1. 1 RtI Innovations 16th Anniversary Conference PM Break out Session 8: Advanced MTSS/RtI in Early Childhood Settings: Unlocking Systems’ Strengths to Meet Children’s Needs Friday, October 11 th, 2013 Salt Lake City, Utah

2. Judith Carta, Ph.D. Co-director Center for the Study of RtI in EC (CRTIEC) Juniper Gardens Children’s Project University of Kansas Robin Miller Young, Ed.D., NCSP Director of Early Childhood Education Rockford University, Rockford, IL Charlie Greenwood, Ph.D. Professor and Director Juniper Gardens Children’s Project University of Kansas 2

3. Kelly Justice Regional Coordinator Florida PS/RtI Project Corrie Mervyn Early Childhood Coordinator Ingham Intermediate School District Mason, MI Mary Jo Wegenke Literacy Consultant Ingham Intermediate School District Kim St. Martin State/Regional Administrator MiBLSi, State of Michigan MTSS/RtI Project 3

4. CENTER FOR RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CRTIEC A Multi-Site Research Center Focused on Promoting Early Literacy and Language

5. Our Goal and Mission  Long-term Goal: Prevention of reading disabilities by reducing the number of young children who enter school below benchmark in language and early literacy skills  Mission: To produce evidence-based tools and resources needed to support the application of RTI in Early Childhood Education

6. Our Key Partners University of Kansas Charles Greenwood & Judith Carta Dynamic Measurement Group; Eugene, OR Ruth Kaminski University of Minnesota Scott McConnell Ohio State University/University of South Florida Howard Goldstein Division for Early Childhood-CEC

7. Who are you? How many of you have been implementing RTI or MTSS models for many years? How many of you have been implementing RTI/MTSS models in early childhood settings? How many have not been implementing in RTI in EC but have that as a goal? 7

8. Learner Objectives:  Learn how the core features of MTSS/RtI in EC are being implemented in various local, regional and state-wide settings.  Design action steps to ensure a strong program-, school-, district, and/or state-level start-up and procedural adherence to effective and efficient protocols. 8

9. Learner Objectives Learn about latest developments with regard to RTI models and its components 9

10. Some Challenges of Implementing RtI Approaches in Early Education Pre-kindergarten settings are quite variable (i.e., Head Start, state-funded pre-k, privately funded child care etc.); unclear who would implement measures and higher tier interventions. Personnel in these settings often lack training and expertise; are underpaid and have high rates of turnover. Including teacher-directed instruction in pre-kindergarten is often controversial. Designing interventions that strike the balance between being developmentally appropriate and have the intensity to boost children who might be struggling to acquire early literacy skills.

11. What are your presumptions about RTI in Early Education? Can we assume that there programs have a high quality Tier 1 in place? Can we assume that there are evidence-based Tier 2 and Tier 3 available? Can we assume that measures are available for universal screening/progress monitoring? 11

12. High Quality Curriculum and Instruction  What do we know from research ? 12

13. Tier 1 Curriculum and Instruction What do we know from research in preschool? How do we promote it in practice? Tools and resources for promoting high quality Tier 1?

14. What do we know from research? Not many evidence-based curricula exist (those reporting measurably superior findings PCERs Findings Early Reading First Findings What Works Clearing House Quality of instruction in typical preschools is low Neuman, S. B., & Dwyer, J. (2009). Missing in action: Vocabulary instruction in pre-k. The Reading Teacher, 62(5), 384-392. Justice, L. M., Hamre, B., & Pianta, R. (2008). Quality of language and literacy instruction in preschool classrooms serving at-risk pupils Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23, 51-68. Burchinal, M., Howes, C., Pianta, R., Bryant, D., Early, D., & Clifford, R., et al. (2008). Predicting child outcomes at the end of kindergarten from the quality of pre-kindergarten teacher-child interactions and instruction. Applied Development Science, 12, 140-153.

15. What do we know from research? There are greater numbers of children needing instruction more intense than Tier 1 in income eligible preschool programs (Pre-K, Title 1, Head Start) than in Tuition-based programs Tier 1 must be strengthened, made more intense and cover the 4 domains of language and early literacy if MTSS is to work well in these programs The performance of Tier 1 is first priority in implementation MTSS Greenwood, C. R., Carta, J. J., Atwater, J., Goldstein, H., Kaminski, R., & McConnell, S. R. (2012). Is a response to intervention (RTI) approach to preschool language and early literacy instruction needed? Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 33(1), 48-64.

