RTI: Best Practices in Writing

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Title: RTI: Best Practices in Writing

1
RTI Best Practices in Writing Math
InterventionsJim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.
org
2
RTI Best Practices in Writing and Math
Interventions
3
RTI Assumption Struggling Students Are Typical
Until Proven Otherwise

RTI logic assumes that
A student who begins to struggle in general
education is typical, and that
It is general educations responsibility to find
the instructional strategies that will unlock the
students learning potential
Only when the student shows through
well-documented interventions that he or she has
failed to respond to intervention does RTI
begin to investigate the possibility that the
student may have a learning disability or other
special education condition.

4
Use Time Resources Efficiently By Collecting
Information Only on Things That Are Alterable

Time should be spent thinking about things
that the intervention team can influence through
instruction, consultation, related services, or
adjustments to the students program. These are
things that are alterable.Beware of statements
about cognitive processes that shift the focus
from the curriculum and may even encourage
questionable educational practice. They can also
promote writing off a student because of the
rationale that the students insufficient
performance is due to a limited and fixed
potential. p.359

Source Howell, K. W., Hosp, J. L., Kurns, S.
(2008). Best practices in curriculum-based
evaluation. In A. Thomas J. Grimes (Eds.), Best
practices in school psychology V (pp.349-362).
Bethesda, MD National Association of School
Psychologists.
5
Five Core Components of RTI Service Delivery

Student services are arranged in a multi-tier
model
Data are collected to assess student baseline
levels and to make decisions about student
progress
Interventions are evidence-based
The procedural integrity of interventions is
measured
RTI is implemented and developed at the school-
and district-level to be scalable and sustainable
over time

Source Glover, T. A., DiPerna, J. C. (2007).
Service delivery for response to intervention
Core components and directions for future
research. School Psychology Review, 36, 526-540.
6
RTI Pyramid of Interventions
7
Target Student
Dual-Discrepancy RTI Model of Learning
Disability (Fuchs 2003)
8
Intervention Research Development A Work in
Progress
9
Tier 1 What Are the Recommended Elements of
Core Curriculum? More Research Needed

In essence, we now have a good beginning on the
evaluation of Tier 2 and 3 interventions, but no
idea about what it will take to get the core
curriculum to work at Tier 1. A complicating
issue with this potential line of research is
that many schools use multiple materials as their
core program. p. 640

Source Kovaleski, J. F. (2007). Response to
intervention Considerations for research and
systems change. School Psychology Review, 36,
638-646.
10
Limitations of Intervention Research

the list of evidence-based interventions is
quite small relative to the need of RTI. Thus,
limited dissemination of interventions is likely
to be a practical problem as individuals move
forward in the application of RTI models in
applied settings. p. 33

Source Kratochwill, T. R., Clements, M. A.,
Kalymon, K. M. (2007). Response to intervention
Conceptual and methodological issues in
implementation. In Jimerson, S. R., Burns, M. K.,
VanDerHeyden, A. M. (Eds.), Handbook of
response to intervention The science and
practice of assessment and intervention. New
York Springer.
11
Schools Need to Review Tier 1 (Classroom)
Interventions to Ensure That They Are Supported
By Research

There is a lack of agreement about what is meant
by scientifically validated classroom (Tier I)
interventions. Districts should establish a
vetting processcriteria for judging whether a
particular instructional or intervention approach
should be considered empirically based.

Source Fuchs, D., Deshler, D. D. (2007). What
we need to know about responsiveness to
intervention (and shouldnt be afraid to ask)..
Learning Disabilities Research Practice,
22(2),129136.
12
What Are Appropriate Content-Area Tier 1
Universal Interventions for Secondary Schools?

High schools need to determine what constitutes
high-quality universal instruction across content
areas. In addition, high school teachers need
professional development in, for example,
differentiated instructional techniques that will
help ensure student access to instruction
interventions that are effectively implemented.

Source Duffy, H. (August 2007). Meeting the
needs of significantly struggling learners in
high school. Washington, DC National High School
Center. Retrieved from http//www.betterhighschool
s.org/pubs/ p. 9
13
RTI Intervention Key Concepts
14
Essential Elements of Any Academic or Behavioral
Intervention (Treatment) Strategy

Method of delivery (Who or what delivers the
treatment?)Examples include teachers,
paraprofessionals, parents, volunteers,
computers.
Treatment component (What makes the intervention
effective?)Examples include activation of prior
knowledge to help the student to make meaningful
connections between known and new material
guide practice (e.g., Paired Reading) to increase
reading fluency periodic review of material to
aid student retention.

15
Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations
Modifications Sorting Them Out

Core Instruction. Those instructional strategies
that are used routinely with all students in a
general-education setting are considered core
instruction. High-quality instruction is
essential and forms the foundation of RTI
academic support. NOTE While it is important to
verify that good core instructional practices are
in place for a struggling student, those routine
practices do not count as individual student
interventions.

16
Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations
Modifications Sorting Them Out

Intervention. An academic intervention is a
strategy used to teach a new skill, build fluency
in a skill, or encourage a child to apply an
existing skill to new situations or settings. An
intervention can be thought of as a set of
actions that, when taken, have demonstrated
ability to change a fixed educational trajectory
(Methe Riley-Tillman, 2008 p. 37).

