1 RTI: How to Create a Toolkit of Strong Academic and Behavioral Intervention Plans Jim Wright

2 Workshop Agenda Academic Interventions: Key Points and Critical Components Reading, Math, and Writing Interventions Behavioral Interventions: Key Points Behavioral Strategies: Managing Whole Groups Behavioral Strategies: Working with Individual Challenging Students Measuring Intervention Integrity Internet Resources to Support RTI Interventions

3 Workshop PowerPoints and Related Resources Available at:necsd.php

4 RTI ‘Pyramid of Interventions’Tier 3: Intensive interventions. Students who are ‘non-responders’ to Tiers 1 & 2 are referred to the RTI Team for more intensive interventions. Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 2 Individualized interventions. Subset of students receive interventions targeting specific needs. Tier 1: Universal interventions. Available to all students in a classroom or school. Can consist of whole-group or individual strategies or supports.

5 RTI & Intervention: Key Concepts

6 Essential Elements of Any Academic or Behavioral Intervention (‘Treatment’) Strategy:Method of delivery (‘Who or what delivers the treatment?’) Examples include teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, volunteers, computers. Treatment component (‘What makes the intervention effective?’) Examples include activation of prior knowledge to help the student to make meaningful connections between ‘known’ and new material; guide practice (e.g., Paired Reading) to increase reading fluency; periodic review of material to aid student retention.

7 Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations & Modifications: Sorting Them OutCore Instruction. Those instructional strategies that are used routinely with all students in a general-education setting are considered ‘core instruction’. High-quality instruction is essential and forms the foundation of RTI academic support. NOTE: While it is important to verify that good core instructional practices are in place for a struggling student, those routine practices do not ‘count’ as individual student interventions.

8 Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations & Modifications: Sorting Them OutIntervention. An academic intervention is a strategy used to teach a new skill, build fluency in a skill, or encourage a child to apply an existing skill to new situations or settings. An intervention can be thought of as “a set of actions that, when taken, have demonstrated ability to change a fixed educational trajectory” (Methe & Riley-Tillman, 2008; p. 37).

9 Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations & Modifications: Sorting Them OutAccommodation. An accommodation is intended to help the student to fully access and participate in the general-education curriculum without changing the instructional content and without reducing the student’s rate of learning (Skinner, Pappas & Davis, 2005). An accommodation is intended to remove barriers to learning while still expecting that students will master the same instructional content as their typical peers. Accommodation example 1: Students are allowed to supplement silent reading of a novel by listening to the book on tape. Accommodation example 2: For unmotivated students, the instructor breaks larger assignments into smaller ‘chunks’ and providing students with performance feedback and praise for each completed ‘chunk’ of assigned work (Skinner, Pappas & Davis, 2005).

10 “Teaching is giving; it isn’t taking away“Teaching is giving; it isn’t taking away.” (Howell, Hosp & Kurns, 2008; p. 356). “ ” Source: Howell, K. W., Hosp, J. L., & Kurns, S. (2008). Best practices in curriculum-based evaluation. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp ). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists..

11 Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations & Modifications: Sorting Them OutModification. A modification changes the expectations of what a student is expected to know or do—typically by lowering the academic standards against which the student is to be evaluated. Examples of modifications: Giving a student five math computation problems for practice instead of the 20 problems assigned to the rest of the class Letting the student consult course notes during a test when peers are not permitted to do so

12 Reading Interventions to Promote Fluency & Comprehension Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org

13 “Risk for reading failure always involves the interaction of a particular set of child characteristics with specific characteristics of the instructional environment. Risk status is not entirely inherent in the child, but always involves a “mismatch” between child characteristics and the instruction that is provided.” (Foorman & Torgesen, 2001; p. 206). “ ” Source: Foorman, B. R., & Torgesen, J. (2001). Critical elements of classroom and small-group instruction promote reading success in all children. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 16,

14 Savvy Teacher’s Guide: Reading Interventions That Work(Wright, 2000)

15 Big Ideas in Beginning Reading“Phonemic Awareness: The ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words. Alphabetic Principle: The ability to associate sounds with letters and use these sounds to form words. Fluency with Text: The effortless, automatic ability to read words in connected text. Vocabulary: The ability to understand (receptive) and use (expressive) words to acquire and convey meaning. Comprehension: The complex cognitive process involving the intentional interaction between reader and text to convey meaning.” Source: Big ideas in beginning reading. University of Oregon. Retrieved September 23, 2007, from

16 Building Reading Fluency

17 CBM Student Reading Samples: What Difference Does Fluency Make?3rd Grade: 19 Words Per Minute

18 CBM Student Reading Samples: What Difference Does Fluency Make?3rd Grade: 70 Words Per Minute

19 CBM Student Reading Samples: What Difference Does Fluency Make?3rd Grade: 98 Words Per Minute

20 NRP Conclusions Regarding Importance of Oral Reading Fluency:“An extensive review of the literature indicates that classroom practices that encourage repeated oral reading with feedback and guidance leads to meaningful improvements in reading expertise for students—for good readers as well as those who are experiencing difficulties.”-p. 3-3

21 Interventions for…Increasing Reading FluencyAssisted Reading Practice Listening Passage Preview (‘Listening While Reading’) Paired Reading Repeated Reading

22 The student reads aloud in tandem with an accomplished readerThe student reads aloud in tandem with an accomplished reader. At a student signal, the helping reader stops reading, while the student continues on. When the student commits a reading error, the helping reader resumes reading in tandem. Paired Reading

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24 Building Reading Comprehension

25 ‘Click or Clunk’ Self-CheckStudents periodically check their understanding of sentences, paragraphs, and pages of text as they read. When students encounter problems with vocabulary or comprehension, they use a checklist to apply simple strategies to solve those reading difficulties. ‘Click or Clunk’ Self-Check

26 ‘Click or Clunk’ Check Sheet

27 ‘Click or Clunk?’ Example‘…The combination of lack of practice, deficient decoding skills, and difficult materials results in unrewarding early reading experiences that lead to less involvement in reading related activities. Lack of exposure and practice on the part of the less skilled readers delays the development of automaticity and speed at the word-metacognition level. Slow, capacity-draining word-recognition processes require cognitive resources that should be allocated to higher-level process of text integration and comprehension.’ - Stanovich, K., (1986) ‘…The combination of lack of practice, deficient decoding skills, and difficult materials results in unrewarding early reading experiences that lead to less involvement in reading related activities. Lack of exposure and practice on the part of the less skilled readers delays the development of automaticity and speed at the word-metacognition level. Slow, capacity-draining word-recognition processes require cognitive resources that should be allocated to higher-level process of text integration and comprehension.’ - Stanovich, K., (1986) ‘…The combination of lack of practice, deficient decoding skills, and difficult materials results in unrewarding early reading experiences that lead to less involvement in reading related activities. Lack of exposure and practice on the part of the less skilled readers delays the development of automaticity and speed at the word-metacognition level. Slow, capacity-draining word-recognition processes require cognitive resources that should be allocated to higher-level process of text integration and comprehension.’ - Stanovich, K., (1986) ‘…The combination of lack of practice, deficient decoding skills, and difficult materials results in unrewarding early reading experiences that lead to less involvement in reading related activities. Lack of exposure and practice on the part of the less skilled readers delays the development of automaticity and speed at the word-metacognition level. Slow, capacity-draining word-recognition processes require cognitive resources that should be allocated to higher-level process of text integration and comprehension.’ - Stanovich, K., (1986) ‘…The combination of lack of practice, deficient decoding skills, and difficult materials results in unrewarding early reading experiences that lead to less involvement in reading related activities. Lack of exposure and practice on the part of the less skilled readers delays the development of automaticity and speed at the word-metacognition level. Slow, capacity-draining word-recognition processes require cognitive resources that should be allocated to higher-level process of text integration and comprehension.’ - Stanovich, K., (1986) ‘…The combination of lack of practice, deficient decoding skills, and difficult materials results in unrewarding early reading experiences that lead to less involvement in reading related activities. Lack of exposure and practice on the part of the less skilled readers delays the development of automaticity and speed at the word-metacognition level. Slow, capacity-draining word-recognition processes require cognitive resources that should be allocated to higher-level process of text integration and comprehension.’ - Stanovich, K., (1986)

28 Promoting Student Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills Jim Wright wwwPromoting Student Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills Jim Wright

29 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A ToolkitGood readers continuously monitor their understanding of informational text. When necessary, they also take steps to improve their understanding of text through use of reading comprehension ‘fix-up’ skills. Presented here are a series of fix-up skill strategies that can help struggling students to better understand difficult reading assignments…

30 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)[Core Instruction] Providing Main Idea Practice through ‘Partner Retell’ (Carnine & Carnine, 2004). Students in a group or class are assigned a text selection to read silently. Students are then paired off, with one student assigned the role of ‘reteller’ and the other appointed as ‘listener’. The reteller recounts the main idea to the listener, who can comment or ask questions. The teacher then states the main idea to the class. Next, the reteller locates two key details from the reading that support the main idea and shares these with the listener. At the end of the activity, the teacher does a spot check by randomly calling on one or more students in the listener role and asking them to recap what information was shared by the reteller.

31 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)[Accommodation] Developing a Bank of Multiple Passages to Present Challenging Concepts (Hedin & Conderman, 2010; Kamil et al., 2008; Texas Reading Initiative, 2002). The teacher notes which course concepts, cognitive strategies, or other information will likely present the greatest challenge to students. For these ‘challenge’ topics, the teacher selects alternative readings that present the same general information and review the same key vocabulary as the course text but that are more accessible to struggling readers (e.g., with selections written at an easier reading level or that use graphics to visually illustrate concepts). These alternative selections are organized into a bank that students can access as a source of ‘wide reading’ material.

32 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)[Student Strategy] Promoting Understanding & Building Endurance through Reading-Reflection Pauses (Hedin & Conderman, 2010). The student decides on a reading interval (e.g., every four sentences; every 3 minutes; at the end of each paragraph). At the end of each interval, the student pauses briefly to recall the main points of the reading. If the student has questions or is uncertain about the content, the student rereads part or all of the section just read. This strategy is useful both for students who need to monitor their understanding as well as those who benefit from brief breaks when engaging in intensive reading as a means to build up endurance as attentive readers.

33 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)[Student Strategy] Identifying or Constructing Main Idea Sentences (Davey & McBride, 1986; Rosenshine, Meister & Chapman, 1996). For each paragraph in an assigned reading, the student either (a) highlights the main idea sentence or (b) highlights key details and uses them to write a ‘gist’ sentence. The student then writes the main idea of that paragraph on an index card. On the other side of the card, the student writes a question whose answer is that paragraph’s main idea sentence. This stack of ‘main idea’ cards becomes a useful tool to review assigned readings.

34 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)[Student Strategy] Restructuring Paragraphs with Main Idea First to Strengthen ‘Rereads’ (Hedin & Conderman, 2010). The student highlights or creates a main idea sentence for each paragraph in the assigned reading. When rereading each paragraph of the selection, the student (1) reads the main idea sentence or student-generated ‘gist’ sentence first (irrespective of where that sentence actually falls in the paragraph); (2) reads the remainder of the paragraph, and (3) reflects on how the main idea relates to the paragraph content.

