An Empty Seat at the Table: Examining General and Special Education Teacher Collaboration in Response to Intervention

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-126
Author(s):  
Joyce Gomez-Najarro
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Response To Intervention ◽  
General Education ◽  
Teacher Collaboration ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Diverse Learners ◽  
Rti Implementation ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Way

Response to Intervention (RTI) may create an opportunity for equitable approaches to special education evaluation, in part, through collaboration among general and special education teachers, who can combine their areas of expertise to better understand how to serve students’ unique academic needs, particularly in underresourced schools serving diverse learners. Historically ineffective attempts to improve collaboration between general and special education, however, may pose challenges to effective RTI implementation. In this study, the author uses Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to examine how RTI implementation and the intersection of other context-specific conditions impact the way general and special educators work together at one public elementary school serving a large population of diverse learners. Findings indicate that, outside of referral meetings, RTI implementation was primarily a general education endeavor. The results hold implications for the way teacher education programs prepare general and special candidates to foster collaborative approaches to RTI in unique K-12 contexts.

Response to Intervention

Education ◽  
2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Eppolito ◽  
Kathryn White ◽  
Janette Klingner
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Response To Intervention ◽  
General Education ◽  
Progress Monitoring ◽  
The United States ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Data Driven Decision Making ◽  
Rti Model

Response to intervention (RTI) is a comprehensive, systematic approach to teaching and learning designed to monitor academic and behavioral progress for all students, provide early interventions of increasing intensity to struggling learners, and potentially identify learners with more significant learning disabilities. The model is implemented with multitiered instruction, intervention, and assessment. The key components of the RTI model include (1) high-quality instruction matched to the needs of students, (2) evidence-based interventions of increasing intensity, (3) ongoing progress monitoring, and (4) data-driven decision making. Components of the model, such as data-driven decision making and multitiered instruction, have been studied for the past few decades, but the model as an integrated whole has been developed more recently. One catalyst for increased research and interest in RTI has been a change in federal legislation in the United States. The most recent reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) in 2004 permits the RTI model to be implemented as an alternative means to identify students with learning disabilities (LDs). These amendments to IDEA stipulate that the RTI process may be used to determine if a child is responding to research-based instruction and intervention as part of the special education evaluation process. Although driven by special education policy, RTI has been lauded as an instructional model that can improve general education overall and for special populations. However, critiques of the model argue that it has been implemented with limited research, resources, and funding and may not be valid for identifying LDs. Some experts question the psychometric validity of the model and promote using multiple forms of assessment, including more traditional standardized psycho-educational tests, in combination with RTI when evaluating students for possible LDs.

Threats of Violence by Students in Special Education

2005 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian G. Kaplan ◽  
Dewey G. Cornell
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Emotionally Disturbed ◽  
Threat Assessment ◽  
Education Students ◽  
School Suspension ◽  
General Education Students ◽  
Assessment Guidelines ◽  
K 12

We compared threats of violence made by K–12 students in special education (120 cases) or general education (136 cases) in schools that were implementing threat assessment guidelines for managing student threats of violence (Cornell, Sheras, Kaplan, McConville, Posey, Levy-Elkon, et al., 2004; Cornell & Sheras, in press). Students in special education made disproportionately more threats, as well as more severe threats, than peers in general education. Students classified as emotionally disturbed (ED) exhibited the highest threat rates. Nevertheless, use of school suspension as a disciplinary consequence for threats was consistent for students in special and general education, and few students were expelled. Our findings support the use of threat assessment to manage threats of violence by students in special education.

RTI Services for Children With Mild Articulation Needs: Four Years of Data

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 104-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Taps
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Response To Intervention ◽  
General Education ◽  
San Diego ◽  
Speech Language Pathologists ◽  
Class Model ◽  
Resource Center ◽  
Gradual Shift ◽  
Education Data

Abstract This article summarizes 4 years of data from San Diego Unified School District's Speech Improvement Class model for students with mild articulation needs. The district made a gradual shift from special education to general education. Data demonstrate that most students complete the class in 17-20 treatment hours. Three factors have been fundamental to the success of this program: the Articulation Resource Center, ongoing professional development, and a well-defined set of procedures. Challenges and concerns are also discussed. Overall, speech-language pathologists in San Diego Unified are implementing this class effectively and have branched out into other response to intervention supports.

