Happy Tuesday Everybody!
Oh my goodness, I think I can speak for everyone here when I
say, I’M POOPED! Nevertheless, here’s to
another great week fighting the good fight for our schools and our kiddos!
This week we all need
to read WSQ chapter 14: Response to Intervention. Do you have RTI in your setting? How is what
you have similar to or different from the information in the chapter?
WSQ 14: Response to
Intervention
What is RTI?
·
Multi-tiered student intervention system
·
Insures the implementation of high quality
researched based instruction in the general education classroom
·
Supplements instruction by outside resources
such as a reading specialist or tutor
·
Interventions for students who are on any level
of the “at risk” continuum are provided interventions which occur at various
times, durations, and frequencies
·
Require regular screenings of all students in
order to identify those who are “at-risk” and monitor each child’s academic
progress
·
Interventions and monitoring can be utilized for
both academic and behavior struggles
One aspect of RTI, which seems to be advantageous, is that a
student can be placed almost immediately after there has been an indication the
child is not responding to what is being taught in the general education classroom. This is very different from being placed in
the special education program which can take months, or even years. Additionally, special education does not
serve English language learners. These
students are often assessed and score “at-risk” but have no learning disability
and never receive the services they need.
Tier 1:
·
Insures high quality, core instruction for all
students
·
Requires that each classroom spend 90-120
minutes of uninturupted time on reading instruction
·
Regular assesses all learners (usually once each
quarter)
·
Requires teachers to collaborate during PLC
meetings. This time can be spent
assessing data, solving problems, identifying successful teaching strategies,
etc.
Tier 2:
·
For students who are identified as “at-risk”
·
Allowed time for supplemental tutoring 3-5 times
each week for 20-30 minutes at a time
o
Continue focus on phonemic awareness, phonics,
fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension for 8-12 weeks before reassessment
·
Small student groups are best served if they are
paired with “like” struggles; ex: students who struggle with long and short
vowels would see the specialist at the same time.
·
Students are assessed weekly
Tier 3:
·
Increased intervention intensity
·
Smaller student groups and longer duration on
intervention (60 minutes)
·
Addresses students social and emotional
struggles
o
Attention, on task behavior
*If tier 1 and 2 are followed properly, tier 3 may begin to
address the possibility of administering an educational evaluation.
* The RTI process is a shared responsibility. Teachers, tutors, specialist, administration,
and team collaborative groups are all working together to best serve the needs
of the students.
We do have RTI at my school, and we follow it to the
letter. We work really hard each year
insure that our class schedules allow for a full 120 minutes of reading
instruction. Even though some children
are not testing “at-risk”, we still service students who concern us in specific
areas of reading instruction. Also, we
service children as early as kindergarten in hope to catch the problems early
and begin intervention strategies at the first sign of struggle. I only wish we had more resources to serve
students who are ELL. We are only able
to serve these children as we do our struggling English speaking students. This is, more times than not, ineffective.
WSQ 13: Reaching
Linguistically Diverse Students
Between 1980 and 2009, children ages 5-17 whose home
language is something other than English has increased 10-21%
·
Demographics, including race, ethnicity, poverty
status, citizenship, and age differ between each English learning student. Thus, the needs of these students can be
equally diverse
·
24% of 4th grade ELL students scored
below the 25th percentile on state testing
Elements contributing to English Learner diversity are:
·
Knowledge of English
·
Educational background,
·
Sociocultural, emotional, and economic factors
·
Special service needs
The role of reading personnel who are supporting ELL
students are
·
To use data to determine how well a student
knows English
·
Create an intervention plan
o
This may include professional development,
coaching, on-going assistance for supporting teachers and support personnel
Effective Programs used for supporting ELL students mish include:
·
Teacher buy-in (commitment from the teacher
stick to the best laid plan for the student)
·
Book study groups
·
Team planning and collaboration
·
Peer observation
·
Utilizing newsletters to build ideas on how to
support ELL students
·
Utilizing PLC meetings to collaborate with other
teachers on how to best serve these children.
** A point that stood out to me:
“Obviously,
funding sources must be identified as a part of any plan for professional
development. Also, remember that new sheltered instruction classes may be
needed as students transition from a newcomer program into content classrooms.