35 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)[Student Strategy] Summarizing Readings (Boardman et al., 2008). The student is taught to summarize readings into main ideas and essential details--stripped of superfluous content. The act of summarizing longer readings can promote understanding and retention of content while the summarized text itself can be a useful study tool.

36 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)[Student Strategy] Linking Pronouns to Referents (Hedin & Conderman, 2010). Some readers lose the connection between pronouns and the nouns that they refer to (known as ‘referents’)—especially when reading challenging text. The student is encouraged to circle pronouns in the reading, to explicitly identify each pronoun’s referent, and (optionally) to write next to the pronoun the name of its referent. For example, the student may add the referent to a pronoun in this sentence from a biology text: “The Cambrian Period is the first geological age that has large numbers of multi-celled organisms associated with it Cambrian Period.”

37 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)Student Strategy] Apply Vocabulary ‘Fix-Up’ Skills for Unknown Words (Klingner & Vaughn, 1999). When confronting an unknown word in a reading selection, the student applies the following vocabulary ‘fix-up’ skills: Read the sentence again. Read the sentences before and after the problem sentence for clues to the word’s meaning. See if there are prefixes or suffixes in the word that can give clues to meaning. Break the word up by syllables and look for ‘smaller words’ within.

38 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)[Student Strategy] Compiling a Vocabulary Journal from Course Readings (Hedin & Conderman, 2010). The student highlights new or unfamiliar vocabulary from course readings. The student writes each term into a vocabulary journal, using a standard ‘sentence-stem’ format: e.g., “Mitosis means…” or “A chloroplast is…”. If the student is unable to generate a definition for a vocabulary term based on the course reading, he or she writes the term into the vocabulary journal without definition and then applies other strategies to define the term: e.g., look up the term in a dictionary; use Google to locate two examples of the term being used correctly in context; ask the instructor, etc.).

39 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)[Student Strategy] Encouraging Student Use of Text Enhancements (Hedin & Conderman, 2010). Text enhancements can be used to tag important vocabulary terms, key ideas, or other reading content. If working with photocopied material, the student can use a highlighter to note key ideas or vocabulary. Another enhancement strategy is the ‘lasso and rope’ technique—using a pen or pencil to circle a vocabulary term and then drawing a line that connects that term to its underlined definition. If working from a textbook, the student can cut sticky notes into strips. These strips can be inserted in the book as pointers to text of interest. They can also be used as temporary labels—e.g., for writing a vocabulary term and its definition.

40 Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)[Student Strategy] Reading Actively Through Text Annotation (Harris, 1990; Sarkisian et al., 2003). Students are likely to increase their retention of information when they interact actively with their reading by jotting comments in the margin of the text. Using photocopies, the student is taught to engage in an ongoing 'conversation' with the writer by recording a running series of brief comments in the margins of the text. The student may write annotations to record opinions about points raised by the writer, questions triggered by the reading, or unknown vocabulary words.

41 HELPS Program

42 Improving the Integrity of Academic Interventions Through a Critical-Components ‘Pre-Flight’ Check Jim Wright

43 Academic Interventions ‘Critical Components’ Checklist

44 Academic Interventions ‘Critical Components’ ChecklistThis checklist summarizes the essential components of academic interventions. When preparing a student’s Tier 1, 2, or 3 academic intervention plan, use this document as a ‘pre-flight checklist’ to ensure that the academic intervention is of high quality, is sufficiently strong to address the identified student problem, is fully understood and supported by the teacher, and can be implemented with integrity. NOTE: While the checklist refers to the ‘teacher’ as the interventionist, it can also be used as a guide to ensure the quality of interventions implemented by non-instructional personnel, adult volunteers, parents, and peer (student) tutors.

45 Allocating Sufficient Contact Time & Assuring Appropriate Student-Teacher RatioThe cumulative time set aside for an intervention and the amount of direct teacher contact are two factors that help to determine that intervention’s ‘strength’ (Yeaton & Sechrest, 1981). Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes  Time Allocated. The time set aside for the intervention is appropriate for the type and level of student problem (Burns & Gibbons, 2008; Kratochwill, Clements & Kalymon, 2007). When evaluating whether the amount of time allocated is adequate, consider: Length of each intervention session. Frequency of sessions (e.g.., daily, 3 times per week) Duration of intervention period (e.g., 6 instructional weeks) Student-Teacher Ratio. The student receives sufficient contact from the teacher or other person delivering the intervention to make that intervention effective. NOTE: Generally, supplemental intervention groups should be limited to 6-7 students (Burns & Gibbons, 2008).

46 Matching the Intervention to the Student ProblemAcademic interventions are not selected at random. First, the student academic problem(s) is defined clearly and in detail. Then, the likely explanations for the academic problem(s) are identified to understand which intervention(s) are likely to help—and which should be avoided. Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes  Problem Definition. The student academic problem(s) to be addressed in the intervention are defined in clear, specific, measureable terms (Bergan, 1995; Witt, VanDerHeyden & Gilbertson, 2004). The full problem definition describes: Conditions. Describe the environmental conditions or task demands in place when the academic problem is observed. Problem Description. Describe the actual observable academic behavior in which the student is engaged. Include rate, accuracy, or other quantitative information of student performance. Typical or Expected Level of Performance. Provide a typical or expected performance criterion for this skill or behavior. Typical or expected academic performance can be calculated using a variety of sources,

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48 Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem (Cont.)Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes  Appropriate Target. Selected intervention(s) are appropriate for the identified student problem(s) (Burns, VanDerHeyden & Boice, 2008). TIP: Use the Instructional Hierarchy (Haring et al., 1978) to select academic interventions according to the four stages of learning: Acquisition. The student has begun to learn how to complete the target skill correctly but is not yet accurate in the skill. Interventions should improve accuracy. Fluency. The student is able to complete the target skill accurately but works slowly. Interventions should increase the student’s speed of responding (fluency) as well as to maintain accuracy. Generalization. The student may have acquired the target skill but does not typically use it in the full range of appropriate situations or settings. Or the student may confuse the target skill with ‘similar’ skills. Interventions should get the student to use the skill in the widest possible range of settings and situations, or to accurately discriminate between the target skill and ‘similar’ skills. Adaptation. The student is not yet able to modify or adapt an existing skill to fit novel task-demands or situations. Interventions should help the student to identify key concepts or elements from previously learned skills that can be adapted to the new demands or situations.

49 Matching the Intervention to the Student Problem (Cont.)Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes  ‘Can’t Do/Won’t Do’ Check. The teacher has determined whether the student problem is primarily a skill or knowledge deficit (‘can’t do’) or whether student motivation plays a main or supporting role in academic underperformance (‘wont do’). If motivation appears to be a significant factor contributing to the problem, the intervention plan includes strategies to engage the student (e.g., high interest learning activities; rewards/incentives; increased student choice in academic assignments, etc.) (Skinner, Pappas & Davis, 2005; Witt, VanDerHeyden & Gilbertson, 2004).

50 Activity: Matching the Intervention to the Student ProblemConsider these critical aspects of academic intervention: Clear and specific problem-identification statement (Conditions, Problem Description, Typical/Expected Level of Performance). Appropriate intervention target (e.g., selected intervention is appropriately matched to Acquisition, Fluency, Generalization, or Adaptation phase of Instructional Hierarchy). Can’t Do/Won’t Do Check (Clarification of whether motivation plays a significant role in student academic underperformance). Discuss what challenges might arise in applying any of these concepts when planning classroom interventions.

51 Incorporating Effective Instructional ElementsThese effective ‘building blocks’ of instruction are well-known and well-supported by the research. They should be considered when selecting or creating any academic intervention. Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes  Explicit Instruction. Student skills have been broken down “into manageable and deliberately sequenced steps” and the teacher provided“ overt strategies for students to learn and practice new skills” (Burns, VanDerHeyden & Boice, 2008, p.1153). Appropriate Level of Challenge. The student experienced sufficient success in the academic task(s) to shape learning in the desired direction as well as to maintain student motivation (Burns, VanDerHeyden & Boice, 2008). Active Engagement. The intervention ensures that the student is engaged in ‘active accurate responding’ (Skinner, Pappas & Davis, 2005).at a rate frequent enough to capture student attention and to optimize effective learning. Performance Feedback. The student receives prompt performance feedback about the work completed (Burns, VanDerHeyden & Boice, 2008). Maintenance of Academic Standards. If the intervention includes any accommodations to better support the struggling learner (e.g., preferential seating, breaking a longer assignment into smaller chunks), those accommodations do not substantially lower the academic standards against which the student is to be evaluated and are not likely to reduce the student’s rate of learning (Skinner, Pappas & Davis, 2005).

52 Verifying Teacher Understanding & Providing Teacher SupportThe teacher is an active agent in the intervention, with primary responsibility for putting it into practice in a busy classroom. It is important, then, that the teacher fully understands how to do the intervention, believes that he or she can do it, and knows whom to seek out if there are problems with the intervention. Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes  Teacher Responsibility. The teacher understands his or her responsibility to implement the academic intervention(s) with integrity. Teacher Acceptability. The teacher states that he or she finds the academic intervention feasible and acceptable for the identified student problem. Step-by-Step Intervention Script. The essential steps of the intervention are written as an ‘intervention script’--a series of clearly described steps—to ensure teacher understanding and make implementation easier (Hawkins, Morrison, Musti-Rao & Hawkins, 2008). Intervention Training. If the teacher requires training to carry out the intervention, that training has been arranged. Intervention Elements: Negotiable vs. Non-Negotiable. The teacher knows all of the steps of the intervention. Additionally, the teacher knows which of the intervention steps are ‘non-negotiable’ (they must be completed exactly as designed) and which are ‘negotiable’ (the teacher has some latitude in how to carry out those steps) (Hawkins, Morrison, Musti-Rao & Hawkins, 2008). Assistance With the Intervention. If the intervention cannot be implemented as designed for any reason (e.g., student absence, lack of materials, etc.), the teacher knows how to get assistance quickly to either fix the problem(s) to the current intervention or to change the intervention.

53 Documenting the Intervention & Collecting DataInterventions only have meaning if they are done within a larger data-based context. For example, interventions that lack baseline data, goal(s) for improvement, and a progress-monitoring plan are ‘fatally flawed’ (Witt, VanDerHeyden & Gilbertson, 2004). Critical Item? Intervention Element Notes  Intervention Documentation. The teacher understands and can manage all documentation required for this intervention (e.g., maintaining a log of intervention sessions, etc.). Checkup Date. Before the intervention begins, a future checkup date is selected to review the intervention to determine if it is successful. Time elapsing between the start of the intervention and the checkup date should be short enough to allow a timely review of the intervention but long enough to give the school sufficient time to judge with confidence whether the intervention worked. Baseline. Before the intervention begins, the teacher has collected information about the student’s baseline level of performance in the identified area(s) of academic concern (Witt, VanDerHeyden & Gilbertson, 2004). Goal. Before the intervention begins, the teacher has set a specific goal for predicted student improvement to use as a minimum standard for success (Witt, VanDerHeyden & Gilbertson, 2004). The goal is the expected student outcome by the checkup date if the intervention is successful. Progress-Monitoring. During the intervention, the teacher collects progress-monitoring data of sufficient quality and at a sufficient frequency to determine at the checkup date whether that intervention is successful (Witt, VanDerHeyden & Gilbertson, 2004).

