RTI is an intervention model that has met significant success in schools across the country. RTI involves a series of strategic tiers, that enable students to receive the assistance they need before they begin to lag behind their peers.
For example, all students will receive a baseline of three hours of structured, quality, differentiated literacy lessons - known as tier one instruction. At that point, the teacher would identify which students are still struggling to grasp the concepts presented. Those students would then receive an additional 30 minutes of targeted instruction, typically provided in-class by a teacher's assistant or aid - which would be called tier two intervention. Should a student continue to struggle at that point, they would qualify for tier three instruction, which would involve a more intense degree of intervention, that may involve special education teachers, advanced evaluations, and additional instruction time.
The key concepts of this program are that there is a unified framework that allows students a degree of fluidity as they move between the tiers. All students are included in tier one, and similarly, teachers and instructors use similar terms throughout the tiers so that knowledge can easily be transferred as students move about. Most importantly, these interventions allow students to receive the assistance they need before any serious gaps can develop.
Although RTI sounds like a great system, upon reviewing the information provided I thought of the following: A child who cannot grasp Tier One concepts may become frustrated while sitting in class during Tier One instruction time, and may even act out as a result, thereby disturbing his / her peers or slowing down the rest of the class. How do the proponents of RTI address this issue?
Shulamith, I like how you pointed out that a child who is not following and cant keep up with the lesson tends to act out because of frustration. These are smart kids who sometimes get stuck on a key concept and therefore they cant move forward.
ReplyDeleteShulamith, it is great that you bring that point up. When students know the information being taught they end up acting out and misbehaving. How can we prevent this?
ReplyDeleteShulamith, you eloquently explained what the RTI assessment method is. You ask a wonderful question. Indeed, I am curious as to what the proponents of RTI have to say on the matter.
ReplyDeleteIf a student knows he will receive his needed help shortly with tier 2 intervention shouldn't that alone prevent him from acting out? Another point to realize is that RTI provides differentiated instruction as well during tier 1.
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