REME: Tier 2 Interventions and More on Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Interventions

1. REME: Tier 2 Interventionsand More on Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Interventions

2. Reflecting on the Previous PD • What were the most important “take aways” from the previous PD with Diane Haager? • What questions do you have? • What would you like to know more about?

3. Reflecting on How Well Tier 2 is Working at Your School • What is going well? • What challenges are you experiencing?

4. Tiers 1 and 2 Instruction Success with Tier 1: • Research-based curriculum (with instructional approaches validated with students similar to yours) (Core) • Delivered to all students • Implementation fidelity • Appropriate Differentiations (General/Targeted) • Culturally and linguistically responsive • Meets needs of approximately 80% of learners Success with Tier 2: • Small Group Setting (4-6 students) • Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) for your population • Supplements Tier 1 (not a replacement) • Implementation fidelity • Connected directly to Tier 1 (not isolated/disconnected) • Culturally and linguistically responsive

5. Selected Reasons Why Multi-Level Instruction Does Not Work in Many Schools 1. Instruction in Tiers 1 and 2 is disconnected Solution: Link instruction in both tiers utilizing skills of general class and support educators to clearly demonstrate interconnectedness of instruction in both tiers 2. Continued emphasis placed on what is “wrong” with learner (i.e., intrinsic disorder) Solution: Drill down into the curriculum not into the child (i.e., How might the curriculum be implemented differently to best meet learner need? What aspects of the curriculum may be contributing to learner’s struggles?) 3. Instructional adjustments are made yet are not appropriate/designed to meet need Solution: Directly link assessment to instruction by determining most appropriate aspect to adjust (e.g., content, intervention, classroom groupings, management procedures?; Provide rationale for why the selected adjustment is appropriate to meet need)

6. Best Practice for Implementing Tiered Instruction “In schools we have worked with where general education teachers are assigned both Tier 1 and some Tier 2 groups, reading specialists are assigned to Tier 2 and Tier 3 groups, and special educators are assigned to Tier 3 and some Tier 2 groups, we find that a real shared responsibility perspective develops. In those schools where general education teachers are always viewed as only Tier 1 instructors, remedial teachers as Tier 2, and special educators as Tier 3, we find that breaking down the natural "mine" versus "ours" dimension of thinking about collaboration across instructional concerns is more difficult.” Source: E. S. Shapiro (RTI Action Network Website)

7. Tier 2 Delivery Options Integrated general class instruction delivered by general class teacher while others participate in enrichment Push-In general class delivered by interventionist Combination of four Tier 2 delivery structures Collaboration to Deliver Tier 2 Supplemental Instruction Co-Teaching with shared teaching in general class Pull-Out from general class delivered by interventionist while others receive enrichment or other interventions

8. Which Tier 2 Delivery Options Do You Use? • Which delivery options seem to work well? • Which don’t work well? Why not? • Which haven’t you tried?

9. Activity (in Grade level Teams) Select one learner in your grade who receives Tier 2 instruction and discuss the following: 1. Provide three examples showing how Tiers 1 and 2 instruction are connected for this learner 2. Examine the rationale for the Tier 2 intervention(s) selected for use with the learner, showing a direct connection between learner’s instructional need area (e.g., comprehension) and the stated need or skill that the method is designed to address 3. Show how the Tier 2 progress monitoring reflects progress towards Tier 1 benchmarks (i.e., does success with Tier 2 translate to success with Tier 1?)

10. What should Tier 2 instruction look like for ELLs?

11. Essential Components of Tier 1 and Tier 2 Instruction • Culturally and linguistically responsive teachers • Culturally and linguistically responsive and relevant instruction • A supportive learning environment • Research-based interventions (found to be effective with ELLs) that match the language of instruction in the general education classroom • Sheltered English and other support so that ELLs can access and be successful with the general education curriculum. • English language development

12. Support for ELL students at Tier 1 and Tier 2(Sources: NCCRESt Briefs) 9. Explicit, Small Group Instruction 1. Communicate High Expectations (Respect student capabilities) 8. Promote Student Controlled Classroom Discourse and Cooperative Learning (Promote reciprocal dialogue) 2. Use Active Teaching Methods (Promote student active engagement) Cultural/Linguistic Responsive Common Structural Components for all Classrooms 7. Provide Culturally Mediated Instruction (Actively facilitate problem solving abilities; Language development) 3. Facilitate Active Learning (Balance direct and facilitated instruction) 6. Reshape the Curriculum (Differentiate to meet diverse needs) 4. Include Parental/ Family Perspectives (Value family input and views) 5. Demonstrate Cultural Sensitivity (Acquire cultural/linguistic awareness of own students)