17
Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations
Modifications Sorting Them Out

Accommodation. An accommodation is intended to
help the student to fully access and participate
in the general-education curriculum without
changing the instructional content and without
reducing the students rate of learning (Skinner,
Pappas Davis, 2005). An accommodation is
intended to remove barriers to learning while
still expecting that students will master the
same instructional content as their typical
peers.
Accommodation example 1 Students are allowed to
supplement silent reading of a novel by listening
to the book on tape.
Accommodation example 2 For unmotivated
students, the instructor breaks larger
assignments into smaller chunks and providing
students with performance feedback and praise for
each completed chunk of assigned work (Skinner,
Pappas Davis, 2005).

18
Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations
Modifications Sorting Them Out

Modification. A modification changes the
expectations of what a student is expected to
know or dotypically by lowering the academic
standards against which the student is to be
evaluated. Examples of modifications
Giving a student five math computation problems
for practice instead of the 20 problems assigned
to the rest of the class
Letting the student consult course notes during a
test when peers are not permitted to do so
Allowing a student to select a much easier book
for a book report than would be allowed to his or
her classmates.

19
RTI Writing Interventions Jim
Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
20
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21
Defining Student Writing Problems
22

"If all the grammarians in the world were placed
end to end, it would be a good thing."
Oscar Wilde

Domains of writing to be assessed (Robinson
Howell, 2008)
Fluency/Text Generation Facility in getting text
onto paper or typed into the computer. (NOTE
This element can be significantly influenced by
student motivation.)
Syntactic Maturity This skill includes the
Ability to discern when a word string meets
criteria as a complete sentence
Ability to write compositions with a diverse
range of sentence structures
Semantic Maturity Writers use of vocabulary of
range and sophistication

5-Step Writing Process (Items in bold are
iterative)
Planning. The student carries out necessary
pre-writing planning activities, including
content, format, and outline.
Drafting. The student writes or types the
composition.
Revision. The student reviews the content of the
composition-in-progress and makes changes as
needed. After producing an initial written draft,
the student considers revisions to content before
turning in for a grade or evaluation.
Editing. The student looks over the composition
and corrects any mechanical mistakes
(capitalization, punctuation, etc.).
Publication The student submits the composition
in finished form.

Source Robinson, L. K., Howell, K. W. (2008).
Best practices in curriculum-based evaluation
written expression. In A. Thomas J. Grimes
(Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V
(pp. 439-452). Bethesda, MD National Association
of School Psychologists.
25
Graham, S., Perin, D. (2007). Writing next
Effective strategies to improve writing of
adolescents in middle and high schools A report
to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington,
DC Alliance for Excellent Education. Retrieved
from http//www.all4ed.org/files/WritingNext.pdf
26
Evaluating the Impact of Effect Size Coefficients

0.20 Effect Size Small
0.50 Effect Size Medium
0.80 Effect Size Large

Source Cohen,J. (1988). Statistical power
analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nded.).
Hillsdale,NJErlbaum.
27

Elements of effective writing instruction for
adolescents
Writing Process (Effect Size 0.82) Students
are taught a process for planning, revising, and
editing.
Summarizing (Effect Size 0.82) Students are
taught methods to identify key points, main ideas
from readings to write summaries of source texts.
Cooperative Learning Activities (Collaborative
Writing) (Effect Size 0.75) Students are
placed in pairs or groups with learning
activities that focus on collaborative use of the
writing process.
Goal-Setting (Effect Size 0.70) Students set
specific product goals for their writing and
then check their attainment of those
self-generated goals.

Source Graham, S., Perin, D. (2007). Writing
next Effective strategies to improve writing of
adolescents in middle and high schools A report
to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington,
DC Alliance for Excellent Education. Retrieved
from http//www.all4ed.org/files/WritingNext.pdf
28

Elements of effective writing instruction for
adolescents
Writing Processors (Effect Size 0.55) Students
have access to computers/word processors in the
writing process.
Sentence Combining (Effect Size 0.50) Students
take part in instructional activities that
require the combination or embedding of simpler
sentences (e.g., Noun-Verb-Object) to generate
more advanced, complex sentences.
Prewriting (Effect Size 0.32) Students learn
to select, develop, or organize ideas to
incorporate into their writing by participating
in structured pre-writing activities.
Inquiry Activities (Effect Size 0.32) Students
become actively engaged researchers, collecting
and analyzing information to guide the ideas and
content for writing assignments.

Elements of effective writing instruction for
adolescents
Process Writing (Effect Size 0.32) Writing
instruction is taught in a workshop format that
stresses extended writing opportunities,
writing for authentic audiences, personalized
instruction, and cycles of writing (Graham
Perin, 2007 p. 4).
Use of Writing Models (Effect Size 0.25)
Students read and discuss models of good writing
and use them as exemplars for their own writing.
Writing to Learn Content (Effect Size 0.23)
The instructor incorporates writing activities as
a means to have students learn content material.

Grammar instruction in the studies reviewed
for the Writing Next report involved the
explicit and systematic teaching of the parts of
speech and structure of sentences. The
meta-analysis found an effect for this type of
instruction for students across the full range of
ability, but surprisingly, this effect was
negativeSuch findings raise serious questions
about some educators enthusiasm for traditional
grammar instruction as a focus of writing
instruction for adolescents.Overall, the
findings on grammar instruction suggest that,
although teaching grammar is important,
alternative procedures, such as sentence
combining, are more effective than traditional
approaches for improving the quality of students
writing. p. 21

Source Graham, S., Perin, D. (2007). Writing
next Effective strategies to improve writing of
adolescents in middle and high schools A report
to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington,
DC Alliance for Excellent Education.
31
Challenge How Do Schools Stop the Use of
Zombie Instructional Practices?

