Order ready-to-submit essays. No Plagiarism Guarantee!
Note: All our papers are written from scratch by human writers to ensure authenticity and originality.
Journal Article Review ED-541
Verify your essay before you submit. Get an Official Turnitin Report for Just $8.99!
Check your paper with the same Turnitin report your professor uses. AI detection + similarity score without storing your work. Pay once, no subscription
Check My Assignment!The “I” in RTI Research-Based Factors
In the research article, The “I” in RTI Research-Based Factors for Intensifying Instruction, Harlacher, Walker, and Sanford (2010) address the changes in the
2004 Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (IDEA), that widened the use of response to intervention (RTI). As a model for identifying students with learning disabilities, the legislative changes coincided with school wide reforms, which implemented research-based instruction and promoted the response for students who needed support (Harlacher, Walker, & Sanford, 2010). With a new way students’ difficulties are viewed, this called for new skills for educators in improving student outcomes. The purpose of their research is stated in the following question, “What research-based instructional factors can educators modify to intensify students’ instructional support? (Harlacher, Walker, & Sanford, 2010 p. 30).”
RTI: Background and Description
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tiered approach in providing services to students that match the students’ level of academic need to corresponding level of instruction (Harlacher, Walker, & Sanford, 2010). With the RTI model, schools create a range of levels in instructional support and teachers place students into these levels based off of screenings and progress monitoring data. Within the three tiers, all students receive Tier 1 with base core curriculum and in Tier 2, students who have mild skill deficits and need more instructional time each day. Tier 3 support, is the most intensive level of support. Students in Tier 3, receive instructional groups of three or four students. RTI is that all students receive research-based instruction that matches their need for support and continuously monitoring students’ progress toward their goals.
Running head: THE “I” IN RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION 3
THE “I” IN RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION 6
The Effects of RTI in Special Education
For students who receive additional support, RTI is essentially important to intensify instruction. Teachers must ensure research-based instruction before educators evaluate whether a student demonstrates a learning disability (Harlacher, Walker, & Sanford, 2010). It is critical that special education and general education teachers collaborate together throughout the RTI process, particularly in Tier 2, and Tier 3.
The Challenge of Implanting RTI
Information gathered throughout the tiers help guide special educators decisions in making instructional changes and distinguishing students with true disabilities from students who have not received appropriate instruction (Harlacher, Walker, & Sanford, 2010). Research-based interventions may be a new skill for many educators. A challenge for educators in RTI is determining which instructional factors to modify within a intervention. According to Harlacher, Walker, and Sanford (2010), “The National Council on Teacher Quality found that most general education teacher’s preparation programs that were surveyed across the United States, failed to provide training in research-based reading instruction in the five critical elements of reading (p.32).” In identifying instructional factors Harlacher, Walker, and Sanford conducted a literature review and used keywords related to academic instruction, differentiated instruction, instructional variables, reading instruction, and intervention. Educators can always modify to intensify the effective instructional foundation in each of their lessons.
Prerequisite Factors for Effective Instruction
From the literature review, three factors were identified as important aspects of a multi-tiered model of instruction, curriculum, fidelity of implementation, and behavior management. These factors should be placed in the RTI model because they increase the success of instruction. Harlacher, Walker, and Sanford (2010) stated, “Educators should ensure that research supports the curriculum. Next, educators should monitor that program to determine whether they are implementing it with fidelity or implementing it as intended. Finally, educators should create an effective learning environment by adapting an instructional approach to behavior management” (p. 32). These factors help to ensure improvement of instructional decision making.
Factors to Intensify Instruction
According to Harlacher, Walker, and Sanford (2010) , “Educators can use the following nine factors to intensify instruction, time allotted for instruction, instructional grouping, repetition for success, amount of judicious review, interventionist facilitation the group, pacing, praise-to-corrective feedback ratio, pre-correction, and error correction” (p. 32). These factors are split into two categories; instructional planning and instructional delivery.
Instructional Planning
In instructional planning, Harlacher, Walker and Sanford (2010), identify five factors that educators can modify to change the intensity of the instruction that students receive. For example, time allotted for instruction, instructional grouping, repetition for success, amount of judicial review, and interventionist facilitating the group. Effective instructional planning sets the foundation for a successful lesson.
Instructional Delivery
Instructional delivery ensures that the lesson is engaging and that students learn. The four factors in the category of instructional delivery are pacing, praise-to-corrective-feedback ratio, pre-correction, and error correction. Teachers can incorporate harder, higher level content in lessons for students achieving more than 95% accuracy and several options to increase students who are below 90% accuracy.
Case Study
Harlacher, Walker, and Sanford (2010) discuss a case study of using RTI to help a second grader reach his end of year goal in reading. Sammy is a second grader at Demarco Elementary School who is currently receiving Tier 2 intervention in reading. In January, he read 59 words correctly per minute with 80% accuracy on an oral reading fluency. He received 90 minutes of differentiated instruction in the five critical areas of reading from the evidence-based core program which is, 30 minutes of whole group instruction focused on fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, as well as 60 minutes of small-group instruction focused on phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency. Mr. Reid, Sammy’s teachers, used evidence-based curriculum with fidelity and confirmed that the prerequisite factors were in place. The general education and special education teacher were able to track the data of Sammy and the class to view achievement of accuracy or if a child was not meet the appropriate level.
My Critique and Thoughts
When students do not respond in Tier 1 support and need additional support, teachers need to consider additional elements of instruction. Several factors were discussed in this research article of how to intensify instruction for students. Any tier of instruction within an RTI model and changes instruction requires a solid foundational program. I believe that the importance of the effective core instruction is very important and every educator should examine the three prerequisite factors for instruction, curriculum, fidelity, and behavior management. I will implement the intensify model of RTI with my students to reach their level of academics. When student’s need additional support, teachers need to consider numerous elements of instruction and any changes in the instruction must be based on reliable data that is valid with purpose. The three tiers in the RTI model helps educators reach the academic level of all of their students. I look forward to practicing the RTI model in my teaching career.