13. Research-based Interventions for ELLs • Vaughn, Linan-Thompson and colleagues provided intensive, small group interventions in either Spanish or English to first-grade ELLs considered to be at risk for reading difficulties. The language of instruction of the supplemental interventions matched the language of classroom reading instruction. The intervention programs were specifically designed for ELL students who struggled with reading (Vaughn, Cirino et al., 2006; Vaughn, Mathes, Linan-Thompson, & Francis, 2005; Vaughn, Mathes et al., 2006). Lessons included best practices in ESL instruction: • Explicit instruction in oral language and listening comprehension • Explicit instruction in reading comprehension strategies • A read aloud routine with explicit vocabulary instruction and scaffolded story retelling • Word study and phonics strategies • Word reading and reading connected texts • Repeated reading for speed, accuracy, fluency, and prosody

14. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive? Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teachers Connect learning with students’ experiences and interests, making learning relevant to their lives Build strong relationships with students and their families Hold high expectations Value and build on different “ways of knowing” Culturally Responsive Instruction Emphasizes cultural relevance and builds on students’ prior knowledge, interests, motivation, and home language Is multifaceted, with frequent opportunities to practice reading with a variety of rich materials in meaningful contexts Provides “windows and mirrors” Includes explicit instruction Linguistically Responsive Instruction Includes language supports (e.g., sentence stems, visuals, modeling) Appropriate for students’ language proficiency levels Develops linguistic competence through functional, purposeful classroom dialogue and frequent opportunities to learn and use academic language.

15. ACTIVITY • You are teaching a lesson with a book about a family that goes to a Dim Sum restaurant. How will you make sure to connect this topic with your students’ background knowledge and help make the topic meaningful/relevant for them? • Think of a book you recently read with your students. Was the topic meaningful and relevant for them? If not, what did you do (OR, what could you do) to make it more meaningful and relevant?

16. Select a component in your small group: • Explicit instruction in oral language and listening comprehension • Explicit instruction in reading comprehension strategies • A read aloud routine with explicit vocabulary instruction and scaffolded story retelling • Word study and phonics strategies • Word reading and reading connected texts • Repeated reading for speed, accuracy, fluency, and prosody

17. REFLECT and DISCUSS: • Select one component and determine how you currently address that component in Tier 2. • How do you: • Connect learning with students’ experiences and interests, making learning relevant to their lives; • Emphasize cultural relevance and build on students’ prior knowledge, interests, motivation, and home language; and • Include language supports (e.g., sentence stems, visuals, modeling)? • How can you add these culturally and linguistically responsive elements to your instruction? • Do you address all of the components of effective Tier 2 instruction? How do you determine which components to focus on?

18. ACTIVITY • Watch the following video clips. • How well do the teachers: • Connect learning with students’ experiences and interests, making learning relevant to their lives; • Emphasize cultural relevance and build on students’ prior knowledge, interests, motivation, and home language; and • Include language supports (e.g., sentence stems, visuals, modeling)? • How could you add these culturally and linguistically responsive elements to their instruction?

20. How do we decide which students should receive Tier 2 interventions?

21. A Culturally & Linguistically Responsive RTI Model • More • intensive support • (may be special • education) • Culturally and • linguistically responsive • intensive assistance as • part of general education • support system, • ongoing monitoring Ongoing problem-solving by a collaborative team with relevant expertise, with family involvement Culturally and linguistically appropriate, differentiated instruction in GE, with progress monitoring

22. What is the role of the RTI problem-solving team?Who should be on the RTI problem-solving team?

23. The RTI Problem-Solving Team • The RTI problem-solving team plays a key role in: • Supporting teachers in Tier 1 and helping to improve instruction • Deciding which students should receive Tier 2 interventions • Supporting teachers in Tier 2 • Determining which students should be evaluated for possible special education placement

24. The make-up of the team should be diverse and include members with expertise in culturally responsive instruction, and, if appropriate, English language acquisition and bilingual education. The classroom teacher must be part of the team. Problem-solving Team

25. Determine decision rules for interpreting progress monitoring and other assessment data Cut Score - Minimum proficiency level score below which learner is considered at-risk or struggling (e.g., 25%) Rate of Progress - Rate at which learner should progress to maintain acceptable progress Gap/Discrepancy Analysis - Difference between expected and actual proficiency levels/Progress Rate

26. Decision Points when ELLs Struggle with Reading

27. Decision Points • When a child shows signs of struggling, observe in her classroom. • Is instruction targeted to and appropriate for her level of English proficiency and learning needs? • Is the teacher implementing appropriate research-based practices with fidelity? • If the teacher is modifying practices, for what reasons? • Does the teacher adjust instruction based on data? • Does the classroom environment seem conducive to learning? • Examine progress monitoring data. • Are the student’s true peers succeeding?

