Dear Class:
NOTE: This is your final chapter blog and final chapter posting. Next week is THANKSGIVING WEEK --- there will be no blog postings – the week of November 29, the Teacher Interview Blog will be posted for you to post/share your teacher interview with the class.
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In this chapter, you will be exposed to the concept and practice of RTI, Response to Intervention. You are exposed to solutions or an intervention model as a way to meet some of the challenges of having different learning levels in one classroom. While the model is not an end-all, be-all, it does provide components of teaching and learning that equip teachers with how to support and give attention to students who need ongoing reading and math instruction assistance.
After reading the chapter, follow the videos below:
1. Three Tiers of RTI
2. Response to Intervention: Helping all students succeed
3. RTI [Lehigh University]
4. Another RTI video
5. Teacher Breaks Down [this is not RTI, folks!]
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Week 13 Blog Posting:
Some teachers are confused about different aspects of RTI and uncertain how to deal with some of the challenges they are facing. For example, according to progress monitoring data, more than half of the students in some classes are not reaching benchmarks. What should they do? [students and teachers] (Vaughn, et al, 2011)
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19 comments:
If more than half of students in some classes are not meeting benchmarks, you have to wonder if the teacher carries most of the burden. Research-based, differentiated instruction should work for 80-85% of students, but if it is not implemented correctly, that percentage is bound to drop. A teacher would then need to reflect on the instruction that has taken place to see if it matches the research-based models.
I don't know if I would put much blame on students other than if they are not seeking help when they are struggling. That is based on the assumption that they are completing all of their assignments in a timely fashion. If they are not doing so, that brings a whole new dilemma for the teacher. Laziness and apathy are difficult to overcome. Hopefully each student comes to class prepared and eager to learn. If that is the case, it is completely up to the teacher to maintain effective instruction.
With that said, inevitably some students will not meet benchmarks. This is when students would move to the second tier of RTI to get more instruction on top of what they are already getting in the general ed classroom. This, again, falls on the teacher to implement. Hopefully this will catch the 15-20% percent up with the rest of the class, but if not, that's what the third tier is for. Once there, students will hopefully get where they need to be. If not, teachers will need to do a lot better to reach them.
RTI is a data driven program to catch those students who just need an added boost to hit their benchmarks. The quote in our text on page 55 “I think I understand the basic principles of the RTI model, but I just don’t understand what I’m supposed to do to facilitate implementation. What’s my role?” is an accurate assessment of RTI in more than a few school districts. Teachers need to get together with the administration and hash out the details. Have specific “what to do now” activities listed. You all have to get on the same page in order to be effective in the intervention process. With research telling us that “more than half of the students in some classes are not reaching benchmarks.” (p.61) the teacher has to stop and examine their teaching style. If you have half of your class not reaching benchmarks, then you’re failing at your job. What you’re doing isn’t working. Change it up. Try new things. Think outside of the box and apply those ideas. Closely monitor your student’s progress to see if any of these changes is making a dent. To get these ideas, consult your resources – special education teachers, professional associations outside of the building, the internet, any source of information to try something new. If you find something that seems to be working, let your colleagues know, publish it on the internet, get the word out.
The fact that more than half of the students are not meeting requirements is a little scary. Many teachers that I have talked to are dumbfounded by many of the new techniques that are out there to help elementary kids learn reading and math more effectively that it confuses many of the teachers. I had a friend take a Math for Educators course at his college and they were using letters to teach kids how to add numbers. It's different than what I was used to, and now my nephew is doing these "Jolly Phonics" in his kindergarten class which I do not understand how it is supposed to help him with reading. The RTI is something that every teacher should be involved in, but learning how to do new creative ways to help the students can make the teacher struggle. This can make the teacher less confident about themselves which can reflect in the teaching. Collaboration with other teachers in the grade, as well as the reading specialists and the special education teachers is so important because that gives the students a team that is on the same page and the consistency they need to effectively learn how to read. It also gives the teacher a chance to work out their insecurities about new ideas that are there to help the students. The student on the other hand should not really be responsible for doing much except maybe speak up when they are truly not understanding the concept, but younger students don't want to seem "dumb" to their peers. It is the teacher's responsibility to reach every single student because they have them for the whole year. It's the same thirty kids and there's no excuse to simply let a few fall through the cracks. That's bad teaching. Both the students and teachers should be putting their best efforts into the school work. It's hard to get the students to do that 100% of the time, but that is where the teacher steps in with 150% and thinks of new ways to get her students involved.