Implementing Effective Student Support Teams

2016 ◽  
pp. 248-262
Author(s):  
Tricia Crosby-Cooper ◽  
Dina Pacis
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
General Education ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Student Support ◽  
Special Education Eligibility ◽  
Support Teams ◽  
Student Support Teams ◽  
Problem Solving Process ◽  
K 12

Pre-service teachers in a K-12 setting, encounter students in need of academic and behavioral supports. One method of providing supports to struggling students in the general education and special education setting is through the problem-solving process of pre-referral intervention, hence forth referred to as Student Support Teams (SST) within Response-to-Intervention. During the SST process, student's academic and/or behavioral difficulties are considered through a multidisciplinary approach. Research demonstrates the use of a multi-tiered problem solving approach as a means to provide supports for students prior to special education eligibility and placement. Additionally, there are concerns regarding implementation and teacher perceptions (Powers, 2001) on the effectiveness of the intervention and collaboration between general education and special education teachers (Graden, 1989). This chapter discusses historical aspects, purpose and process, best practices, and challenges of SSTs, while presenting strategies for teachers and educators to effectively implement the SST process.

Implementing Effective Student Support Teams

2020 ◽  
pp. 163-178
Author(s):  
Tricia Crosby-Cooper ◽  
Dina Pacis
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
General Education ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Student Support ◽  
Special Education Eligibility ◽  
Support Teams ◽  
Student Support Teams ◽  
Problem Solving Process ◽  
K 12

Pre-service teachers in a K-12 setting, encounter students in need of academic and behavioral supports. One method of providing supports to struggling students in the general education and special education setting is through the problem-solving process of pre-referral intervention, hence forth referred to as Student Support Teams (SST) within Response-to-Intervention. During the SST process, student's academic and/or behavioral difficulties are considered through a multidisciplinary approach. Research demonstrates the use of a multi-tiered problem solving approach as a means to provide supports for students prior to special education eligibility and placement. Additionally, there are concerns regarding implementation and teacher perceptions (Powers, 2001) on the effectiveness of the intervention and collaboration between general education and special education teachers (Graden, 1989). This chapter discusses historical aspects, purpose and process, best practices, and challenges of SSTs, while presenting strategies for teachers and educators to effectively implement the SST process.

Implementing Response to Intervention: Challenges of Diversity and System Change in a High-Stakes Environment

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Cavendish ◽  
Beth Harry ◽  
Ana Maria Menda ◽  
Anabel Espinosa ◽  
Margarette Mahotiere
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Response To Intervention ◽  
Urban Schools ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Grounded Theory Research ◽  
Change Factors ◽  
Rti Implementation

Background The Response to Intervention (RTI) approach involves the use of a dynamic model built around the systematic documentation of students’ response to research-based instructional interventions. Although there has been widespread implementation of RTI models for early intervention and in some cases, as a means to identify students with learning disabilities (LD), little has been published on teacher implementation of RTI in naturalistic school settings. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the RTI implementation process in two culturally diverse, urban schools. The authors describe the process of large-scale RTI implementation through the lens of Systems Change Theory. Research Design This study of RTI in a naturalistic setting used grounded theory research methods to provide an in-depth description and qualitative analysis of challenges and successes experienced by RTI teams and teachers in schools required by state mandate to implement RTI. Data collection included semi-structured interviews and observations with 30 participants in two urban schools. Transcripts of interviews and field notes of direct observations were analyzed inductively through a four-tiered interpretive coding process that moved from the most concrete to more abstract levels of interpretation. Conclusions The present study highlights challenges related to changes in procedures for monitoring student responsiveness in an RTI system used for special education identification. The emergence of themes from observation and interview data revealed how professional development gaps, school personnel's assumptions about culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners and families, and external pressures from district and state accountability systems affected RTI implementation across two schools. Our observations revealed confusion over the components for practice in RTI as well as a lack of understanding related to the purpose of RTI to potentially improve outcomes and reduce referrals to special education for CLD youth. The issues that emerged as barriers to implementation serve to identify the systemic change factors needed to support large-scale RTI implementation.

