Making RTI Work, Research Paper Example

Academic interventions are crucial in developing and molding students to the required minimum academic standard as prescribed by the academic institutions and organizations. While academic interventions vary relative to a number of variables, identifying the appropriate tier of academic interventions to be implemented is critical for the student’s success. Tier I and Tier II academic interventions are the most commonly used, but their use requires the identification of specific factors. These factors determine the tier and type of academic intervention that will be employed, as well as the scope and depth (intensity) at which it will be used.

Critical Skills

Education programs are designed to ensure students develop certain critical skills relative to the level of education they receive. As such, a student is expected to develop certain essential arithmetic, language and critical thinking skills at a given level of education (Renaissance Learning, 2009). These skills are essential in accomplish the required academic tasks, as prescribed for by the syllabus and the instructor. The difficulty with which students have to employ certain critical skills in solving academic problems determines the tier of academic intervention that will be employed.

Tier I academic interventions are essentially designed to remedy the fundamental capacity development deficits in all students. This represents the foundational concepts entailed in every lesson or activity. A good example is a poetry class, students who depict slight difficulty grasping the concepts, themes and purpose of the writing may require tier II academic interventions.

Time

As students progress through the different levels, they are expected to develop certain skills and abilities. However, even important, is the amount of time students take to accomplish a given task (Wailor, 2009). Student usually complete a given task within a generally accepted time frame> However, the amount of time that students take to accomplish given tasks will indicate the level at which they have grasped the fundamental concepts and ideas contained in a given lesson or class.

A salient example would be tasks that are developed to be accomplished in independent and/or group practice. The amount of time that a students take to accomplish academic tasks, such as mathematical problems, research and creative writing will be an indicator of the tire of academic interventions that are required to be employed. Students who complete tasks in slightly longer period of time than the prescribed norm require Tier I academic interventions. Those who take a considerably longer period of time require Tier II academic interventions. The most common measure of time is employed in time constrained exercises such as assessment tests and examinations.

Feedback and Response

Instructors are able to identify the level at which students have grasped the fundamental concepts and ideologies of a given class through the response they receive from students. Feedback and response is an essential indicator of student proficiency in a given topic or subject area (Renaissance Learning, 2009). Response may be in different forms, mainly verbal and written. The ability of a student to provide feedback and/or response, relative to the quality of the response is a crucial determinant of the tier of academic intervention to be employed.

The ability of a student to provide quality verbal and/or written feedback or response is an indicator of the effective use of Tier I academic interventions. However, when a student is only able to provide a response that fails to meet the quality and standard requirements as prescribed for by the syllabus requires Tier II intervention.

Section II: RTI Intervention Plan

RTI plans are specifically designed to suit a given student’s needs. In the development of an effective RTI plan, a number of tools can be employed as depicted in the student instructional plan below. The plan depicted below is designed for a seventh grade student who requires tier II interventions on a number of areas within their academics. The RTI plan has been develop and specifically designed to meet the student’s needs, providing the procedures that will be employed to enhance the student’s performance and improve the identified problem areas within a given period of time. The plan has a timeline that expires in November 2015.

References

Dickman, E. G. (2010, Mrach 10). RTI and Reading: Response to Intervention in a Nutshell. Retrieved June 17, 2015, from Reading Rockets: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/rti-and-reading-response-intervention-nutshell

Renaissance Learning. (2009). Making RTI Work: A Practical Guide to Using Data for a Successful Response to Intervention Program. Wisconsin Rapids: Renaissance Learning, Inc. Retrieved June 17, 2015, from http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R004336320GJBD8A.pdf

Shapiro, E. S. (2015, January 20). Tiered Instruction and Intervention in a Response-to-Intervention Model.Retrieved June 17, 2015, from RTI Action Network: http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/tieredinstruction/tiered-instruction-and-intervention-rti-model

The Iris Center. (2015, January 16). RTI (Part 1): AN Overview. Retrieved June 17, 2015, from The Iris Center: http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/rti01-overview/

Wailor, W. (2009). Making RTI Work: how smart schools are reforming education through schoolwide response-to-intervention. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.