1. Bruce L. Mims, Ed.D.

2. Dispelling Myths about
2
RtI
RTI2 is not:
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A silver bullet
A canned program
A special education program
Always easy—it requires critical reflection about the way we do
things and teamwork
2
RTI
is:
 A process and framework for consolidating and using your
existing resources wisely—i.e., maximizing the very best out of
what we have, where we are right now

3. Dispelling Myths (cont’d)
 Our mission as educators is not:
• To meet mandates
• To raise test scores—sounds
counterintuitive 
• Our mission is:
• To assure access to (high levels of)
success for all students!

4. Here’s what research statistics are currently
telling us…
 Approximately two-thirds of eighth- and twelfth- grade students
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read at less than the “proficient” level as described by NAEP
(National Institute for Literacy, 2006).
Approximately 32 percent of high school graduates are not ready
for college-level English composition courses (ACT, 2005).
Over half of adults scoring at the lowest literacy levels are dropouts and almost a quarter are high school graduates (NCES,
2005).
Approximately 40 percent of high school graduates lack the
literacy skills employers seek (Achieve, Inc., 2005).
U.S. drop-outs’ literacy skills are lower than most industrialized
nations, performing comparably only to Chile, Poland, Portugal
and Slovenia (OECD, 2000).
A full 70 percent of U.S. middle and high school students require
differentiated instruction—that is, instruction targeted to their
individual strengths and weaknesses (Alliance for Excellent
Education for the Carnegie Corporation of New York).

5. Considering that grim picture…
If our mission is high levels of
learning for all
students,
the question is:
Is it possible?

6. Food for thought…
 Ron Edmonds, Lawrence Lezotte, Wilbur
Brookover, Michael Rutter on Effective Schools
 All children can learn!
 Schools control the factors assuring that students
master the core of the curriculum.
 Robert Marzano, What Works in Schools (2003)
 “An analysis of research conducted over a 35-year
period demonstrates that schools that are highly
effective produce results that almost entirely overcome
the effects of student backgrounds.”

Meaning: success begins in our classrooms

7. The Big Picture…
 For all students to learn, we must
 Start with highly-effective, research-based,
differentiated core instruction
 Systematically identify students who are not succeeding
in our core programs
 Provide these students with additional supports and
structures until they are able to learn and succeed

8. So, what does that really mean for
us as a school-wide community?
 We must assume collective responsibility for student
success
 We must ensure we are implementing quality core,
standards-based instruction
 We must implement quality diagnostic and benchmark
assessments to evaluate student potential and monitor
student performance
 Hence we must use data to make instructional and intervention
decisions
 We must implement quality, research-based supplemental
services and interventions

9. RTI2 Conceptual Framework

10. Backward Mapping
Tier I:
Where all students need to go
Tier II: What some
students need to get there
Tier III:
What this specific
student needs to get
there

11. Tier I: The Core and More
 The Essential Elements of Effective Instruction (EEEI)
 Objectives
 Standards
 Anticipatory set
 Teaching
Input
 modeling
 check for understanding
 Guided practice/monitoring
 Closure
 Independent practice


12. From Effective Practice to
Systematic Responses…
 Incorporating all phases of lesson design correctly
 High levels of student engagement
 High levels of student participation
 Frequent checks for understanding with quality
questions
 Constant corrective feedback
 Students interacting with students

13. From Teacher Controlled to
Student Controlled—Rigor and
Relevance

14. Key Teacher Behaviors—Rigor and
Relevance
 Sets the context for lessons
 Deconstructs standards for content and level of cognition
 Refers to progress toward meeting the objective throughout the
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lesson
Assesses for and connects to prior learning
Builds background knowledge
Pre-teaches academic and content vocabulary
Employs scaffolds to support students
Provides a variety of media
Links all activities, homework, and assessments standards
Provide immediate, corrective feedback
Constantly
observes, explains, questions, clarifies, praises, acknowledges
prompts, and corrects

15. Key Teacher Behaviors—looking
deeper
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Metacognitively models
Provides multiple explanations
Provides hands-on, tangible, concrete, and conceptual experiences
Determines appropriate grouping (pairs, groups) and tasks based on
Purpose, Process, and Product
Specifically supports English learners with visuals and sentence frames
Intervenes with students when needed
Extends for students ready to move on
Assesses at the end of the lesson to determine who has mastered
content and who needs further assistance
Ensures students can transfer knowledge
Designs homework to reinforce lesson

16. Key Student Behaviors
 Attends to teacher
 Listens to explanations
 Actively processes new
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information
Asks questions to clarify
Responds when prompted
Collaborates with peers
Takes charge and
responsibility for learning
Practices new skills to selfassess knowledge
 Problem solves when
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confused
Self-regulates
Self-corrects
Initiates learning dialogue
with peers
Reflects on learning
Extends and applies
learning to new and/or
future concepts and
contexts
Explores real-life
applications

17. Differentiation—Conceptually
Speaking
Differentiation
All curriculum
and instruction
Content
Universal
Access Time
Small Group
Questioning
Independent
activities
Whole Class
Scaffolding
Assessment
Whole Class
Discussions
Building
Background
Knowledge
Progress
Monitoring
Process
Preteach
Choice
Within
Activities
Frontloading
Key Vocabulary
Retake Tests
Product
Reteach
Flexible
Groupings
New Bloom's
(Verbs)
Teaching
Prerequisite
Skills
Choice
Fill Gaps
Based on
interest and
need
Compacting
Check for
Understanding
Enrichment
At a level
“accessible” for
students
Pacing