It is disheartening to hear that more than half of students are not reaching benchmarks. I would not add additional responsibility onto the students. Some have suggested they should be able to recognize when they need help and seek it. This is a goal we should teach them, but it’s unrealistic to expect children to understand their own needs. They may think they are healthy when they eat three times a day, but not understand that drinking a soda, eating salty chips, and having a meatball sub most days isn’t healthy. I agree with J. Andrew on this one that teachers need to reflect on what they are doing right and what isn’t working and try something else. I would also agree with Holly about teachers often being asked to utilize strategies they don’t fully understand. Is it a good idea to ask a bankruptcy attorney to be able to properly argue and win a child custody case? They may have the same basic knowledge required to complete the process, but they lack the specific expertise to properly win the case. I see the same with situation occurring with teachers. I believe districts should also take responsibility for these teachers and helping them more than they currently do. To simply send someone to an RTI course or conference and provide them with information isn’t going to teach teachers how to effectively use it or change it to fit the needs of their students. Districts need trained experts or hands-on learning of these strategies and provide the back-up support teachers truly need rather than just websites and links for teachers.
Teachers also need to consider whether their differentiation is actually helping or harming the students. I have had a recent experience where I have seen a teacher with the right intentions consistently demonstrating to the students that are not expected to perform. The teacher will assign work with all requirements, allow additional time or other accommodations for students that require it, but excuse students from completing the assignment and accept the work for full credit by saying things like if you promise to do well on Friday in your project you will receive full credit for the assignment that is due tomorrow, just turn in what you have to me today. This consistently happens and the students have now learned that it is probable that they will receive full credit for incomplete assignments as long as they show they have worked on it to some degree or if they just take too long in finishing it past the due date. The teacher is attempting to help those students who need additional time or incentives for behavioral/performance issues, but in fact (in my opinion) is hampering the students performance, because they have learned they don’t have to do it in order to receive an A grade and so why should they.
I believe we also should look at the benchmarks themselves. If over half of the students aren’t reaching them then maybe they are simply set too high. No matter what the future economic market, environment, or other circumstances may require we have to remember these are children. Often times we are asking children to perform at a higher, more rigorous level than most adults perform at, or are willing to do.
A response to intervention (RTI) was created as a means of preventing learning and behavior difficulties (Vaughn, Bos & Schumm, p. 39). It’s a wonderful idea, as it’s supposed to actually prevent these difficulties, as opposed to treating them. However, that’s easier said than done. Teachers are the key to an effective RTI. But as Heather mentioned in an earlier post, many teachers are confused about their roles in RTI, so how effective can they be if they’re unsure of what they’re supposed to be doing?
I think implementing RTI, if done accurately, can be extremely challenging for teachers. It requires an immense amount of planning, plus progress monitoring to ensure students are receiving the supplemental support they need. If more than half of the students in some classes are not meeting benchmarks, perhaps the teaching model needs to be revamped. Teachers need to examine what they are doing, and what they’re not doing, to determine what works and what doesn’t for their students.
Considering the challenges RTI presents, it’s not surprising that many teachers are stressed. Of course, not to the level of the teacher in the video, but I have a feeling many teachers know exactly how he was feeling. Perhaps by working together, teachers can let their frustrations be known so they can brainstorm for solutions.