This may necessitate additional training for new sheltered teachers.”
The role of culture
and language is powerful as children and adolescents develop their sense of who
they are. Some teachers believe that they should connect new information to
English learners’ own cultural backgrounds in order to make concepts meaningful.
Others disagree, believing that students relate more to popular culture and
American influences, and that those should be used when helping students make
connections. What are some advantages and disadvantages with both perspectives?
What are the instructional implications of each? And what would you suggest for
English learners born in the United States but who have never lived in their
native cultures?
Thanks Paige for your summaries and thougtful questions. I'm looking forward to the discussion where you respond to each other's summaries and responses to questions.
ReplyDeleteWSQ Chapter 14 - Meeting the Needs of Students with Reading Disabilities through RTI
ReplyDeleteThere are students in every general education classroom who are from various backgrounds and cultures, who are ELLs, who are with and without disabilities and who vary in achievement levels that are, struggling with reading, writing, and language skills.With the push of state and federal accountability mandates, common core and standards-driven reform policies, it is the expectation that students with disabilities fully participate in the general education classroom under the collaboration of general education teachers, special educators, reading specialists, coaches, and other school personnel.
RTI is identified as, “ a system that integrates assessment and intervention within a multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and reduce behavior problems.”(191). RTI gives specialized interventions to students who are not performing to grade level instruction.There are three Tiers in RTI, each contains instruction, assessment and collaboration.
Tier I instruction provides 90 - 120 minutes of uninterrupted, highly effective instruction to all students through a variety of differentiated opportunities (whole-group, small-group instruction an independent centers) in the general education classroom. Tier I assessment includes universal screening or brief assessment (less than 10 minutes per student and administered at least 3 times per year) of all learners to determine those at risk for reading problems. Tier I collaboration is grade-level or cross-grade-level teams along with reading specialists, special ed teachers, administrators, or literacy coaches meeting weekly or biweekly to set goals, plan instruction, hold data meetings or problem solve for ways to address students needs.
Tier II is supplemental instruction provided for students identified as at risk following an assessment or screening and after being provided with Tier I instruction. It is provided three to five times per week, 20 - 30 minutes for 8 to 12 weeks. Instruction is given by a classroom teacher or someone with expertise in interventions in no more than three of the five foundational skills in reading. Two approaches to Tier II instruction is problem-solving RTI models in which a research-based intervention is designed specifically for an individual student and an alternative RTI model that uses a standard treatment protocol approach where students with similar learning problems are given a standard research-based intervention that has documented effectiveness for students with similar difficulties. Tier II Assessment is monitoring progress weekly or biweekly, to determine if students are responding (or responsive) to intervention and if reading performance is improving. Tier II collaboration looks the same as Tier I collaboration with the addition of discussion of data from Tier II students. Biggest concern is scheduling and managing of resources so that all students are available for intervention and there is staff available to provide instruction.
Tier III is intervention with increased intensity given to smaller groups (e.g., 3 students) for increased time and frequency (60 minutes) with instruction that is tailored to the individual needs of the student and is delivered by specialists providing research-based intervention that is monitored for fidelity. Tier III assessment is progress monitoring and data collected to determine if students are responding to intervention and if reading performance is improving. Progress can be monitored using grade-level materials or instructional-level materials. Tier III collaboration is continuation of Tier I and II efforts to meet and analyze data and intervention planning with special attention to students who are not making progress. This collaboration may include special education teachers or other instructional experts along with members of the IEP team and the parents of students receiving Tier III instruction.
One role of reading professionals in RTI is as the expert in instruction and curriculum by assessing the available resources and identifying what resources may be needed, this includes the core curriculum and the professional resources as to which personal could implement which parts of the Tier process. The second role could be to provide professional development for new practices and as the coach to support implementation efforts. Coaching can provide support and feedback to teachers and other professionals as they implement instruction at all tiers. The final role (which can be a shared responsibility) is as a manager and facilitator of RTI efforts within a building.
ReplyDeleteI could not help but to think throughout this chapter how beneficial it would be to have the funding for a "dream team" of interventionist including a reading specialist and ELL specialist. I wonder how many schools are able to provide both of these professionals? Do any of you have both? And if so, what kinds of successes do you see?