18. Okay, if you can’t remember all of that,
remember “The Big Four” Access Strategies
 They are the keys that unlock everything else related
to differentiated instruction:
 Instructional Conversations
 Academic Language or Vocabulary
 Graphic Organizers
 Cooperative Learning

19. Teaching Pedagogy: Food For Thought…
 Marzano (2002) asserts that content knowledge has
only a small effect as it relates to student achievement.
 On the other hand, pedagogical knowledge, i.e., bestteaching practices, are more important and play a
more significant role in student-learning outcomes
than content knowledge.
 Meaning: effective teaching practice will go a lot
farther to affect (positive) student-learning outcomes
than mere content-are knowledge alone
 That does not mean that content knowledge isn’t
important; rather, that good pedagogy is a better bet

20. CRUCIAL PRINCIPLE OF LEARNING
 ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
 Why?
 It keeps students engaged; you’re able to teach
more, better, AND faster
 To help you check for understanding
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Active participation is a “data” gathering tool that can help
you monitor student understanding
This will help you determine when, and how much, to reteach—if necessary

21. Tiers II and III: what process am I
describing?
 Urgent, life-saving purposes
 Research based
 Directive
 Timely
 Targeted
 Administered by a trained professional
 Systematic or procedural

22. The Real-World Connection…
CPR

23. Conceptually Speaking…
Tier III:
Intensive Interventions
(CPR and Defibrillator)
Tier II: Supplemental
Interventions
(CPR)
Tier I: Core Program/Effective Pedagogy

24. As CPR goes, so does Tier II and III
Interventions…
Urgent
 Research based
 Directive
 Timely
 Targeted
 Administered by trained professionals
 Systematic


25. Tier II consists of Tier I instruction
plus the following interventions:
 Small-group instruction (ideally 10-15 students)
 3-4 intervention sessions per week (30-60
minutes per session)
 Conducted by trained and supervised personnel
 Conducted in and out of the general education
classroom
 9-12 weeks in duration (repeated, as needed)

26. For Example: FBB and BB…
 Students have not made adequate progress when
taught using appropriate Tier I/Core methods, a
second tier of intervention is warranted
 This tier is characterized as providing a level of intensive support
that supplements the core curriculum and is based on student
needs as identified through progress monitoring—e.g., formative,
benchmark, and summative
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Read 180
CAHSEE Prep
 Food for thought—Master Scheduling
 This implies that Master Schedules are constructed to include
double-block or support classes to supplement subject-core area
instruction—without impeding access to essential A-G or required
courses essential to on-time graduation

27. Tier III: Intensive Intervention
 This phase starts with a referral to a Student Study Team or
Coordination of Services (COST) Team.
 This step should overlap with the second tier
 In other words, the provision of supplemental support does not
need to stop for a SST referral and or intervention measures to
begin
 Using a problem-solving approach, teams should
determine how to alter the support a student has been
receiving and develop specific instructional objectives
based on student performance and other data
 Use of Individualized Learning Plan (ILP)—not IEP
 Replete with timelines and benchmarks for success
 It is important that the team observe the student in his or
her classroom as well as in other settings

28. Tier 3: Intensive, Individual
Interventions
• Individual students
• Assessment-based
• High intensity
• Of longer duration
Progress Monitoring
happens at each tier!
Tier 2: Targeted Group
Interventions
•Some students
(at
risk)
• High efficiency
• Rapid response
Tier 1: Universal
Interventions
• All students
•Preventive, proactive

29. Essentials to
2
RTI
Success…
 RTI2 cannot be implemented effectively without a collaborative
process in place for on-going progress monitoring and looking at
data
 How do we know if students are learning?
 How do we respond if we determine they are not learning?
 All students must have access to the core curriculum and
participate in prescribed intervention(s)/enrichment during the
school day. (No core replacement)
 Intervention must be part of what schools/grade
levels/departments do all year
 Suggest establishing a RTI2 Leadership Team
 Tasked to monitor process, data and systems for academic and
behavioral interventions. (Appropriate/as needed personnel; program
specialist, psychologist, RSP, SDC teacher, administrator, teacher, etc.)

30. Essentials to
2
RTI
Success (cont’d)…
 Implement a system for RTI2 that leverages
all site human, fiscal, and instructional
resources to serve all students based on
priority need(s).
 Numbers of students/types of interventions students
need may exceed what a site can do for intervention AT ONE
TIME so they prioritize and make a plan
 That plan (monitored by their RTI2 Leadership Team) places
some or all students into intervention, depending upon site’s
capacity to deliver interventions

31. So why do all of this?
Successful academic outcomes are not achieved by
waiting for students to fail but are instead achieved
by systematically applying the RTI2 principles to
our everyday work
“Adopting an RTI model is about adopting best practice,
insisting that we do what is best and necessary for all
students in our schools, and, finally, rising to the challenge
of doing that which is socially just...”
—David P. Prasse, Loyola University