CEC's RTI Blog

Conclusion and a Caveat

By Janette Klingner, University of Colorado at Boulder

In these blog entries I have attempted to help educators understand some of the assumptions behind RTI that can be problematic for English language learners (ELLs), challenges schools face when implementing RTI with ELLs, and struggles faced by ELLs while learning to read. My hope is that educators will be less likely to misjudge their ELLs and inappropriately refer them to special education.

Distinguishing learning disabilities from the language-acquisition process

By Janette Klingner, University of Colorado at Boulder

Challenge 3: The characteristics of learning disabilities in many ways mirror characteristics associated with second language acquisition. When English language learners (ELLs) struggle with reading, it can be difficult to distinguish between learning disabilities and the language acquisition process.

What should teachers do when their ELLs are struggling? What if some students really do have LD? How can teachers tell which students should receive additional interventions or who to refer for an evaluation for possible placement in special education? A useful rule of thumb is to look at how many ELLs are struggling. If the majority of ELLs are making little progress, the teacher should focus on improving instruction. If most ELLs are doing well and only a few are struggling, the teacher should look more closely at what is going on with those individual students and consider that they may need additional support.

RTI Highlights at the CEC 2009 Convention & Expo

Response to Intervention will be a hot topic at the CEC 2009 Convention & Expo, coming up April 1-4. If you're planning to join us in Seattle, consider taking advantage of the many RTI-themed sessions. Here are just a few:

Preconvention Workshops:

Held on Wednesday, April 1, these full- and half-day workshops provide opportunities to explore special education’s hottest topics in-depth and get the latest news from recognized experts from the field. Better yet, you can earn CEUs for attending. It's not too late to register!

• Implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) at the School and District Level: Moving Beyond the Basics
  Led by Cara Shores, Wesley Educational Services, Cartersville, GA

• Putting it Together: Progress Monitoring, Research-Based Math Interventions, and RTI
  Led by Pamela M. Seethaler and Sarah R. Powell, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

• Recognition and Response (R&R): RTI Goes to Pre-K
  Led by Virginia Buysse and Ellen Peisner-Feinberg, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
  

Changing the Way We Think about RTI

By Janette Klingner, University of Colorado at Boulder

Challenge 2: Teachers and other school personnel are not clear how the RTI process is similar to and different from the Pre-Referral Process they had used in previous years. Their RTI meetings look very much like the Child Study Team Meetings of old.

How can we make sure we shift paradigms in how we think about supporting student learning? Can we provide students with appropriate instruction that meets their needs without thinking there is something “wrong” with them if they are not where we think they should be, according to a prescribed curriculum? At many schools it seems that RTI problem-solving meetings still center on possible reasons for an individual child’s struggles from a deficit perspective. There also still seems to be a push to qualify students for special education so that they can receive more intensive support.

Challenges

By Janette Klingner, University of Colorado at Boulder

School personnel typically face many challenges when implementing RTI in culturally and linguistically diverse schools. Although many educators may be aware that second language acquisition, best practices for ELLs, and cultural variations should be considered when assessing student progress, designing interventions, and interpreting ELLs’ responses to interventions, they are not always confident that they have sufficient expertise to carry out these activities. In the next few posts on this blog, I will discuss a few of these challenges and how to address them.

Challenge 1: According to progress-monitoring data, many ELLs are not reaching benchmarks, many more than 20 percent of the ELLs in each class. It is not feasible to provide Tier 2 instruction to all of these students. 

Change instruction. When many students are not progressing with a particular instructional program, the first step should be to look for ways to make instruction more appropriate for culturally and linguistically diverse students. It is important: (a) to examine the program to determine if it has been validated with students like those in the class; (b) to determine whether instruction is at an appropriate level for students and the program is well-implemented; and (c) to establish whether teachers are sufficiently differentiating instruction to meet diverse student needs.

Teaching English Language Learners To Read

By Janette Klingner, University of Colorado at Boulder

Before I delve into my second post, let me tell you a little about myself. I am a professor at the University of Colorado in the Department of Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity. Before I earned my doctorate in reading and learning disabilities from the University of Miami, I was a bilingual special education teacher for ten years. Currently I am a co-Principal Investigator on the Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) Project, an IES-funded efficacy study. Of my more than 80 published works, one article, three chapters, and two books are on the topic of RTI. I have also presented at numerous local, national, and international conferences and conducted several professional development workshops, many about RTI.
 
Now let's unwrap a second assumption about applying RTI with culturally and linguistically diverse students.

Assumption 2: Learning to read in one’s second language is similar to learning to read in one’s first language; therefore instructional approaches that have been found through research to be effective with mainstream English-speaking students (and thus deemed “research-based”) are appropriate for serving English language learners (ELLs).

RTI in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Schools

By Janette Klingner, University of Colorado at Boulder

Response to intervention holds promise as a way to improve learning outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse students and reduce their disproportionate representation in special education (Donovan & Cross, 2004). An emphasis on early intervention, a focus on making sure children receive appropriate instruction at the “first tier” or classroom level, and a push to match instruction to a child’s needs based on ongoing classroom assessment are all features of RTI that, when implemented well, should lead to increased opportunities to learn for culturally and linguistically diverse students.

Yet RTI is based on certain key principles that can be problematic when applied with culturally and linguistically diverse students. When we understand these assumptions, we are in a better position to make wise choices for children and less likely to draw erroneous conclusions prematurely. We realize that there are many possible reasons culturally and linguistically diverse students might be struggling and are in a better position to provide them with optimal support.

Over the next month, I will be discussing these assumptions. I will also write about common challenges educators face when implementing RTI in diverse schools and offer suggestions for how to address them. I look forward to reading your comments and questions and engaging in a dialogue about how best to meet the needs of our culturally and linguistically diverse students.