Teacher Preparation and RTI at Middle and High Schools Online Discussion Summary

[lholdheide]

Teacher Preparation and Response to Intervention at Middle and High Schools

September 28–October 2 Online Discussion Summary

The TQ Connection continued its online discussion series on Response to Intervention (RTI) with a focus on teacher preparation and RTI implementation at the secondary level. Dr. Dan Reschly, Vanderbilt University and the TQ Center, offered excellent resources and stimulating responses to questions posted on the discussion board. The TQ Connection Research and Policy Brief: Teacher Preparation and Response to Intervention in Middle and High Schools was prepared as a resource for participants. A summary of the dialogue is provided here and is categorized into four overarching themes:
•   Restructuring teacher preparation to reflect RTI principles
•   Professional development and training in RTI
•   Curriculum alignment and problem solving within RTI
•   Goals for improvement

Restructuring Teacher Preparation to Reflect RTI Principles

In response to several online participants’ comments and questions pertaining to the restructuring of teacher preparation, Dr. Reschly remarked that this is a sizable dilemma for many within teacher preparation. Several participants relayed their efforts to restructure coursework through simple modifications within individual courses to a more comprehensive approach in which faculty collaboratively reviewed syllabi and course requirements to identify gaps within the program. Dr. Reschly commented that although some teacher preparation programs have undergone changes to reflect RTI principles, this is mostly occurring within special education departments and cautioned participants that both general and special education teacher candidates need exposure and practice with RTI. Furthermore, full program coherence demands the integration of RTI content throughout the curriculum, practica, and internship. Dr. Reschly suggested that teacher education program standards such as the National Council of Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) will likely incorporate RTI principles over the next decade.

In responding to an inquiry of a recent graduate, Dr. Reschly advised the newly hired teacher to inform her preparation program of her lack of knowledge and experience in important competencies and further recommended several online resources that would advance her knowledge, including the following:

•   National Association of State Directors of Special Education:  Response to Intervention: Policy Considerations and Implementation.
This guide to RTI provides educators, administrators, and higher education faculty with an overview of the policy supporting RTI.
 
•   AIMSweb
Gary German and associates developed this Web-based data management system to monitor student progress.

•   Edcheckup
Drs. Stanley Deno and Douglas Martson developed this curriculum-based progress monitoring system to provide valid and reliable indicators of student growth.

•   Intervention Central
This site, moderated by James Wright, provides a plethora of RTI resources and links to other useful sources.

•   Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts
The Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts works to provide leadership to state, national, and international educators in effective reading and mathematics instruction.

•   Florida Center for Reading Research
The Florida Center for Reading Research was established to provide the most up-to-date reading research and to offer technical assistance to improve literacy outcomes.

•   National Center on Student Progress Monitoring Center
This site disseminates information and provides technical assistance dedicated to the effective implementation of progress monitoring.

Lastly, a faculty member within a teacher preparation program inquired about strategies other preparation programs have used to arrange field experiences or student teaching placements in classrooms/schools/districts in which the RTI framework has been established. Dr. Reschly responded, indicating that little knowledge and research are available however concurred that placing teacher candidates in settings that promote the requisite competencies you promote is on the cutting edge of good teacher preparation and establishes program coherence. Dr. Reschly suggested that teacher preparation programs that assist placement sites in learning about and adopting RTI processes and principles by offering free professional development increases their pool of ideal placement sites.

Professional Development and Training in RTI

When queried, Dr. Reschly commented that professional development at the secondary level should include good principles of professional development that have been researched for several years and pointed to specific research from Birman and collegues:

•   Birman, B. F., Desimone, L., Porter, A. C., & Garet, M. S. (2000). Designing professional development that works. Educational Leadership, 57(, 28–33.

Dr. Reschly also indicated that in his experience, effective professional development is tied to specific job roles and functions, is reinforced with expectations and incentives, and is combined with targeted feedback in natural settings. He further emphasized the need to target professional development on practices proven to be effective and cited several TQ Center resources that highlight tools to ensure the integration of evidenced-based practices into teacher preparation coursework and professional development activities:

•   Smartt, S. M., & Reschly, D. J. (2007). Barriers to the preparation of highly qualified teachers in reading. Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from http://www.tqsource.org/publications/June2007Brief.pdf

•   Oliver, R., & Reschly, D. J. (2007). Effective classroom management: Teacher preparation and professional development (TQ Connection Issue Paper). Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from http://www.tqsource.org/topics/effectiveClassroomManagement.pdf

Curriculum Alignment and Problem Solving Within RTI

Responding to a question requesting how to initiate RTI when the current curriculum is not directly aligned to the state standards and buy-in is weak, Dr. Reschly outlined the following suggestions:
•   Work with others to align your curriculum with the state standards.
•   Work to effectively promote generalizable skills such as reading and mathematics competencies that should apply to meeting nearly all state standards.
•   Use measures to these generalizable skills to determine overall classroom achievement in relation to national benchmarks and to identify students at risk for failure.
•   Intervene with those students who do not appear to be on course to reach national benchmarks on such measures as Reading and Mathematics curriculum-based measurements.

Dr. Reschly reiterated that effective RTI implementation requires buy-in from both general and special education teachers and starts with a true commitment to improve results for ALL students. Using a problem-solving approach that includes an examination of current academic and behavioral outcomes compared with goals by individuals, classrooms, and schools is the best avenue to motivate teachers. Dr. Reschly cautioned that buy-in and commitment are not enough, however, and emphasized that teachers need the knowledge that outcomes can be improved, the knowledge base on how to improve outcomes, the school leadership to support change, and a culture of high expectations within the school and community in order to realize improvements in academic and behavioral goals.

Goals for Improvement

A participant commended the TQ Center for providing an extremely useful document and for including practical examples; the participant, however, relayed concern over the paper’s established academic and behavioral goals. In particular, the participant was concerned that the rate of expected growth documented within the brief for the minority populations was unambitious and disproportionate to other ethnic groups.  Dr. Reschly concurred that these goals could be modified but stressed that the regular interaction between progress monitoring data, interventions, and goals is an essential feature of RTI. Regularly monitoring progress and making adjustments are imperative.

Thank you for taking the time to visit the TQ Connection. For a complete account of the discussion, visit http://www.tqsource.org/forum/index.php/topic,134.0.html. If you have any topics you would like to see the TQ Center address, please feel free to contact Lynn Holdheide at lynn.holdheide@vanderbilt.edu or Amy Potemski at Amy.Potemski@learningpt.org.