What is Response to Intervention Education?

What is Response to Intervention Education?

If you look inside any general education classroom, chances are good that you’d see different students struggling for different reasons. It can be hard for a teacher to tell right away which students are struggling or why. Simply put, Response to Intervention (RTI) is a framework for implementing proactive data-driven decision-making. It provides teachers with better, more timely information about students to improve student learning and performance.

An Effective Prevention Model

RTI is not just a model for special education classrooms. It is increasingly an early identification and prevention model that helps schools and districts nationwide broaden the range of interventions available in general education. RTI also ensures that the curriculum truly meets the needs of all students. With the appropriate processes in place, RTI can help schools identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes. It monitors their progress and provides evidence‐based interventions early on – when students first exhibit signs of learning problems. The nature and intensity of such interventions can be continually adjusted depending on each student’s responsiveness.

Teachers Provide the Interventions

Teachers can provide targeted teaching — called interventions — to help struggling students catch up. A big part of the RTI process involves closely monitoring student progress—that way the school can see which students need more academic support. RTI isn’t a specific program or type of teaching. It’s a proactive approach. RTI measures students’ skills and uses this data to decide which interventions to use.

Response to Intervention Components

Below are key components of RTI.

  • Early Identification of Learning Issues: RTI helps in the early identification of students who may be facing academic challenges. By monitoring students’ progress regularly, educators can identify difficulties and intervene promptly, preventing further academic setbacks.
  • Individualized Support: RTI emphasizes providing individualized support based on a student’s specific needs. This tailored approach allows educators to address the unique learning styles and requirements of each child, helping them progress at their own pace.
  • Prevention of Academic Failure: The primary goal of RTI is to prevent academic failure. By intervening early and providing targeted support, educators can help students catch up to their peers, reducing the likelihood of long-term academic struggles.
  • Data-Driven Decision Making: RTI relies on data and ongoing assessment to guide instructional decisions. This data-driven approach allows educators to make informed choices about the most effective interventions for each student, ensuring that efforts are targeted and efficient.
  • Collaboration between Teachers and Parents: RTI promotes collaboration between teachers and parents. Parents are integral members of the intervention team and are kept informed about their child’s progress, the interventions being used, and how they can support their child at home.
  • Inclusive Education: RTI fosters an inclusive education environment by recognizing and addressing diverse learning needs. It helps create a supportive atmosphere where all students, regardless of their initial skill levels, have the opportunity to succeed.
  • Reducing Special Education Referrals: RTI can help reduce the number of unnecessary referrals to special education by providing early and targeted interventions. This ensures that students receive appropriate support within the general education setting, reducing the need for more restrictive environments.

Student Achievement Data Produces Results!

In many states, RTI or intervention data is needed as part of the body of evidence to qualify for special education services as a student with a learning disability. Many states also have READ plans to support students reading below grade level. RTI ensures teachers are completing interventions and using the data to close reading gaps. If you don’t know if your child is receiving classroom-based interventions, ask your teacher. The teacher can also provide you with your child’s supporting achievement data.

 




Writing Standards with Fun Activities (Part 4)

Writing Standards with Fun Activities (Part 4)

Each year I am challenged in how I can adequately increase the writing competencies of my students in project-based learning activities. When I partnered with another teacher, we created a checklist of what we had to complete by the end of the school year to meet all writing competencies. These activities included:

  1. Writing teachers must understand the rules for grade level writing standards.
  2. The teachers must consider various activities that will fully engage and inspire diverse learners.
  3. Writing activities must be fun while meeting a wide range of reading and writing abilities within a class. This ensures differentiated instruction that is equitable and successful for all students.
  4. Writing teachers must research and collect resources that will support an engaging writing activity in the classroom.

What I Must Teach

I also reviewed and summarized the California writing standards for my second-grade class that included:

  1. Write opinion pieces with an introduction and reasons for supporting an opinion.
  2. Write an informational/expository text with an introduction, supporting facts, and a concluding statement.
  3. Write narratives about a sequence of events with details, thoughts, and feelings in an organized order of explanations.
  4. Produce writing that is organized according to task and purpose.
  5. Learn to revise and edit with support from the teacher and peers.
  6. Learn to use digital tools to publish writing products in collaboration with peers.