One question I had after watching the videos: what are the students who don’t need Tier 2 or 3 instruction doing while their peers are in those small groups? I suppose they could spend those daily 30 minutes doing art, music or p.e. class. But that means students in Tier 2 & 3 are not exposed to those classes.
I think as a teacher you must evaluate many steps; has this program been used before with similar students, is the level of instruction at an appropriate level, as a teacher is the instruction being differentiated to meet diverse needs, and if the learning environment is set up in a way to benefit learning. As a teacher using the RTI model it involves constant observations and a challenging instructional method, which will be needed to gather crucial data identifying students with needs. I also believe you must focus on tests given to identify students with diverse needs, and many may not identify future learning disabilities. The tests given must apply to the student population as in; cultures, race, ethnic backgrounds, English speaking students, poverty levels, family life and all play a role in the learning of a child. The teacher must evaluate what is working in the classroom, and if a majority of students are struggling, then possibly the instructional method needs improved. The use of RTI may be very challenging for a teacher who has never dealt with special needs students. The Pana school district implemented RTI a few years back, but many special need students still attend Taylorville schools for additional services. I have always wondered, is this a true RTI model for their district, or is this weeding out a few they feel can’t be taught in their classrooms. I believe the components are there; implement high quality research based instruction, monitor students learning over time, increase the intensity of instruction for struggling students, and make important decisions based on data, (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm) RTI is also very time consuming, but very rewarding. The student’s role must be that of a willing learner, and continue to achieve academic standards. I hate to put the whole RTI model on the shoulders of the teacher, but many children have no prior knowledge of any instructional materials, and rely solely on the teacher for information to be learned. I don’t believe there is any method that can cause all students to reach benchmarks or standards. In many cases students do not want to learn, and there are no possible methods to reach these students. I do believe as an educator, you are there to teach all, and must use every possible resource to better learning. I believe for RTI to be used effectively, you must have a proper professional staff in place. The staff must be very knowledgeable in all facets of the model; knowing what to look for, what can be done to help students, will this be a temporary or lifelong disability, and with this, many strides can be made.
For example, according to progress monitoring data, more than half of the students in some classes are not reaching benchmarks. What should they do? [students and teachers]
For teachers, some things they could do are to make sure the students are actually being taught in the correct tier, according to what they can do and how they respond to the lectures in class. After learning about the different tiers, it is easy for kids to possibly get mixed up in the wrong tier, especially if the teacher has a number of hard to handle cases of students. It definitely puts more pressure on the teachers, but it is worth it in the end if they can find a way to bump every kid into their correct tier. In order to help the teacher, it might also be smart for them to get extra help from another teacher or an aide to get help for a student that needs to do better with progress, but in order to do so, needs more attention as well.
On the students' part, it is possible that they just need to put more effort into their work. Many students are driven by the rewarding process, but if that is not what works best for some students, you may even have to just sit them down and say their grades will not improve if they do not put forth extra effort. It can be hard, however, if a student is already doing their very best and is still at a standstill with benchmarks. I think in this case, the best bet is for teachers to continue encouraging their students. Give them everything they can and call in extra help if need be. That seems easier said than done, but I do believe it will work.
If more than half of students "are not reaching benchmarks" then clearly teachers aren't grasping RTI fully or are faltering in some other major area. As the video states RTI should reach "80 to 85 percent of students" therefor if half are falling behind something as gone array in the instruction. Perhaps adding more students into tier 2 in order to get them caught up in certain areas while still reserving tier 3 for the most extreme cases of students falling behind. All tiers are available to all students as the video mentions that students don't necessarily have to be considered disabled in order to benefit from RTI.
Some other things to consider is the if the student is being placed in the correct tier according to subject rather than competency as a whole. For example, I know many children who struggle more in math than they do in language. Thus, those students should be in a higher tier when it comes to math compared with language. Proper evaluation of students in instrumental in all levels of education.
