1 Problem Solving Model Tier I and Tier II Rowan Salisbury School System RtI Foundations Training June-September 2010 Amy Roberts and Erin Banks, School.

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Problem Solving Model

Tier I and Tier IIRowan Salisbury School System

RtI Foundations TrainingJune-September 2010

Amy Roberts and Erin Banks, School Psychologists

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Shift Happens

Why change, why now?

Legislation is necessitating a change

Research has shown that there is a better way

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Quick Review: What is RtI ?

The practice of providing high quality instruction matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals and applying child response data to important educational decisions.

Response to Intervention

Policy Considerations and Implementation,

NASDSE

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Philosophy of RtI Changes in philosophy are necessary for all of those involved: All children can learn Focus on meeting the needs of all children

Wealth of knowledge and partnership from parents

Work collaboratively to develop solutions and strategies

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Philosophy of RtI

Proactive instruction within general education

Prevention more cost effective than remediation

Utilize resources necessary to meet the educational needs of all children

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Problem Solving Model

An approach to developing interventions and ensuring positive student outcomes, rather than determining failure or deviance (Deno, 1995).

Seven step cyclical process

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Problem Solving (PSM) Process

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65 4

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Step 7Analysis of the

Intervention Planmake a team decision on the

effectiveness of the intervention

Step 1Define the

ProblemDevelop a behavioral (observable) definition

of problem

Step 2Develop an

Assessment PlanGenerate a hypothesis and

assessment questions related to the problem

Step 3Analysis of the

Assessment PlanCreate a functional and

multidimensional assessment to test the hypothesis

Step 4Generate a Goal

StatementSpecific Description of the changes

expected in student behavior

Step 5Develop an

Intervention PlanBase interventions on best

practices and research-proven strategies

Step 6 Implement the

Intervention PlanProvide strategies, materials, and

resources: include progress monitoring

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What about Assessments?

RtI advocates two principles:

Assessments should have a relationship to positive child outcomes, not just predictions of failure

Assessments without this relationship do little to benefit children and waste precious time and resources

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Problem Solving Model

Collaborate and consult: no “expert” makes determinations!

Why is the problem occurring? Assessment is related to the problem Data is collected answer questions and provide basis for interventions

Interventions are based on data collected

Effectiveness of intervention is continuously tested and change is made when needed.

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What About Traditional Evaluations? Brief screening measures of IQ can rule out mental retardation

If mental retardation is not suspected, measures of IQ have no role in LD diagnosis with RtI

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Problem Solving Model (PSM) & Responsiveness to

Instruction (RtI) RtI uses PSM and frequent monitoring of student’s performance to determine the effectiveness of interventions

“Is the student making sufficient progress with this intervention? Why or why not?”

4 Tiers are used to describe the increasing amount of support a student may need to make sufficient progress

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Tier I

80-85%

Example: Differentiated instruction within the classroom

Tier II

10-15%

Ex: Small group instruction

2-3 days a week

Tier III

3-5%

Ex: 1:1-1:3 support

3-5 days per week

Tier IV

1-3%

Classroom Teacher

And Parent

RtI SupportClassroom Teacher

And Parent

Classroom Teacher

And Parent

Classroom Teacher

And Parent

RtI Support/

EC Teacher/

Interventionist/

Teacher/

Title 1 Teacher

EC Teacher

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PSM & RtI

All seven stages of PSM occur at each Tier

Movement through the tiers is FLUID and depends upon the severity of the problem and the intensity of services needed to adequately meet the student’s need.

Tier 1 is the least amount of additional support while Tier IV is the most intensive amount of support.

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How do we identify students in need?

Universal Screening: screen all students in the school to determine those in need of intervention Areas to Screen: Early Literacy, Early Numeracy, Reading, Math, Behavior, and Writing

Rowan County uses: AIMSweb Children’s Progress Local Writing Assessment Discipline Referrals

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RtI

Measurement of intervention effectiveness

Early identification and early intervention

Intervention increase in intensity, guided by data based decision making

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So How Do We Do This Differently?

Problem-Solving Model!

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Problem Solving Model (PSM)

The number of students with disabilities grew from 3.7 million to 5.3 million

Eliminate inappropriate referrals and increase the legitimacy of the referrals initiated

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PSM

Laut et al. (2001) implemented a PSM/CBM model in three elementary schools

77% of the students that went through the previous (TAT) pre-referral process were referred for testing and only 35% qualified for special education services

With the PSM/CBM model 50% of the students that went through the process were sent for testing and 75% were found eligible for special education services

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PSM 70% of K-5 initial placements first year are from K-2nd grade. 76% 80%

After first year there has been an 8:1 reduction in Special Ed placements across 25 K-5 schools. An additional 6% reduction

After first year there was a 45% reduction is special education placements for black males. An additional 22% reduction

Parents satisfaction surveys indicate higher level of approval for the new process.

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Prerequisites Philosophy continued:

Evaluate effectiveness of educational strategies frequently

Communicate accurate information about student progress regularly

Provide opportunities for all children to achieve their goals

Best educational strategy: the one that works!

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PSM Model designed to meet the needs of diverse learners within school districts

Attempts to identify and implement best educational strategies to meet the needs of all learners

Requires significant changes in mind set and philosophy

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Thinking Outside the Box !

