RTI: Defining the Problem

1. RTI:Defining the Problem Surabhi Talesara, LSSP Special Education Evaluation Services AISD

2. Reading • Word Decoding • Fluency • Reading Comprehension

3. Decoding and Fluency • Print awareness • Alphabet awareness • Phonological awareness • Difficulty making rhymes or manipulating sounds in words • Difficulty segmenting words into separate sounds • Does not know the sound symbol association: cannot sound out letters • Word attack • Word recognition • Fluency

4. Reading Comprehension • Attention • Memory • Language • Higher Order Cognition

5. Attention • Lacks the energy to read lengthy passages • Difficulty determining the most important details or concepts in a passage • Reads with little self monitoring of comprehension and does not seem to know when he/she doesn’t comprehend a passage

6. Memory • Unable to sufficiently register ideas or information • Unable to hold what he/she has read in his/her mind (forgets what he/she read at the beginning of the passage) • Unable to retrieve information after having read the text

7. Language/Higher Order Cognition • Confused by syntax changes, or by syntactically complex sentences • Limited vocabulary (confused with words with multiple meanings) • Difficulty understanding abstract concepts • Difficulty comparing and contrasting ideas while reading • Does not use reading strategies such as predicting or paraphrasing to aid comprehension when reading • Does not self monitor comprehension

8. Mathematics • Incomplete Mastery of Number Facts • Computational Weakness • Difficulty Transferring Knowledge • Making Connections • Incomplete Understanding of the Language of Math • Difficulty Comprehending the Visual and Spatial Aspects (Perceptual Difficulties)

9. Mathematics: Calculation • Inability to understand the meaning of numbers their quantities • Inability to perform basic mathematical operations due to difficulty understanding the relationship between numbers and the quantities they represent. • Persistent trouble "memorizing" basic number facts in all four operations,

10. Signs of Math Difficulties Output Difficulties • Unable to recall basic math facts, procedures, rules, or formulas • Slow to retrieve facts or pursue procedures • Has difficulties maintaining precision during mathematical work • Handwriting difficulty slows him/her down; hard to read his/her work. • Has difficulty remembering previously encountered patterns • Forgets what he or she is doing in the middle of a math problem

11. Signs of Math Difficulties Organizational Difficulties • A student with problems in organization may have difficulty sequencing multiple steps • Becomes entangled in multiple steps or elements of a problem • Loses appreciation of the final goal and over emphasizes individual elements of a problem • Unable to identify salient aspects of a mathematical situation, particularly in word problems or other problem solving situations where some information is not relevant • Unable to appreciate the appropriateness or reasonableness of solutions generated

12. Signs of Math Difficulties Language Difficulties • A student with language problems in math may have difficulty with the vocabulary of math • Confused by language in word problems • Not know when irrelevant information is included or when information is given out of sequence • Has trouble learning or recalling abstract terms • Has difficulty understanding directions • Has difficulty explaining and communicating about math, including asking and answering questions • Has difficulty reading texts to direct their own learning • Has difficulty remembering assigned values or definitions in specific problems

13. Signs of Math Difficulties Attention Difficulties • A student with attention problems in math may be distracted or fidgety during math tasks • Loses his or her place while working on a math problem • Appears mentally fatigued or overly tired when doing math

14. Signs of Math Difficulty Visual Spatial or Ordering Difficulties • A student with problems in visual, spatial, or sequential aspects of mathematics may be confused when learning multi-step procedures • have trouble ordering the steps used to solve a problem • feel overloaded when faced with a worksheet full of math exercises • not be able to copy problems correctly • may have difficulties reading the hands on an analog clock • may have difficulties interpreting and manipulating geometric configurations • may have difficulties appreciating changes in objects as they are moved in space

15. Signs of Math Difficulties • Difficulties with multiple tasks • A student with problems managing and/or merging different tasks in math may find it difficult to switch between multiple demands in a complex math problem • find it difficult to tell when tasks can be grouped or merged and when they must be separated in a multi-step math problem • cannot manage all the demands of a complex problem, such as a word problem, even thought he or she may know component facts and procedures

16. Written Language • Handwriting • Spelling • The Writing Process

17. Handwriting • Illegible • Little awareness of word boundaries • Jerky quality • Lacks automatacity of letter formation • Has letter confusion (b/d; M/W; p/d) • Persistent reversals • Applies too much or too little pressure • Awkward pencil grip • Deterioration of writing quality over time

18. Spelling • Inaccurate sound/symbol association • Omits sounds • Has difficulty isolating and sequencing words • Insecure “attempts” to apply rules and patterns • Transposing letters in words (nkit/knit; tow/two; hwo/who) • Difficulty with vowel-r combinations, transposing re/er

19. Putting ideas into words • Initiating ideas (thinking of what to write) • Difficulty getting ideas into words • Too many grammatical errors • Difficulty using grade level vocabulary • Simplistic Ideas

20. Remembering/Organizing • Difficulty having to remember multiple elements such as spelling, punctuation, vocabulary • Has better ideas when they speak than when they write. • Having trouble getting thoughts down in the right order • Fails to think before he/she writes

21. Concentrating • Appears bored and tired • Rushes through without much thinking/planning • Fails to proofread his/her writing • Difficulty handling all details of writing