Through a self guided Pro-D I explored RTI and how I could use the information to guide my own practice.
Mary Howard’s “RTI: From all Sides What Every Teacher Needs to Know” critically analyzes the practice of RTI in schools and how a teacher can apply this to their own classroom or school setting. Through reading this resource, many different thoughts, questions and ideas came to mind. I have organized these notes within a brief overview below.
RTI is an approach to early intervention that utilizes multiple tiers. A majority of students (about 80%) in a class with be in the first tier (universal or general education). In this tier, intervention takes place in the classroom and is given to all students. It is important to remember that instruction given in tier one should not consist of only entire class groupings. There should be many different flexible groupings and differentiated instruction. Tier two (targeted or supplemental) is made up of about 10-15% of students. Instruction is to be done in small groups, ideally less than five for one 30 minute session a day. The third tier (strategic or intensive) is made up of 5-10% of students in small groups not to exceed three and take place twice a day with a total of 60 minutes. With tier one and two, the small group instruction must take place in addition to the tier one instruction.
Within tier one, Howard’s focuses on a explanation of a variety of teaching techniques. This includes “I do, we do, you do” which gradually releases the responsibility to students. While this technique is referenced as a strategy for reading techniques it can also be used for writing as well as math strategies. Howard also notes that students should be given texts which are at their level, rather than having all students use grade levelled texts, a teacher should find various resources so that each student will have access to one that they can understand. While this is good practice with guided, independent and partner reading, I wonder how realistic this is in settings such as science and social studies.
Tier two includes a thirty minute session per day, on top of the tier one instruction. It can be done by the tier one teacher or another teacher within the school. This instruction may take place in the classroom (push in) or outside the classroom (pull out). Each strategy has different pros and cons and should be chosen based on the individual needs of the students and teachers. The session can include many different things but should be geared towards the struggles the students are facing. The instruction given in tier two should coincide with that given in tier one. Teachers who are working with the student need to make sure they are collaborating and understand what each person is doing so that terminology, strategies etc. are practiced in all environments.
Support in Tier three is very similar to that in tier two, however takes place for 60 minutes each day. It is more beneficial to split the 60 minutes into two sessions so that students remain engaged. Movement between the tiers should be open and students should be able to move wherever is needed as quickly as possible. It is important to note that this intervention is only meant to be for a short period of time to catch students up to their peers and is not for long term instruction. When looking at RTI it is easy to feel overwhelmed and wonder where in the day a teacher could fit this all in, as you do not want students to miss out on any “fun” time (recess etc.) so that they do not feel as though they are penalized.