervention
improvement
advancement
involvement
development
improvement
development
involvement
advancement
If we look at the expectations for each tier of the RtI model, one word stands out as a common theme (Intervention)
I did some thinking on this word… and the impact it has in this model. Is it possible that we have a preconceived notion of what the intention is with this word or who this is intended for?
What if we look a different synonym (involvement) does it change the look?
How about another? (development) or another (improvement)
My favorite synonym makes a powerful change in the intension of this model (advancement)
Read it with me now:
Tier I- Classroom advancement
Tier II – Targeted advancement
Tier III – Individualized and intensive advancement
It is a different way to look at this model. It is a paradigm shift that is necessary in the education of our gifted students.
advancement
improvement
involvement
development

6. Above Average Bright/Gifted Gifted Highly
Individualized, Intensive Instruction/Intervention
Small group, targeted intervention
It is important to be aware, especially when thinking of advanced learners, that educators need to measure, not what they know, understand and are able to do relative to their age peers, but rather what they have learned during their time in the classroom.
Gifted students learn at a much faster pace than other students and should not be expected to wait for their age peers to catch up. They may spend from three to six years of their school lives learning nothing new. (Rogers 2002)
About 60 percent of gifted students will have their needs met within that setting, as long as there is consistent differentiation.
Approximately 30 to 35 percent of the gifted students will need some type of additional services,
With its strong expectation of differentiation in the regular classroom, RtI embeds gifted education into the daily focus of quality instruction. Academic, affective and behavioral outcomes become critical targets for students, not solely enrichment targets as was a previous standard.
Classroom Intervention, Screening Assessment, Differentiated Instruction by developmental level and learning style

7. Highly Gifted
Bright/Gifted
Above Average
Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1

8. Remind you of anything?

9. Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 Above Average 68.2% Bright/Gifted Highly Gifted
2.3%
13.6%
68.2%

10. TEKS, State Standards, STAAR, EOC
Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1
Highly
Gifted
Bright/Gifted
Above Average
When looking at this bell curve, ask yourself, who is the intended audience for the TEKS, the State Standards, the STAAR Test, or the EOCs?
It is the average student. The 68.2%.
What do we know to be true of the students that fall further and further away from the middle? We know that more attention, more intervention or more improvement is needed and that MORE SUPPORT is necessary.
Where is our current focus and how can the gifted population fit into that focus?
TEKS, State Standards, STAAR, EOC

11. What does that look like?
Tier 1
Primary prevention involves the delivery of high-quality core
instruction that meets the needs of most students in the class.
Teachers deliver core instruction to all students each day.
Tier 1
Above Average Student
All students are screened on a periodic basis to establish an academic baseline and to identify struggling learners who need additional support.
Whole class grouping
Use hands-on, non linguistic representations
Use feedback
Ongoing progress monitoring and attention to affective needs
Pre-assessment to be done at all levels to prevent repetition and re-teaching of content students have already mastered.
Students have multiple avenues to show mastery of essential content and skills, and to demonstrate their learning
Instructional pacing, depth
and complexity are varied.
RTI Action Network; A Program of the National Center for Learning Disabilities

12. What does that look like?
Tier 2
Secondary prevention involves the delivery of research-based intervention(s) of moderate intensity to address the learning or behavioral challenges of most at-risk students in the class.
Secondary instruction is provided in addition to daily core instruction.
Tier 2
Bright Student
Students are provided with increasingly intensive instruction matched to their needs on the basis of levels of performance and rates of progress.
small-group instruction
Break information into smaller “chunks”
Provided opportunities to practice what is learned
Homogeneous groups, see Tier 1
grouping strategies and the following list of appropriate strategic instructional organizations
Compacting, opportunities for acceleration
student demonstrations of learning, and use of data will ensure continuous learning without ceilings for the gifted learner
RTI Action Network; A Program of the National Center for Learning Disabilities

13. What does that look like?
Tier 3
Tertiary prevention involves the delivery of individualized intervention(s) of increased intensity for students who show minimal response to secondary prevention. Teachers collect and analyze progress monitoring data to determine when and how to provide more intensive intervention for nonresponsive students.
Tier 3
Highly Gifted Student
Students receive individualized, intensive interventions that target the students’ skill deficits.
Individualized or small group instruction
Individualized based on learning style
Tier 3 instruction may take place in addition to Tier 1 instruction or it may replace it entirely.
The curriculum should differ significantly
in pace, level, and complexity from age-level peers.
Children and adolescents who will need this intervention are highly gifted (IQ of 145 or greater) or exceptionally gifted (IQ 180+).
This small percentage of students requires radical acceleration, dual enrollment, early entrance, specialized counseling, long-term mentorships or
participation in a specialized classroom or school for gifted students.
Individuals with an IQ of 145+
appear in the population at a ratio of 1 in 1,000
Individuals with an IQ of 160+ appear
in the population at a ratio of fewer than 1 in 10,000
Individuals with an IQ of 180+ appear
in the population at a ratio of fewer than 1 in a million
RTI Action Network; A Program of the National Center for Learning Disabilities

14. It envisions schooling as an escalator
on which students continually progress, rather than a series of stairs,
with landings on which advanced learners consistently wait.
Montana office of Public Instruction

15. Advanced Academics Specialist
Thank you!
Janet Newton
Advanced Academics Specialist