54 References Bergan, J. R. (1995). Evolution of a problem-solving model of consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 6(2), Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools. Routledge: New York. Burns, M. K., VanDerHeyden, A. M., & Boice, C. H. (2008). Best practices in intensive academic interventions. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp ). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists. Haring, N.G., Lovitt, T.C., Eaton, M.D., & Hansen, C.L. (1978). The fourth R: Research in the classroom. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co. Hawkins, R. O., Morrison, J. Q., Musti-Rao, S., & Hawkins, J. A. (2008). Treatment integrity for academic interventions in real- world settings. School Psychology Forum, 2(3), 1-15. Kratochwill, T. R., Clements, M. A., & Kalymon, K. M. (2007). Response to intervention: Conceptual and methodological issues in implementation. In Jimerson, S. R., Burns, M. K., & VanDerHeyden, A. M. (Eds.), Handbook of response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention. New York: Springer. Skinner, C. H., Pappas, D. N., & Davis, K. A. (2005). Enhancing academic engagement: Providing opportunities for responding and influencing students to choose to respond. Psychology in the Schools, 42, Witt, J. C., VanDerHeyden, A. M., & Gilbertson, D. (2004). Troubleshooting behavioral interventions. A systematic process for finding and eliminating problems. School Psychology Review, 33,   Yeaton, W. M. & Sechrest, L. (1981). Critical dimensions in the choice and maintenance of successful treatments: Strength, integrity, and effectiveness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49,

55 Activity: Using the Academic Interventions ‘Critical Components’ ChecklistIn your teams: Discuss the Academic Interventions ‘Critical Components’ Checklist. How might your school use this checklist to improve the quality of your building’s interventions at Tiers 1, 2, and/or 3?

56 Scheduling Elementary Tier 2 InterventionsOption 3: ‘Floating RTI’:Gradewide Shared Schedule. Each grade has a scheduled RTI time across classrooms. No two grades share the same RTI time. Advantages are that outside providers can move from grade to grade providing push-in or pull-out services and that students can be grouped by need across different teachers within the grade. Anyplace Elementary School: RTI Daily Schedule Grade K Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 9:00-9:30 Grade 1 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 9:45-10:15 Grade 2 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 10:30-11:00 Grade 3 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 12:30-1:00 Grade 4 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 1:15-1:45 Grade 5 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 2:00-2:30 Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools: Procedures to assure scientific-based practices. New York: Routledge.

57 RTI: Best Practices in Mathematics Interventions Jim Wright wwwRTI: Best Practices in Mathematics Interventions Jim Wright

58 National Mathematics Advisory Panel Report 13 March 2008

59 Math Advisory Panel Report at: http://www.ed.gov/mathpanel

60 2008 National Math Advisory Panel Report: Recommendations“The areas to be studied in mathematics from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade should be streamlined and a well-defined set of the most important topics should be emphasized in the early grades. Any approach that revisits topics year after year without bringing them to closure should be avoided.” “Proficiency with whole numbers, fractions, and certain aspects of geometry and measurement are the foundations for algebra. Of these, knowledge of fractions is the most important foundational skill not developed among American students.” “Conceptual understanding, computational and procedural fluency, and problem solving skills are equally important and mutually reinforce each other. Debates regarding the relative importance of each of these components of mathematics are misguided.” “Students should develop immediate recall of arithmetic facts to free the “working memory” for solving more complex problems.” Source: National Math Panel Fact Sheet. (March 2008). Retrieved on March 14, 2008, from

61 An RTI Challenge: Limited Research to Support Evidence-Based Math Interventions“… in contrast to reading, core math programs that are supported by research, or that have been constructed according to clear research-based principles, are not easy to identify. Not only have exemplary core programs not been identified, but also there are no tools available that we know of that will help schools analyze core math programs to determine their alignment with clear research-based principles.” p. 459 Source: Clarke, B., Baker, S., & Chard, D. (2008). Best practices in mathematics assessment and intervention with elementary students. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp ).

62 Profile of Students With Significant Math DifficultiesSpatial organization. The student commits errors such as misaligning numbers in columns in a multiplication problem or confusing directionality in a subtraction problem (and subtracting the original number—minuend—from the figure to be subtracted (subtrahend). Visual detail. The student misreads a mathematical sign or leaves out a decimal or dollar sign in the answer. Procedural errors. The student skips or adds a step in a computation sequence. Or the student misapplies a learned rule from one arithmetic procedure when completing another, different arithmetic procedure. Inability to ‘shift psychological set’. The student does not shift from one operation type (e.g., addition) to another (e.g., multiplication) when warranted. Graphomotor. The student’s poor handwriting can cause him or her to misread handwritten numbers, leading to errors in computation. Memory. The student fails to remember a specific math fact needed to solve a problem. (The student may KNOW the math fact but not be able to recall it at ‘point of performance’.) Judgment and reasoning. The student comes up with solutions to problems that are clearly unreasonable. However, the student is not able adequately to evaluate those responses to gauge whether they actually make sense in context. Source: Rourke, B. P. (1993). Arithmetic disabilities, specific & otherwise: A neuropsychological perspective. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26,

63 “Mathematics is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs, and 50 percent imagination.” –Anonymous

64 The Elements of Mathematical Proficiency: What the Experts Say…

65 5 Strands of Mathematical Proficiency 5 Big Ideas in Beginning ReadingSource: National Research Council. (2002). Helping children learn mathematics. Mathematics Learning Study Committee, J. Kilpatrick & J. Swafford, Editors, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 5 Strands of Mathematical Proficiency Understanding Computing Applying Reasoning Engagement 5 Big Ideas in Beginning Reading Phonemic Awareness Alphabetic Principle Fluency with Text Vocabulary Comprehension Source: Big ideas in beginning reading. University of Oregon. Retrieved September 23, 2007, from

66 Five Strands of Mathematical ProficiencyUnderstanding: Comprehending mathematical concepts, operations, and relations--knowing what mathematical symbols, diagrams, and procedures mean. Computing: Carrying out mathematical procedures, such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately. Applying: Being able to formulate problems mathematically and to devise strategies for solving them using concepts and procedures appropriately. Source: National Research Council. (2002). Helping children learn mathematics. Mathematics Learning Study Committee, J. Kilpatrick & J. Swafford, Editors, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

67 Five Strands of Mathematical Proficiency (Cont.)Reasoning: Using logic to explain and justify a solution to a problem or to extend from something known to something less known. Engaging: Seeing mathematics as sensible, useful, and doable—if you work at it—and being willing to do the work. Source: National Research Council. (2002). Helping children learn mathematics. Mathematics Learning Study Committee, J. Kilpatrick & J. Swafford, Editors, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

68 Math Computation: Building Fluency Jim Wright www. interventioncentralMath Computation: Building Fluency Jim Wright

69 "Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your shoes." –Anonymous

70 Benefits of Automaticity of ‘Arithmetic Combinations’ (Gersten, Jordan, & Flojo, 2005)There is a strong correlation between poor retrieval of arithmetic combinations (‘math facts’) and global math delays Automatic recall of arithmetic combinations frees up student ‘cognitive capacity’ to allow for understanding of higher-level problem-solving By internalizing numbers as mental constructs, students can manipulate those numbers in their head, allowing for the intuitive understanding of arithmetic properties, such as associative property and commutative property Source: Gersten, R., Jordan, N. C., & Flojo, J. R. (2005). Early identification and interventions for students with mathematics difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38,

71 (2+3)+5=10 2+(3+5)=10 Associative Property“within an expression containing two or more of the same associative operators in a row, the order of operations does not matter as long as the sequence of the operands is not changed” Example: (2+3)+5=10 2+(3+5)=10 Source: Associativity. Wikipedia. Retrieved September 5, 2007, from

72 2+3+5=10 2+5+3=10 Commutative Property“the ability to change the order of something without changing the end result.” Example: 2+3+5=10 2+5+3=10 Source: Associativity. Wikipedia. Retrieved September 5, 2007, from

73 Big Ideas: Learn Unit (Heward, 1996)The three essential elements of effective student learning include: Academic Opportunity to Respond. The student is presented with a meaningful opportunity to respond to an academic task. A question posed by the teacher, a math word problem, and a spelling item on an educational computer ‘Word Gobbler’ game could all be considered academic opportunities to respond. Active Student Response. The student answers the item, solves the problem presented, or completes the academic task. Answering the teacher’s question, computing the answer to a math word problem (and showing all work), and typing in the correct spelling of an item when playing an educational computer game are all examples of active student responding. Performance Feedback. The student receives timely feedback about whether his or her response is correct—often with praise and encouragement. A teacher exclaiming ‘Right! Good job!’ when a student gives an response in class, a student using an answer key to check her answer to a math word problem, and a computer message that says ‘Congratulations! You get 2 points for correctly spelling this word!” are all examples of performance feedback. Source: Heward, W.L. (1996). Three low-tech strategies for increasing the frequency of active student response during group instruction. In R. Gardner, D. M.S ainato, J. O. Cooper, T. E. Heron, W. L. Heward, J. W. Eshleman,& T. A. Grossi (Eds.), Behavior analysis in education: Focus on measurably superior instruction (pp ). Pacific Grove, CA:Brooks/Cole.

74 Math Intervention: Tier I or II: Elementary & Secondary: Self-Administered Arithmetic Combination Drills With Performance Self-Monitoring & Incentives p. 35 The student is given a math computation worksheet of a specific problem type, along with an answer key [Academic Opportunity to Respond]. The student consults his or her performance chart and notes previous performance. The student is encouraged to try to ‘beat’ his or her most recent score. The student is given a pre-selected amount of time (e.g., 5 minutes) to complete as many problems as possible. The student sets a timer and works on the computation sheet until the timer rings. [Active Student Responding] The student checks his or her work, giving credit for each correct digit (digit of correct value appearing in the correct place-position in the answer). [Performance Feedback] The student records the day’s score of TOTAL number of correct digits on his or her personal performance chart. The student receives praise or a reward if he or she exceeds the most recently posted number of correct digits. Application of ‘Learn Unit’ framework from : Heward, W.L. (1996). Three low-tech strategies for increasing the frequency of active student response during group instruction. In R. Gardner, D. M.S ainato, J. O. Cooper, T. E. Heron, W. L. Heward, J. W. Eshleman,& T. A. Grossi (Eds.), Behavior analysis in education: Focus on measurably superior instruction (pp ). Pacific Grove, CA:Brooks/Cole.