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17. Efficacy of Tier 1 Depends on: Evidence-based curriculum Use of evidence-practices and intentional teaching Fidelity of Implementation Data-based decision making for its improvement

18. What We Have Learned So Far? Teacher focus on literacy skills is associated with a sizeable increase in children’s academic engagement. But, these teacher behaviors were relatively infrequent in occurrence, highlighting potentially fruitful targets for intervention:  Literacy focus – 15% of the time, or less than 30 minutes during a 3-hour period

19. How much support did teachers provide students in their classroom? Low Mid- range High

22. How often did teachers focus on literacy with the children observed?

23. What was the level of children’s engagement?

24. Relationship between Teacher Literacy Focus and Student Growth in Language and Literacy Indicators

25. Te achers Divergent on Literacy Focus and Students’ Growth in Literacy

26. Charlie will change graphs that go in here.

27. Challenges Related to Tier One in Pre-K Finding evidence-based curricula Having the resources to carry out the ongoing professional development necessary for implementing the curriculum with high fidelity While everyone wants all children to be successful in kindergarten, we don’t all agree on the path to getting there.

28. Resources for Evidence-Based Tier One Curriculum in Early Literacy What Works Clearinghouse: Early Childhood Education http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/reports/Topic.aspx?ti d=13. http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/reports/Topic.aspx?ti d=13 Center for Early Literacy and Language: OSEP- funded TA Center http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org. http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Study: IES funded study of 14 curricula to promote school readiness http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/pubs/20082009/index.asp National Early Literacy Panel: NELP Report http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/NELPReport09.p df http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/NELPReport09.p df

29. How do we promote it in practice? Strengthen the value of – “Intentional teaching” – Evidence-based practice – Fidelity of implementation – Teacher literacy focus Adopt an early childhood MTSS model/framework to guide planning and implementation Provide professional development and technical assistance – Practice-based teacher coaching – Measurement and use of data in decision making Seek stakeholder and administrative “buy in”

30. High Quality Curriculum and Instruction  Tools and Resources 30

31. Primary Grades reading vocabulary reading comprehension decoding of words fluency and spelling Preschool oral language background knowledge phonological processing print knowledge Connect expectations to those that lay ahead… Early Reading Link Preschool Skills to Kindergarten Skills From Landry, 2011

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33. Currently available tools for early literacy screening progress monitoring  My-IGDIs: Tools for screening and progress monitoring in early literacy and language— Scott McConnell and colleagues  http://www.myigdis.com/. http://www.myigdis.com/ mCLASS CIRCLE: Observational and assessment tools for progress monitoring on handheld devices—Susan Landry http://www.amplify.com/assessment/mclass-circle. http://www.amplify.com/assessment/mclass-circle Get Ready to Read (for screening only) http://www.getreadytoread.org/)  My-IGDIs: Tools for screening and progress monitoring in early literacy and language— Scott McConnell and colleagues  http://www.myigdis.com/. http://www.myigdis.com/ mCLASS CIRCLE: Observational and assessment tools for progress monitoring on handheld devices—Susan Landry http://www.amplify.com/assessment/mclass-circle. http://www.amplify.com/assessment/mclass-circle Get Ready to Read (for screening only) http://www.getreadytoread.org/)

34. myIGDIs and Assessment in RTI myIGDIs are designed for two primary functions of assessment common in RTI Universal screening, where all children in a class or program are evaluated briefly to identify those individuals who might benefit from more intensive intervention Progress monitoring, where individuals receiving supplemental or adapted intervention are monitored regularly to determine if intervention services are appropriate for the child 34

35. Include slide about 5 areas of universal screening for My-IGDIs Math IGDIs 35

36. EC RtI Measurement Architecture Screening Progress Monitoring Tier One Tier Two Tier Three + + + - - - Tier One Current or Less- Intensive Tier More Intensive Tier Identification

37. Primary Functions of Assessment Screening To efficiently identify subsets of children who might meet standard(s) for more intensive intervention Identification To identify whether individual children meet standard(s) for Tier 2 or Tier 3 services in one or more domains Progress Monitoring To assess whether individual children are increasing growth rates at rate sufficient to meet general outcome goals [Diagnostic/Planning Assessment] To identify specific instructional goals and/or procedures to promote increased development

