Title: RTI%20Challenge:%20Clearly%20Defining%20Student%20Academic%20and%20Behavioral%20Problems%20Jim%20Wright%20www.interventioncentral.org
1RTI Challenge Clearly Defining Student Academic
and Behavioral ProblemsJim Wrightwww.interventi
oncentral.org
2Resources from this workshop series can be
downloaded from
- http//www.interventioncentral.org/dcboces.php
3RTI Academic Interventions Shakedown Cruise
- Definition a period of testing or a trial
journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other
craft and its crew before being declared
operational.
Source Shakedown cruise. Wikipedia. Retrieved
from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakedown_cruise
4DC BOCES RTI Elementary Team Trainings
- Monday 2 November 2009
- Wednesday 16 December 2009
- Thursday 25 February 2010
- Thursday 8 April 2010
5What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide Study
Organizational Skills
Source Pashler, H., Bain, P., Bottge, B.,
Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M., and
Metcalfe, J. (2007) Organizing instruction and
study to improve student learning (NCER
2007-2004). Washington, DC National Center for
Education Research, Institute of Education
Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved
from http//ncer.ed.gov.
6RTI 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.
7RTI Pyramid of Interventions
8Complementary RTI Models Standard Treatment
Problem-Solving Protocols
- The two most commonly used RTI approaches are
(1) standard treatment and (2) problem-solving
protocol. While these two approaches to RTI are
sometimes described as being very different from
each other, they actually have several common
elements, and both fit within a problem-solving
framework. In practice, many schools and
districts combine or blend aspects of the two
approaches to fit their needs.
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. 5
9RTI Interventions Standard-Treatment vs.
Problem-Solving
There are two different vehicles that schools can
use to deliver RTI interventions Standard-Protoco
l (Standalone Intervention). Programs based on
scientifically valid instructional practices
(standard protocol) are created to address
frequent student referral concerns. These
services are provided outside of the classroom. A
middle school, for example, may set up a
structured math-tutoring program staffed by adult
volunteer tutors to provide assistance to
students with limited math skills. Students
referred for a Tier II math intervention would be
placed in this tutoring program. An advantage of
the standard-protocol approach is that it is
efficient and consistent large numbers of
students can be put into these group
interventions to receive a highly standardized
intervention. However, standard group
intervention protocols often cannot be
individualized easily to accommodate a specific
students unique needs. Problem-solving
(Classroom-Based Intervention). Individualized
research-based interventions match the profile of
a particular students strengths and limitations.
The classroom teacher often has a large role in
carrying out these interventions. A plus of the
problem-solving approach is that the intervention
can be customized to the students needs.
However, developing intervention plans for
individual students can be time-consuming.
10Tier I Instruction/Interventions
- Tier I instruction/interventions
- Are universalavailable to all students.
- Can be delivered within classrooms or throughout
the school. - Are likely to be put into place by the teacher at
the first sign that a student is struggling. - All children have access to Tier 1
instruction/interventions. Teachers have the
capability to use those strategies without
requiring outside assistance. - Tier 1 instruction/interventions encompass
- The schools core curriculum and all published or
teacher-made materials used to deliver that
curriculum. - Teacher use of whole-group teaching
management strategies. - Teacher use of individualized strategies with
specific students. - Tier I instruction/interventions attempt to
answer the question Are classroom instructional
strategies supports sufficient to help the
student to achieve academic success?
11Tier 1 Classroom-Level Interventions
- Decision Point Student is struggling and may
face significant high-stakes negative outcome if
situation does not improve. - Collaboration Opportunity Teacher can refer the
student to a grade-level, instruction team, or
department meeting to brainstorm ideas OR
teacher seeks out consultant in school to
brainstorm intervention ideas. - Documentation Teacher completes Classroom
Intervention Form prior to carrying out
intervention. Teacher collects classroom data. - Decision Rule Example Teacher should refer
student to the next level of RTI support if the
intervention is not successful within 8
instructional weeks.
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13Tier 2 Supplemental (Standard-Protocol Model)
Interventions
- Tier 2 interventions are typically delivered in
small-group format. About 15 of students in the
typical school will require Tier 2/supplemental
intervention support. - Group size for Tier 2 interventions is limited
to 4-6 students. Students placed in Tier 2
interventions should have a shared profile of
intervention need. - The reading progress of students in Tier 2
interventions are monitored at least 1-2 times
per month.