I Believe teachers should also explore other methods of reaching their students. When something isn't working sometimes it is needed to change the pace up and explore new theories and ideas.
Also teachers should look within. Maybe the RTI isn't effective because the teachers grasp on the content area isn't good enough. Overall I believe constant evaluation and analysis should ultimately lead teachers on the right path concerning each individual students learning process.
"Developing success for All Learners" (Vaughn et al. 2011). These words hold an important message for the challenges that teachers and students face in the classroom. The only experience I have inside a classroom is as a student. It is this experience that I draw on when asked questions such as the one for this assignment. As a student I have discovered that I learn more efficiently from some teachers than others. Does this mean that I am not intelligent enough to grasp the concepts that are taught? No. Does this mean that my instructors are not good enough to teach? No. For me, it is simply that the learner and the teacher are not on the same page. As an adult student I can change my strategy to fit the teacher but for a young student this is not always an option. Me, as a teacher, will have to be able to recognize when the student and I are not understanding each other. Our text discusses "responders" and "non-responders" within RTI and suggests that if a child is not responding to a particular instructional method...try something different (Vaughn et al. 2011). Teaching or learning can never be mastered. All of the instructional methods that we have learned about were based on research of children and how they learn. None of them are concrete nor can any of them have had the knowledge of how your unique students learn. The theories are research based suggestions and may work for some but not all. The three tiered RTI model is one way to help bridge the gap between suggestion and success. There is no doubt that teaching is one of the most challenging careers and it will never go according to plan but the RTI model is set up so that teachers are not alone during implementation (e. g. special educators, family, etc...). I mean no disrespect toward any author, researcher, teacher etc... that has ever produced a researched based theory on anything having to do with education. I am simply saying that at the end of the day it is you and a student who will learn from each other. The best way to "develop" a path toward success is together, in that moment.
I wanted to say that I have really enjoyed all of your posts and I have learned a lot from each of you. Have a great holiday, Laura Lee.
Tier 1 of RTI is supposed to be effective for and average of 85% of a class. For an average to be just that, there will be classes that rank higher than 85% and lower than 85%. Just because the target is 85% does not mean we should expect all classrooms to easily reach that number.
I in order to explain a 50% score in a classroom, I would have to assign some blame to the teacher as well as the students. An education is what you make of it. A student can do the bare minimum and get by. If they truly don’t care, there may be nothing a teacher can do to ever reach them to the point of improvement. Does that mean the teacher is a failure? Perhaps it can be argued, but I contend that eventually a point is reached where everything that can possibly be done within reason, has.
I am not saying that a teacher’s hands should be thrown up into the air at the first sign of difficulty, far from it. Sometimes a teacher will need to explore their own methods and processes to determine if they are causing the problem. If nothing else, the teacher should be aware of a student’s demeanor and perhaps elevate that student to the next tier. This should only happen after the teacher reaches out to the student or his/her parents. Sometimes, problems can be resolved quickly in this fashion.
I understand that some situations can easily prove frustrating, even to the point of pushing a teacher to his breaking point, as in that video. But, a big part of the job is managing the classroom and a teacher should always be on the lookout for ways to improve the instruction to reach as many students as possible.
First, I think the teacher would need to examine why so many students are not meeting the requirements? If 85% of students usually meet the standards with just the evidence based instruction, what is happening that 35% of students are falling behind who should normally have no problem grasping the material? Look at each student individually. Are they a student who normally falls into that 85%? If the case is that teachers are allowing Tier 1 students to slip behind, I believe the teacher has to review their own methods of instruction and assessment. Perhaps , the teacher should teach the entire class at both Tier 1 and Tier 2 until the situation is remedied and the students are again performing at the levels they are usually performing at.