38. Psychometric Standards - General Time- and resource-efficient Reliable across time(?) and examiners/raters Various validity standards Construct or concurrent validity viz ‘criterion’ measures Discriminant validity Treatment validity viz T1, T2, and T3 interventions Predictive validity Face validity

39. The Narrative Language Measures (NLM)

40. Narrative Language Measures (NLM) Three Subtests – Test of Narrative Retell (TNR) – Test of Personal Generation (TPG) – Test of Story Comprehension (TSC; Preschool only) Preschool, Kindergarten, First, Second, Third – 25 equivalent stories per grade level 9 Benchmark stories (3 Fall, 3 Winter, 3 Spring) 16 Progress Monitoring stories

42. Time Efficient, Economical Brief Administration Three benchmark TNRs take about 5 minutes A single TNR for progress monitoring takes less than 2 minutes. Reduced Scoring Time Scoring can be done in real-time while the child is retelling the story. Scoring can be done by listening to an audio recording

44. How are we setting standards? One essential of RtI – Assigning Students to Tiers By whatever standard, identify groups of children most appropriate for intervention in each tier of intervention Standards and indices vary across RtI models Possible standards “The Pyramid” – 85% at Tier 1, 10% at Tier 2, 5% at Tier 3 Functional standards – who needs to learn what? Empirical standards – likelihood of meeting future expectations Early Childhood and the Pyramid Percentages

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46. Working Through the RtI(MTSS) Problem Solving Process Define Problem Defining Problem/Directly Measuring Behavior Problem Analysis Validating Problem Identify Variables that Contribute to Problem Develop Plan Implement Plan Implement As Intended Progress Monitor Modify as Necessary Evaluate Response to Intervention (RtI)

47. Data-Based Decision-Making General Principles  Try to “triangulate” the data; that is, use data from one or more types (observation, rating scale, checklist, CBA aligned with instructional units, CBM, GOM, standardized), informants [teacher, related service provider, parent(s)], and settings.  Norms needed; national, local, classroom.  For some decisions, group data are best.  For some decisions, single subject data are best.  Try to graph data and do visual inspection. 47

48. Problem-Solving Model Tilly, 2006

49. Individual Child Progress Monitoring Olive had 3 quarterly assessments Olive was below benchmark Intervention implemented Provides ‘before’ and ‘after’ slope estimates

50. Problem Solving Process Define Problem Teacher identified students below 25 th %ile on IGDIs in January; the local norm benchmark. Slow rate of progress from September. Problem Analysis Eight students are at- risk for developing early literacy learning difficulties due to limited skill mastery from implicit Tier 1 learning opportunities done in large group. Implement Plan with Integrity Keep Tier 1, add Tier 2 for 8 Ss (more intentional teaching, some small group), and Tier 3 for 5 Ss: (small group “Model, Lead, Test” on Sound Blending) Evaluate Classroom data were reviewed. The IGDIs Rhyming scores increased at a faster rate for 8 “at- risk” students than for “typical students” Students in Tier 3 demonstrated progress on specific intervention targets.

51. Data-Based Decision-Making  “Standard Protocol” approach; all students at or below a given score on some measure all get the same evidence based intervention  “Individualized Problem-Solving” model; every child gets an individualized intervention  Best practice may be a hybrid of the two for EC. If 6/20 students need supplemental phonological awareness for 6 weeks, they get it twice a week as a small group rather than each student receiving it individually. 51

52. Growth in Rhyming 52 0.000 2.000 4.000 6.000 8.000 10.000 12.000 14.000 16.000 Jan-07Feb-07Mar-07Apr-07May-07 Number Correct PM - Typical PM - At-risk Linear (PM - Typical )

53. IGDIs: Owl PM class 53

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55. Common Features to Tier 2 Small groups Focus on critically important concepts known to predict later success More explicit instruction More response opportunities

56. Current approaches being used for Tier 2 and Tier 3 Key idea is to supplement children’s exposure to the content—give them more opportunities to practice skills they are learning.  Children might get individual tutoring in specific content areas.  Children might get additional explicit instruction in small groups  Children might get more learning opportunities embedded across the day.  Children might get more exposure and practice through skill-focused instruction delivered in listening centers.