Source Burns, M. K., Gibbons, K. A. (2008).
Implementing response-to-intervention in
elementary and secondary schools. Routledge New
York.
14Tier 2 Supplemental Interventions
- Decision Point Building-wide academic screenings
- Collaboration Opportunity After each
building-wide academic screening, data teams
meet (teachers at a grade level building
principal reading teacher, etc.) At the meeting,
the group considers how the assessment data
should shape/inform core instruction.
Additionally, the data team sets a cutpoint to
determine which students should be recruited for
Tier 2 group interventions. NOTE Team may
continue to meet every 5 weeks to consider
student progress in Tier 2 move students into
and out of groups. - Documentation Tier 2 instructor completes a Tier
2 Group Assignment Sheet listing students and
their corresponding interventions.
Progress-monitoring occurs 1-2 times per month. - Decision Rules Example Student is returned to
Tier 1 support if they perform above the 25th
percentile in the next school-wide screening.
Student is referred to Tier 3 (RTI Team) if they
fail to make expected progress despite two Tier 2
(group-based) interventions.
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16Scheduling Elementary Tier 2 Interventions
Option 3 Floating RTIGradewide Shared
Schedule. Each grade has a scheduled RTI time
across classrooms. No two grades share the same
RTI time. Advantages are that outside providers
can move from grade to grade providing push-in or
pull-out services and that students can be
grouped by need across different teachers within
the grade.
Anyplace Elementary School RTI Daily Schedule
Classroom 1
Classroom 2
Classroom 3
Grade K
900-930
Classroom 1
Classroom 2
Classroom 3
Grade 1
945-1015
Classroom 1
Classroom 2
Classroom 3
Grade 2
1030-1100
Classroom 1
Classroom 2
Classroom 3
Grade 3
1230-100
Classroom 1
Classroom 2
Classroom 3
Grade 4
115-145
Grade 5
Classroom 1
Classroom 2
Classroom 3
200-230
Source Burns, M. K., Gibbons, K. A. (2008).
Implementing response-to-intervention in
elementary and secondary schools Procedures to
assure scientific-based practices. New York
Routledge.
17Tier 3 Intensive Individualized Interventions
(Problem-Solving Model)
- Tier 3 interventions are the most intensive
offered in a school setting. About 5 of a
general-education student population may qualify
for Tier 3 supports. Typically, the RTI
Problem-Solving Team meets to develop
intervention plans for Tier 3 students. - Students qualify for Tier 3 interventions
because - they are found to have a large skill gap when
compared to their class or grade peers and/or - They did not respond to interventions provided
previously at Tiers 1 2. -
- Tier 3 interventions are provided daily for
sessions of 30 minutes. The student-teacher ratio
is flexible but should allow the student to
receive intensive, individualized instruction.
The academic or behavioral progress of students
in Tier 3 interventions is monitored at least
weekly.
Source Burns, M. K., Gibbons, K. A. (2008).
Implementing response-to-intervention in
elementary and secondary schools. Routledge New
York.
18Tier 3 RTI Team
- Decision Point RTI Problem-Solving Team
- Collaboration Opportunity Weekly RTI
Problem-Solving Team meetings are scheduled to
handle referrals of students that failed to
respond to interventions from Tiers 1 2. - Documentation Teacher referral form RTI Team
minutes form progress-monitoring data collected
at least weekly. - Decision Rules Example If student has failed
to respond adequately to 3 intervention trials of
6-8 weeks (from Tiers 2 and 3), the student may
be referred to Special Education.
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20Advancing Through RTI Flexibility in the Tiers
- For purposes of efficiency, students should be
placed in small-group instruction at Tier 2. - However, group interventions may not always be
possible because due to scheduling or other
issuesno group is available. (For example,
students with RTI behavioral referrals may not
have a group intervention available.) - In such a case, the student will go directly to
the problem-solving process (Tier 3)typically
through a referral to the school RTI Team. - Nonetheless, the school must still document the
same minimum number of interventions attempted
for every student in RTI, whether or not a
student first received interventions in a group
setting.
21Target Student
Dual-Discrepancy RTI Model of Learning
Disability (Fuchs 2003)
22Intervention Case Study What Tier?