Some teachers are confused about different aspects of RTI and uncertain how to deal with some of the challenges they are facing. For example, according to progress monitoring data, more than half of the students in some classes are not reaching benchmarks. What should they do? [students and teachers]
That would be awful to have over half the class not reaching benchmarks. There are three tiers in place to help with these students who are not making benchmarks, but it should not be that high. Tier one should have a success rate of 80% to 85%. That’s why a number over that high is hard to believe. The next step would be to put that group of students into Tier 2 which usually only has around 15% in it. In Tier two the students will still be learning with the general class but have an increased time getting the extra help they need. This tier also last around 10 to 12 weeks and they can monitor to show improvement and make sure benchmarks are met. If there are still students that need more improvement then they would move into Tier three and have additional time during the say that is for extra help while also being part of the general education class. It is important that the teacher meet with teams to monitor progress. It is important when moving students from each tier to have the teacher meet with parents and other officials like a special education teacher or school psychologist. As teachers it would be a failure to have this high percentage not meeting benchmarks and need to reevaluate your teaching approaches and make sure you’re reaching all students in the best way that they learn. If the percentage is this high then the teacher needs to look at themselves first for answers. Of course it is not fair to put all blame on the teacher for every student’s failure. There will always be students that don’t care and that you can’t reach. It is important to keep open lines of communications with parents to try your hardest to get to be a part of their child’s education and care that they succeed. Students need to be motivated to be better and even when that seems impossible it is our jobs to deliver material in a way that motivates our students to learn and excel.
After thinking about this issue for awhile I believe that we can't blame just one side for the fact that so many kids don't reach benchmarks. The blame can and should be evenly distributed between the students, the parents and the teachers and administrators. The first blame should be on the students. With the increase of standardized testing as a way of judging the effectiveness of schools some seem to have lost track of the fact that if a student doesn’t want to learn there isn’t much that a teacher can do to make sure they reach benchmarks. Many students are just in school until they can drop out while others see it more as a social party to keep track of their friends. If a student doesn’t see the value in learning a teacher can talk until they are blue in the face and not get through to the child. Granted, students that completely don’t care aren’t the majority of the kids but it seems that there are enough of them that even an excellent school with a good percentage hitting benchmarks will have lower numbers than they could have because of the students who just don’t care.
Parents can’t be let off the hook in this matter either. Granted, many work 2 jobs just to put food on the table for their family but that is no excuse for not playing an active role in their child’s school life. Observing this semester at Dubois School, I am shocked with the amount of homework that doesn’t get turned in everyday. 13 out of the 25 students in attendance today didn’t turn in homework. This occurs even though a homework planner is sent home every day that requires a parent’s signature saying that the student brought home the homework. Not only that but my teacher had 11 no show’s for parent teacher conferences. We have all learned in other classes about how some parents may have had bad experiences in schools and feel intimidated going back to one but honestly they are adults and taking an active part in your child’s education is crucial to their success in school.
Teachers and administrators also share the blame when benchmarks aren’t reached. While these two groups ultimately can’t control how the students perform they are the groups that are held responsible for a student’s failures. In this way they have to be more active in righting the ship. One of the major problems I’ve seen this year in my 5th grade class is that some of them simply aren’t up to a 5th grade level in many subjects. It isn’t fair to expect a student to be able to do 5th grade math when they were allowed to pass through 3rd and 4th grade math without understanding it. Teachers and administrators often aren’t willing to hold students back who need it because it’s too much hassle. They pass the student along so they don’t have to deal with them again. This is how sad situations occur such as a high school sophomore who reads at a 4th grade level. These students are put in such a bad situation because adults weren’t willing to make a hard decision that could have helped them in the future. In addition to this, as much as everyone would like to believe that every teacher is in it for the right reasons and has a passion for helping children learn sadly this probably isn’t the case. Some people get into the profession for the stability, some for the pension and still others join because of the summer vacation every year. Some teachers also have lost their zest for teaching or have simply become dissolutions. I believe that students can sense when they have a teacher like this and only do what’s necessary to meet this low expectation that others hold of them. No doubt it won’t be easy fixing what’s broken in our educational system. Any solution will have to involve all aspects of the problem.
