Mary Beth Allen East Stroudsburg University

 What is the major purpose of RtI?  What are the goals of RtI?  What are the benefits of implementing an RtI process? What are the challenges?  How is your school interpreting and implementing the components of RtI?  How can the RtI process be made better in your school or district?

 Children with disabilities should first be considered general education students, embracing a model of prevention as opposed to a model of failure. A prevention model is intended to rectify a number of long-standing problems including the disproportionate number of minorities and English learners identified as learning disabled and the need to wait for documented failure before providing services.

 RTI is a comprehensive, systemic approach to teaching and learning designed to address language and literacy problems for all students through increasingly differentiated and intensified language and literacy assessment and instruction.

Guiding Principles….  Instruction  Responsive teaching and differentiation  Assessment  Collaboration  Systematic and comprehensive  Expertise Click here for more information on each of these. (You can download the IRA brochure on RtI) International Reading Association, 2010 The next few slides provide some info from the IRA document for each of these topics.

 Instruction and assessment conducted by the classroom teacher are central to the success of RTI and must address the needs of all students, including those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. International Reading Association, 2010

 RTI is centrally about optimizing language and literacy instruction for particular students. This means that differentiated instruction, based on instructionally relevant assessment, is essential. Evidence shows that small-group and individualized instruction are effective in reducing the number of students who are at risk of becoming classified as learning disabled. International Reading Association, 2010

 Assessment should reflect the multidimensional nature of language and literacy learning and the diversity among students being assessed. The utility of an assessment is dependent on the extent to which it provides valid information on the essential aspects of language and literacy that can be used to plan appropriate instruction  Assessments, tools, and techniques should provide useful and timely information about desired language and literacy goals. They should reflect authentic language and literacy activities as opposed to contrived texts or tasks generated specifically for assessment purposes. The quality of assessment information should not be sacrificed for the efficiency of an assessment procedure. International Reading Association, 2010

 Collaboration should be focused on the available evidence about the needs of students struggling in language and literacy. School-level decision-making teams (e.g., intervention teams, problem-solving teams, RTI teams) should include members with relevant expertise in language and literacy, including second-language learning. International Reading Association, 2010

 RTI needs to be integrated within the context of a coherent and consistent language and literacy curriculum that guides comprehensive instruction for all students. Core instruction—indeed, all instruction— must be continuously improved to increase its efficacy and mitigate the need for specialized interventions. International Reading Association, 2010

 Important dimensions of teachers’ expertise include their knowledge and understanding of language and literacy development, their ability to use powerful assessment tools and techniques, and their ability to translate information about student performance into instructionally relevant instructional techniques. International Reading Association, 2010

Tiers Lydia Gerzel-Short and Elizabeth A. Wilkins Tier III - Intensive/Individual More individualized instruction designed to target about 5 percent of students in a given student body. Individualized goals based on consistent progress monitoring. Tier II - Targeted: Comprised of a more targeted intervention reaching roughly 15 percent of students who are considered at risk. Tier I - Universal Serves as the first intervention all student receive. Designed around the core general education program to successfully meet the needs of 80 percent of a given student body. RtI is based on tiers of intervention.

RTI RTII What do these videos help you know about RtI?

 What are some necessary components of a core reading program that will guarantee most students success?

Ten Ideas for Strengthening Instruction with Core Reading Programs  Plan carefully – have clear learning goals  Section the text – use to scaffold thinking about text  Create or adapt visual tools or organizers to guide students’ thinking  Check for understanding throughout  Give students lots of turns  Use a gradual release of responsibility model  Accept multiple right answers  Use varying instructional contexts-large group, small group, individual  Use a variety of processes and tools for documenting thinking  Find ways to include writing

Helpful Teaching Ideas for the Core Classroom 1. Teach essential skills and strategies * Address phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension 2. Provide differentiated instruction based on assessment results and adapt instruction to meet students’ needs * Forming small groups of students with similar needs and planning targeting those needs. 3. Provide explicit and systematic instruction with lots of practice * Modeling, demonstrating process, and providing opportunities for student practice * Carefully sequenced instruction at a reasonable pace * Clear corrective feedback 4. Provide opportunities to apply skills and strategies in meaningful text * Provide cumulative practice and review * Peer tutoring * Hands-on manipulatives of items such as magnetic letters or word cards * Three-part strategy when they try to read difficult words = look for parts you know, sound it out (blending), and check it to make sure it makes sense 5. Monitor student progress regularly * Don’t just cover critical content; be sure students learn it - Reteach as necessary -RTI Action Network site

Read these articles for information about RtI. What confirms what you already knew? What is new to you? Crossing Boundaries…RtI: Preventing and Remediating Academic Difficulties

RtI: What Teachers of Reading Need to Know Some thoughts on RtI and middle/high school Take a look at these articles and be ready to discuss what they help you understand about RtI and what questions you still have.

RTI Action Network: General Information

What you need to know about IDEA 2004: Response to Intervention Three-part webinar on RtI – you need to sign up but it is free Peruse these sites to find any additional information that will help you understand RtI.

 What are the benefit of RtI?  What are the challenges?  What can your district do to improve the process of implementing RtI?  What have you learned or have had clarified about RtI?  What questions do you have?