- Angelina is delayed in her phonological awareness
skills. A paraprofessional had previously been
assigned for an hour per day to push into
Angelinas classroom to provide additional help
to the classroom teacher for literacy
instruction. The teacher designs a special
reading center for Angelina and 2 other students
that is overseen by the paraprofessional. In that
reading center, the students work on activities
to strengthen their ability to distinguish the
phonemes that make up words.What Tier is this
intervention?
23Intervention Case Study What Tier?
- Answer Angelinas intervention falls at Tier 1.
Even though her instruction is highly targeted to
specific skill delays, her teacher has the
resources to individualize for this student
during core literacy instruction using available
classroom supports.
24Intervention Case Study What Tier?
- Rick was referred to the RTI Problem-Solving Team
because he failed to make adequate progress in
his supplemental Wilson reading group. The RTI
Team consulted with the classroom teacher and,
with his input, developed an intervention plan
that included - Additional classroom strategies that the teacher
could implement to promote student phonics
skills. - Reducing the size of the students Wilson
supplemental reading group to 3 students. - Enlisting the parent to implement additional
research-based fluency building strategies at
home.
25Intervention Case Study What Tier?
- Answer This is a Tier 3 intervention, because it
was reviewed by the RTI Problem-Solving Team. The
intervention for Rick contains elements that
separately could be considered Tier 1 (classroom
teacher) and Tier 2 (supplemental reading group)
interventions. However, the entire collection of
intervention ideas comprise a single Tier 3
Intervention Package.
26Intervention Case Study What Tier?
- Donald is a 3rd-grade student. At a data
meeting after the fall RTI schoolwide literacy
screening, Donald was found to require a
supplemental reading intervention because of
delays in reading fluency when compared to his
grade peers. The school had developed a program
in which adult volunteer tutors were trained to
use the paired reading strategy with students.
The tutoring program was developed and overseen
by the schools reading teacher. Donald met 3
times per week for a half-hour to work with the
tutor.What Tier is this intervention?
27Intervention Case Study What Tier?
- Answer Donalds intervention falls at Tier 2 for
two reasons. First, he was assigned to that
intervention in a data meeting, an efficient
means of Tier 2 intervention assignment. Second,
Donald was placed into an intervention tutoring
program (paired reading) that follows a
standard treatment protocol.
28NYSED RTI Guidance Memo April 2008
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30The Regents policy framework for RtIDefines
RtI to minimally include Appropriate
instruction delivered to all students in the
general education class by qualified personnel.
Appropriate instruction in reading means
scientific research-based reading programs that
include explicit and systematic instruction in
phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary
development, reading fluency (including oral
reading skills) and reading comprehension
strategies.Screenings applied to all students
in the class to identify those students who are
not making academic progress at expected rates.
31Instruction matched to student need with
increasingly intensive levels of targeted
intervention and instruction for students who do
not make satisfactory progress in their levels of
performance and/or in their rate of learning to
meet age or grade level standards.Repeated
assessments of student achievement which should
include curriculum based measures to determine if
interventions are resulting in student progress
toward age or grade level standards.The
application of information about the students
response to intervention to make educational
decisions about changes in goals, instruction
and/or services and the decision to make a
referral for special education programs and/or
services.
32Written notification to the parents when the
student requires an intervention beyond that
provided to all students in the general education
classroom that provides information about the
-amount and nature of student performance data
that will be collected and the general education
services that will be provided-strategies for
increasing the students rate of learning
and-parents right to request an evaluation for
special education programs and/or services.
33The Regents policy framework for RtIDefines
RtI to minimally include Requires each school
district to establish a plan and policies for
implementing school-wide approaches and
prereferral interventions in order to remediate a
students performance prior to referral for
special education, which may include the RtI
process as part of a districts school-wide
approach. The school district must select and
define the specific structure and components of
its RtI program, including, but not limited to
the -criteria for determining the levels of
intervention to be provided to students, -types
of interventions, amount and nature of student
performance data to be collected, and -manner
and frequency for progress monitoring.
34RTI Intervention Key Concepts
35Essential 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.
36Core 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.
37Core 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).
38Core 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).
39Core 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.