In their rush to promote use of evidence-based
instructional practices under RTI schools should
not forget that research cuts both ways. It can
illuminate new approaches to effectively teach
struggling learners. But research also sometimes
reveals instructional or intervention strategies
that should be reformed or eliminated altogether.
Despite the fact that educators may have
developed a sentimental attachment to such
outmoded practices, schools should provide the
appropriate support to help these teachers to
discard them and adopt more effective
instructional tools. Otherwise, these obsolete,
zombie methods of instruction and intervention
threaten to linger on far past their expected
termination date to continue to drag down student
performance.

Source Wright, J. (2010). Killing off zombie'
interventions The need to root out ineffective
instructional strategies. Retrieved from
http//www.interventioncentral.org
32
Question How Does a School Use Research
Information to Influence Classroom Practice?

In this workshop, we reviewed recommendations
from the Writing Next manual, a meta-analysis of
effective writing instructional elements.
How might your school use information sources
like this to influence classroom practice?

"The difference between the right word and the
almost right word is the difference between
lightning and the lightning bug."
Mark Twain

"Your manuscript is both good and original. But
the part that is good is not original, and the
part that is original is not good."
Samuel Johnson

35
Selected Writing Interventions
36
Fluency Have Students Write Every Day

Short daily writing assignments can build
student writing fluency and make writing a more
motivating activity. Poor writers gradually
develop into better writers when they are
prompted to write daily--and receive rapid
feedback and encouragement about that writing.
The teacher can encourage daily writing by
giving short writing assignments
allowing time for students to journal about their
learning activities
requiring that they correspond daily with pen
pals via email
even posting a question on the board as a
bell-ringer activity that students can respond to
in writing for extra credit.

Source Graham, S., Harris, K. R., Larsen, L.
(2001). Prevention and intervention of writing
difficulties for students with learning
disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research
Practice, 16, 74-84.
37
Writing Support in the Classroom Essentials of
Effective Instruction

Teachers are most successful in reaching
students with writing delays when they
Build their written expression lessons around
the 3 stages of writing planning, writing, and
revision and make those stages clear and
explicit.
Provide students with think sheets that outline
step-by-step strategies for tackle the different
phases of a writing assignment (e.g., taking
concise notes from research material building
an outline proofreading a draft).
Expose students to different kinds of expressive
text, such as persuasive, narrative, and
expository writing-- good prose models that the
student can review when completing a writing
assignment.
Give supportive and timely feedback to students
about their writing. When teachers or classmates
offer writing feedback to the student, they are
honest but also maintain an encouraging tone.

Source Gersten, R., Baker, S., Edwards, L.
(1999). Teaching expressive writing to students
with learning disabilities A meta-analysis. New
York National Center for Learning Disabilities.
38
Integrated Writing Instruction (MacArthur,
Graham, Schwarz, 1993 )

The instructor follows a uniform daily
instructional framework for writing instruction.
Status-checking. At the start of the writing
session, the instructor quickly goes around the
room, asking each student what writing goal(s) he
or she plans to accomplish that day. The
instructor records these responses for all to
see.
Mini-Lesson. The instructor teaches a mini-lesson
relevant to the writing process. Mini-lessons are
a useful means to present explicit writing
strategies (e.g., an outline for drafting an
opinion essay) as well as a forum for reviewing
the conventions of writing. Mini-lessons should
be kept short (e.g.,5-10 minutes) to hold the
attention of the class.

39
Integrated Writing Instruction Cont. (MacArthur,
Graham, Schwarz, 1993 )

Student Writing. During the session, substantial
time is set aside for students to write. Their
writing assignment might be one handed out that
day or part of a longer composition (e.g., story,
extended essay) that the student is writing and
editing across multiple days. When possible,
student writers are encouraged to use computers
as aids in composing and editing their work.
Peer Teacher Conferences. At the end of the
daily writing block, the student may sit with a
classmate to review each other's work, using a
structured peer editing strategy. During this
discussion time, the teacher also holds brief
individual conferences with students to review
their work, have students evaluate how
successfully they completed their writing goals
for the day, and hear writers' thoughts about how
they might plan to further develop a writing
assignment.

40
Integrated Writing Instruction Cont. (MacArthur,
Graham, Schwarz, 1993 )

Group Sharing or Publishing. At the end of each
session, writing produced that day is shared with
the whole class. Students might volunteer to read
passages aloud from their compositions. Students
are encouraged to choose more polished work and
post it on the classroom wall or bulletin board,
have their work displayed in a public area of the
school, publish the work in an anthology of
school writings, read it aloud at school
assemblies, or publish it on a school Internet
site.

41
Monitoring to Increase Writing Fluency (Rathvon,
1999)

Students gain motivation to write through daily
monitoring and charting of their own and
classwide rates of writing fluency.
Assign timed freewriting several times per week.
After each freewriting period, direct each
student to count up the number of words he or she
has written in their daily journal entry (whether
spelled correctly or not).
Have students to record their personal
writing-fluency score in their journal and also
chart the score on their own time-series graph
for visual feedback.
Collect the days writing-fluency scores of all
students in the class, sum those scores, and
chart the results on a large time-series graph
posted at the front of the room.
Raise the class goal by five percent per week.

42
Organization Build an Outline by Talking Through
the Topic

Students who struggle to organize their notes
into a coherent outline can tell others what
they know about the topicand then capture the
informal logical structure of that conversation
to create a working outline.
The student studies notes from the topic and
describes what he or she knows about the topic
and its significance to a listener. (The student
may want to audio-record this conversation for
later playback.)
After the conversation, the student jots down an
outline from memory to capture the structure and
main ideas of the discussion.
This outline kernel can then be expanded and
refined into the framework for a paper.