REFLECTION. Teachers and students both would greatly benefit from reflection and evaluation of what is and is not working in their classrooms. If, as Vaughn stated, more than half of students are failing to reach benchmarks, something is obviously not working. There is no concrete way of knowing or determining who should be held responsible for unsuccessful classroom strategies, but there are ways to make them better. Teachers should daily, weekly, monthly, annually (and whenever else they find an opportunity) reflect on the happenings in their classroom.
Which techniques proved successful? Which ones did not? Are there ways to improve upon what has happened or is currently happening in my classroom? These are just a few questions that teachers should take time to ask themselves in an effort to reflect. Teachers should also consider making notes on their reflections. Keeping a notebook or computer file to store observations and reflections was something that was offered as advice to me very early in my journey towards the teaching career. It is a suggestion that I plan to continue using during my continuous education and profession.
Evaluation does not have to begin and end with teachers. Students, parents, and other adults in a student’s life (i.e. grandparents, coaches, babysitters) should all be involved in a reflection process as well. A teacher can ask students formally (with a short survey) or informally (hand-count, short simple questions) about their opinions and thoughts on specific strategies and techniques.
Did you enjoy the lesson? Do you feel like you learned anything from this today? What could we have done better? These questions can be asked of students in order to pinpoint individual learning styles and create a more personalized education, which could greatly improve the success rates on the benchmarks. We can’t force students to learn. We, as teachers, can lecture all day or until our faces turn blue, and a student may not be interested in it one bit. I think the use of RTI as well as other techniques such as differentiated instruction benefit everyone involved.
It is amazing to me that half of some classes are not reaching benchmarks, however, I think it is reality that this is happening in many classrooms. First off, if I was the teacher of a class that had half of the students not meeting the benchmarks I would look at what I was doing as a teacher. I would start by changing how I teach the students. I would try to change the way in which I teach to better suit the students, and include more differentiation strategies. I would look at differentiating for the entire class as a whole, if this did not work I would then look specifically at those students who were not meeting the benchmarks. This is when the second level of RTI would be used, and hopefully most of these students would begin to meet the benchmarks, and if there were still some students not meeting the benchmarks they would then move up to tier 3. When students are moved to this tier I believe it is very important that the intervention that is being used be implemented properly and the student and intervention are constantly monitored.
One example of RTI that was used at the school that I worked at last year, did help some students and it was evident to me. It involved level 3 of the pyramid, and it was basically for freshmen students that the RTI team at this school thought could be of benefit of this. The students were handed a card each day by their first hour teacher. On the card there were four categories. The categories were students’ organization, students behavior, being prepared, and work ethic. At the beginning of each period the students were to give their cards to their teacher. At the end the teacher would place a 0 if the students did not comply or meet this category, and a 1 if the student did. At the end of each day the student’s last hour teacher would collect the cards and at the end of each week all of the cards were collected. The points were tallied, and if students met a certain category they received a reward. Also, with this program students were required to check in with a certain teacher each week. Even though this program did not help all of the students that were involved, the majority of the students were very responsive to it. One of the downsides I saw to this program is that some of the times the teacher would forget about the students and their cards and there would be a couple of days every so often that would go by and the teacher and the student would not acknowledge the use of the card system. I think that in order that this type of program to be beneficial there should be consistency and the students and teachers should be in constant contact.