40Engaging the Reluctant Teacher Seven Reasons Why
Middle High School Instructors May Be Reluctant
to Implement Classroom RTI Literacy Interventions
Jim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
41Teacher Tolerance as an Indicator of RTI
Intervention Capacity
- I call the range of students whom teachers
come to view as adequately responsive i.e.,
teachable as the tolerance those who are
perceived to be outside the tolerance are those
for whom teachers seek additional resources. The
term tolerance is used to indicate that
teachers form a permissible boundary on their
measurement (judgments) in the same sense as a
confidence interval. In this case, the teacher
actively measures the distribution of
responsiveness in her class by processing
information from a series of teaching trials and
perceives some range of students as within the
tolerance. (Gerber, 2002)
Source Gerber, M. M. (2003). Teachers are still
the test Limitations of response to instruction
strategies for identifying children with learning
disabilities. Paper presented at the National
Research Center on Learning Disabilities
Responsiveness-to-Intervention Symposium, Kansas
City, MO.
42Engaging the Reluctant Teacher Seven Reasons Why
Instructors May Resist Implementing Classroom RTI
Literacy Interventions
- Teachers believe that their job is to provide
content-area instruction, not to teach vocabulary
and reading-comprehension strategies (Kamil et
al., 2008). - Teachers believe that they lack the skills to
implement classroom vocabulary-building and
reading-comprehension strategies. (Fisher, 2007
Kamil et al., 2008). - Teachers feel that they dont have adequate time
to implement vocabulary-building and
reading-comprehension strategies in the
classroom. (Kamil et al., 2008 Walker, 2004).
43Engaging the Reluctant Teacher Seven Reasons Why
Instructors May Resist Implementing Classroom RTI
Literacy Interventions (Cont.)
- Teachers are not convinced that there will be an
adequate instructional pay-off in their
content-area if they implement literacy-building
strategies in the classroom (Kamil et al., 2008). - Teachers are reluctant to put extra effort into
implementing interventions for students who
appear unmotivated (Walker, 2004) when there are
other, more deserving students who would
benefit from teacher attention. - Teachers are afraid that, if they use a range of
classroom strategies to promote literacy (e.g.,
extended discussion, etc.), they will have
difficulty managing classroom behaviors (Kamil et
al., 2008).
44Engaging the Reluctant Teacher Seven Reasons Why
Instructors May Resist Implementing Classroom RTI
Literacy Interventions (Cont.)
- Teachers believe that special education is
magic (Martens, 1993). This belief implies that
general education interventions will be
insufficient to meet the students needs and that
the student will benefit only if he or she
receives special education services.
45Ideas to Build Teacher Understanding and Support
for RTIJim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
46Offer RTI information to teachers in a series of
short presentations or discussion forums
- A common mistake that schools make in rolling out
RTI is to present their teachers with RTI
information in a single, long presentationwith
little opportunity for questions or discussion.
Instead, schools should plan a series of RTI
information-sharing sessions with teachers
throughout the school year. Any large-group RTI
training sessions (e.g., at faculty meetings)
should be kept short, to ensure that the audience
is not overwhelmed with large volumes of
information. Consider using smaller instructional
team or department meetings as a vehicle for
follow-up presentations, discussion, and teacher
questions about RTI.
47Offer RTI information to teachers in a series of
short presentations or discussion forums
- ACTION STEP Create a year-long RTI
information-sharing plan. Determine what RTI
information your school would like to present to
staff, as well as the degree of faculty input and
discussion needed. Then draft a year-long plan to
communicate with staff about RTI. Each year,
update the plan to keep faculty updated about
implementation of the RTI model.
48Present RTI as a coordinated, schoolwide approach
to address long-standing teacher concerns about
struggling students
- Schools should consider framing RTI as a broad,
schoolwide solution to help teachers to better
instruct, motivate, and manage the behaviors of
struggling learners. Teachers want fewer class
disruptions, more uninterrupted instructional
time, higher performing students, targeted
supplemental academic help for students who need
it, and better communication among educators
about the needs of all students. As schools make
the case for RTI, they should demonstrate how it
will help teachers to manage the day-to-day
challenges that they face in their classrooms.
49Present RTI as a coordinated, schoolwide approach
to address long-standing teacher concerns about
struggling students
- ACTION STEP Get feedback from teachers about
their classroom concerns. Find opportunities to
engage teachers in productive discussions about
what they see as the greatest challenges facing
them as instructors. Note the teacher concerns
that surface most often. For each teacher
concern, generate ideas for how an RTI model in
your school might help teachers with that issue.
Craft these ideas for instructor support into
talking points and include them in your
schools RTI presentations.