scholarly journals Response to Intervention (RTI) and Changes in Special Education Categorization

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
Kasandra Raben ◽  
Justin Brogan ◽  
Mardis Dunham ◽  
Susana Bloomdahl
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
School District ◽  
Response To Intervention ◽  
School Districts ◽  
The United States ◽  
Similar Proportion ◽  
Special Education Eligibility ◽  
Special Education Referral ◽  
Treatment Providers ◽  
Rti Implementation

Response to intervention (RTI) is used as a prerequisite to referring children for special education eligibility for learning disabilities (LD). RTI provides schools with a framework for helping students with learning challenges. In the United States, while the number of students receiving services through RTI has remained consistent, the overall number of students receiving some educational intervention through an alternate path has increased. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence that the RTI model had upon eligibility numbers in a large special education co-operative spanning 21 rural school districts in southern Illinois that represented 15,128 students. Each of the school districts maintained its own policies and procedures governing RTI implementation, special education referral, and special education eligibility. The study revealed that while the number of students with LD dropped significantly over the past decade, the numbers of children eligible for other disability categories increased in a similar proportion. This changing trend may be the result of several factors including changes in school district policy, parent advocates pressing for quicker paths to treatment, treatment providers shifting categories for a wide variety of reasons, or some yet unknown factor. These possible explanations suggest that family issues, time, finances, and procedural dynamics may play a role in the changing categorizations and should be better understood. Future studies should focus on the inclusion of more culturally and economically diverse students, within and outside the Unites States. Last, school district policies and RTI implementation procedures should be investigated to better uncover any potential relationship to this shifting data trend.

scholarly journals Special Education Leadership and the Implementation of Response to Intervention

2020 ◽  
pp. 121-142
Author(s):  
Derek Cooley ◽  
Elizabeth Whitten
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Response To Intervention ◽  
General Education ◽  
Procedural Knowledge ◽  
Special Education Administrators ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Special Education Leadership ◽  
Idea 2004 ◽  
Effective Leaders ◽  
Education Administrators

Special education administrators provide leadership to guide the identification of learners with exceptionalities and ensure that staff working with special education students delivers instructional best practice. In order to execute these responsibilities, special education administrators must be effective leaders who collaborate with a variety of stakeholder including. Contrary to their general education counterparts, special education administrators must possess a specific body of procedural knowledge to identify low-performing groups of students. These procedures are often referred to Response to Intervention (RTI) or Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS). Under IDEA (2004), students with and without disabilities can benefit from the same system of interventions and supports. This intersection has necessitated coordination of RTI models by both general and special education administrators. Special education and general education leaders will be challenged to blend models of leadership to address the high-stakes environment in our K-12 schools.

Reconceptualizing Teacher Preparation for Inclusive Classrooms: A Description of the Dual License Program at the University of New Mexico

2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth B. Keefe ◽  
Pamela J. Rossi ◽  
J. S. de Valenzuela ◽  
Sam Howarth
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
General Education ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Teacher Preparation Program ◽  
University Of New Mexico ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The University ◽  
Dual License

This paper describes the Dual License Teacher Preparation Program at the University of New Mexico and the national and state context within which it was developed and continues to evolve. Graduates of the Dual License Program are eligible for licensure in general education (K-8) and special education (K-12). Our belief in democratic ideals in education, together with the vision of preparing all teachers to be ready to teach all students, has required us to reconceptualize the ways in which we implement university based coursework and field experiences. This paper gives specific examples of the ways in which faculty in the Dual License Program model collaboration between general and special education to prepare apprentice teachers to collaborate in the schools in order to provide inclusive educational practices for all students. This paper specifically highlights the inclusion ofbest practices for students with severe disabilities as an integral part of curriculum development right from the start. Also, challenges arising from the implementation of this innovative program are discussed.

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