28. RTI and ELLs: True Peers Concern: Comparing ELLs with non-ELLs True Peersare students with similar learning characteristics such as: * Native language * Stage of second language acquisition * Experiential Background * Cultural background

29. Are these ‘True Peer’ Comparison Groups? Students in early stage of second language acquisition Learners new to the US or to US schools Students with limited prior educational experiences Students with limited opportunities to learn Compared with: Fluent English speakers Fully acculturated learners Learners possessing extensive educational experiences Students with sufficient opportunities to learn

30. If most ELLs in the class are thriving, the next step should be to collect student data: • Consider the child’s cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, and experiential background • Use authentic assessments in addition to progress monitoring to determine what the student knows and can do as well as what she needs to learn • Determine if the student differs from true peers in rate and level of learning • Prioritize the student’s areas of need • Next, determine an intervention plan. • Plan who will do what, how progress will be assessed, what success would look like, and when the team will review progress.

31. ACTIVITY: Excerpts from RTI Meetings • 3rd Grade Teacher: She really has a language problem, don’t you think? A second language problem? I see her trying but a lot of it is her language; she can’t say some of the words we are reading because of the language problem. • ESL teacher: His mom only speaks Spanish. His dad speaks English very well. He’s probably conversing most of the time in Spanish because I bet dad lapses into Spanish at home because it’s the common language. • 2nd Grade Teacher: It’s a language issue because mom doesn’t speak any English at all…I see her lapsing, she’ll be talking and then all of the sudden she is talking in Spanish. • 1st Grade Teacher: She’s 2nd language. She went back and forth, Spanish – English, so language is a problem. Mom supports her but she speaks all Spanish. • Principal: That kid is lower than a lot of your other kids that are heavily impacted with language. Eppolito (2011) • What is problematic about these statements? • What attitude towards emerging bilingualism do they reflect? • How might these attitudes affect decisions about students’ needs? • What might you say if you were participating in these meetings?

32. The assessments currently being used only provide a partial assessment of literacy skills. Many skills go into what we call “literacy”; we need measurements across different areas to fully gauge student progress. No single best test or assessment strategy. Different assessments tap into different skills and knowledge. Assessments should be used only for the purpose for which it was designed. Progress monitoring can help to ensure that instruction is adjusted to meet the needs of classrooms of learners—use it to find what works! Use A Comprehensive Assessment System

33. A Common Scenario: Early Literacy Measures Lesaux Accuracy Letter Names & Letter Sounds Phonological Awareness Word Reading Efficiency READING COMPREHENSION • Oral Language • Background Knowledge • Interest Vocabulary • Motivation Metalinguistic Skills Word Learning Strategies • Understanding of Purpose Knowledge of word function or type • Text Characteristics Sentence structure Organizational structure

34. Gaps during Early Childhood Lesaux Percentile Rank

35. The Gap between Reading Words & Comprehending Text (Lesaux)

36. Recommendations • Use multiple assessment methods to provide a comprehensive view of learning. • Use RTI assessment strategies that reflect the multi-dimensional nature of language and literacy. • *Oral reading fluency (ORF) does not correlate with comprehension for EBs as it does for fluent English speakers (Crosson & Lesaux, 2009)—use ORF as a starting point for further assessment.

37. For more information on screening and progress monitoring measures, see: http://www.rti4success.org/tools_charts/supplementalContent/screening/ScreeningToolsChart.pdf.

39. Think-Write-Share • How do you assess students’ progress? • How well is this process working? • What are you able to assess fairly accurately? • What do you need more information about? • For what purpose(s) do you use assessment information?

40. Questions? Comments? Janette.Klingner@colorado.edu John.Hoover@colorado.edu Lucinda.Soltero@colorado.edu Amy.Eppolito@colorado.edu

41. 3, 2, 1 • List 3 take away ideas from today’s session • List 2 questions you are still wondering about • List 1 concern you have