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Prerequisites

Changes in mind-set that are necessary for all of those involved Student problems are defined Questions drive assessments Engage in instruction that addresses learning

Intervention is derived from analysis of baseline data

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Training

Important to have training on at least two components of RtI

Problem-Solving Model (PSM) Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM)

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Implementation of a RtI System First three tiers call for implementation of Problem Solving Model and Curriculum Based Measure in the general education setting

Fourth tier represents determining the need for special education referral – the highest level of service intensity

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PSM Procedures Activities at Tier I: Define the problem Send out the Tier I notification form, social history and Working Together document and document date

Give nurse the screening form Parent and teacher working together to define the problem What is it? When does it occur? Why is this happening? Then, analyze baseline data or develop plan

for collecting baseline data (examples of baseline data: AIMSweb, Children’s Progress, DRA, writing assessments, etc.)

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PSM Procedures Activities at Tier I

Based on baseline data develop an intervention plan

Parent and teacher together brainstorm ideas for interventions

Discuss what interventions look like

Look at differentiated instruction

Create a Parent/Teacher Log

Develop progress monitoring plan (Pre and Post-Test)

Set time table for reconvening to evaluate interventions (4 to 6 weeks)

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PSM Procedures

Activities at Tier I Implement intervention plan Evaluate

Use progress monitoring (Post-Test) Determine effectiveness of intervention If child DID make progress - determine whether to continue/discontinue Tier I

If child DID NOT make sufficient progress - modify Tier I OR consider moving to Tier II

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Examples of Data at Tier I AIMSweb Children’s Progress Informal reading or math assessment

DRA Writing assessment (Cold Write) Running Record Book and Print

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Rowan Salisbury School RtI Tier I Forms

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Tier I

80-85%

Example: Differentiated instruction within the classroom

Tier II

10-15%

Ex: Small group instruction

2-3 days a week

Tier III

3-5%

Ex: 1:1-1:3 support

3-5 days per week

Tier IV

1-3%

Classroom Teacher

And Parent

RtI SupportClassroom Teacher

And Parent

Classroom Teacher

And Parent

Classroom Teacher

And Parent

RtI Support/

EC Teacher/

Interventionist/

Teacher/

Title 1 Teacher

EC Teacher

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PSM Procedures Activities at Tier II

Send home Tier II Problem-Solving Parent Invitation and document date

Steps of cyclical problem-solving model repeat, but more school personnel are involved as needed Parent Teacher Grade level-team Counselor, school psychologist, reading

teacher, administrator, social worker, nurse, etc.

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PSM Procedures Examples at Tier II

Parent, Teacher and Other Teacher/Specialist (other professional in the building)

Title 1 services Informal speech interventions Intervention groups 2-3 times a week

for 30 minutes Computer remediation lab: Orchard,

Waterford, Prescriptive Instruction

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Tier II Procedures

Develop Tier II Intervention Plan to include: Identify the problem Complete areas of concerns and indicate strengths,

needs, and current levels (Only complete the areas of concern)

Document baseline (the Post-Test data from Tier I if in AIMSweb, PI and Waterford; if not, you need to get a baseline in AIMSweb, PI or Waterford)

List 2 most significant behaviors that are interfering with classroom performance if applicable

Document the goal/expected performance: 25th percentile

Specify intervention: who, when, where and what Decision Date: date you are holding the meeting

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Progress Monitoring at Tier II In Tier II, progress monitoring takes places every other week (2x a month)

Document on Tier II paperwork the date and results of the progress monitoring

Meet back as a team to evaluate the intervention and to analyze progress monitoring data If sufficient progress is made, consider continuing at Tier II OR moving to Tier I

If sufficient progress is NOT made, consider continuing at Tier II and modifying plan OR moving to Tier III

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Rowan Salisbury Schools Tier II forms

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Time to Review….

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Important Points to Consider and/or Remember when Implementing RtI

School-based collaborative process

Uses problem solving approach to identify academic/behavioral needs

Involves data-based decision-making

Primary purpose is to design useful interventions in the regular education environment

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Important Points to Consider and/or Remember when Implementing RtI

The focus is on Problem Solving… Not a mechanism for referring students to special education

It is Not a Pre-referral team

Assessment is functional & diagnostic

Interventions based on data… Not a guessing game

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Important Points to Consider and/or Remember when Implementing RtI Interventionists

School Volunteers Any available staff member Peer tutoring Parents Teacher’s Aides Intervention Specialist

Key: Training !

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Final Thoughts and Conclusions OWNERSHIP

Administrators are key!

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Final Thoughts and Conclusions Change in mind-set

Areas for training Team Building PSM CBM Local Norming Research-Based Interventions for reading, math, written expression, and behavior

Progress monitoring and charting etc

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Final Thoughts and Conclusions Research has shown repeatedly that all of the time, effort, and money is worth it !

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General education/special education changesSend us your tired, your hungry, your poor…. Your students who aren’t performing….

Shift from placement to high quality interventions

Progress of ALL students (tied with NCLB – AYP)

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Questions Regular Educators May Ask: What is a high quality intervention?

How do I do more in my class? How do I collect and use data to make decisions?

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Special Educators

Skills in individualized, remedial interventions Share with general educators!

Classroom, teacher, and individual student support

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Roles of District and School Leaders: District:

Support Provide vision Reinforce effective practices Expect accountability Provide support for systems change effort Training Coaching Technology Policies

Batsche & Curtis, 2005

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Roles, con’t: Principal

Vision of Problem-Solving Process Supports development of expectations

Allocation of resources Facilitates priority setting Ensures follow-up Supports program evaluation Monitors staff support/climate

Batsche & Curtis, 2005

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Questions and ConclusionsDrowning in information?