DeletePaige,
DeleteA dream team indeed! My school only has a special education teacher and and ELL specialist. The ELL specialist meets with the lower elementary students in pull outs. It is successful because she is able to help them with skills that they need in a small group setting. I wish she would work with the upper elementary students also. Our special education teacher has a full caseload. We have a part time sp ed teacher, but she should be full time, I feel to make more of an impact on her students. Plus, she just arrived at our school in February!
Bean and Dagen Chapter 12 Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction
ReplyDeleteMany schools today consist of culturally and linguistically diverse students in classrooms described as CLCCs (culturally and linguistically complex classrooms) who receive literacy instruction in English. The IRA has added a diverse standard which calls for, “teachers to draw out and capitalize on the productive relationships between diversity and literacy teaching and learning.” (231) Students who come from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds use this to navigate socially, economically, and geographically everyday in their communities. Research shows that this is teachers’ best option to draw from to develop culturally responsive literacy instruction.
Materials such as rap lyrics, trade books, magazines, movies, tv shows, music, spoken-word poetry and others can be used to help teach academic knowledge and skills listed in standards. Research shows that by using culturally responsive curriculum materials, teachers show appreciation of their students’ diversity and fosters a link between school and student’s everyday literacy knowledge and practices.Reading specialists can help teachers implement CLCCs by:
Examine their existing curriculum to identify what materials and learning activities already reflects cultural and linguistic experiences of their students and what materials may be needed.
Learning about the home and community language and literacy resources that students bring to school.
Collaborating to decide how the resources for learning that their students already have can be used to teach what is required in standards.
As a resource to support, guide, and model curriculum and instructional practices, reading specialists can solicit the expertise of their district’s bilingual coordinator, or provide current research reading on culturally and linguistically responsive teaching or form a study group to learn more about how to plan and implement a culturally and linguistically responsive curriculum.
Researchers encourage teachers to promote student engagement by becoming code switchers - able to make conscious, effective choices - to choose their language and writing to fit the time, audience, and purpose. And encourage teachers to empower students to become code switchers as a way of understanding differences between home language and the formal language of school. Reading specialists can help teachers implement critical language pedagogy by:
Creating environments that value the language and cultures students bring to school.
Developing knowledge of language to enhance the code-switching strategies of linguistically diverse students which can be done through a book group.
By examining the linguistic patterns and grammatical structure of students’ home language to help determine the language and writing to fit the time, audience, and purpose.
Developing language activities in which students practice code-switching in writing activities.
Teachers are encouraged to design inquiry projects in which students conduct research into the historical and contemporary social, political, and economic conditions or challenges that their families and communities face. These projects foster school-home-community partnerships about authentic concerns and issues. Reading specialists can help teachers implement social justice inquiry by:
ReplyDeleteDesigning inquiry projects in which students use journal writing and discussions to reflect on conditions in their communities, schools, city, or other contexts that they believe to be unfair or unjust.
Guiding teachers along with students in examining the inequities that exist within organizational or structural features of the school and redress them.
Working with school administrators to help them understand the importance of social justice inquiry projects in literacy teaching and learning.
Integrating technology into literacy instruction can help linguistically diverse students draw on their language resources to acquire digital literacy and other language skills. Students’ outside of school engagement with technology can help with literacy learning in school. Reading specialists can help teachers implement technology and multimodality by:
Examining existing materials to identify where they could include a wider range of modalities.
Utilizing small groups, helping teachers with the role of becoming co-learners, and using multigenre projects, webquests, digital stories blogs, wikis, and podcasts.
Keeping teachers current with professional development opportunities concerning specific digital literacies or technology tools.
Alternative and more multifaceted assessments should accompany standardized measures. Reading specialists can help teachers implement assessments for culturally diverse students by:
Encouraging the use of formative assessments that are sensitive to cultural differences.
Developing clear expectations and criteria for particular assessments.
Offering students multiple opportunities over a course of instruction to demonstrate learning in a range of modalities.
Helping teachers analyze student work as they learn about the varieties of their students’ language.
