Transcript San Diego Unified School District

Response to Intervention and
Professional Learning Communities
Chinese Institute
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).
Why do we do what we do?
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
7/17/2015
3
Three Guiding Strategies
Lessons from Sanger
1. Hope is not a strategy.
– It is the actions of the adults.
– We have to change as adults
2. Don’ t blame the kids
3. It’s all about student learning
– Teaching must result in learning.
– We must guarantee learning takes place
7/17/2015
4
Culture is what we allow
“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
7/17/2015
5
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.
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.
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
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8
RTI² Pyramid
1-5% of
students
RTI²
Response
to
Instruction
and
Intervention
Tier 3
Intensive,
Individual
Intervention
Tier 2
5-15% of Students
High Efficiency
Rapid Response
Tier 1
80-85% of Students
Preventive
Proactive
All Settings
SDUSD Three-Tiered Model of RTI² Academic Systems
Tier 2: Targeted Group Interventions
1.
2.
3.
4.
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
1-5% of
student
s
Tier
3
Tier 3: Intensive, Individual Interventions
1. Flexible groupings
2. Intensive support blocks
3. Intensive literacy/math programs & classes
4. Use of diagnostic assessments
5. SST to determine appropriate interventions
6. Possible referral for Special Education
services
Intensive,
Individual
Intervention
2
Tier
5-15% of Students
High Efficiency
Rapid Response
Tier 1: Core Instructional
Interventions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
1
Tier
80-85% of Students
Preventive
Proactive
All Settings
7/17/2015
10.
11.
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
SDUSD Three-Tiered Model of RTI² Behavioral Systems
1-5% of
students
Tier
3
Tier 2: Targeted Group Interventions
1. Counseling groups
2. Mentoring programs
3. Parent groups
4. Use of contracts
5. Regular monitoring
Intensive,
Individual
Intervention
2
Tier
5-15% of Students
High Efficiency
Rapid Response
1
Tier
80-85% of Students
Preventive
Proactive
All Settings
7/17/2015
Tier 3: Intensive, Individual Interventions
1. One-on one counseling
2. Home visits
3. Mental health support
4. Frequent (daily) monitoring
5. Individual contracts
6. Behavioral support plans
Tier 1: Core Instructional
Interventions
1. Positive Behavioral
Interventions and Supports
(PBIS)
2. Safe and Culturally responsive
classroom environments
3. Teachers model appropriate
behaviors
4. Teachers explicitly teach
behaviors
5. Consistency across the school
6. Regular communication
and/or parent conferences
with teachers
7. Refocus contracts
8. Universal interventions
11
RTI Provides a Systematic Process for
Instruction and Intervention
That Is…
•
Universal
•
Interactive
•
Systematic
•
Practical
•
Effective
•
Essential
•
Directive
•
Mandatory
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
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Pair-Share: How Is RTI Implemented in China?
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
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?
PLCs Provide A Culture of Collaboration
1.
2.
3.
4.
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.
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
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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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
Round Table Questions
1. Share how educators in China respond to students who
aren’t learning.
2. It is clear that educators (teachers and administrators)
embrace collaboration, learning, and sharing best
practices. How is this accomplished
3. What is the primary purpose for teachers coming
together for collaboration in China?
4. 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?
5. What is the method for meeting with students who are
having difficulty to address their learning needs?