Response To Intervention (RTI)
Response to Intervention (RTI) has been a topic that hos gotten much attention in the world of education. When students must wait for special services, they lose valuable time waiting for additional support from school teaching teams. In this review on RTI, I will discuss material found in three separate articles. These articles helped me to further understand what RTI is, the correct way to use it and how it can be quite effective in lessening the need for special services.
Despite skillful, engaging and effective lessons, a child struggles daily to complete practice work and assessments. This child may or may not need special services. A best case scenario would be that he does not need services. Rather than wait for determination of services …show more content…
eligibility and need, the sensible thing would be to get the child support right away. After all, any student could need a little extra help at any given time. Response to Intervention completely encompasses the aforementioned concept of intervening children’s struggles right away.
What is RTI
A lower elementary teacher clumps her 17 students into tiny groups of four or five based on reading levels. She knows that they can all benefit from reading lessons of course; however, she also knows her students’ skills so well that she knows they need targeted lessons in particular concepts. She hasn’t necessarily used an exact RTI model but she sure is on the right track. In an article entitled “Response to Intervention”, written by Karin Carter-Smith, she defines RTI as “a promising new measure through which learning disabilities can be identified. Students with academic delays are identified through a process of universal screening, and research-based interventions are offered at different tiers of intensity.” (Carter-Smith, 2015 p7) Let’s say that the teacher in the lower elementary was officially using RTI. She has already done the first tier, which is to determine those children who are not learning from generalized large group lessons. Even though she has a mixed age classroom, you will find children are placed in these groups based on abilities and not grade level.
In a separate article written by Nai-Cheng Kuo, Ph.D and entitled “Why Is Response To Intervention (RTI) So Important That We Should Incorporate It Into Teacher Education Programs and How Can Online Learning Help?” the three tiers are broken down very well for all to understand.
Essentially Tier 1 is whole class, Tier 2 Small Group Interventions and finally, Tier 3 which is Individual Intervention. Say, for instance if the same lower elementary teacher reassessed her students again and found that one was still not benefiting from the appropriate interventions. This would then be the time to consider tier 3. What a benefit it is that this particular student has still been given extra support before being referred to special …show more content…
services.
Furthermore additional students may have been saved from needing services in the future (Nai-Cheng 2014) Why RTI? In an article written by Baffum, Matto and Weber entitled “Why RTI”, Teachers and other professionals will benefit as they understand why RTI helps students who would otherwise wait for services or needlessly fall behind until they actually qualify for them.
Those other lower elementary students are doing okay, now that the teacher has zoned in on particular concepts and given a more targeted instruction. Those students could have very easily become candidates for special services as they fell behind cumulatively each school year. Thankfully only one student is in need of intense individual services. While this situation is hypothetical, the concept of “Wait to Fail” is a real one. Children who are struggling could benefit from a little help and never need services. However, if they never get that help, they will continue to fall behind. They don’t need services because they can’t learn; they need services because they were not given the appropriate opportunities to do so. (Baffum, Matto, Webber
2010) RTI is a wonderful opportunity to lessen the number of students who are referred to services. While some students will need special services no matter what, it makes sense to try and catch children early on and give them the best chance they have at a wonderful academic experience. Needlessly waiting for children to fall far enough behind to qualify for services is a thing of the past thanks to RTI.
Despite skillful, engaging and effective lessons, a child struggles daily to complete practice work and assessments. This child may or may not need special services. A best case scenario would be that he does not need services. Rather than wait for determination of services …show more content…
eligibility and need, the sensible thing would be to get the child support right away. After all, any student could need a little extra help at any given time. Response to Intervention completely encompasses the aforementioned concept of intervening children’s struggles right away.
What is RTI
A lower elementary teacher clumps her 17 students into tiny groups of four or five based on reading levels. She knows that they can all benefit from reading lessons of course; however, she also knows her students’ skills so well that she knows they need targeted lessons in particular concepts. She hasn’t necessarily used an exact RTI model but she sure is on the right track. In an article entitled “Response to Intervention”, written by Karin Carter-Smith, she defines RTI as “a promising new measure through which learning disabilities can be identified. Students with academic delays are identified through a process of universal screening, and research-based interventions are offered at different tiers of intensity.” (Carter-Smith, 2015 p7) Let’s say that the teacher in the lower elementary was officially using RTI. She has already done the first tier, which is to determine those children who are not learning from generalized large group lessons. Even though she has a mixed age classroom, you will find children are placed in these groups based on abilities and not grade level.
In a separate article written by Nai-Cheng Kuo, Ph.D and entitled “Why Is Response To Intervention (RTI) So Important That We Should Incorporate It Into Teacher Education Programs and How Can Online Learning Help?” the three tiers are broken down very well for all to understand.
Essentially Tier 1 is whole class, Tier 2 Small Group Interventions and finally, Tier 3 which is Individual Intervention. Say, for instance if the same lower elementary teacher reassessed her students again and found that one was still not benefiting from the appropriate interventions. This would then be the time to consider tier 3. What a benefit it is that this particular student has still been given extra support before being referred to special …show more content…
services.
Furthermore additional students may have been saved from needing services in the future (Nai-Cheng 2014) Why RTI? In an article written by Baffum, Matto and Weber entitled “Why RTI”, Teachers and other professionals will benefit as they understand why RTI helps students who would otherwise wait for services or needlessly fall behind until they actually qualify for them.
Those other lower elementary students are doing okay, now that the teacher has zoned in on particular concepts and given a more targeted instruction. Those students could have very easily become candidates for special services as they fell behind cumulatively each school year. Thankfully only one student is in need of intense individual services. While this situation is hypothetical, the concept of “Wait to Fail” is a real one. Children who are struggling could benefit from a little help and never need services. However, if they never get that help, they will continue to fall behind. They don’t need services because they can’t learn; they need services because they were not given the appropriate opportunities to do so. (Baffum, Matto, Webber
2010) RTI is a wonderful opportunity to lessen the number of students who are referred to services. While some students will need special services no matter what, it makes sense to try and catch children early on and give them the best chance they have at a wonderful academic experience. Needlessly waiting for children to fall far enough behind to qualify for services is a thing of the past thanks to RTI.