Providing professional development through study groups in which teachers identify their own language and cultural backgrounds and experiences and how these beliefs influence their teaching. Also by providing additional research for teachers to read and discuss.
The inquiry projects about the community around them sounds like the perfect way for them to really understand the community around them. It would also be a very engaging lesson because they would connect to it!
DeleteOh my gosh Michelle! I love the idea of a Community Culture research project. It would be so much fun to watch the students collaborate with community leaders, parents, and teachers--as well as put their technology and researching skills to the test. Especially in an environment such as Oklahoma where we can be blinded by naivety in our little country bubbles.
DeleteDesigning inquiry projects in which students use journal writing and discussions to reflect on conditions in their communities, schools, city, or other contexts that they believe to be unfair or unjust. I think this would be a perfect time to do this with students surrounding discussions on why teachers walked out of classrooms.
DeleteB&D Chapter 13 - English Learners
ReplyDeleteThere are record numbers of students throughout the US where their home language (L1) is different than the language used at school (L2)
These students come to school with little literacy and language development in their L1
They have troubles learning to read and write due to lack of skills
They need specific lessons, tasks, activities, and more in order to learn English words
A successful learning environment for them that sets them up for success is an environment that has many scaffolds
Their teachers also have received lots of PD to teach them how to target ELL’s specific needs
Some experts think that teaching students to read in their L1 language will help them learn to read in English while some think that way has flaws
The relationship between L1 and L2 literacy development isn’t very clear
ELL’s must master five core reading elements - phonological awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. They must also master oral language.
They need high-quality vocabulary instruction as well as extra practice with silently and orally reading to help with fluency
ELL’s who lack literacy skills will not do well in secondary school
In order to help them succeed in secondary school you can:
Make highly engaged lessons
Give them more time to learn English
Allow opportunities for language development
Provide differentiated instruction
Assess and track their progress
Teachers should use the SIOP Model - Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol
This is all about making the content more comprehensible for ELL’s
Bre,
DeleteI attended a two day professional development on Sheltered Instruction back in the fall. It was intense! So much information. My school does not have a high population of ELLs who do not already come having learned to speak English. However, many of the things you listed such as vocabulary and oral reading support are still needed.
I believe that incorporating an ELL’s own culture into lessons and instruction is a great way to connect with the student. It gives the teacher a chance to learn more about the student and gives them something familiar to read/connect with. They will be able to recall on their schema of their culture. At the same time it doesn’t allow the ELL to learn something new and connect with the new culture they are surrounded by. When incorporating American influences and pop culture into it will allow the student to connect with the new things they are surrounded by and also make connections with their peers. They will build new schema. On the flip side they will not be able to call upon the schema they have already built. For students who are ELL’s born in the US and never learned about their native culture I would say you should do a mix of both. You should expose them to American influences to help them connect with where they live now and to help them grow as an ELL. You should also have them research and read about their native culture to connect to their roots. It’s the best of both worlds for them.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy school uses RTI and it seems very similar to how the book describes it. After we administer the DRA to all of our students, we have a meeting with our administrators, reading specialists, and resource teacher to divide our students into tiers. While the way we place students onto a tier is similar to what is described in the chapter, we use fluency passages for part of our progress monitoring. This is our “baseline” for our students each week, and a way we document growth in fluency. One thing that I think differs is that we aren’t given a lot of instruction on ways to implement the other areas that our students may need we mainly focus on fluency. Like you said, Paige, it isn’t as helpful for students who are ELL. They see our ELL teachers, but the interventions only work if the language barrier isn’t the problem they are experiencing while reading.
ReplyDeleteI think that both perspectives have valid points and intentions. Connecting to a students’ prior knowledge in their own cultural background is more natural and comforting for a student who is already unfamiliar with our schools and culture. Especially for students who are new to America, connecting to their culture will be the easiest and most comfortable way to engage them in learning, and for them to gain understanding of what they are learning. On the other hand, students are exposed to American culture in schools and through the media every day. Using American culture could be a way to help students assimilate to the culture, while also building new background knowledge. They will be able to make connections between what they have seen and heard from their peers with what they are learning in class. For an English learner who has never lived in their native culture, I would try to find opportunities to expose them to that culture, and allow them to explain and teach us about it, if at all possible. It’s important to connect what they are learning to both their native culture and the new American culture they are learning.