57. What are the responses within each tier? Tier 2: Explicit small group interventions augmented with embedded interventions  Explicit : structured, teacher-directed, content-specific interventions  Embedded : occur within daily activities, build on children’s strengths & interests, complement explicit interventions

58. Story Champs - Tiers Large Group Small Group Individual Intensity increases as group size decreases More opportunities to respond More explicit and individualized targets More specialized prompting More contingent feedback More frequent sessions Increasing duration More reliance on instructors with greater expertise

59. Multi-tiered Language Instruction Multi-tiered Curriculum Manualized Flexible Key Features Carefully structured stories Engaging visual materials Explicit teaching procedures Fun and motivating

60. Multi-tiered Language Instruction Multi-tiered Curriculum Manualized Flexible Key Features Carefully structured stories Engaging visual materials Explicit teaching procedures Fun and motivating

61. Free NLM materials available at LanguageDynamicsGroup.com For more information, contact: Doug Petersen: dpeter39@uwyo.edu Trina Spencer: tds95@nau.edu

62. Teaching Procedures Based on the effective teaching literature and principles of instruction Frequent opportunities to respond Explicit and individualized targets Systematic scaffolding Corrections Least restrictive prompting Curriculum-based measurement

63. An Example of a Tier 2 Intervention Read It Again! (Justice, McGinty, Beckman, & Kilday, 2006) Language & literacy supplement for pre-k programs: Guidelines for implementing lessons (before, during, & after reading) Repeated use of storybooks, picture cards, & other literacy materials Repetition of key concepts Appropriate for small groups

64. Response to Intervention: EMERGE Tier 3 Focused Tutoring & Repeated Readings Tier 2 Daily Teacher-led Small-group SOAP and Theme-related activities and instruction Tier 1 Scholastic Early Childhood Program Curriculum Shared Book Reading Theme-Related Activities SOAP Strategies Literacy-Rich Environment Stoiber & Gettinger

65. Tier 1: Core Class Instruction Focus Program Interventionist Setting Grouping Time Assessment All students Professional development; SECP curriculum; SBR; SOAP strategies; Small-Group activities; Progress Monitoring; Coaching; Literacy Rich Environment Classroom teacher(s) Head Start or other EC classroom Flexible grouping Goal: 90 minutes or more per day Screening at beginning, middle, and end of the academic year

66. Tier 2: Supplemental Interventions Focus Program Interventionist Setting Grouping Time Assessment Students at-risk for early reading difficulties who have not responded to Tier 1 efforts Classroom teacher(s) Classroom Homogeneous small group 20-30 minutes per day in small group in addition to 90 minutes of core reading instruction (50-100 sessions) Progress monitoring monthly on target skill(s) Specialized, research-based interventions

67. http://www.childrenslearninginstitute.org/our-programs/program-overview/developing-talkers/default.html Examples of Tier 2 Instruction

68. Developing Talkers Curriculum Supplements to promote oral language that follow a P-RTI framework. Developed by Children’s Learning Institute-UT Health Science Center- Houston Teach listening comprehension and vocabulary skills in book reading context. Make your own kit: after completing a short online training OR Order pre-made kits

69. Lesson Plans Available for Tier 1 and Tier 2: 12 wks. Tier 1—Whole Group Read Aloud (15 mins) Before, during and after reading activities Extension activities that help teachers guide children in use of target vocabulary or explore science topics in centers Tier 2-Small Group Targeted Language Activities Review book Find, define, and discuss vocabulary Explicit comprehension or vocabulary activities Shuffle and review.

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72. Focus on Rare Words (alongside important basic words )

73. More Explicit Vocabulary and Comprehension Activities

75. Tier 2 Embedded Storybook Interventions  As part of an RTI model, there is a need for high-quality interventions to improve early language and literacy skills for preschool children who are falling behind.  Oftentimes, there is a scarcity of trained personnel who can provide the additional opportunities for explicit instruction in vocabulary and comprehension.

76. Story Friends Program

77. Small groups of children participate in ‘listening centers.’

78. Prerecorded storybooks and explicit embedded lessons are delivered under headphones.

79. Intervention ComponentExamples Explicit Teaching Vocabulary words are presented with systematic instructional language in which words are emphasized, definitions are stated, information about words’ meanings are provided. Responses are provided after a pause for child’s response. ‘Think-aloud’ models of the evidence for the appropriate response are provided. Enormous. Say enormous. Enormous means really big. Can you think of something that is enormous? What about…. a school bus! A mountain! Or a building! Those are things that are really big. Why is Ellie happy? [pause for child response] Because she made new friends! I would be happy to have some new friends too.