Source The Writing Center, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill (n.d.). Reorganizing your
draft. Retrieved December 23, 2006, from
http//www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/organizati
on.html
43
Organization Reverse Outline the Draft

Students can improve the internal flow of their
compositions through reverse outlining.
The student writes a draft of the composition.
Next, the student reads through the draft,
jotting notes in the margins that signify the
main idea of each paragraph or section.
Then the student organizes the margin notes into
an outline to reveal the organizational structure
of the paper.
This reverse outline allows the student to note
whether sections of the draft are repetitious,
are out of order, or do not logically connect
with one another.

When students regularly use a simple, portable,
easily memorized plan for proofreading, the
quality of their writing improves significantly.
Create and have students refer to a classroom
with the SCOPE proofreading elements Spelling
Are my words spelled correctly Capitalization
Have I capitalized all appropriate words,
including first words of sentences, proper nouns,
and proper names? Order of words Is my word
order (syntax) correct? Punctuation Did I use
end punctuation and other punctuation marks
appropriately? Expression of complete thoughts
Do all of my sentences contain a noun and verb to
convey a complete thought?

45
Cover-Copy-Compare (Murphy, Hern, Williams,
McLaughlin, 1990)

Students increase their spelling knowledge by
copying a spelling word from a correct model and
then recopying the same word from memory. Give
students a list of 10-20 spelling words, an index
card, and a blank sheet of paper. For each word
on the spelling list, the student
copies the spelling list item onto a sheet of
paper,
covers the newly copied word with the index card,
writes the spelling word again on the sheet
(spelling it from memory), and
uncovers the copied word and checks to ensure
that the word copied from memory is spelled
correctly. Repeat as necessary.

46
Use Selective Proofreading With Highlighting of
Errors

To prevent struggling writers from becoming
overwhelmed by teacher proofreading corrections,
select only 1 or 2 proofreading areas when
correcting a writing assignment.
Create a student writing skills checklist that
inventories key writing competencies (e.g.,
grammar/syntax, spelling, vocabulary, etc.).
For each writing assignment, announce to students
that you will grade the assignment for overall
content but will make proofreading corrections on
only 1-2 areas chosen from the writing skills
checklist. (Select different proofreading targets
for each assignment matched to common writing
weaknesses in your classroom.)

47
Use Selective Proofreading With Highlighting of
Errors Cont.

To prevent cluttering the students paper with
potentially discouraging teacher comments and
editing marks
underline problems in the student text with a
highlighter and
number the highlighted errors sequentially at the
left margin of the student paper.
write teacher comments on a separate feedback
sheet to explain the writing errors. Identify
each comment with the matching error-number from
the left margin of the students worksheet.
TIP Have students use this method when
proofreading their own text.

48
Selective Proofreading With Highlighting of
Errors
Jimmy Smith
Dec 1, 2006
Mrs. Richman
49

"A ratio of failures is built into the process
of writing. The wastebasket has evolved for a
reason."
Margaret Atwood

50
Sentence Combining

Students with poor writing skills often write
sentences that lack syntactic maturity. Their
sentences often follow a simple, stereotyped
format. A promising approach to teach students
use of diverse sentence structures is through
sentence combining. In sentence combining,
students are presented with kernel sentences and
given explicit instruction in how to weld these
kernel sentences into more diverse sentence types
either
by using connecting words to combine multiple
sentences into one or
by isolating key information from an otherwise
superfluous sentence and embedding that important
information into the base sentence.

Sources Saddler, B. (2005). Sentence combining
A sentence-level writing intervention. The
Reading Teacher, 58, 468-471. Strong, W. (1986).
Creative approaches to sentence combining.
Urbana, OL ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and
Communication Skill National Council of
Teachers of English.
51
Formatting Sentence Combining Examples
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Interventionist TIP Dont Forget ThatWriting
Interventions Are Embedded in a Larger Web of
Potential Academic Intervention Strategies
Writing
56
Academic Interventions Critical Components
Checklist
57
Academic Interventions Critical Components
Checklist
58
Academic Interventions Critical Components
Checklist

This checklist summarizes the essential
components of academic interventions. When
preparing a students Tier 1, 2, or 3 academic
intervention plan, use this document as a
pre-flight checklist to ensure that the
academic intervention is of high quality, is
sufficiently strong to address the identified
student problem, is fully understood and
supported by the teacher, and can be implemented
with integrity. NOTE While the checklist refers
to the teacher as the interventionist, it can
also be used as a guide to ensure the quality of
interventions implemented by non-instructional
personnel, adult volunteers, parents, and peer
(student) tutors.