50Solicit teacher input when building your schools
RTI model
- Teachers are a valuable resource that schools
should tap when implementing RTI. When schools
solicit teacher questions about RTI, include
teachers on planning teams to help to develop the
RTI process, and treat teacher objections or
concerns about RTI as helpful feedback rather
than stubborn resistance, those schools send the
message that teachers are full partners in the
RTI planning process.
51Solicit teacher input when building your schools
RTI model
- ACTION STEP Include teachers on the RTI
Leadership Team. One of the best ways to ensure
that teachers have input into the RTI development
process is to include teacher representatives on
the RTI Leadership Team, the group that oversees
the districts implementation of RTI.
52Link all significant school and district
initiatives to RTI
- RTI is a comprehensive, proactive model to
identify and assist struggling students. Yet
teachers may erroneously perceive RTI as just
another program that is likely to last for only
a short time and then disappear. Any RTI training
for staff should make the point that RTI is not a
single-self contained program but is actually an
all-inclusive and flexible framework for student
support that encompasses all existing student
support programs and strategies.
53Link all significant school and district
initiatives to RTI
- ACTION STEP Organized all school programs under
the RTI framework. Schools should present RTI as
an elastic multi-tier problem-solving framework.
First, the school lists all of its significant
current programs or initiatives intended to
assess or intervene with students with academic
or behavioral needs. The school then assigns each
of the programs or initiatives to Tier 1, 2, or 3
in the RTI framework. The message for staff is
that, while specific programs may come and go,
the overarching RTI model is both adaptable and
durable--and that much of the power of RTI rests
on its potential to integrate a series of
isolated programs into a larger unified and
coordinated continuum of student support.
54Defining Student Problem Behaviors A Key to
Identifying Effective Interventions Jim
Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
55Defining Problem Student Behaviors
- Define the problem behavior in clear, observable,
measurable terms (Batsche et al., 2008 Upah,
2008). Write a clear description of the problem
behavior. Avoid vague problem identification
statements such as The student is disruptive. - A well-written problem definition should include
three parts - Conditions. The condition(s) under which the
problem is likely to occur - Problem Description. A specific description of
the problem behavior - Contextual information. Information about the
frequency, intensity, duration, or other
dimension(s) of the behavior that provide a
context for estimating the degree to which the
behavior presents a problem in the setting(s) in
which it occurs.
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57Defining Problem Student Behaviors
- Develop examples and non-examples of the problem
behavior (Upah, 2008). Writing both examples and
non-examples of the problem behavior helps to
resolve uncertainty about when the students
conduct should be classified as a problem
behavior. Examples should include the most
frequent or typical instances of the student
problem behavior. Non-examples should include any
behaviors that are acceptable conduct but might
possibly be confused with the problem behavior.
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59Defining Problem Student Behaviors
- Write a behavior hypothesis statement (Batsche et
al., 2008 Upah, 2008). The next step in
problem-solving is to develop a hypothesis about
why the student is engaging in an undesirable
behavior or not engaging in a desired behavior.
Teachers can gain information to develop a
hypothesis through direct observation, student
interview, review of student work products, and
other sources. The behavior hypothesis statement
is important because (a) it can be tested, and
(b) it provides guidance on the type(s) of
interventions that might benefit the student.
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61Defining Problem Student Behaviors
- Select a replacement behavior (Batsche et al.,
2008). Behavioral interventions should be focused
on increasing student skills and capacities, not
simply on suppressing problem behaviors. By
selecting a positive behavioral goal that is an
appropriate replacement for the students
original problem behavior, the teacher reframes
the student concern in a manner that allows for
more effective intervention planning.
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63Defining Problem Student Behaviors
- Write a prediction statement (Batsche et al.,
2008 Upah, 2008). The prediction statement
proposes a strategy (intervention) that is
predicted to improve the problem behavior. The
importance of the prediction statement is that it
spells out specifically the expected outcome if
the strategy is successful. The formula for
writing a prediction statement is to state that
if the proposed strategy (Specific Action) is
adopted, then the rate of problem behavior is
expected to decrease or increase in the desired
direction.
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66Defining Student Problem Behaviors Team Activity
- As a team
- Review the student behavioral concern that you
developed in the previous activity. - Consult the five step process and organizer form
in your packet (pp. 5-9). Use the 5-step process
to better define and understand the student
behavior.