75 Self-Administered Arithmetic Combination Drills…Reward Given Reward Given Reward Given Reward Given No Reward No Reward No Reward

76 Cover-Copy-Compare: Math Computational Fluency-Building InterventionThe student is given sheet with correctly completed math problems in left column and index card. For each problem, the student: studies the model covers the model with index card copies the problem from memory solves the problem uncovers the correctly completed model to check answer Source: Skinner, C.H., Turco, T.L., Beatty, K.L., & Rasavage, C. (1989). Cover, copy, and compare: A method for increasing multiplication performance. School Psychology Review, 18,

77 Math Computation: Problem Interspersal Technique p. 30The teacher first identifies the range of ‘challenging’ problem-types (number problems appropriately matched to the student’s current instructional level) that are to appear on the worksheet. Then the teacher creates a series of ‘easy’ problems that the students can complete very quickly (e.g., adding or subtracting two 1-digit numbers). The teacher next prepares a series of student math computation worksheets with ‘easy’ computation problems interspersed at a fixed rate among the ‘challenging’ problems. If the student is expected to complete the worksheet independently, ‘challenging’ and ‘easy’ problems should be interspersed at a 1:1 ratio (that is, every ‘challenging’ problem in the worksheet is preceded and/or followed by an ‘easy’ problem). If the student is to have the problems read aloud and then asked to solve the problems mentally and write down only the answer, the items should appear on the worksheet at a ratio of 3 ‘challenging’ problems for every ‘easy’ one (that is, every 3 ‘challenging’ problems are preceded and/or followed by an ‘easy’ one). Source: Hawkins, J., Skinner, C. H., & Oliver, R. (2005). The effects of task demands and additive interspersal ratios on fifth-grade students’ mathematics accuracy. School Psychology Review, 34,

78 Building Student Skills in Applied Math Problems Jim Wright wwwBuilding Student Skills in Applied Math Problems Jim Wright

79 How Do We Reach Low-Performing Math StudentsHow Do We Reach Low-Performing Math Students?: Instructional Recommendations Important elements of math instruction for low-performing students: “Providing teachers and students with data on student performance” “Using peers as tutors or instructional guides” “Providing clear, specific feedback to parents on their children’s mathematics success” “Using principles of explicit instruction in teaching math concepts and procedures.” p. 51 Source: Baker, S., Gersten, R., & Lee, D. (2002).A synthesis of empirical research on teaching mathematics to low-achieving students. The Elementary School Journal, 103(1),

80 Developing Student Metacognitive Abilities

81 Importance of Metacognitive Strategy Use…“Metacognitive processes focus on self-awareness of cognitive knowledge that is presumed to be necessary for effective problem solving, and they direct and regulate cognitive processes and strategies during problem solving…That is, successful problem solvers, consciously or unconsciously (depending on task demands), use self-instruction, self-questioning, and self-monitoring to gain access to strategic knowledge, guide execution of strategies, and regulate use of strategies and problem-solving performance.” p. 231 Source: Montague, M. (1992). The effects of cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction on the mathematical problem solving of middle school students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25,

82 Elements of Metacognitive Processes“Self-instruction helps students to identify and direct the problem-solving strategies prior to execution. Self-questioning promotes internal dialogue for systematically analyzing problem information and regulating execution of cognitive strategies. Self-monitoring promotes appropriate use of specific strategies and encourages students to monitor general performance. [Emphasis added].” p. 231 Source: Montague, M. (1992). The effects of cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction on the mathematical problem solving of middle school students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25,

83 Combining Cognitive & Metacognitive Strategies to Assist Students With Mathematical Problem Solving p. 37 Solving an advanced math problem independently requires the coordination of a number of complex skills. The following strategies combine both cognitive and metacognitive elements (Montague, 1992; Montague & Dietz, 2009). First, the student is taught a 7-step process for attacking a math word problem (cognitive strategy). Second, the instructor trains the student to use a three-part self-coaching routine for each of the seven problem-solving steps (metacognitive strategy).

84 Cognitive Portion of Combined Problem Solving Approach p. 37In the cognitive part of this multi-strategy intervention, the student learns an explicit series of steps to analyze and solve a math problem. Those steps include: Reading the problem. The student reads the problem carefully, noting and attempting to clear up any areas of uncertainly or confusion (e.g., unknown vocabulary terms). Paraphrasing the problem. The student restates the problem in his or her own words. ‘Drawing’ the problem. The student creates a drawing of the problem, creating a visual representation of the word problem. Creating a plan to solve the problem. The student decides on the best way to solve the problem and develops a plan to do so. Predicting/Estimating the answer. The student estimates or predicts what the answer to the problem will be. The student may compute a quick approximation of the answer, using rounding or other shortcuts. Computing the answer. The student follows the plan developed earlier to compute the answer to the problem. Checking the answer. The student methodically checks the calculations for each step of the problem. The student also compares the actual answer to the estimated answer calculated in a previous step to ensure that there is general agreement between the two values.

85 Metacognitive Portion of Combined Problem Solving ApproachThe metacognitive component of the intervention is a three-part routine that follows a sequence of ‘Say’, ‘Ask, ‘Check’. For each of the 7 problem-solving steps reviewed above: The student first self-instructs by stating, or ‘saying’, the purpose of the step (‘Say’). The student next self-questions by ‘asking’ what he or she intends to do to complete the step (‘Ask’). The student concludes the step by self-monitoring, or ‘checking’, the successful completion of the step (‘Check’).

86 Combined Cognitive & Metacognitive Elements of Strategy

87 Combined Cognitive & Metacognitive Elements of Strategy

88 Combined Cognitive & Metacognitive Elements of Strategy

89 Combined Cognitive & Metacognitive Elements of Strategy

90 Combined Cognitive & Metacognitive Elements of Strategy

91 Combined Cognitive & Metacognitive Elements of Strategy

92 Combined Cognitive & Metacognitive Elements of Strategy

93 Applied Problems: Pop QuizQ: “To move their armies, the Romans built over 50,000 miles of roads. Imagine driving all those miles! Now imagine driving those miles in the first gasoline-driven car that has only three wheels and could reach a top speed of about 10 miles per hour. For safety's sake, let's bring along a spare tire. As you drive the 50,000 miles, you rotate the spare with the other tires so that all four tires get the same amount of wear. Can you figure out how many miles of wear each tire accumulates?” Directions: As a team, read the following problem. At your tables, apply the 7-step problem-solving (cognitive) strategy to complete the problem. As you complete each step of the problem, apply the ‘Say-Ask-Check’ metacognitive sequence. Try to complete the entire 7 steps within the time allocated for this exercise. 7-Step Problem-Solving:Process Reading the problem. Paraphrasing the problem. ‘Drawing’ the problem. Creating a plan to solve the problem. Predicting/Estimat- ing the answer. Computing the answer. Checking the answer. A: “Since the four wheels of the three-wheeled car share the journey equally, simply take three-fourths of the total distance (50,000 miles) and you'll get 37,500 miles for each tire.” Source: The Math Drexel: Critical Thinking Puzzles/Spare My Brain. Retrieved from

94 Activity: Tier 1 Interventions

95 Interventions General Reading Ideas: pp. 7-11Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills: pp General Math Ideas: pp Specific Math Intervention Scripts: pp General Writing Ideas: pp General Study/Organizational Skills: pp

96 Tier I Intervention Menu: ActivitySelect one academic area from the previous slide and review the ideas presented. Select at least ONE core instructional strategy or Tier 1 intervention that you believe that all teachers in your grade-level, department, or school should have in their Tier 1 ‘toolkit’. Be prepared to report out.

97 RTI: Writing Interventions Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org

98 "If all the grammarians in the world were placed end to end, it would be a good thing."Oscar Wilde

99 Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools – A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC Alliance for Excellent Education. Retrieved from WritingNext.pdf

100 The Effect of Grammar Instruction as an Independent Activity“Grammar instruction in the studies reviewed [for the Writing Next report] involved the explicit and systematic teaching of the parts of speech and structure of sentences. The meta-analysis found an effect for this type of instruction for students across the full range of ability, but …surprisingly, this effect was negative…Such findings raise serious questions about some educators’ enthusiasm for traditional grammar instruction as a focus of writing instruction for adolescents….Overall, the findings on grammar instruction suggest that, although teaching grammar is important, alternative procedures, such as sentence combining, are more effective than traditional approaches for improving the quality of students’ writing.” p. 21 Source: Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools – A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC Alliance for Excellent Education.

101 Elements of effective writing instruction for adolescents:Writing Process (Effect Size = 0.82): Students are taught a process for planning, revising, and editing. Summarizing (Effect Size = 0.82): Students are taught methods to identify key points, main ideas from readings to write summaries of source texts. Cooperative Learning Activities (‘Collaborative Writing’) (Effect Size = 0.75): Students are placed in pairs or groups with learning activities that focus on collaborative use of the writing process. Goal-Setting (Effect Size = 0.70): Students set specific ‘product goals’ for their writing and then check their attainment of those self-generated goals. Source: Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools – A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC Alliance for Excellent Education. Retrieved from

102 Elements of effective writing instruction for adolescents:Writing Processors (Effect Size = 0.55): Students have access to computers/word processors in the writing process. Sentence Combining (Effect Size = 0.50): Students take part in instructional activities that require the combination or embedding of simpler sentences (e.g., Noun-Verb-Object) to generate more advanced, complex sentences. Prewriting (Effect Size = 0.32): Students learn to select, develop, or organize ideas to incorporate into their writing by participating in structured ‘pre-writing’ activities. Inquiry Activities (Effect Size = 0.32): Students become actively engaged researchers, collecting and analyzing information to guide the ideas and content for writing assignments. Source: Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools – A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC Alliance for Excellent Education. Retrieved from

103 Elements of effective writing instruction for adolescents:Process Writing (Effect Size = 0.32): Writing instruction is taught in a ‘workshop’ format that “ stresses extended writing opportunities, writing for authentic audiences, personalized instruction, and cycles of writing” (Graham & Perin, 2007; p. 4). Use of Writing Models (Effect Size = 0.25): Students read and discuss models of good writing and use them as exemplars for their own writing. Writing to Learn Content (Effect Size = 0.23): The instructor incorporates writing activities as a means to have students learn content material. Source: Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools – A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC Alliance for Excellent Education. Retrieved from

104 "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." Mark Twain

105 "Your manuscript is both good and original"Your manuscript is both good and original. But the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good." Samuel Johnson

106 Selected Writing Interventions

107 Use Selective Proofreading With Highlighting of ErrorsTo prevent struggling writers from becoming overwhelmed by teacher proofreading corrections, select only 1 or 2 proofreading areas when correcting a writing assignment. Create a student ‘writing skills checklist’ that inventories key writing competencies (e.g., grammar/syntax, spelling, vocabulary, etc.). For each writing assignment, announce to students that you will grade the assignment for overall content but will make proofreading corrections on only 1-2 areas chosen from the writing skills checklist. (Select different proofreading targets for each assignment matched to common writing weaknesses in your classroom.)

108 Use Selective Proofreading With Highlighting of Errors: Cont.To prevent cluttering the student’s paper with potentially discouraging teacher comments and editing marks: underline problems in the student’ text with a highlighter and number the highlighted errors sequentially at the left margin of the student paper. write teacher comments on a separate feedback sheet to explain the writing errors. Identify each comment with the matching error-number from the left margin of the student’s worksheet. TIP: Have students use this method when proofreading their own text.