59
Allocating Sufficient Contact Time Assuring Appropriate Student-Teacher Ratio Allocating Sufficient Contact Time Assuring Appropriate Student-Teacher Ratio Allocating Sufficient Contact Time Assuring Appropriate Student-Teacher Ratio
The cumulative time set aside for an intervention and the amount of direct teacher contact are two factors that help to determine that interventions strength (Yeaton Sechrest, 1981). The cumulative time set aside for an intervention and the amount of direct teacher contact are two factors that help to determine that interventions strength (Yeaton Sechrest, 1981). The cumulative time set aside for an intervention and the amount of direct teacher contact are two factors that help to determine that interventions strength (Yeaton Sechrest, 1981).
Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes
? Time Allocated. The time set aside for the intervention is appropriate for the type and level of student problem (Burns Gibbons, 2008 Kratochwill, Clements Kalymon, 2007). When evaluating whether the amount of time allocated is adequate, consider Length of each intervention session. Frequency of sessions (e.g.., daily, 3 times per week) Duration of intervention period (e.g., 6 instructional weeks)
? Student-Teacher Ratio. The student receives sufficient contact from the teacher or other person delivering the intervention to make that intervention effective. NOTE Generally, supplemental intervention groups should be limited to 6-7 students (Burns Gibbons, 2008).
60
Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem
Academic interventions are not selected at random. First, the student academic problem(s) is defined clearly and in detail. Then, the likely explanations for the academic problem(s) are identified to understand which intervention(s) are likely to helpand which should be avoided. Academic interventions are not selected at random. First, the student academic problem(s) is defined clearly and in detail. Then, the likely explanations for the academic problem(s) are identified to understand which intervention(s) are likely to helpand which should be avoided. Academic interventions are not selected at random. First, the student academic problem(s) is defined clearly and in detail. Then, the likely explanations for the academic problem(s) are identified to understand which intervention(s) are likely to helpand which should be avoided.
Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes
? Problem Definition. The student academic problem(s) to be addressed in the intervention are defined in clear, specific, measureable terms (Bergan, 1995 Witt, VanDerHeyden Gilbertson, 2004). The full problem definition describes Conditions. Describe the environmental conditions or task demands in place when the academic problem is observed. Problem Description. Describe the actual observable academic behavior in which the student is engaged. Include rate, accuracy, or other quantitative information of student performance. Typical or Expected Level of Performance. Provide a typical or expected performance criterion for this skill or behavior. Typical or expected academic performance can be calculated using a variety of sources,
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Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem (Cont.) Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem (Cont.) Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem (Cont.)
Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes
? Appropriate Target. Selected intervention(s) are appropriate for the identified student problem(s) (Burns, VanDerHeyden Boice, 2008). TIP Use the Instructional Hierarchy (Haring et al., 1978) to select academic interventions according to the four stages of learning Acquisition. The student has begun to learn how to complete the target skill correctly but is not yet accurate in the skill. Interventions should improve accuracy. Fluency. The student is able to complete the target skill accurately but works slowly. Interventions should increase the students speed of responding (fluency) as well as to maintain accuracy. Generalization. The student may have acquired the target skill but does not typically use it in the full range of appropriate situations or settings. Or the student may confuse the target skill with similar skills. Interventions should get the student to use the skill in the widest possible range of settings and situations, or to accurately discriminate between the target skill and similar skills. Adaptation. The student is not yet able to modify or adapt an existing skill to fit novel task-demands or situations. Interventions should help the student to identify key concepts or elements from previously learned skills that can be adapted to the new demands or situations.
63
Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem (Cont.) Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem (Cont.) Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem (Cont.)
Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes
? Cant Do/Wont Do Check. The teacher has determined whether the student problem is primarily a skill or knowledge deficit (cant do) or whether student motivation plays a main or supporting role in academic underperformance (wont do). If motivation appears to be a significant factor contributing to the problem, the intervention plan includes strategies to engage the student (e.g., high interest learning activities rewards/incentives increased student choice in academic assignments, etc.) (Skinner, Pappas Davis, 2005 Witt, VanDerHeyden Gilbertson, 2004).
64
Activity Matching the Intervention to the
Student Problem

Consider these critical aspects of academic
intervention
Clear and specific problem-identification
statement (Conditions, Problem Description,
Typical/Expected Level of Performance).
Appropriate intervention target (e.g., selected
intervention is appropriately matched to
Acquisition, Fluency, Generalization, or
Adaptation phase of Instructional Hierarchy).
Cant Do/Wont Do Check (Clarification of whether
motivation plays a significant role in student
academic underperformance).
What steps can your RTI Team and school take to
ensure that each of these aspects is taken into
consideration when planning interventions at Tier
1, 2, or 3?

65
Incorporating Effective Instructional Elements Incorporating Effective Instructional Elements Incorporating Effective Instructional Elements
These effective building blocks of instruction are well-known and well-supported by the research. They should be considered when selecting or creating any academic intervention. These effective building blocks of instruction are well-known and well-supported by the research. They should be considered when selecting or creating any academic intervention. These effective building blocks of instruction are well-known and well-supported by the research. They should be considered when selecting or creating any academic intervention.
Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes
? Explicit Instruction. Student skills have been broken down into manageable and deliberately sequenced steps and the teacher provided overt strategies for students to learn and practice new skills (Burns, VanDerHeyden Boice, 2008, p.1153).
? Appropriate Level of Challenge. The student experienced sufficient success in the academic task(s) to shape learning in the desired direction as well as to maintain student motivation (Burns, VanDerHeyden Boice, 2008).
? Active Engagement. The intervention ensures that the student is engaged in active accurate responding (Skinner, Pappas Davis, 2005).at a rate frequent enough to capture student attention and to optimize effective learning.
? Performance Feedback. The student receives prompt performance feedback about the work completed (Burns, VanDerHeyden Boice, 2008).
? Maintenance of Academic Standards. If the intervention includes any accommodations to better support the struggling learner (e.g., preferential seating, breaking a longer assignment into smaller chunks), those accommodations do not substantially lower the academic standards against which the student is to be evaluated and are not likely to reduce the students rate of learning (Skinner, Pappas Davis, 2005).
66
Activity Incorporating Effective Instructional
Elements

Think about the effective instructional elements
reviewed in this workshop.
How can your school assist teachers to ensure
that effective instructional elements are
included in academicinterventions?