80. Intervention ComponentExamples Selection of Appropriate Targets for Instruction Challenging vocabulary targets are selected to have high utility for academic achievement. Inferential questions are selected to facilitate reading comprehension. protect, greet, selfish Do you think the Jungle Friends will go to the beach again? Why did Suki’s mom take her to the movies?

81. The Forest Friends are thrilled! They are excited to go to the carnival. Thrilled. Say thrilled. (2) Thrilled means excited. Tell me, what word means excited? (2) Thrilled! Good work! When are you thrilled? (2) What about… when you get a present! …Or your friends come over to play! I bet that makes you feel excited. Now, lift the flap. Look! These boys are at a birthday party. They are excited. They are thrilled! Tell me, what does thrilled mean? (3) Excited! That’s right.

82. Repeated listening provides many opportunities to respond. Monday Tuesday Wednesday 82

83. Year 4 Results: Vocabulary

84. Places to find Tier 2 and Tier 3 literacy and language interventions  Read it again—Laura Justice-Ohio State U.  Center for Early Literacy and Language (CELL)  Early Childhood Research & Practice  Get Ready to Read  CRTIEC  Developing Talkers-- www.ChildrensLearningInstitute.org

85. For more information Tricia Zucker, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Tricia.Zucker@uth.tmc.edu Susan Landry, Ph.D. Professor and Director CLI Susan.Landry@uth.tmc.edu www.ChildrensLearningInstitute.org University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

86. Implementing Higher Tier Interventions  What do we know from research? 86

87. Discussion with Participants  Classroom-level Challenges:  How to fit everything into a preschool day...  Corrie and Mary Jo Ingham County ISD 87

88. THE SITE ADDRESS IS: HTTP://EARLY-YEARS- RTI.WIKI.INGHAMISD.ORG/HOME CINDY ANDERSON ANDERSON@INGHAMISD.ORG CORRIE MERVYN CMERVYN@INGHAMISD.ORG MARY JO WEGENKE MWEGENKE@INGHAMISD.ORG HTTP://EARLY-YEARS- RTI.WIKI.INGHAMISD.ORG/HOMEANDERSON@INGHAMISD.ORGCMERVYN@INGHAMISD.ORGMWEGENKE@INGHAMISD.ORG 88

89. Discussion with Participants  Classroom-level Challenges Identified by Participants  Break from 2:00 to 2:15 89

90. Building the Infrastructure in Your Setting  Tools for getting started  Kelly Justice, USF, Florida PS-RtI Initiative 90

91. Getting Started with RTI Strategic planning Model demonstration sites Program evaluation

92. More on Strategic Planning (at the local level) Get Support from program administrators Consider organizational & contextual factors Engage in long-range planning Develop a plan for communicating with families

93. Planning cont… Create core problem-solving team Assess key dimensions of Tier 1 quality/make necessary improvements Select assessment tools Carry out universal screening and determine what proportion of children need additional tiers of support Select Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions Provide intensive, ongoing professional development Continue to evaluate and make changes

94. Building an Infrastructure that Supports High Quality Implementation  Leadership Teams 94

95. Building an Infrastructure that Supports High Quality Implementation  Coaching 95

96. Building an Infrastructure that Supports High Quality Implementation  Other 96

97. Scaling up MTSS in EC in a state – Lessons Learned  Kim St. Martin, MiBLSi State/Regional Administrator in Michigan 97

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99. Building an Infrastructure that Supports High Quality Implementation  Other 99

100. Judy Carta, Ph.D. Juniper Gardens Children’s Project University of Kansas 444 Minnesota Avenue Suite 3 Kansas City, KS 66101 Phone: 913-321-3143 carta@ku.edu www.crtiec.orgwww.crtiec.org.

101. Planning cont… Create core problem-solving team Assess key dimensions of Tier 1 quality/make necessary improvements Select assessment tools Carry out universal screening and determine what proportion of children need additional tiers of support Select Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions Provide intensive, ongoing professional development Continue to evaluate and make changes

102. Building an Action Plan  Where are you now?  Where do you need to go?  Closure to the session; the day 102