109 Selective Proofreading With Highlighting of ErrorsJimmy Smith Dec 1, 2006 Mrs. Richman Spelling; Run-on and incomplete sentences 1 Rewrite this run-on sentence as two separate sentences. 2 Not clear. Rewrite. Consider starting the sentence with ‘The concept of …’

110 "A ratio of failures is built into the process of writing"A ratio of failures is built into the process of writing. The wastebasket has evolved for a reason." Margaret Atwood

111 Sentence Combining Students with poor writing skills often write sentences that lack ‘syntactic maturity’. Their sentences often follow a simple, stereotyped format. A promising approach to teach students use of diverse sentence structures is through sentence combining. In sentence combining, students are presented with kernel sentences and given explicit instruction in how to weld these kernel sentences into more diverse sentence types either by using connecting words to combine multiple sentences into one or by isolating key information from an otherwise superfluous sentence and embedding that important information into the base sentence. Sources: Saddler, B. (2005). Sentence combining: A sentence-level writing intervention. The Reading Teacher, 58, Strong, W. (1986). Creative approaches to sentence combining. Urbana, OL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skill & National Council of Teachers of English.

112 Formatting Sentence Combining Examples

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116 Sentence Combining: Activity Pair off & discuss…Discuss how content-area / general-education teachers could use sentence-combining as a classroom strategy to promote writing skills as well as content.

117 Interventions to Help Study Skills

118 Homework Contract Intended Purpose:This homework contract intervention (adapted from Miller & Kelly, 1994) uses goal-setting, a written contract, and rewards to boost student completion (and accuracy) of homework. Students also learn the valuable skills of breaking down academic assignments into smaller, more manageable subtasks and setting priorities for work completion.

119 Homework Contract: Form

120 Homework Contract Parents are trained to be supportive ‘homework coaches’. The parent creates a homework reward system for the child. The parent negotiates the homework contract program with the child. The parent and child fill out the Daily Homework Contract. The parent checks the child’s homework completion, delivers nightly & weekly rewards.

121 Homework Contract: Tips & TroubleshootingIf the parent finds the Homework Contract program too burdensome, have an afterschool program implement it. The teacher may choose to monitor homework completion and send a note home to the parent, who provides the reward.

122 Homework Contract: Tips & TroubleshootingIf the parent finds the Homework Contract program too burdensome, have an afterschool program implement it. The teacher may choose to monitor homework completion and send a note home to the parent, who provides the reward.

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124 Guided Notes: Helping Students to Master Course Content pGuided Notes: Helping Students to Master Course Content p. 43 Jim Wright

125 Guided Notes Description: The student is given a copy of notes summarizing content from a class lecture or assigned reading. Blanks are inserted in the notes where key facts or concepts should appear. As information is covered during lecture or in a reading assignment, the student writes missing content into blanks to complete the guided notes. Guided notes promote active engagement during lecture or independent reading, provide full and accurate notes for use as a study guide, and help students to identify the most important information covered (Heward, 2001).

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127 Guided Notes: RecommendationsKeep guided note entries brief. Shorter guided note entries promote student understanding of content as well as or better than longer entries (Konrad, Joseph & Eveleigh, 2009). Also, short entries can increase student motivation to write in responses. Distribute entry items throughout the guided notes. Guided notes help to promote active student engagement during lecture or reading (Heward, 2001). When entry items are distributed evenly throughout the guided notes, they require higher rates of active student responding (Konrad, Joseph & Eveleigh, 2009), which can both promote mastery of content and increase levels of on-task behavior.

128 Guided Notes: RecommendationsVerify student completion of notes. To ensure that students are actively engaged in completing guided notes, the instructor can occasionally collect and review them for accuracy and completeness (on a random and unpredictable schedule). Have students tally notes-review sessions. Guided notes are a powerful tool for reviewing course content. Students can be encouraged to write a checkmark on the cover of a set of completed guided notes each time that they review them (Lazarus, 1996). These tallies assist students to monitor whether they have adequately reviewed those notes in preparation for quizzes and tests.

129 Guided Notes: RecommendationsFade the use of guided notes. As the class becomes more proficient at note-taking, the instructor can gradually 'fade' the use of guided notes by providing less pre-formatted notes-content and requiring that students write a larger share of the notes on their own (Heward, 1996). Give students responsibility for creating guided notes. Teachers may discover that they can hand some responsibility to their students to prepare guided-notes. For example, as a cooperative-learning exercise, a group of students might be assigned a chapter-section from a biology text and asked to compose a set of guided notes based on its content. The teacher can then review and edit the notes as needed.

130 ‘Big Ideas’ in Student Behavior Management

131 Big Ideas: Similar Behaviors May Stem from Very Different ‘Root’ Causes (Kratochwill, Elliott, & Carrington Rotto, 1990) Behavior is not random but follows purposeful patterns. Students who present with the same apparent ‘surface’ behaviors may have very different ‘drivers’ (underlying reasons) that explain why those behaviors occur. A student’s problem behaviors must be carefully identified and analyzed to determine the drivers that support them. Source: Kratochwill, T. R., Elliott, S. N., & Carrington Rotto, P. (1990). Best practices in behavioral consultation. In A. Thomas and J. Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school psychology-II (pp. 147=169). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Psychologists..

132 Big Ideas: Behavior is a Continuous ‘Stream’ (Schoenfeld & Farmer, 1970)Individuals are always performing SOME type of behavior: watching the instructor, sleeping, talking to a neighbor, completing a worksheet (‘behavior stream’). When students are fully engaged in academic behaviors, they are less likely to get off-task and display problem behaviors. Academic tasks that are clearly understood, elicit student interest, provide a high rate of student success, and include teacher encouragement and feedback are most likely to effectively ‘capture’ the student’s ‘behavior stream’. Source: Schoenfeld, W. N., & Farmer, J. (1970). Reinforcement schedules and the ‘‘behavior stream.’’ In W. N. Schoenfeld (Ed.), The theory of reinforcement schedules (pp. 215–245). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

133 Student academic problems cause many school behavior problems.Big Ideas: Academic Delays Can Be a Potent Cause of Behavior Problems (Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000) Student academic problems cause many school behavior problems. “Whether [a student’s] problem is a behavior problem or an academic one, we recommend starting with a functional academic assessment, since often behavior problems occur when students cannot or will not do required academic work.” Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Noell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West, p. 13

134 ABC: The Core of Behavior Management“....at the core of behavioral interventions is the three-term contingency consisting of an antecedent, behavior, and consequence.” “… subsequent to some type of environmental event (i.e., an antecedent) …” “…which then may be maintained if it is followed by an event that is pleasurable or reinforcing (i.e., consequence).” “That is, most behavior is believed to occur…” A B C Source: Kern, L., Choutka, C. M., & Sokol, N. G. (2002). Assessment-based antecedent interventions used in natural settings to reduce challenging behaviors: An analysis of the literature. Education & Treatment of Children, 25, p. 113.

135 ABC: Events as Antecedents‘Discriminative Stimulus’: An antecedent can become associated with certain desired outcomes and thus ‘trigger’ problem behaviors. The student stares at the paper for a moment—then tears it up. Example: A student is given a math computation worksheet to complete. The student is sent to the office-allowing escape from the task. If the consequence associated with the behavior is reinforcing for the student, then the antecedent or trigger can serve to signal (discriminate) that reinforcement is coming. A B C Source: Kern, L., Choutka, C. M., & Sokol, N. G. (2002). Assessment-based antecedent interventions used in natural settings to reduce challenging behaviors: An analysis of the literature. Education & Treatment of Children, 25, p. 113.

136 Antecedent Strategies to Manage Behavior: Proactive Changes to the Environment“Antecedent interventions typically involve some type of environmental rearrangement. ” Source: Kern, L., Choutka, C. M., & Sokol, N. G. (2002). Assessment-based antecedent interventions used in natural settings to reduce challenging behaviors: An analysis of the literature. Education & Treatment of Children, 25, p. 113.

137 Advantages of Antecedent Strategies vs. ‘Reactive Approaches’Can prevent behavior problems from occurring Are typically ‘quick acting’ Can result in an instructional environment that better promotes student learning Source: Kern, L. & Clemens, N. H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44,

138 Good Behavior Game p. 70 (Barrish, Saunders, & Wold, 1969)

139 Sample Classroom Management Strategy: Good Behavior Game (Barrish, Saunders, & Wold, 1969)The Good Behavior Game is a whole-class intervention to improve student attending and academic engagement. It is best used during structured class time: for example, whole-group instruction or periods of independent seatwork Description: The class is divided into two or more student teams. The teacher defines a small set of 2 to 3 negative behaviors. When a student shows a problem behavior, the teacher assigns a negative behavior ‘point’ to that student’s team. At the end of the Game time period, any team whose number of points falls below a ‘cut-off’ set by the teacher earns a daily reward or privilege. Guidelines for using this intervention: The Game is ideal to use with the entire class during academic study or lecture periods to keep students academically engaged The Game is not suitable for less-structured activities such as cooperative learning groups, where students are expected to interact with each other as part of the work assignment.

140 Good Behavior Game: StepsThe instructor decides when to schedule the Game. (NOTE: Generally, the Good Behavior Game should be used for no more than 45 to 60 minutes per day to maintain its effectiveness.) The instructor defines the 2-3 negative behaviors that will be scored during the Game. Most teachers use these 3 categories: Talking Out: The student talks, calls out, or otherwise verbalizes without teacher permission. Out of Seat: The student’s posterior is not on the seat. Disruptive Behavior: The student engages in any other behavior that the instructor finds distracting or problematic.

141 Good Behavior Game: StepsThe instructor selects a daily reward to be awarded to each member of successful student teams. (HINT: Try to select rewards that are inexpensive or free. For example, student winners might be given a coupon permitting them to skip one homework item that night.) The instructor divides the class into 2 or more teams. The instructor selects a daily cut-off level that represents the maximum number of points that a team is allowed (e.g., 5 points).

142 Good Behavior Game: StepsWhen the Game is being played, the instructor teaches in the usual manner. Whenever the instructor observes student misbehavior during the lesson, the instructor silently assigns a point to that student’s team (e.g., as a tally mark on the board) and continues to teach. When the Game period is over, the teacher tallies each team’s points. Here are the rules for deciding the winner(s) of the Game: Any team whose point total is at or below the pre-determined cut-off earns the daily reward. (NOTE: This means that more than one team can win!) If one team’s point total is above the cut-off level, that team does not earn a reward. If ALL teams have point totals that EXCEED the cut-off level for that day, only the team with the LOWEST number of points wins.

143 Good Behavior Game: TroubleshootingHere are some tips for using the Good Behavior Game: Avoid the temptation to overuse the Game. Limit its use to no more than 45 minutes to an hour per day. If a student engages in repeated bad behavior to sabotage a team and cause it to lose, you can create an additional ‘team of one’ that has only one member--the misbehaving student. This student can still participate in the Game but is no longer able to spoil the Game for peers! If the Game appears to be losing effectiveness, check to be sure it is being implemented with care and that you are: Assigning points consistently when you observe misbehavior. Not allowing yourself to be pulled into arguments with students when you assign points for misbehavior. Reliably giving rewards to Game winners. Not overusing the Game.

144 Team 1 Team 2 Good Behavior Game Cut-Off=2 Game Over [Out of Seat][Call Out] [Disruptive] Answer: Both teams won the Game, as both teams’ point totals fell BELOW the cut-off of 5 points. Question: Which team won this Game?