Incorporating Effective Instructional Elements Incorporating Effective Instructional Elements Incorporating Effective Instructional Elements
Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes
? Explicit Instruction.
? Appropriate Level of Challenge.
? Active Engagement..
? Performance Feedback.
? Maintenance of Academic Standards.
67
Verifying Teacher Understanding Providing Teacher Support Verifying Teacher Understanding Providing Teacher Support Verifying Teacher Understanding Providing Teacher Support
The teacher is an active agent in the intervention, with primary responsibility for putting it into practice in a busy classroom. It is important, then, that the teacher fully understands how to do the intervention, believes that he or she can do it, and knows whom to seek out if there are problems with the intervention. The teacher is an active agent in the intervention, with primary responsibility for putting it into practice in a busy classroom. It is important, then, that the teacher fully understands how to do the intervention, believes that he or she can do it, and knows whom to seek out if there are problems with the intervention. The teacher is an active agent in the intervention, with primary responsibility for putting it into practice in a busy classroom. It is important, then, that the teacher fully understands how to do the intervention, believes that he or she can do it, and knows whom to seek out if there are problems with the intervention.
Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes
? Teacher Responsibility. The teacher understands his or her responsibility to implement the academic intervention(s) with integrity.
? Teacher Acceptability. The teacher states that he or she finds the academic intervention feasible and acceptable for the identified student problem.
? Step-by-Step Intervention Script. The essential steps of the intervention are written as an intervention script--a series of clearly described stepsto ensure teacher understanding and make implementation easier (Hawkins, Morrison, Musti-Rao Hawkins, 2008).
? Intervention Training. If the teacher requires training to carry out the intervention, that training has been arranged.
? Intervention Elements Negotiable vs. Non-Negotiable. The teacher knows all of the steps of the intervention. Additionally, the teacher knows which of the intervention steps are non-negotiable (they must be completed exactly as designed) and which are negotiable (the teacher has some latitude in how to carry out those steps) (Hawkins, Morrison, Musti-Rao Hawkins, 2008).
? Assistance With the Intervention. If the intervention cannot be implemented as designed for any reason (e.g., student absence, lack of materials, etc.), the teacher knows how to get assistance quickly to either fix the problem(s) to the current intervention or to change the intervention.
68
Activity Verifying Teacher Understanding
Providing Teacher Support

In your teams
Review the checklist for verifying that teachers
understand all elements of the intervention and
actively support its use.
How will your school ensure that teachers in
Tier 1 will understand and support academic
interventions designed to be implemented in the
classroom?

Verifying Teacher Understanding Providing Teacher Support
Critical Item? Intervention Element
? Teacher Responsibility
? Teacher Acceptability.
? Step-by-Step Intervention Script.
? Intervention Training.
? Intervention Elements Negotiable vs. Non-Negotiable
? Assistance With the Intervention
69
Documenting the Intervention Collecting Data Documenting the Intervention Collecting Data Documenting the Intervention Collecting Data
Interventions only have meaning if they are done within a larger data-based context. For example, interventions that lack baseline data, goal(s) for improvement, and a progress-monitoring plan are fatally flawed (Witt, VanDerHeyden Gilbertson, 2004). Interventions only have meaning if they are done within a larger data-based context. For example, interventions that lack baseline data, goal(s) for improvement, and a progress-monitoring plan are fatally flawed (Witt, VanDerHeyden Gilbertson, 2004). Interventions only have meaning if they are done within a larger data-based context. For example, interventions that lack baseline data, goal(s) for improvement, and a progress-monitoring plan are fatally flawed (Witt, VanDerHeyden Gilbertson, 2004).
Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes
? Intervention Documentation. The teacher understands and can manage all documentation required for this intervention (e.g., maintaining a log of intervention sessions, etc.).
? Checkup Date. Before the intervention begins, a future checkup date is selected to review the intervention to determine if it is successful. Time elapsing between the start of the intervention and the checkup date should be short enough to allow a timely review of the intervention but long enough to give the school sufficient time to judge with confidence whether the intervention worked.
? Baseline. Before the intervention begins, the teacher has collected information about the students baseline level of performance in the identified area(s) of academic concern (Witt, VanDerHeyden Gilbertson, 2004).
? Goal. Before the intervention begins, the teacher has set a specific goal for predicted student improvement to use as a minimum standard for success (Witt, VanDerHeyden Gilbertson, 2004). The goal is the expected student outcome by the checkup date if the intervention is successful.
? Progress-Monitoring. During the intervention, the teacher collects progress-monitoring data of sufficient quality and at a sufficient frequency to determine at the checkup date whether that intervention is successful (Witt, VanDerHeyden Gilbertson, 2004).
70
Activity Documenting the Intervention
Collecting Data

In your teams
Consider the elements of intervention
documentation, data collection, and data
interpretation discussed here.
What steps can your school take to make sure
that data have a central focus when
interventionsare planned and implemented?

