RTI: Where to Begin? Teaching Tier 1 Students

  

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Now that I've settled into the school year and reviewed last year's test results, it's time for me to really dig into my role as a "consultant" to the teachers and students. As always, our goal is to ensure that all students are met at their current level and moved forward on their educational path. Thankfully, guidelines have been put in place to support this process. In my last entry, I discussed the basics of the Response to Intervention (RTI) model, and now I'm going to help you implement it.

Tier 1 of the model suggests that all students be supported through consistent monitoring and subsequent curriculum adjustments. This involves screening all students at the beginning of the year and monitoring progress throughout the year. The initial screening can give you a good idea about the "buckets" your students are likely to fall into. However, it's the consistent monitoring that is essential to track the progress of each student. As students are monitored, you might see some systematic issues with the majority of students. Oftentimes, these issues are with the curriculum and how this content is being taught. At this point, you should take a look at your curriculum and adjust teaching strategies to better meet the needs of all students.

You might also see some students doing very well on the assessment and others who appear to be struggling just a bit. This could indicate the need for more differentiated instruction within the classroom setting. It is important that students are given the opportunity to remain in the standard classroom setting, and many times this can be achieved by providing more challenging assignments to some and less intense assignments and support tools to others. Once these strategies are in place, give it a few weeks and reassess all students to determine if improvements have been made. If a small group of students are still struggling, they are likely to be candidates for Tier 2 interventions. Stay tuned for tips on how to help those students succeed in your math class!

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