145 ‘Teacher’s Voice’: Behavior Management Strategies

146 Selecting Rewards That Motivate: Tips for Teachers

147 Praise: Effective…and UnderusedPraise can be an efficient way to raise the compliance level of whole groups or individual students. However, studies show that praise is seldom used with general education students and is used even less often with special-needs students (Kern & Clemens, 2007). Source: Kern, L. & Clemens, N. H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44,

148 How to Structure a Praise Statement“Research has demonstrated that behavior-specific praise, or that which specifically identifies the particular desirable behavior the student is performing, is most effective in promoting appropriate behavior.” (Kern & Clemens, 2007). [Emphasis added] Source: Kern, L. & Clemens, N. H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44,

149 What if the Student Does Not Respond to Praise?Students sometimes do not respond to praise, especially in large-group settings. If so, consider these suggestions: Be sure that your praise is authentic. For example, praise only those aspects of a student’s work or behavior that are truly praise-worthy. Otherwise the student may find the praise to be phony and aversive. Deliver the student praise in private conversations or in written format. The discrete delivery of praise can reduce or prevent potential public embarrassment. For low-performing students, praise effort as well as product. While a struggling writer may write an essay that does not merit high praise, for example, the teacher may instead praise the amount of time that the student was willing to put into the composition and also point out how the current writing product shows improvements over the student’s own previous writing attempts.

150 Tying Reward Schedule to Student’s Stage of the Instructional Hierarchy (Daly, Martens, Barnett, Witt, & Olson, 2007) During acquisition of a skill and early stages of fluency-building, provide reinforcement (e.g., praise, exchangeable tokens) contingent upon on-task behavior (time-based reinforcement). This approach avoids ‘penalizing’ students for slow performance. During later stages of fluency-building, change to reinforcement based on rate of performance (accuracy-based contingency). This approach explicitly reinforces high response rates. As fluency increases, maintain high rates of performance through intermittent reinforcement, lottery, etc. Source: Daly, E. J., Martens, B. K., Barnett, D., Witt, J. C., & Olson, S. C. (2007). Varying intervention delivery in response to intervention: Confronting and resolving challenges with measurement, instruction, and intensity. School Psychology Review, 36,

151 Selecting a Reward: 3-Part TestDo teacher, administration, and parent find the reward acceptable? Is the reward available (conveniently and at an affordable cost) in schools? Does the child find the reward motivating?

152 Creating a Reward Menu Conduct a reinforcer survey to create a ‘Reward Menu’. The teacher collects a series of feasible classroom ideas for possible student reinforcers, writing each idea onto a separate index card. This serves as a master ‘reinforcer deck’ that the teacher can reuse. The teacher meets with the student individually to review the reward ideas in the master reinforce deck. The student states whether he or she ‘likes’ each reinforce idea ‘a lot’ , ‘a little’ or ‘not at all’ and the teacher sorts the reinforcer cards accordingly into separate piles. The reinforce ideas that the student selected as ‘liking a lot’ will be used to create a customized reinforcer menu for the student. Whenever the student meets teacher-established criteria to earn a reward, that student selects one from the reinforce menu. If the reward menu appears to be losing its reinforcing power, the teacher can repeat the steps above with the student to update and refresh the reward menu.

153 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Avoiding Power Struggles and Helping Students to Keep Their Cool p. 2 Jim Wright

154 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Teacher Tips…While you can never predict what behaviors your students might bring into your classroom, you will usually achieve the best outcomes by remaining calm, following pre-planned intervention strategies for misbehavior, and acting with consistency and fairness when intervening with or disciplining students.

155 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Allow the Student a 'Cool-Down' Break (Long, Morse, & Newman, 1980). Select a corner of the room (or area outside the classroom with adult supervision) where the target student can take a brief 'respite break' whenever he or she feels angry or upset. Be sure to make cool-down breaks available to all students in the classroom, to avoid singling out only those children with anger-control issues. Whenever a student becomes upset and defiant, offer to talk the situation over with that student once he or she has calmed down and then direct the student to the cool-down corner. (E.g., "Thomas, I want to talk with you about what is upsetting you, but first you need to calm down. Take five minutes in the cool-down corner and then come over to my desk so we can talk.")

156 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Ask Open-Ended Questions (Lanceley, 2001). If a teacher who is faced with a confrontational student does not know what triggered that student’s defiant response, the instructor can ask neutral, open-ended questions to collect more information before responding. You can pose ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, and ‘how’ questions to more fully understand the problem situation and identify possible solutions. Some sample questions are "What do you think made you angry when you were talking with Billy?" and "Where were you when you realized that you had misplaced your science book?" One caution: Avoid asking ‘why"’questions (e.g., "Why did you get into that fight with Jerry?") because they can imply that you are blaming the student.

157 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Emphasize the Positive in Teacher Requests (Braithwaite, 2001). When an instructor's request has a positive 'spin', that teacher is less likely to trigger a power struggle and more likely to gain student compliance. Whenever possible, avoid using negative phrasing (e.g., "If you don't return to your seat, I can’t help you with your assignment"). Instead, restate requests in positive terms (e.g., "I will be over to help you on the assignment just as soon as you return to your seat").

158 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Give Problem Students Frequent Positive Attention (Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002). Teachers should make an effort to give positive attention or praise to problem students at least three times more frequently than they reprimand them. The teacher gives the student the attention or praise during moments when that student is acting appropriately--and keeps track of how frequently they give positive attention and reprimands to the student. This heavy dosing of positive attention and praise can greatly improve the teacher’s relationship with problem students.

159 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Have the Student Participate in Creating a Behavior Plan (Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995). Students can feel a greater sense of ownership when they are invited to contribute to their behavior management plan. Students also tend to know better than anyone else what triggers will set off their problem behaviors and what strategies they find most effective in calming themselves and avoiding conflicts or other behavioral problems.

160 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Keep Responses Calm, Brief, and Businesslike (Mayer, 2000; Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002). Because teacher sarcasm or lengthy negative reprimands can trigger defiant student behavior, instructors should respond to the student in a 'neutral', business-like, calm voice. Also, keep responses brief when addressing the non-compliant student. Short teacher responses give the defiant student less control over the interaction and can also prevent instructors from inadvertently 'rewarding' misbehaving students with lots of negative adult attention.

161 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Listen Actively (Lanceley, 1999; Long, Morse, & Newman, 1980). The teacher demonstrates a sincere desire to understand a student’s concerns when he or she actively listens to and then summarizes those concerns--that is, summing up the crucial points of that concern (paraphrasing) in his or her own words. Examples of paraphrase comments include 'Let me be sure that I understand you correctly…', 'Are you telling me that…?', 'It sounds to me like these are your concerns:…' When teachers engage in 'active listening' by using paraphrasing, they demonstrate a respect for the student's point of view and can also improve their own understanding of the student's problem.

162 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Offer the Student a Face-Saving Out (Thompson & Jenkins, 1993). Try this face-saving de-escalation tactic: Ask the defiant student, "Is there anything that we can work out together so that you can stay in the classroom and be successful?" Such a statement treats the student with dignity, models negotiation as a positive means for resolving conflict, and demonstrates that the instructor wants to keep the student in the classroom. NOTE: Be prepared for the possibility that the student will initially give a sarcastic or unrealistic response (e.g., "Yeah, you can leave me alone and stop trying to get me to do classwork!"). Ignore such attempts to hook you into a power struggle and simply repeat the question.

163 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Proactively Interrupt the Student’s Anger Early in the Escalation Cycle (Long, Morse, & Newman, 1980; Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995). The teacher may be able to ‘interrupt’ a student’s escalating behaviors by redirecting that student's attention or temporarily removing the student from the setting. For low-level defiant or non-compliant behaviors, you might try engaging the student in a high-interest activity such as playing play an educational computer game or acting as a classroom helper. Or you may want to briefly remove the student from the room ('antiseptic bounce') to calm the student. For example, you might send the student to the main office on an errand, with the expectation that-by the time the child returns to the classroom-he or she will have calmed down.

164 ‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Relax Before Responding (Braithwaite, 2001). Educators can maintain self-control during a tense classroom situation by using a brief, simple stress-reduction technique before responding to a student’s provocative remark or behavior. When provoked, for example, take a deeper-than-normal breath and release it slowly, or mentally count to 10. As an added benefit, this strategy of conscious relaxation allows the educator an additional moment to think through an appropriate response--rather than simply reacting to the student's behavior.

165 Building Positive Relationships With Students Jim Wright wwwBuilding Positive Relationships With Students Jim Wright

166 Avoiding the ‘Reprimand Trap’When working with students who display challenging behaviors, instructors can easily fall into the ‘reprimand trap’. In this sequence: The student misbehaves. The teacher approaches the student to reprimand and redirect. (But the teacher tends not to give the student attention for positive behaviors, such as paying attention and doing school work.) As the misbehave-reprimand pattern becomes ingrained, both student and teacher experience a strained relationship and negative feelings.

167 Sample Ideas to Improve Relationships With Students: The Two-By-Ten Intervention (Mendler, 2000)Make a commitment to spend 2 minutes per day for 10 consecutive days in building a relationship with the student…by talking about topics of interest to the student. Avoid discussing problems with the student’s behaviors or schoolwork during these times. Source: Mendler, A. N. (2000). Motivating students who don’t care. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.

168 Sample Ideas to Improve Relationships With Students: The Three-to-One Intervention (Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002) Give positive attention or praise to problem students at least three times more frequently than you reprimand them. Give the student the attention or praise during moments when that student is acting appropriately. Keep track of how frequently you give positive attention and reprimands to the student. Source: Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., & Nolet, V. (2002). Prevention and management of behavior problems in secondary schools. In M. A. Shinn, H. M. Walker & G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for academic and behavior problems II: Preventive and remedial approaches (pp ). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

169

170 ‘Defensive Behavior Management’: The Power of Teacher Preparation p‘Defensive Behavior Management’: The Power of Teacher Preparation p. 82 Jim Wright

171 Defensive Management: A Method to Avoid Power Struggles‘Defensive management’ (Fields, 2004) is a teacher-friendly six-step approach to avert student-teacher power struggles that emphasizes providing proactive instructional support to the student, elimination of behavioral triggers in the classroom setting, relationship-building, strategic application of defusing techniques when needed, and use of a ‘reconnection’ conference after behavioral incidents to promote student reflection and positive behavior change. Source: Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of office referrals and suspensions: Defensive management. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20,

172 Defensive Management: Six StepsUnderstanding the Problem and Using Proactive Strategies. The teacher collects information--through direct observation and perhaps other means--about specific instances of student problem behavior and the instructional components and other factors surrounding them. The teacher analyzes this information to discover specific ‘trigger’ events that seem to set off the problem behavior(s) (e.g., lack of skills; failure to understand directions). The instructor then adjusts instruction to provide appropriate student support (e.g., providing the student with additional instruction in a skill; repeating directions and writing them on the board). Source: Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of office referrals and suspensions: Defensive management. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20,

173 Defensive Management: Six StepsPromoting Positive Teacher-Student Interactions. Early in each class session, the teacher has at least one positive verbal interaction with the student. Throughout the class period, the teacher continues to interact in positive ways with the student (e.g., brief conversation, smile, thumbs up, praise comment after a student remark in large-group discussion, etc.). In each interaction, the teacher adopts a genuinely accepting, polite, respectful tone. Source: Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of office referrals and suspensions: Defensive management. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20,