Documenting the Intervention Collecting Data Documenting the Intervention Collecting Data Documenting the Intervention Collecting Data
Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes
? Intervention Documentation.
? Checkup Date.
? Baseline.
? Goal.
? Progress-Monitoring.
71
References

Bergan, J. R. (1995). Evolution of a
problem-solving model of consultation. Journal of
Educational and Psychological Consultation, 6(2),
111-123.
Burns, M. K., Gibbons, K. A. (2008).
Implementing response-to-intervention in
elementary and secondary schools. Routledge New
York.
Burns, M. K., VanDerHeyden, A. M., Boice, C. H.
(2008). Best practices in intensive academic
interventions. In A. Thomas J. Grimes (Eds.),
Best practices in school psychology V
(pp.1151-1162). Bethesda, MD National
Association of School Psychologists.
Haring, N.G., Lovitt, T.C., Eaton, M.D.,
Hansen, C.L. (1978). The fourth R Research in
the classroom. Columbus, OH Charles E. Merrill
Publishing Co.
Hawkins, R. O., Morrison, J. Q., Musti-Rao, S.,
Hawkins, J. A. (2008). Treatment integrity for
academic interventions in real- world settings.
School Psychology Forum, 2(3), 1-15.
Kratochwill, T. R., Clements, M. A., Kalymon,
K. M. (2007). Response to intervention
Conceptual and methodological issues in
implementation. In Jimerson, S. R., Burns, M. K.,
VanDerHeyden, A. M. (Eds.), Handbook of
response to intervention The science and
practice of assessment and intervention. New
York Springer.
Skinner, C. H., Pappas, D. N., Davis, K. A.
(2005). Enhancing academic engagement Providing
opportunities for responding and influencing
students to choose to respond. Psychology in the
Schools, 42, 389-403.
Witt, J. C., VanDerHeyden, A. M., Gilbertson,
D. (2004). Troubleshooting behavioral
interventions. A systematic process for finding
and eliminating problems. School Psychology
Review, 33, 363-383.
Yeaton, W. M. Sechrest, L. (1981). Critical
dimensions in the choice and maintenance of
successful treatments Strength, integrity, and
effectiveness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 49, 156-167.

72
RTI Best Practicesin MathematicsInterventionsJ
im Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
73
National Mathematics Advisory Panel Report13
March 2008
74
Math Advisory Panel Report athttp//www.ed.gov/
mathpanel
75
2008 National Math Advisory Panel Report
Recommendations

The areas to be studied in mathematics from
pre-kindergarten through eighth grade should be
streamlined and a well-defined set of the most
important topics should be emphasized in the
early grades. Any approach that revisits topics
year after year without bringing them to closure
should be avoided.
Proficiency with whole numbers, fractions, and
certain aspects of geometry and measurement are
the foundations for algebra. Of these, knowledge
of fractions is the most important foundational
skill not developed among American students.
Conceptual understanding, computational and
procedural fluency, and problem solving skills
are equally important and mutually reinforce each
other. Debates regarding the relative importance
of each of these components of mathematics are
misguided.
Students should develop immediate recall of
arithmetic facts to free the working memory for
solving more complex problems.

Source National Math Panel Fact Sheet. (March
2008). Retrieved on March 14, 2008, from
http//www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/mathpanel/rep
ort/final-factsheet.html
76
An RTI Challenge Limited Research to Support
Evidence-Based Math Interventions

in contrast to reading, core math programs
that are supported by research, or that have been
constructed according to clear research-based
principles, are not easy to identify. Not only
have exemplary core programs not been identified,
but also there are no tools available that we
know of that will help schools analyze core math
programs to determine their alignment with clear
research-based principles. p. 459

Source Clarke, B., Baker, S., Chard, D.
(2008). Best practices in mathematics assessment
and intervention with elementary students. In A.
Thomas J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in
school psychology V (pp. 453-463).
77
Who is At Risk for Poor Math Performance? A
Proactive Stance

we use the term mathematics difficulties
rather than mathematics disabilities. Children
who exhibit mathematics difficulties include
those performing in the low average range (e.g.,
at or below the 35th percentile) as well as those
performing well below averageUsing higher
percentile cutoffs increases the likelihood that
young children who go on to have serious math
problems will be picked up in the screening. p.
295

Source Gersten, R., Jordan, N. C., Flojo, J.
R. (2005). Early identification and interventions
for students with mathematics difficulties.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 293-304.
78
The Elements of Mathematical Proficiency What
the Experts Say
79
(No Transcript)
80
Five Strands of Mathematical Proficiency

Understanding Comprehending mathematical
concepts, operations, and relations--knowing what
mathematical symbols, diagrams, and procedures
mean.
Computing Carrying out mathematical procedures,
such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and
dividing numbers flexibly, accurately,
efficiently, and appropriately.
Applying Being able to formulate problems
mathematically and to devise strategies for
solving them using concepts and procedures
appropriately.

Source National Research Council. (2002).
Helping children learn mathematics. Mathematics
Learning Study Committee, J. Kilpatrick J.
Swafford, Editors, Center for Education, Division
of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.
Washington, DC National Academy Press.
81
Five Strands of Mathematical Proficiency (Cont.)

Reasoning Using logic to explain and justify a
solution to a problem or to extend from something
known to something less known.
Engaging Seeing mathematics as sensible, useful,
and doableif you work at itand being willing to
do the work.

Table Activity Evaluate Your Schools Math
Proficiency
As a group, review the National Research Council
Strands of Math Proficiency.
Which strand do you feel that your school /
curriculum does the best job of helping students
to attain proficiency?
Which strand do you feel that your school /
curriculum should put the greatest effort to
figure out how to help students to attain
proficiency?
Be prepared to share your results.

