Early Childhood SRBI - A Guide for Preschool Programs

8/8/2019 Early Childhood SRBI - A Guide for Preschool Programs

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A Guide for Preschool Programs

EARLY CHILDHOOD SRBI

Supporting All Children


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High-quality preschool programs support all children,regardless of their range of experience or current skills,

abilities and interests. Early Childhood SRBI offersa framework for providing this support and ensuringthat the needs of our youngest learners are met. Manyof the key components of this framework are alreadypresent in high-quality preschool programs.

Early Childhood SRBI is adapted from ScientificResearch-Based Interventions (SRBI), ConnecticutsFramework for Response to Intervention (RI),currently being implemented in elementary, middle,and high schools throughout the state. Implementinga similar framework, appropriate for early childhood,

will help to ensure that our youngest learners have asolid foundation for future life and school success.


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Key Components of Early Childhood SRBI

High-quality core curriculum that addresses state learningstandards in all domains;

Assessment to determine how children are progressing;

Individualized support, across multiple tiers, for children whoare not making expected progress;

Collaborative problem solving as a basis for making decisions;and

Comprehensive supports for social, emotional, behavioral,mental and physical health.

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-ier I-All children receive high-quality curriculum and instruction.

CurriculumCurriculum includes multiple components and is more than just acollection of activities. In addition to planning for the materials andactivities to support childrens learning, intentional teaching includesconsideration of the teachers role in supporting childrens growth, theneeds and interests of individual children, and how families will beinvolved. High-quality early childhood curriculum includes:

1. Performance standards (learning expectations) for children, based on oraligned with state standards. In Connecticut, learning expectations forchildren in their preschool years may be found in the Connecticut PreschoolCurriculum Frameworkand Preschool Assessment Framework, as well as thePrekindergarten to Grade 8 Curriculum Standardsfor content areas.

2. Ongoing assessment of childrens skills, development and abilities based

on the identified performance standards across all domains, includingpersonal-social and physical development.

3. Content in language and literacy,mathematical concepts, scientific inquiry,social studies and the creative arts.

4. Processes and learning experiences that aredevelopmentally appropriate, culturallyresponsive and use child interest tocapture the energy of childrens curiosity.

5. eacher interaction that promotes apositive climate and balances teacher-directed and child-initiated experiences.

6. Intentional organization of theenvironment, schedule and materials.

7. Partnerships with families that involve meaningful and culturally relevantparticipation.

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Te corecurriculum

includeshigh-quality

standards-basedlearning

experiences andinstruction for all

children.


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Individualized SupportPreschool teachers differentiate instruction for children within thegeneral curriculum. Tey recognize that there is a range of typical childdevelopment and help each child make progress from his or her current

skill and knowledge level. In addition, they incorporate individualchildrens interests, backgrounds, and learning styles into the generalclassroom experience.

AssessmentAssessment plays an important role in Early Childhood SRBI. Preschool

teachers continuously collect information on all children in theirclassrooms. Tey observe and document examples of how childrenare learning related to performance standards and include informationgathered from childrens families and other caregivers.

Early Childhood SRBI also includes the use of a type of assessmentreferred to as universal screening, which focuses on behavior and/orkey developmental skills to determine if the curriculum is effective for

individual students. Te purpose of this tool is to identify children forwhom additional classroom support may be necessary. If the universalscreening shows that a large number of children require additionalsupport, this may mean that the core curriculum is not supporting thelearning needs of the children in the class.

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Selecting a universal screening tool in early childhood takes specialconsideration. In SRBI, universal screenings are typically tools thatlook at key skills, are quick to administer and low-cost and can beadministered several times throughout the year. In early childhood,

there are many additional factors to consider when making decisionsabout which tool to use as a universal screening. Below are somequestions to guide decisions around universal screening for EarlyChildhood SRBI:

Who will be screened? How will screening results be considered forchildren who have just started preschool and have not yet had theopportunity to benefit from the core curriculum?

What are the key skills in each domain that will help determine whichchildren are in need of additional support?

Do current assessments provide the information needed to determinewhich children need support?

Could information from a current system of ongoing observation,documentation and assessment be used for this purpose?

Do current developmental screening practices provide the necessaryinformation?

If new assessments are considered for use as a universal screening, whatquestions should be asked about each potential tool?

Does this tool measure the applicationof skills or just look at identification and

labeling of items? Will this tool require that additional

information be gathered so that supportscan be appropriately targeted towardunderstanding of concepts instead of rotememorization?

How will staff be trained on the use of

this tool?

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Universal

screening forEarly ChildhoodSRBI targets keyskills and helps

to determinewhich students

need instructionalsupports.