I agree with you Kaitlyn! Connecting to their culture, one they already know about, is the easiest way to engage them. But it's also important to expose them to American culture. Personally I think you should do both! :)
DeleteI agree with you both! I would think that connecting to a students' prior knowledge in their own cultural background would increase their interest and motivation because they would be able to make connections to experiences (their schema) already made. Also exposure to American culture means exposing them to all cultures that makeup America along with American ways of life.
DeleteB&D Chapter 5: The Role of the Special Educator
ReplyDeleteThis chapter focuses on special education teachers and the roles they play in schools. Special educators teach students with a multitude of different emotional, behavioral, physical or academic issues. Special education teachers not only work with students, but they also work with parents, teachers, and administrators. They serve leadership roles in their schools. They work with their students in individual one-on-one sessions, pullout groups, or co-teaching with general education teachers.
Special education teachers have to balance three different things: individualized instruction and instructional accommodations, intervention and prevention, and leadership and partnership.
Individualized instruction and instructional accommodations--Right after IDEA was passed, special education teachers were using two methods of instruction: self-contained classrooms and resource rooms. Special education teachers focused solely on the needs of the students, and taught them the skills they were missing. After about 10 years, critics felt that there were two problems with special education programs thus far. The first was that pullouts were essentially ineffective. The second critic focused on general education. They felt that special education teachers could help change the way that general education classrooms functioned. They felt that they needed to be more individualized, and felt that special education teachers were pivotal in eliciting that change. Once No Child Left Behind was passed, co-teaching became more commonplace for special education teachers. This allowed them to focus on their students, while servicing students in the general education classrooms as well. In today’s world, special education teachers have to decide between pullouts or co-teaching, and fight the pressures from state testing and parents wanting inclusion for their child.
Intervention and prevention—Over the years, the number of students being identified as having a learning disability has grown exponentially. A good majority has been identified as having a reading disability. Special education teachers can remedy those issues with reading, but this problem is not unique to just students who qualify for special education. This is a problem that is being identified throughout general education classrooms as well. Early intervention plays a pivotal role in helping children who struggle with reading, and Response to Intervention is one way to do that. RTI is multi-tiered system that provides interventions for students who struggle with reading. The student moves through the tiers if progress is not being made, and can be used to help identify if the student may need to be tested for a learning disability. Special education teachers have often been given the task of working with the students who have not yet been identified as having a learning disability, but are not progressing with the help of RTI. While this is helpful for those students, it can be detrimental to the students who already qualified, as the reading specialist now has to divide their time more.
Leadership and partnership—The special education teachers are the biggest advocate for their students. With the changes that are happening and the increased number of students in general education classrooms, special education teachers are being put into coaching roles and are working collaboratively with general education teachers to create developmentally appropriate instruction. Special education teachers are also play an important role in making sure students are not misidentified or being inappropriately referred.
As the chapter describes, special education teachers put on many hats and have to balance a lot of roles and responsibilities. All of these roles have made researchers wonder if the job would be easier if two people were doing it. The chapter clearly emphasizes that the most important part of a special education teacher’s job is their students.
At my school, the special education teacher does pull outs. It can be disruptive when you are in the middle of teaching a lesson. However, she is very good at checking to see what I (and other teachers) are teaching so she can teach those skills on top of skills that individual students are missing. The statement, "All these roles have made researchers wonder if the job would be easier if two people were doing it." The answer is yes it would. Sometimes, I feel the classroom teacher is the 2nd person performing special educating responsibilities because although these students are pulled out, they still spend time in the general education classroom. How is it at your schools? Does anyone have experience with co-teaching with the special ed teacher?
DeleteI have had a student in my room that required a full time aid. Even though it was supposed to be her sole job to keep that child on task and try to maintain his ability to be in the general education classroom, it was actually really helpful having her presence in the classroom. It was in no way disruptive because she was there from the beginning of the school year. She knew exactly what we were working on each day and was happy to help the children in the group. I really enjoyed having her. I say two adults is always better than one no matter what role they play within the classroom.
Delete