Response to Intervention and Professional Learning Communities Chinese Institute

1. Response to Intervention and Professional Learning CommunitiesChinese Institute

2. The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools “American education is filled with instances in which students with similar backgrounds and traits achieve very different results” (McKinsey and Company, 2009 p. 21-22).

3. Why do we do what we do? 10/23/2014 So, we can give every student a shot! • All children deserve to reach their potential • We can’t leave any child behind? • At the core of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a reminder of the moral imperative to ensure that every student achieves • It’s the response of the adults that is critical 3

4. Three Guiding StrategiesLessons from Sanger 10/23/2014 • Hope is not a strategy. • It is the actions of the adults. • We have to change as adults • Don’ t blame the kids • It’s all about student learning • Teaching must result in learning. • We must guarantee learning takes place 4

5. Culture is what we allow 10/23/2014 “Ultimately it will come down to which do we value more, promoting the autonomy of adults to work in isolation and do as they please in their classrooms, or promoting high levels of learning for all students.” Rick DuFour, 2007 5

6. RTI² Is… RTI² is a systematic, data-driven approach to instruction and intervention that benefits every student. It is meant to communicate the full spectrum of instruction, from general core, to supplemental or intensive, to meet the academic and behavioral needs of students. RTI² integrates resources from general education, categorical programs and special education.

7. Overarching Principles of RTI • All RTI practices are based on the assumption and belief that all students can learn and that teachers can effectively teach all students. • It is the responsibility of school staff to identify the most effective curricular, instructional, and environmental conditions that enable learning and provide necessary resources to enable each student to learn.

8. RTI² Makes Sense RTI² is a systematic, three tiered, data-driven approach to instruction and intervention that focuses on the Academic and Behavioral aspects of learning 10/23/2014 8

9. RTI² Pyramid 1-5% of students RTI² Response to Instruction and Intervention Academic Behavioral

10. SDUSD Three-Tiered Model of RTI² Academic Systems • Tier 3: Intensive, Individual Interventions • Flexible groupings • Intensive support blocks • Intensive literacy/math programs & classes • Use of diagnostic assessments • SST to determine appropriate interventions • Possible referral for Special Education services • Tier 2: Targeted Group Interventions • Elementary: In-class small group instruction focused on specific strategies or skills, preview and review; push-in support • Secondary: In-class small group instruction; support classes for students up to 2 grades below grade level. • Use of diagnostic assessments to determine specific needs and formative assessments for frequent monitoring • Grade level/department meeting to determine specific interventions for struggling students Tier 1: Core Instructional Interventions Purposeful planning Differentiated instruction Collaborative/cooperative productive group work Scaffolding instruction Content area literacy Technology Collaboration with site-based experts Effective instructional strategies Use of data to monitor progress towards standards Instruction aligned to grade level standards Teacher efficacy 10/23/2014 10

11. SDUSD Three-Tiered Model of RTI² Behavioral Systems • Tier 3: Intensive, Individual Interventions • One-on one counseling • Home visits • Mental health support • Frequent (daily) monitoring • Individual contracts • Behavioral support plans • Tier 2: Targeted Group Interventions • Counseling groups • Mentoring programs • Parent groups • Use of contracts • Regular monitoring • Tier 1: Core Instructional Interventions • Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) • Safe and Culturally responsive classroom environments • Teachers model appropriate behaviors • Teachers explicitly teach behaviors • Consistency across the school • Regular communication and/or parent conferences with teachers • Refocus contracts • Universal interventions 10/23/2014 11

12. RTI Provides a Systematic Process for Instruction and Intervention That Is… • Universal • Interactive • Systematic • Practical • Effective • Essential • Directive • Mandatory

13. Identifying Percentages Analyzing site data to determine the percentage of students who are successful in Tier 1 is a critical first step in determining RTI plan for schools 10/23/2014 13

14. Pair-Share: How Is RTI Implemented in China?

15. Challenges to RTI in China The educational system in China is changing to provide students with special needs inclusion in the least restrictive Environment. Many Hurdles to Overcome… • Providing student support with large class sizes • Individualized instruction • Intervention • Supporting teachers as they work with students who need extra support • Addressing cultural beliefs that lack of achievement is a result of insufficient effort rather than lack of ability • Low expectations for students with disabilities • Limited resources

16. DuFour’s Big Ideas of Professional Learning Communities Ensure that students learn • What do we want each student to learn? • How will we know when each student has learned it? • How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?