What Students Have Learned

When reviewing this list, my class has already created an informational text on learning more about rattlesnakes and how antivenom can neutralize a venomous rattlesnake bite. Next, my class completed a reflective narrative about how they researched and created the snake story with our writing teacher, Mrs. Burke. Most students were impressed with how Mrs. Burke shared her story about being a rattlesnake survivor after being bitten and medicated with antivenom from a horse. Many expressed relief that they would not die from a rattlesnake bite and that there are medications that will save them from a bite. Finally, students wrote an opinion story about how they plan to protect themselves from rattlesnake bites when working in their garden or hiking with their family. Most do not want to ever encounter a rattlesnake. Many also feel confident they now know how to protect themselves from a bite.

What We Must Still Learn

As I initiate second semester writing assignments, students will now focus on more collaborative writing and editing assignments while working on their Chromebooks. Their activities will include writing a fantasy story in the winter months and completing a career path research writing project in the spring time.

Much success as you engage your students with differentiated collaborative writing projects.

 

 




Homework: A Guide to Inspire Learning 

Homework: A Guide to Inspire Learning

Last week we had our grandkids stay with us for a few days while their parents worked and traveled. Packets of homework and home learning projects were sent along with their clothing. As credentialed teachers, Grandpa and I decided that we could each focus on our strengths while guiding our grandkids to complete their assignments. I focused on language arts while Grandpa focused on math assignments. Our greatest challenge was to inspire independent problem solving while encouraging learning.

Stratgies for Success

Here are ten strategies that worked for us:

  1. Consider the timing for learning. Morning instruction works best for the most challenging assignments after the children eat a healthy breakfast.
  2. Give lots of learning breaks when children become blocked or overwhelmed with an assignment.
  3. Build in a motivational award after learning is completed each day. One afternoon we played at the beach. Another day we went swimming with the kids. Each recreational activity reinforced physical fitness and cooperative play.
  4. When tackling a new concept in math, check with your child about what they already know. Also, confirm what they understand about any new math concepts. It helps to review a math packet before working with a child to ensure that you understand the assignment.
  5. If you understand what the child must learn when completing math assignments, you can guide them in their problem-solving strategies. For example, when working with upper grade concepts, you can start with basic math strategies (e.g. addition, subtraction, multiplication, division). Then you can integrate more complex concepts into the discussion (e.g. fractions, powers of 10, or algebraic and geometric concepts).
  6. When working with early readers, you can help the child evaluate what she will be reading by looking at the pictures and asking clarification and comprehension questions.
  7. Early readers can reinforce their phonics skills and memorization of site words when reading with parents.
  8. You can ask an older sibling to help with the reading assignment if you are unsure of how to teach phonics. Parents can also join an afterschool reading group with other parents who are learning to master phonics and sounding out works.
  9. Basic and more advanced readers can learn how to expand their reading comprehension by answering comprehension questions about a story (e.g. who, what, when, where, or how). Children can journal their impressions about what they read, change the ending or beginning of a story, or research a topic discussed in a story.
  10. Reading comprehension skills can be reinforced in social studies and science homework assignments. Project-based learning assignments can enhance creativity and support new problem-solving strategies.

When to Ask for Help

If your child continues to be overwhelmed with homework assignments, write to the teacher. Work through a resolution with the teacher for added homework support. Homework is only appropriate when a child can thrive and learn from the experience. It should not be a gut-wrenching power struggle between parents and children with anger about the challenges of homework.

Much success in partnering with your children’s academic successes!

 




Kids Become Junior Environmentalists

Kids Become Junior Environmentalists

Kids are excellent idea generators when it comes to the future. They can contribute to solutions with actions in their home environment.  Kids can do their part to impact largescale problems like waste.

Limiting Waste

There is a lot of waste at school. Snack food wrappers, utensil waste, food packaging, milk cartons, partially consumed food. ALL of it is thrown away after single consumption.  Most snack items that kids bring to school also include unnecessary packaging.  Kids do their best to throw their wrappers and waste away, but none of them are recycled.

Single use consumption is a big problem at school when it comes to food.  It is important to talk to your kids about minimizing waste through the following suggested actions:

  • Start at home.  When kids get involved in simple acts of making food instead of eating packaged food, they reduce waste from single use products.
  • Many processed foods come with packaging that can be elimanated by cooking more and using less.
  • Try hydrating by drinking water out of reusable containers, instead of plastic water bottles.
  • Encourage kids to participate in sorting and recycling food materials at home.  Even at an early age, kids can part of a ripple effect that reduces waste.
  • Kids can become junior environmentalists at school with little acts that help keep the school clean.
  • Think about bringing snacks in reusable containers to school, instead of throwing packaging away.
  • Reusable utensils and hydration containers are excellent resources instead of daily plastic water bottles for reducing waste at school.
  • Have conversations about reusing lunch bags and plastic containers.