174 Defensive Management: Six StepsScanning for Warning Indicators. During the class session, the teacher monitors the target student’s behavior for any behavioral indicators suggesting that the student is becoming frustrated or angry. Examples of behaviors that precede non-compliance or open defiance may include stopping work; muttering or complaining; becoming argumentative; interrupting others; leaving his or her seat; throwing objects, etc.). Source: Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of office referrals and suspensions: Defensive management. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20,

175 Defensive Management: Six StepsExercising Emotional Restraint. Whenever the student begins to display problematic behaviors, the teacher makes an active effort to remain calm. To actively monitor his or her emotional state, the teacher tracks physiological cues such as increased muscle tension and heart rate, as well as fear, annoyance, anger, or other negative emotions. The teacher also adopts calming or relaxation strategies that work for him or her in the face of provocative student behavior, such as taking a deep breath or counting to 10 before responding. Source: Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of office referrals and suspensions: Defensive management. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20,

176 Defensive Management: Six StepsUsing Defusing Tactics. If the student begins to escalate to non-compliant, defiant, or confrontational behavior (e.g., arguing, threatening, other intentional verbal interruptions), the teacher draws from a range of possible descalating strategies to defuse the situation. Such strategies can include private conversation with the student while maintaining a calm voice, open-ended questions, paraphrasing the student’s concerns, acknowledging the student’s emotions, etc. Source: Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of office referrals and suspensions: Defensive management. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20,

177 Defensive Management: Six StepsReconnecting with The Student. Soon after any in-class incident of student non-compliance, defiance, or confrontation, the teacher makes a point to meet with the student to discuss the behavioral incident, identify the triggers in the classroom environment that led to the problem, and brainstorm with the student to create a written plan to prevent the reoccurrence of such an incident. Throughout this conference, the teacher maintains a supportive, positive, polite, and respectful tone. Source: Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of office referrals and suspensions: Defensive management. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20,

178 Group Activity: Offer Advice to a Troubled ClassroomAt your tables: View the video clip of the teacher’s interaction with Ryan in the middle school classroom Use the six-step defensive behavior management framework to come up with ideas to recommend to this teacher to help her to manage Ryan’s behavior more effectively.

179 Activity: Defensive Behavior ManagementIn your teams: Discuss the Defensive Behavior Management framework. How can you use a framework like this as a tool to help general-education teachers to better manage student behaviors?

180 Behavior Contracts p. 76 Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org

181 Behavior Contracts: Some AdvantagesPut responsibility for changing behavior on the student Provide clear behavioral expectations (an element of Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) May exert a ‘reactivity’ effect on both teacher and student, as both begin to attend more closely to the student’s behaviors Offer an easy means of documenting student success (e.g., tally number of times each week that the student earned the reward) Are a means to provide contingencies and encourage student behaviors across settings (e.g., between school and home)

182 Sections of the Behavior ContractA listing of student behaviors that are to be reduced or increased A statement or section that explains the minimum conditions under which the student will earn a point, sticker, or other token for showing appropriate behaviors The conditions under which the student will be able to redeem collected stickers, points, or other tokens to redeem for specific rewards Bonus and penalty clauses (optional). Areas for signatures (teacher, student, and parent)

183 Sample Behavior Contract: Effective Dates: From 10/20/99 to 12/20/99Mrs. Jones, the teacher, will give Ricky a sticker to put on his 'Classroom Hero' chart each time he does one of the following: turns in completed homework assignment on time turns in morning seatwork assignments on time and completed works quietly through the morning seatwork period (from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m.) without needing to be approached or redirected by the teacher for being off-task or distracting others When Ricky has collected 12 stickers from Mrs. Jones, he may choose one of the following rewards: 10 minutes of free time at the end of the day in the classroom 10 minutes of extra playground time (with Mr. Jenkins' class) choice of a prize from the 'Surprise Prize Box'

184 Bonus: If Ricky has a perfect week (5 days, Monday through Friday) by earning all 3 possible stickers each day, he will be able to draw one additional prize from the 'Surprise Prize Box'. Penalty: If Ricky has to be approached by the teacher more than 5 times during a morning period because he is showing distracting behavior, he will lose a chance to earn a 'Classroom Hero' sticker the following day.

185 The student, Ricky, helped to create this agreementThe student, Ricky, helped to create this agreement. He understands and agrees to the terms of this behavior contract. Student Signature: ___________________________________ The teacher, Mrs. Jones, agrees to carry out her part of this agreement. Ricky will receive stickers when be fulfills his daily behavioral goals of completing homework and classwork, and will also be allowed to collect his reward when he has earned enough stickers for it. The teacher will also be sure that Ricky gets his bonus prize if he earns it.. Teacher Signature: ___________________________________ The parent(s) of Ricky agree to check over his homework assignments each evening to make sure that he completes them. They will also ask Ricky daily about his work completion and behavior at school. The parent(s) will provide Ricky with daily encouragement to achieve his behavior contract goals. In addition, the parent(s) will sign Ricky's 'Classroom Hero' chart each time that he brings it home with 12 stickers. Parent Signature: ___________________________________

186 Assessing Intervention Integrity Jim Wright www. interventioncentralAssessing Intervention Integrity Jim Wright

187 Why Assess Intervention Integrity?When a struggling student fails to respond adequately to a series of evidence-based interventions, that student is likely to face significant and potentially negative consequences, such as failing grades, long-term suspension from school, or even placement in special education. It is crucial, then, that the school monitor the integrity with which educators implement each intervention plan so that it can confidently rule out poor or limited intervention implementation of the intervention as a possible explanation for any student’s ‘non-response’.

188 Intervention Integrity Check: Direct ObservationIntervention integrity is best assessed through direct observation (Roach & Elliott, 2008). The key steps of the intervention are defined and formatted as an observational checklist. An observer watches as the intervention is conducted and checks off on the checklist those steps that were correctly carried out. The observer then computes the percentage of steps correctly carried out.

189 Limitations of Direct Observation as an Intervention Integrity CheckDirect observations are time-consuming to conduct. Teachers who serve as interventionists may at least initially regard observations of their intervention implementation as evaluations of their job performance, rather than as a child-focused RTI “quality check”. An intervention-implementation checklist typically does not distinguish between--or differentially weight--those intervention steps that are more important from those that are less so. If two teachers implement the same 10-step intervention plan, for example, with one instructor omitting a critical step and the other omitting a fairly trivial step, both can still attain the same implementation score of steps correctly completed. Source: Gansle, K. A., & Noell, G. H. (2007). The fundamental role of intervention implementation in assessing response to intervention. In S. R. Jimerson, M. K. Burns, & A. M. VanDerHeyden (Eds.), Response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention (pp ).

190 Intervention Script BuilderEach Step Marked ‘Negotiable or ‘Non-Negotiable’ ‘Yes/No’ Step-by-Step Intervention Check Intervention Script Builder

191 Supplemental Methods to Collect Data About Intervention IntegrityTeacher Self-Ratings: As a form of self-monitoring, directing interventionists to rate the integrity of their own interventions may prompt higher rates of compliance (e.g., Kazdin, 1989). However, because teacher self-ratings tend to be ‘upwardly biased (Gansle & Noell, 2007, p. 247), they should not be relied upon as the sole rating of intervention integrity. One suggestion for collecting regular teacher reports on intervention implementation in a convenient manner is to use Daily Behavior Reports (DBRs; Chafouleas, Riley-Tillman,, & Sugai, 2007). Sources: Chafouleas, S., Riley-Tillman, T.C., & Sugai, G. (2007). School-based behavioral assessment: Informing intervention and instruction. New York: Guilford Press. Gansle, K. A., & Noell, G. H. (2007). The fundamental role of intervention implementation in assessing response to intervention. In S. R. Jimerson, M. K. Burns, & A. M. VanDerHeyden (Eds.), Response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention (pp ). Kazdin, A. E. (1989). Behavior modification in applied settings (4th ed.). Pacific Gove, CA: Brooks/Cole..

192 Teacher Intervention Integrity Self-RatingIntervention Contact Log

193 Supplemental Methods to Collect Data About Intervention IntegrityIntervention Permanent Products: If an intervention plan naturally yields permanent products (e.g., completed scoring sheets, lists of spelling words mastered, behavioral sticker charts), these products can be periodically collected and evaluated as another indicator of intervention integrity (Gansle & Noell, 2007). Source: Gansle, K. A., & Noell, G. H. (2007). The fundamental role of intervention implementation in assessing response to intervention. In S. R. Jimerson, M. K. Burns, & A. M. VanDerHeyden (Eds.), Response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention (pp ).

194 Intervention Integrity: Verify Through a Mix of Information SourcesSchools should consider monitoring intervention integrity through a mix of direct and indirect means, including direct observation and permanent products (Gansle & Noell, 2007), as well as interventionist self-ratings (Roach & Elliott, 2008). Source: Gansle, K. A., & Noell, G. H. (2007). The fundamental role of intervention implementation in assessing response to intervention. In S. R. Jimerson, M. K. Burns, & A. M. VanDerHeyden (Eds.), Response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention (pp ). Roach, A. T., & Elliott, S. N. (2008). Best practices in facilitating and evaluating intervention integrity. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp ).

195 ‘Selecting Methods to Track Intervention Integrity’…

196 ‘Selecting Methods to Track Intervention Integrity’…

197 ‘Selecting Methods to Track Intervention Integrity’…

198 ‘Selecting Methods to Track Intervention Integrity’…

199 Team Activity: Measuring ‘Intervention Follow-Through’At your table: Brainstorm ways that your RTI Team will use to measure intervention integrity for academic interventions. What preparations are necessary to introduce these methods for measuring ‘intervention follow-through’ to your faculty?

200 Selecting Rewards That Motivate: Tips for Teachers

201 Praise: Effective…and UnderusedPraise can be an efficient way to raise the compliance level of whole groups or individual students. However, studies show that praise is seldom used with general education students and is used even less often with special-needs students (Kern & Clemens, 2007). Source: Kern, L. & Clemens, N. H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44,

202 How to Structure a Praise Statement“Research has demonstrated that behavior-specific praise, or that which specifically identifies the particular desirable behavior the student is performing, is most effective in promoting appropriate behavior.” (Kern & Clemens, 2007). [Emphasis added] Source: Kern, L. & Clemens, N. H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44,

203 What if the Student Does Not Respond to Praise?Students sometimes do not respond to praise, especially in large-group settings. If so, consider these suggestions: Be sure that your praise is authentic. For example, praise only those aspects of a student’s work or behavior that are truly praise-worthy. Otherwise the student may find the praise to be phony and aversive. Deliver the student praise in private conversations or in written format. The discrete delivery of praise can reduce or prevent potential public embarrassment. For low-performing students, praise effort as well as product. While a struggling writer may write an essay that does not merit high praise, for example, the teacher may instead praise the amount of time that the student was willing to put into the composition and also point out how the current writing product shows improvements over the student’s own previous writing attempts.