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Collaborative Problem SolvingAfter a universal screening, it is important to bring together a teamto review the results of the assessment. Tis process is often referredto as collaborative problem solving. It may take place in a data team,

a child study team or another appropriatecollaborative group. In a preschool setting,this team may include caregivers from othersettings, teachers and specialists from thepreschool program and professionals fromthe local school district or other communityagencies. If the structures are not yet in placeto support a large group collaborative meeting,a childs teacher may consult with anotherteacher or outside experts to discuss the needsof individual children, as appropriate.

Initially a team will examine the informationgathered for the whole class and/or program.

Questions to be asked at this time include:

What do the results of the universal screening tool show? Is the core curriculum effective for most children? Which children require additional supports based on the

universal screening?

When planning for individual children, the following questionsshould be asked:

What additional information is needed to understand thischilds needs and determine appropriate interventionstrategies? How will this information be gathered?

In what ways will this childs family be involved in gathering

additional information, making decisions and monitoringprogress?

Who else should be included on the team? After gathering and discussing additional information, what

supports are appropriate for the targeted skills, who willimplement these supports and how will we monitor progress?

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Collaborativeproblemsolving

supportsteachers by

providing anopportunity forteamwork and

shared decision-making.


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-ier II-Te school or program provides help for children who need more

support than they are receiving from the core curriculum.

Children who are in need of more support continue to participate inthe high-quality core curriculum.

Individualized SupportChildren who are not making expected progress toward specificperformance standards need additional targeted learning opportunities

as determined through the collaborative problem solving process.Effective intentional teaching strategies may be used as interventions inpreschool and can usually be embedded into daily classroom routines.Tey may occur in small or large group settings. An intervention mayconsist of planning additional opportunities to address a targeted skillin multiple areas of the classroom. Other evidence-based strategiesinclude teacher modeling, prompting and peer modeling. Teuse of such embedded strategies must be intentionally planned andindividualized for each student.

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AssessmentChildren who are receiving ier II supports continue to be a part of aprogram/classrooms general assessment plan. In addition, progress onthe targeted skills should be assessed to determine if the individualized

support is working. Tis is often referred to as progress monitoring.Progress monitoring occurs more frequently in ier II than in ier I.

Collaborative Problem SolvingTe decision-making team will meet to discuss the childs progress aftersupports have been in place for several weeks.

ier II considerations for the collaborative problem solving team areincluded below:

Does the information collected show evidence that the child hasmade progress with the current support?

Does this child now exhibit the skills considered appropriatefor his or her age range? Should ier II support be faded ordiscontinued?

Does this child continue to need the same level of support? If

so, are the current strategies appropriate or should new ier IIstrategies be considered?

If the information collected shows that this child is makinglimited progress, does he/she require more frequentindividualized support in order to make additional progress? Ifso, this is referred to as ier III.

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-ier III-Te school or program provides more intensive interventions

for children who need the most support.

Children who are in need of more individualized support continue toparticipate in the high-quality core curriculum.

Individualized SupportChildren who have not made suffi cient progress with ier II interventionrequire more intensive supports. In Early Childhood SRBI, the same

strategies are generally appropriate for use as either ier II or ier IIIsupports. Te difference is that for ier III, these strategies occur moreoften or for a longer duration. For example, a teacher may includeadditional strategies targeting the skill of relating number to quantityat snack and transition time, while continuing to address these skillsduring center time.

AssessmentAs the frequency and duration of the intervention increases, progress ismonitored more often. At ier III, it may be appropriate for the teacherto check on a childs progress every couple of days or even several timesa day. Te frequency of progress monitoring will be determined bythe collaborative problem

solving team and may varydepending on the targetedskill and the staffi ngpatterns.

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Collaborative Problem SolvingIt is important that the decision-making team meet regularly toreview information collected regarding the childs progress. ier IIIconsiderations for the collaborative problem solving team are included

below:

Does the information collected show evidence that this childhas made progress with current supports? Is it appropriate todiscontinue ier III support?

Does this child continue to need intensive support? If so, arethe current strategies appropriate, or should new ier II or IIIstrategies be considered?

If the information collectedshows that this child ismaking limited progressdespite these supports, is itsuspected that this child may

have a disability? Is a requestfor evaluation to determineif this child requires specialeducation appropriate?(Note: A referral for anevaluation to determineif a child requires special

education is appropriateany time a teacher or familysuspects that a child has adisability. Early ChildhoodSRBI should not be used todelay or deny this type ofevaluation.)

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Vignette:Vignette:Te following is an example of how Early Childhood SRBI might be applied in a

preschool classroom. While this example focuses on a literacy skill from the cognitivedomain, it is critical that educators consider the progress children are making acrossall domains of development.

erry is a teacher in a classroom of four-year-olds. In her preschoolprogram, classroom staff observe and document childrens progresstoward early learning goals using Connecticuts Preschool AssessmentFramework (PAF). Te staff targets several key skills foruniversal screening three times a year. Because this program

uses the PAF to assess all children, the staff decide to tietheir universal screening process to this assessmenttool. In order to make sure they can compare theirobservations across classrooms, the staff set up asimple process with common materials planned toelicit a specific skill. Te results of this process serveas a universal screening to identify children in need

of additional support. Te observations of childrenalso serve as documentation for the ongoing cycle ofintentional teaching using the PAF.