Reuseable Product Options

There are so many reusable plastic-free products targeted at youth. I was impressed with Target’s “Back to School” display and range of products that included cloth themed lunch bags, beeswax wrap, reusable lunch containers, and reusable hydro containers. You and your children can have fun picking out sustainable snack bags and reusable water bottles for the new school year.  You can also encourage your children to add stickers to personalize their items. The less single-use packaging that is brought to school, the better outcome for waste. Better habits at home create mindfulness and sustainability at school, which makes for a healthier environment.

Redesign and Reuse Packaging Art Project

Kids love to redesign cardboard and single use materials into TRASHY ART.  You and your children can collect paper packaging at home, including cardboard and plastic food containers to complete the following activity:

  • Recycle a poster board and let kids create a montage of recycled materials including old toys.
  • Get creative at building with non-standard materials.
  • Use glue and tape to secure materials on the board.
  • When the art board construction is completed, paint it with white primer to neutralize the background.
  • Once it dries, use markers or various paint colors to pop some color into the new design.
  • Give the art product a title or name to identify a playful theme that has been developed, like a skateboard park with cool jumps.
  • Display the repurposed art before you just throw it away as waste.

 

 




Purposeful Parenting Pointers

Purposeful Parenting Pointers

by Erik Youngman, Guest Blogger

Purposeful parenting pointers provide potential parameters to ponder.  Parenting could be considered the most difficult job because of the constantly changing variables. However, parenting is also extremely rewarding. Parents can support children success and healthy social-emotional growth in a variety of ways. While appreciating the monumental lifetime responsibilities of parenting, readers are encouraged to reflect about these potential parenting pointers to provide options to consider at different times for different children.

I frequently tell my three daughters and other students to be patient, polite, positive, and persistent. Enjoy reading additional words that begin with the letter “p” that will help parents empower children.

Patient

Model how to be patient while waiting or working for more positive outcomes. Focus on what you can control while deliberately thinking and behaving as efficiently or effectively as possible.  Recognize when you and/or your children can have an impact on the short- or long-term disappointing outcomes as you continue to focus on your effort, attitude, and focus.

Positivity

Having an optimistic and positive mindset can shape initial reactions during challenging situations and will likely be replicated by children in future scenarios. Openly discuss emotions and empower hope as you ensure children understand that you are there to listen so that they are not alone. Be positive about experiences and potential frustrations with family, friends, teachers, and athletic experiences. Easier said than done at times, but recognize when it would be best to not sweat the small stuff.

Polite

Model and empower politeness by focusing on empathy, kindness, and gratitude (EKG).  There are multiple ways to measure a person’s heart and how much they care. Modeling and empowering empathy, kindness, and gratitude creates a foundation for conversations and interactions.  Discuss benefits of showing empathy for others during challenging situations; kindness for self and others; and gratitude for opportunities, support, experiences, and relationships.

Persistence

Regardless if you call it persistence, resilience, or grit, model and empower learning  from mistakes, challenges, misunderstandings, and rejection. Keep trying different strategies and focusing on improvement when you have not accomplished something YET.  Pause for a moment to analyze options, be courageous, and enhance your focus, effort, and attitude. Persistence will help children as they embrace and learn from mistakes, challenges, misunderstandings, and rejection that happen daily and weekly while participating in coding, science, math, writing, athletics, music, acting, and collaboration.

Peaceful

Help establish routines and structures that empower times of quiet and peace. Model self-care and how to relax. Examples include limiting electronics, creating quiet places to calm down, establishing bedtime routines to ensure appropriate sleep, and engaging in family meals or games.

Praised

Praise children’s effort, attitude, and growth. Provide feedback that is specific, forward-thinking and timely to inspire grit, growth, reflection, innovation, and tenacity. Provide feedback that targets the activity, thinking, and self-regulation to encourage correction of misconceptions, empower transfer of learning, and reflection about thinking (metacognition).

Proud

Tell your children that you love them and frequently specify why you are proud of them. Enhancing pride enhances calculated risk-taking and builds confidence, courage, poise, and a focus on continuous improvement by getting better on every attempt and iteration. Proudly make and keep promises to your children and empower them to do the same to empower ownership and finishing what was started or given your word to complete.

Passion

Seek to understand your children’s passions and insecurities. Curiously ask questions, listen to responses, and observe them in different situations to see topics and activities that result in smiles, engagement, wonder, and passion. Empower your children to discover potential interests they can be passionate about as a child, not necessarily what you were passionate about as a child.