If a teacher entering a classroom discovers that more than half of her students are not meeting benchmarks in Reading, she has some options, but she must have support. She can meet with the principal, literacy coach, and possibly the special education teacher to map out a team approach to help the students. If, as a novice teacher, she is going to be successful, I think there has to be a coordinated effort. First, the students need to be assessed using a reading diagnostic assessment, like a DRA (Development Reading Assessment). Like most diagnostic assessments, this will help assess where the students are in comparison with other students of the same age or grade level. (Vaughn et al, p. 305) This will serve as a baseline from which the teacher can monitor the students’ progress from this point. From this point, the teacher needs to follow the recommendations from her administrator. There are so many different materials available to help struggling students. However, I think that whatever the principal or literacy coach recommend, you need to progress monitor the students to diagnosis areas of strength and weakness. Then, redress the weaknesses. One RTI (Response to Intervention) that I have heard has been used with success is AIMSweb. This is a benchmark and progress monitoring system based on direct, frequent and continuous student assessment. The results are then reported to the teachers, students, their parents and administrators via a web-based data management and reporting system to determine the response to intervention. This particular system is a scientifically-based intervention. (Information from AIMSweb.com) With coordinated efforts, students will make gains.
I think that if more than half of the students in some classes are not reaching benchmarks, the teacher also needs an intervention. I say this because teacher’s need help, too, and if something isn’t working in their classroom, there could be a highly resolvable issue. For instance, as mentioned on page 55 in the text, some teachers don’t know what they’re “supposed to do to facilitate intervention.” (Vaughn, et al., 55) Furthermore, teachers need to consult with one another and other professionals about best practices for their classroom. Teachers should have a comfortable forum in which they can ask these questions. To that end, the teachers also need to communicate with the students receiving the RTI. They need to consult with the kids, too. What do they like about their activities? What frustrates them? What do they think about their time at school? Asking student-centered questions could provide important insight into possible tips to help students learn. In the end, I think that teacher confidence is key to students successfully reaching benchmarks. If teachers feel that they are knowledgeable about successful ways to detect/screen, intervene, implement interventions, and monitor progress, then they will have the tools to effectively utilize the RTI model.
One of the most difficult parts of dealing with RTI, for a teacher, is knowing when and how to implement it. So many porgrams and strategies are developed, presented, and used for intervention.How does a teacher choose which method? This biggest challenge is understanding the student,thier strengths, and weaknesses. It is important to track their progress, in order to see if a method is working. It is often easy for teachers to let students that cannot accomplish tier one, fall to the side, and focus on students that are building abilities.
A teacher should have to goal of helping and teaching all students. This means knowing what type of RTI method to implement, knowing what tier group they are starting in, and how and when tomove them to the nest tier.
It sound like it is an easy plan, but as teachers, we know there is more to it than just picking strategies and monitoring. It takes much effor from the student and the teacher to aid a student in moving along to the next tier.
I was shocked to read that more than half of the students in some classes are not reaching benchmarks. 50%? In any class, test, assignment, etc. a 50% is a failing grade. How can we have entire classrooms failing? It sounds like there needs to be an intervention on many levels. If the teachers are confused about the different aspects of RTI and uncertain how to deal with the challenges they are facing someone needs to jump in and help them. “The teacher plays the most important roles in implementing an RTI model.” (Vaughn, et al., 55). If the most important role in the success of the program is confused, how do we expect to succeed? To put it in terms of the RTI model, these teachers are in Tier 1 but should be in Tier 3. They need help! So what should they do? Seek it! If they are uncertain, they need to reach out for help. Whether it be from the principal, the special education teacher or another teacher who is having success in their classroom with the majority of students reaching benchmarks. Maybe there needs to be a RTI model in place for the teachers whose classrooms are failing? Education is the key to success, we as teachers should believe this most. There are times teachers need to be educated and helped too!
As far as what the students should do, they should speak up if they’re lost or falling behind. Like the teachers, they should seek help. I know that’s harder for some to do as some fear being embarrassed or are too proud to ask for help but in many cases you won’t receive unless you ask. I can remember being younger and being too embarrassed to interrupt the class and ask for clarification or help. I understand it’s the teacher’s job to monitor and identify the students that need help but they could address the importance of asking for help on the first day. Make the students feel comfortable and rewarded for asking for help. As the book states, overall, the teacher plays the most important role in this system and we need to rely on them to seek help for themselves and for their students!
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