At a collaborative problem solving team meeting, theresults of the universal screening are examined. Te resultsshow that most children are performing within developmentally

appropriate ranges. Te data also show that the educational experiencesand instructional strategies are generally effective, and that most childrenshow growth in their ability to recognize similar sounds in speech overthe course of the year. However, the assessment information on twostudents indicates a different pattern of learning.

Using the simple screening procedure, erry finds that when given threefamiliar items, Bobby and Sophia are not able to identify which namesrhyme or have similar beginning sounds. errys classroom observationsalso indicate concerns in this area for both children. Hearing issuesare ruled out since the program has conducted a hearing screeningthat both children passed. A collaborative team meeting is scheduledfor each child. Te team includes the childrens family members, theteacher,

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the programs curriculum coordinator, another classroom teacher whospecializes in early literacy and the program director.

Each team discusses the results of the screening and additionalinformation that erry has gathered, including classroom observationsand information shared by the childrens families. Te teams identifystrategies to support the childrens skill development and ideas forsupporting these skills at home. Tey agreed that transition times area great opportunity to introduce additional learning opportunities and

that erry can sing songs with rhyming and alliteration during alltransitions. Tey also outline a routine of breaking down the

names of the snack and lunch foods, stressing the initialsound (e.g., P, p, p. pizza). Ten the small groupof children thinks of other foods with the same initialsound (e.g., Does anyone know of another food thatstarts with p?). Finally, erry will include in thesensory table objects with rhyming names or similarbeginning sounds, a favorite area for both Bobby

and Sophia. Tis intentional placement of itemsallows classroom staff to take advantage of learningopportunities in a favorite environment.

Te teams also decide that, in order to monitor progress,erry will repeat the screening procedures for rhyming and

beginning sounds with different words once a week. She willtrack the childrens progress, and the teams will meet again in threeweeks to review the data.

When the team later meets to discuss Bobbys progress, erry reportsthat Bobby is now able to identify rhymes. After one week of providingsupport, she shares that he stressed rhyming words when repeating afavorite story; however, he was not yet able to complete the task decidedupon for monitoring progress. Te following week, he was able to

complete the task. He is now beginning to separate the beginningsound of a word but does not notice similar sounds. Te team decidesto continue using the same strategies for another two weeks to see ifBobby will make additional progress. When the team meets again twoweeks later, Bobby is beginning to generate rhymes of his own and theteam decides that the additional support can be reduced.

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erry has also implemented thesestrategies with Sophia, and her teammeets at three weeks and six weeks

into the intervention. Te data showsthat Sophia had not demonstratedsignificant progress. erry notes thatSophia is experimenting with wordsand listens to the sounds more intently,but she is still not able to identifyrhymes and/or similar initial sounds.

Te team decides to continue thesame strategies but adds an additionalone: Once a day, the assistant teacher will have Sophia choose one bookfrom a selection of rhyming books.

Te assistant teacher will read the book to Sophia and other interestedchildren, repeating the rhyming words after each page. Te book

Sophia has chosen will also be sent home so her family can read it withher. Given the more intensive support, the team decides upon a morefrequent schedule for monitoring progress. erry will monitor Sophiasprogress twice a week.

When the team meets again, the documentation shows that Sophia hasbegun to notice rhyming words during the daily routine and is able to

complete the rhyming portion of the screening prompt with a varietyof objects. Although Sophia is still not able to complete the activitywith similar beginning sounds, her mother reports that a day earlier,after playing with her friend Sarah, Sophia had said, Sarah and Sophiasound the same. Te team decides to continue the ier II supportsfor a few more weeks. Tey will then convene and decide if Sophianeeds additional intensive support to help her begin to notice similar

beginning sounds.


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RESOURCESAdditional information about SRBI

A Family Guide: Connecticuts Framework for RIwww.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/cali/family_guide_to_srbi.pdf

Using Scientific Research-Based Interventions:Improving Education for All Students

www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/cali/srbi_full_document.pdf

Additional information about early childhoodlearning standards and curriculum

C Preschool Curriculum Frameworkswww.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/Early/Preschool_framework.pdf

C Preschool Assessment Frameworkswww.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PEPS/Early/Preschool_Assessment_Framework.pdf

C State Department of EducationPrekindergarten to Grade 8 Curriculum Standardswww.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2618&Q=320954


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Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE)Bureau of eaching and Learningwww.sde.ct.gov 860-713-6740

State Education Resource Center (SERC)www.ctserc.org 860-632-1485

Te printing of this brochure was funded through agrant from the Emily Hall remaine Foundation.

Early Childhood SRBI - A Guide for Preschool Programs

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