- Five Steps in Understanding Addressing Problem
Behaviors - Define the problem behavior in clear, observable,
measurable terms. - Develop examples and non-examples of the problem
behavior. - Write a behavior hypothesis statement.
- Select a replacement behavior.
- Write a prediction statement.
67Defining Academic Problems Get It Right and
Interventions Are More Likely to Be
EffectiveJim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
68Defining Academic Problems Recommended Steps
- Be knowledgeable of the school academic
curriculum and key student academic skills that
are taught. The teacher should have a good
survey-level knowledge of the key academic skills
outlined in the schools curriculumfor the grade
level of their classroom as well as earlier grade
levels. If the curriculum alone is not adequate
for describing a students academic deficit, the
instructor can make use of research-based
definitions or complete a task analysis to
further define the academic problem area. Here
are guidelines for consulting curriculum and
research-based definitions and for conducting a
task analysis for more global skills.
69Defining Academic Problems Recommended Steps
- Curriculum. The teacher can review the schools
curriculum and related documents (e.g.,
score-and-sequence charts curriculum maps) to
select specific academic skill or performance
goals. First, determine the approximate grade or
level in the curriculum that matches the
students skills. Then, review the curriculum at
that alternate grade level to find appropriate
descriptions of the students relevant academic
deficit. For example, a second-grade student
had limited phonemic awareness. The student was
not able accurately to deconstruct a spoken word
into its component sound-units, or phonemes. In
the schools curriculum, children were expected
to attain proficiency in phonemic awareness by
the close of grade 1. The teacher went off
level to review the grade 1 curriculum and found
a specific description of phonemic awareness that
she could use as a starting point in defining the
students skill deficit.
70Defining Academic Problems Recommended Steps
- Research-Based Skill Definitions. Even when a
schools curriculum identifies key skills,
schools may find it useful to corroborate or
elaborate those skill definitions by reviewing
alternative definitions published in research
journals or other trusted sources. For example,
a student had delays in solving quadratic
equations. The math instructor found that the
schools math curriculum did not provide a
detailed description of the skills required to
successfully complete quadratic equations. So the
teacher reviewed the National Mathematics
Advisory Panel report (Fennell et al., 2008) and
found a detailed description of component skills
for solving quadratic equations. By combining the
skill definitions from the school curriculum with
the more detailed descriptions taken from the
research-based document, the teacher could better
pinpoint the students academic deficit in
specific terms.
71Defining Academic Problems Recommended Steps
- Task Analysis. Students may possess deficits in
more global academic enabling skills that are
essential for academic success. Teachers can
complete an task analysis of the relevant skill
by breaking it down into a checklist of
constituent subskills. An instructor can use the
resulting checklist to verify that the student
can or cannot perform each of the subskills that
make up the global academic enabling
skill.For example, teachers at a middle school
noted that many of their students seemed to have
poor organization skills. Those instructors
conducted a task analysis and determined that--in
their classrooms--the essential subskills of
student organization included (a) arriving to
class on time (b) bringing work materials to
class (c) following teacher directions in a
timely manner (d) knowing how to request teacher
assistance when needed and (e) having an
uncluttered desk with only essential work
materials.
72Defining Academic Problems Recommended Steps
- Describe the academic problem in specific,
skill-based terms (Batsche et al., 2008 Upah,
2008). Write a clear, brief description of the
academic skill or performance deficit that
focuses on a specific skill or performance area.
Here are sample problem-identification
statements - John reads aloud from grade-appropriate text much
more slowly than his classmates. - Ann lacks proficiency with multiplication math
problems (double-digit times double-digit with no
regrouping). - Tye does not turn in homework assignments.
- Angela produces limited text on in-class writing
assignments.
73Defining Academic Problems Recommended Steps
- Develop a fuller description of the academic
problem to provide a meaningful instructional
context. When the teacher has described the
students academic problem, the next step is to
expand the problem definition to put it into a
meaningful context. This expanded definition
includes information about the conditions under
which the academic problem is observed and
typical or expected level of performance. - 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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75Defining Academic Problems Recommended Steps
- Develop a hypothesis statement to explain the
academic skill or performance problem. The
hypothesis states the assumed reason(s) or
cause(s) for the students academic problems.
Once it has been developed, the hypothesis
statement acts as a compass needle, pointing
toward interventions that most logically address
the student academic problems.
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