Blog Post #4

Reflections from this week’s reading …..

“Response to Intervention or Responsive Instruction?” (Brozo 2009-2010)

RTI (Response to Intervention) involves three tiers of support:

        I.            Instruction and services available to all students at the classroom level (Tier 1)

      II.            Short-Term Instruction for small groups of students who need extra help.

    III.            The 3^rd tier represents the most intensive level of instruction and is usually provided in a one-to-one context.

*Students receive different tiers of support depending on how they respond to intervention at any level.

Challenges for RTI at the secondary level:

        I.            There is little research currently available on the use of RTI in the upper grades.

      II.            The structure and culture of secondary schools limits the feasibility of RTI as a comprehensive model of reading. Secondary teachers follow block patterns and only see certain students every other day. If they teach Social Studies or Science the student who needs extra literacy and learning support are referred to the reading teachers or literacy support for help. This proves difficult for effective RTI.

    III.            Scheduling is the next challenge. If space is not found or created within a school day then the flexibility of RTI is undermined.

*It is important to note that the failure to align school curricular with students’ interests and outside-of-school competencies is thought to be behind the general erosion of engagement in reading and learning experienced by many youth as they make the transition from elementary to secondary school.

*Secondary schools need to make room in language and disciplinary curricular students’ different experiences and outside-of-school discoveries expressed through a variety of media.

*RTI is preventative. It should occur in the general education classroom in Tier 1.

*Secondary level RTI takes place in content area classes.

*At the secondary level content teachers must offer responsive literacy instruction to benefit every student and differentiated assistance for those in need of extra help.