204 Tying Reward Schedule to Student’s Stage of the Instructional Hierarchy (Daly, Martens, Barnett, Witt, & Olson, 2007) During acquisition of a skill and early stages of fluency-building, provide reinforcement (e.g., praise, exchangeable tokens) contingent upon on-task behavior (time-based reinforcement). This approach avoids ‘penalizing’ students for slow performance. During later stages of fluency-building, change to reinforcement based on rate of performance (accuracy-based contingency). This approach explicitly reinforces high response rates. As fluency increases, maintain high rates of performance through intermittent reinforcement, lottery, etc. Source: Daly, E. J., Martens, B. K., Barnett, D., Witt, J. C., & Olson, S. C. (2007). Varying intervention delivery in response to intervention: Confronting and resolving challenges with measurement, instruction, and intensity. School Psychology Review, 36,

205 Selecting a Reward: 3-Part TestDo teacher, administration, and parent find the reward acceptable? Is the reward available (conveniently and at an affordable cost) in schools? Does the child find the reward motivating?

206 Creating a Reward Menu Conduct a reinforcer survey to create a ‘Reward Menu’. The teacher collects a series of feasible classroom ideas for possible student reinforcers, writing each idea onto a separate index card. This serves as a master ‘reinforcer deck’ that the teacher can reuse. The teacher meets with the student individually to review the reward ideas in the master reinforce deck. The student states whether he or she ‘likes’ each reinforce idea ‘a lot’ , ‘a little’ or ‘not at all’ and the teacher sorts the reinforcer cards accordingly into separate piles. The reinforce ideas that the student selected as ‘liking a lot’ will be used to create a customized reinforcer menu for the student. Whenever the student meets teacher-established criteria to earn a reward, that student selects one from the reinforce menu. If the reward menu appears to be losing its reinforcing power, the teacher can repeat the steps above with the student to update and refresh the reward menu.

207 Rewards: Activity Pair off & discuss…How your school can use rewards to support behavioral interventions…

208 RTI ‘Next Steps’ Planning Activity: Interventions WorkshopAt your tables: Review the RTI information on academic and behavioral interventions reviewed at today’s workshop. Select one or two ‘top tasks’ that your school will undertake immediately to move forward with RTI. Be prepared to report out.

209

210 The ‘Alpha’ Command: Structuring Verbal Teacher Directives to Maximize Their Impact p. 68 (Walker & Walker, 1991)

211 The Importance of Teacher CommandsTeacher commands are a necessary classroom management tool, required to start and stop student behaviors. However, teacher commands can lose their force if overused. In one observational study in an elementary school, for example, researchers found that teachers in that school varied in their use of verbal commands, with rates ranging from 60 per day to 600 per day.

212 Ineffective (‘Beta’) Teacher Commands Are Often:Presented as questions or “Let’s” statements Stated in vague terms Have overly long justifications or explanations tacked on

213 Effective (‘Alpha’) Teacher Commands:Are brief Are delivered one task or objective at a time Are given in a matter-of-fact, businesslike tone Are stated as directives rather than as questions Avoid long explanations or justifications (and puts them at the BEGINNING of the directive if needed) Give the student a reasonable amount of time to comply

214 Ideas to Reduce Teacher Use of CommandsBe reflective; analyze when commands are being overused and why: find other solutions Train students in common routines (e.g., getting help when stuck on independent seatwork) Use classroom “memory aids” (e.g., posting of steps of multi-step assignment, daily schedule, etc.) Give periodic rules review Use routine prompt signals (e.g., music or chimes to signal transitions)

215 “Thaddeus, I know that you finished the quiz early, but it is important that you not distract the other students while they are trying to work. You wouldn’t want them to do poorly on the quiz, would you?” Effective ‘Alpha’ Teacher Commands … Are brief Are delivered one task or objective at a time Are given in a matter-of-fact, businesslike tone Are stated as directives rather than as questions Avoid long explanations or justifications Give the student a short but reasonable amount of time to comply

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217 “Anna, I want you to be sure to go straight home from school today“Anna, I want you to be sure to go straight home from school today! Yesterday afternoon after school dismissal, I was in my car and noticed that you and your friends were utilizing the snowbanks along Henry Street, where there is a lot of traffic. I want you to go straight home today and not dawdle!” Effective ‘Alpha’ Teacher Commands … Are brief Are delivered one task or objective at a time Are given in a matter-of-fact, businesslike tone Are stated as directives rather than as questions Avoid long explanations or justifications Give the student a short but reasonable amount of time to comply

218

219 Choice: Allowing the Student to Select Task Sequence p. 66

220 Choice of Task SequenceAllowing the student choice in the sequence of academic tasks can increase rates of compliance and active academic engagement. The power of allowing the student to select the sequence of academic tasks appears to be in the exercise of choice, which for ‘biologic reasons’ may serve as a fundamental source of reinforcement (Kern & Clemens, 2007; p. 72). Source: Kern, L., & Clemens, N. H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44,

221 Choice of Task SequenceMeet individually with the student just before the independent work period. Present and explain to the student each of the 2 or 3 assignments selected for the work period. Ask if the student has questions about any of the assignments. Direct the student to select the assignment he or she would like to do first. [Optional] Write the number ‘1’ at the top of the assignment chosen by the student. Tell the student to begin working on the assignments. NOTE: The student is allowed to switch between assignments during the work period. If the student stops working or gets off-task during the work period, prompt the student to return to the task and provide encouragement until the student resumes working. Sources: Kern, L., Mantagna, M.E., Vorndran, C.M., Bailin, D., & Hilt, A. (2001). Choice of task sequence to increase engagement and reduce problem behaviors. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 3, Ramsey, M. L., Jolivette, K., Patterson, D. P., & Kennedy, C. (2010). Using choice to increase time on-task, task-completion, and accuracy for students with emotional/behavior disorders in a residential facility. Education and Treatment of Children, 33(1), 1-21.

222 Assessing Intervention Integrity Jim Wright www. interventioncentralAssessing Intervention Integrity Jim Wright

223 Why Assess Intervention Integrity?When a struggling student fails to respond adequately to a series of evidence-based interventions, that student is likely to face significant and potentially negative consequences, such as failing grades, long-term suspension from school, or even placement in special education. It is crucial, then, that the school monitor the integrity with which educators implement each intervention plan so that it can confidently rule out poor or limited intervention implementation of the intervention as a possible explanation for any student’s ‘non-response’.

224 Intervention Integrity Check: Direct ObservationIntervention integrity is best assessed through direct observation (Roach & Elliott, 2008). The key steps of the intervention are defined and formatted as an observational checklist. An observer watches as the intervention is conducted and checks off on the checklist those steps that were correctly carried out. The observer then computes the percentage of steps correctly carried out.

225 Limitations of Direct Observation as an Intervention Integrity CheckDirect observations are time-consuming to conduct. Teachers who serve as interventionists may at least initially regard observations of their intervention implementation as evaluations of their job performance, rather than as a child-focused RTI “quality check”. An intervention-implementation checklist typically does not distinguish between--or differentially weight--those intervention steps that are more important from those that are less so. If two teachers implement the same 10-step intervention plan, for example, with one instructor omitting a critical step and the other omitting a fairly trivial step, both can still attain the same implementation score of steps correctly completed. Source: Gansle, K. A., & Noell, G. H. (2007). The fundamental role of intervention implementation in assessing response to intervention. In S. R. Jimerson, M. K. Burns, & A. M. VanDerHeyden (Eds.), Response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention (pp ).

226 Intervention Script BuilderEach Step Marked ‘Negotiable or ‘Non-Negotiable’ ‘Yes/No’ Step-by-Step Intervention Check Intervention Script Builder

227 Supplemental Methods to Collect Data About Intervention IntegrityTeacher Self-Ratings: As a form of self-monitoring, directing interventionists to rate the integrity of their own interventions may prompt higher rates of compliance (e.g., Kazdin, 1989). However, because teacher self-ratings tend to be ‘upwardly biased (Gansle & Noell, 2007, p. 247), they should not be relied upon as the sole rating of intervention integrity. One suggestion for collecting regular teacher reports on intervention implementation in a convenient manner is to use Daily Behavior Reports (DBRs; Chafouleas, Riley-Tillman,, & Sugai, 2007). Sources: Chafouleas, S., Riley-Tillman, T.C., & Sugai, G. (2007). School-based behavioral assessment: Informing intervention and instruction. New York: Guilford Press. Gansle, K. A., & Noell, G. H. (2007). The fundamental role of intervention implementation in assessing response to intervention. In S. R. Jimerson, M. K. Burns, & A. M. VanDerHeyden (Eds.), Response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention (pp ). Kazdin, A. E. (1989). Behavior modification in applied settings (4th ed.). Pacific Gove, CA: Brooks/Cole..

228 Teacher Intervention Integrity Self-RatingIntervention Contact Log

229 Supplemental Methods to Collect Data About Intervention IntegrityIntervention Permanent Products: If an intervention plan naturally yields permanent products (e.g., completed scoring sheets, lists of spelling words mastered, behavioral sticker charts), these products can be periodically collected and evaluated as another indicator of intervention integrity (Gansle & Noell, 2007). Source: Gansle, K. A., & Noell, G. H. (2007). The fundamental role of intervention implementation in assessing response to intervention. In S. R. Jimerson, M. K. Burns, & A. M. VanDerHeyden (Eds.), Response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention (pp ).

230 Intervention Integrity: Verify Through a Mix of Information SourcesSchools should consider monitoring intervention integrity through a mix of direct and indirect means, including direct observation and permanent products (Gansle & Noell, 2007), as well as interventionist self-ratings (Roach & Elliott, 2008). Source: Gansle, K. A., & Noell, G. H. (2007). The fundamental role of intervention implementation in assessing response to intervention. In S. R. Jimerson, M. K. Burns, & A. M. VanDerHeyden (Eds.), Response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention (pp ). Roach, A. T., & Elliott, S. N. (2008). Best practices in facilitating and evaluating intervention integrity. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp ).

231 ‘Selecting Methods to Track Intervention Integrity’…

232 ‘Selecting Methods to Track Intervention Integrity’…

233 ‘Selecting Methods to Track Intervention Integrity’…

234 ‘Selecting Methods to Track Intervention Integrity’…

235 Team Activity: Measuring ‘Intervention Follow-Through’At your table: Brainstorm ways that your RTI Team will use to measure intervention integrity for math and writing interventions. What preparations are necessary to introduce these methods for measuring ‘intervention follow-through’ to your faculty?

236 Team Activity: Select ‘Next Steps’ to Use Content from This WorkshopReview the main elements of today’s workshop. Come up with 2-3 concrete ‘next steps’ for how you plan to make use of specific ideas from the training in your class, grade, school, or district. Topics: Defining core instruction, intervention, accommodation, modification Academic Interventions: Critical Components Sample academic interventions: reading, math, writing, study skills Measuring Intervention Integrity Big ideas in behavioral interventions: Antecedent control Sample behavior management topic: Good Behavior Game Sample behavior management topic: Reward Deck/Reward Menu Defensive Behavior Management: Six-Step Process

237 Team Activity: Select ‘Next Steps’ to Use Content from This WorkshopReview the main elements of today’s workshop. Come up with 2-3 concrete ‘next steps’ for how you plan to make use of specific ideas from the training in your class, grade, school, or district. Topics: Defining core instruction, intervention, accommodation, modification Academic Interventions: Critical Components Measuring Intervention Integrity Big ideas in behavioral interventions: Antecedent control Sample behavior management topic: Good Behavior Game Sample behavior management topic: Reward Deck/Reward Menu Defensive Behavior Management: Six-Step Process