Purposeful 

Parents should model and empower purposeful actions to raise their children to become well-adjusted adults. Model how to reflectively learn from every interaction and to understand that they must responsibly and respectfully work to earn things in life.

Preparation

Parents should model and empower focusing on variables that can be controlled.  Being organized and prepared to participate in activities allows children to engage in activities rather than being frustrated because they are late or not prepared with necessary resources.  Example areas to target include healthy eating choices, empowering children to get dressed by themselves while also doing their daily hygiene routines and preparing teenagers to use an alarm clock so they are responsible for getting ready each day. Teaching your children how to prepare themselves a healthy breakfast and pack a lunch for school and having all of their school supplies ready when they leave for school also teaches responsibility that can continue to be enhanced as children grow older.

Productive Progress

Model how to recognize, appreciate, and empower incremental progress via reflection, goal setting, and self-assessment.  Focus on progress and quality rather than perfection.

Process

Focus on choices, strategies, adaptability, and growth during the process rather than only the result.  Reflect about your impact, effort, attitude, and interactions with others. Appreciate analysis of mistakes or growth, learning, progress, changes, or opportunities.

Parameters

Establish limits that also provide children with ownership. Give children opportunities to surprise you and themselves, and never underestimate them. Establish routines and traditions, spend time with them, introduce them to games and activities, and choose your battles based on safety, frequency, and impact.

Problem-solving

Rather than you solving every problem, help younger children learn how to solve problems and react while you can still give them pointers and support. Solving problems for them all of the time diminishes the learning opportunities that will be needed as they get older and take responsibility for amplified impacts. Empower autonomy, agency, ownership, strategizing, reflection, and communication skills to decrease disagreements while enhancing awareness of when to ask for help. Guide, teach, and explain options and impacts rather than making every decision for children. Help children understand the relationship between demonstrating more responsibility and earning more trust and autonomy.

Partnerships

Explain benefits of partnering with others to impact positive outcomes. Teach children collaboration, teamwork, leadership, and how to understand different perspectives while promoting others.

Play

One of the best parts of being a parent is playing with your children. Empower creativity, taking calculated risks, smiling, and having fun. Splash in puddles, dance in the rain, creatively make messy art projects, experiment with baking and cooking, play sports in the mud, daydream, draw, take funny pictures, and listen to music.  You can wash the messes away, but the memories will stay.

Presence

Be present and teach your children critical, polite, and appropriate times to make eye contact and listen. Put your device down and give them your full attention. Enjoy family meals and help your children spend more energy and awareness in the moment rather than worrying about the future. Learn from your kids while also helping them learn. Children grow up fast so savor moments, hugs, smiles, and laughter.

Pivot

Model and empower pivoting or adapting to the changing times and circumstances. Expect the unexpected while being prepared to change strategies, directions, or perspectives. Benefits include enhancing confidence, courage, creativity, flexibility, and leadership.

Ponder

Curiously and creatively hypothesize and reflect about lessons learned from experiences.  Reflect about continuous improvement, empathy, kindness, gratitude, and about feedback to empower your children to be teachable, coachable, and approachable.

Polished

Help children understand different times when their appearance or work should be polished.  Help them recognize that their dress and hygiene is more important during particular situations.  Similarly, there are times when feedback and experiences should lead to polished presentations, quality work, excellent performance, and best efforts.

Purposeful Parenting Pointers

Purposeful parenting pointers provide potential phenomenal parameters to ponder and practice. What are your reactions and success stories about these parenting pointers?  I would love to hear feedback and questions via Twitter (@Erik_Youngman) so we can continue reflective conversations about purposeful parenting. Share this blog with a fellow parent and discuss what might be helpful for your children in the coming years to prepare them to be well-adjusted adults.

Dr. Erik Youngman’s Biography

Dr. Erik Youngman is an education leader who is passionate about topics such as homework, growth mindset, grading, and leadership.  Published books he has written include, “The Magic of Growth Mindset,” and “12 Characteristics of Deliberate Homework,” as well as a chapter for, “100 No-Nonsense Things That All Teachers Should Stop Doing.” Erik has also written numerous blogs about growth mindset and grading.

This is his twenty-first year in educational leadership.  Erik is the Assistant Superintendent for Libertyville District 70 in Libertyville, Illinois.  Previous education experiences include being a principal in Libertyville as well as an assistant principal and teacher in Gurnee, Illinois.

Erik earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Education Specialist Degree, and Master of Science in Education from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Arts from Augustana College.  Please follow and contact Erik via Twitter @Erik_Youngman or his website: ErikYoungman.com