17. PLCs Provide A Culture of Collaboration • Staff work together to achieve a collective purpose of learning to ensure all students learn • Staff build structures to promote a collaborative/ supportive culture • Staff understand that working collaboratively represents best practice • Staff jointly focus on how to respond when students aren’t learning and agree on a plan of action.

18. The Role of PLCs in working with RTI To Support Quality Instruction By Receiving and providing information Implementing the interventions Examining achievement data and making appropriate recommendations Ensuring fidelity to Tier I academic and behavioral support Being willing to discuss how to support students as a whole group Providing flexibility and ownership of students Supporting each other in improving instructional practices Utilize technological tools to support instruction Supporting interactive instructional practices 10/23/2014 18

19. High Performing Teams: Actions • Create synergy by blending members’ knowledge, creativity, interests, skills and background. • Value the talents, skills and diversity of individual members • Balance individual and group needs • Make data discussion an integral part of every meeting • Establish group norms and use Protocols to structure conversations • Adopt an improvement process

20. High Performing PLC Teams: Skills PLCs Members effectively… • Deal with dissent • Resolve conflict • Listen • Participate and communicate • Commit to ongoing learning • Work together to become clearer about the team’s common purpose and goals • Develop and commit to a shared sense of responsibility.

21. Collaboration in China Collaboration in China can be seen in: • Teaching and research groups • Joint lesson planning using National curriculum • Teachers rotate to model lessons to finalize lesson • Sharing of resources • Organized discussion of articles related to subject-specific teaching • Talks given by educational experts • District organized demonstration lessons observed and critiqued by other teachers in the district Sargent & Hannum, 2009

22. Facilitative Structures for Professional Collaboration/Development in China • Physical arrangements of schools • Large workroom in school for all teachers to hold offices. • In workrooms teachers prepare lessons, correct papers, and discuss teaching techniques • Teachers instruct only 2-3 classes per day in a single subject • Greater number of required hours in school day • Teachers spend on average 9.1 – 9.7 hours a day • Teachers arrive early and stay late to meet together and work with students who need extra help • Recess after every academic class • Large amount of non-teaching time for teachers

23. Student Structures • Large class sizes (40-70) per class • Students have 90-120 minutes for lunch • Primary mode of instruction is whole group and small group, so students support one another • Independent work is done through homework

24. PLCs in China • Have strengthened connections • Have helped bridge the gap for the immediate needs of teachers • Have provided professional learning • Have resulted in improved student achievement. • Are viewed as a highly desirable strategy for the improvement of teaching and learning in resource constrained settings by… • Sharing technical language • Agreeing upon sound practice • Forcing teachers to bare their practice publicly

25. Constraints/Obstacles • Seeing RTI² as “one more thing to do” • Ensuring fidelity/implementation of intervention strategies • Failure to utilize limited resources creative • Committing to collaboration • Effectively working in teams

26. The Work is Worth It! #1 This may create some discomfort #2 This requires a paradigm shift for some folks #3 This is tough work

27. Round Table Questions • Share how educators in China respond to students who aren’t learning. • It is clear that educators (teachers and administrators) embrace collaboration, learning, and sharing best practices. How is this accomplished • What is the primary purpose for teachers coming together for collaboration in China? • Do you believe that a similar three-tiered model for instruction and intervention would be beneficial for students in China? If so, what would be the constraints to implementing such a model? • What is the method for meeting with students who are having difficulty to address their learning needs?