Understanding Comprehending mathematical
concepts, operations, and relations--knowing what
mathematical symbols, diagrams, and procedures
mean.
Computing Carrying out mathematical procedures,
such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and
dividing numbers flexibly, accurately,
efficiently, and appropriately.
Applying Being able to formulate problems
mathematically and to devise strategies for
solving them using concepts and procedures
appropriately.
Reasoning Using logic to explain and justify a
solution to a problem or to extend from something
known to something less known.
Engaging Seeing mathematics as sensible, useful,
and doableif you work at itand being willing to
do the work.

83
Three General Levels of Math Skill Development
(Kroesbergen Van Luit, 2003)

As students move from lower to higher grades,
they move through levels of acquisition of math
skills, to include
Number sense
Basic math operations (i.e., addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division)
Problem-solving skills The solution of both
verbal and nonverbal problems through the
application of previously acquired information
(Kroesbergen Van Luit, 2003, p. 98)

Source Kroesbergen, E., Van Luit, J. E. H.
(2003). Mathematics interventions for children
with special educational needs. Remedial and
Special Education, 24, 97-114..
84
Benefits of Automaticity of Arithmetic
Combinations (Gersten, Jordan, Flojo, 2005)

There is a strong correlation between poor
retrieval of arithmetic combinations (math
facts) and global math delays
Automatic recall of arithmetic combinations frees
up student cognitive capacity to allow for
understanding of higher-level problem-solving
By internalizing numbers as mental constructs,
students can manipulate those numbers in their
head, allowing for the intuitive understanding of
arithmetic properties, such as associative
property and commutative property

Source Gersten, R., Jordan, N. C., Flojo, J.
R. (2005). Early identification and interventions
for students with mathematics difficulties.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 293-304.
85
How much is 3 8? Strategies to Solve
Source Gersten, R., Jordan, N. C., Flojo, J.
R. (2005). Early identification and interventions
for students with mathematics difficulties.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 293-304.
86
Profile of Students With Significant Math
Difficulties

Spatial organization. The student commits errors
such as misaligning numbers in columns in a
multiplication problem or confusing
directionality in a subtraction problem (and
subtracting the original numberminuendfrom the
figure to be subtracted (subtrahend).
Visual detail. The student misreads a
mathematical sign or leaves out a decimal or
dollar sign in the answer.
Procedural errors. The student skips or adds a
step in a computation sequence. Or the student
misapplies a learned rule from one arithmetic
procedure when completing another, different
arithmetic procedure.
Inability to shift psychological set. The
student does not shift from one operation type
(e.g., addition) to another (e.g.,
multiplication) when warranted.
Graphomotor. The students poor handwriting can
cause him or her to misread handwritten numbers,
leading to errors in computation.
Memory. The student fails to remember a specific
math fact needed to solve a problem. (The student
may KNOW the math fact but not be able to recall
it at point of performance.)
Judgment and reasoning. The student comes up with
solutions to problems that are clearly
unreasonable. However, the student is not able
adequately to evaluate those responses to gauge
whether they actually make sense in context.

Source Rourke, B. P. (1993). Arithmetic
disabilities, specific otherwise A
neuropsychological perspective. Journal of
Learning Disabilities, 26, 214-226.
87
Math Interventions
88
Math Intervention Tier I or II Elementary
Secondary Self-Administered Arithmetic
Combination Drills With Performance
Self-Monitoring Incentives

The student is given a math computation worksheet
of a specific problem type, along with an answer
key Academic Opportunity to Respond.
The student consults his or her performance chart
and notes previous performance. The student is
encouraged to try to beat his or her most
recent score.
The student is given a pre-selected amount of
time (e.g., 5 minutes) to complete as many
problems as possible. The student sets a timer
and works on the computation sheet until the
timer rings. Active Student Responding
The student checks his or her work, giving credit
for each correct digit (digit of correct value
appearing in the correct place-position in the
answer). Performance Feedback
The student records the days score of TOTAL
number of correct digits on his or her personal
performance chart.
The student receives praise or a reward if he or
she exceeds the most recently posted number of
correct digits.

Application of Learn Unit framework from
Heward, W.L. (1996). Three low-tech strategies
for increasing the frequency of active student
response during group instruction. In R. Gardner,
D. M.S ainato, J. O. Cooper, T. E. Heron, W. L.
Heward, J. W. Eshleman, T. A. Grossi (Eds.),
Behavior analysis in education Focus on
measurably superior instruction (pp.283-320).
Pacific Grove, CABrooks/Cole.
89
Self-Administered Arithmetic Combination
DrillsExamples of Student Worksheet and Answer
Key
Worksheets created using Math Worksheet
Generator. Available online athttp//www.interve
ntioncentral.org/htmdocs/tools/mathprobe/addsing.p
hp
90
Self-Administered Arithmetic Combination Drills
91
Cover-Copy-Compare Math Computational
Fluency-Building Intervention

The student is given sheet with correctly
completed math problems in left column and index
card. For each problem, the student
studies the model
covers the model with index card
copies the problem from memory
solves the problem
uncovers the correctly completed model to check
answer

Source Skinner, C.H., Turco, T.L., Beatty, K.L.,
Rasavage, C. (1989). Cover, copy, and compare
A method for increasing multiplication
performance. School Psychology Review, 18,
412-420.
92
Math Computation Problem Interspersal Technique

The teacher first identifies the range of
challenging problem-types (number problems
appropriately matched to the students current
instructional level) that are to appear on the
worksheet.
Then the teacher creates a series of easy
problems that the students can complete very
quickly (e.g., adding or subtracting two 1-digit
numbers). The teacher next prepares a series of
student math computation worksheets with easy
computation problems interspers