Blog 10: Response to Intervention (RTI)

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a form of academic intervention that is used in some schools here in the United States.  It is designed to provide early, effective assistance to children who are not learning or are having a hard time learning.  RTI identifies the needs of struggling students and provides the focused instruction they need through various levels of assistance beginning in the regular education classroom and ranging in intensity up to the special education level.  The model is a useful approach to providing data-based decision-making for any students who may be in need of extra interventions to improve their performance. 

RTI can also be used to identify students with learning disabilities.  In fact, new special education laws have recently passed stating that cognitive ability (IQ) testing will no longer be able to be used to identify students with learning disabilities. By the year 2013, all public schools in Wisconsin will have to use RTI to identify students with learning disabilities.

Although RTI can be used to identify students in need of special education services in the area of learning disabilities, it is not a special education program.  RTI is a preventative framework instead of a pre-referral, and it is intended to be implemented in the regular education setting.  In a pre-referral strategy we see a student being referred after he fails in some way.  Teachers recognize that failure and refer the student to the referral team.  In this way, it is reactive instead of preventative. 

In the Green Bay Area Public Schools, the referral process usually starts with the Teacher Assistance Team (TAT) and can move on from there to the Consultation Team, which may eventually lead to a special education referral.  Sometimes students don’t qualify to receive special education services they need but still have a form of learning disability.  RTI benefits students who do not meet the current criteria (testing) for a learning disability.  Some of these kids are falling behind because they cannot receive the help they need in special education or from regular education.  RTI can help these kids who are struggling and do not qualify for special education assistance.  RTI allows schools to be flexible to provide more individualized instruction to students based on demonstrated needs and not simply on tests scores. 

For example, as a teacher, I may give a quiz and see that most of my students did not do well on it.  As a result, I may implement some interventions in my classroom that benefit all of my students.  I would also look carefully at the scores of all of my students and work more intensely with the students who scored the lowest on the quiz.  If possible, I may have a paraprofessional or teacher’s aide work in a small group with my lowest students to provide the intense intervention they need to catch up to the level of the rest of the class.  It is important to give many quizzes or other forms of measuring student progress to make sure that I am targeting the students who need the most help.

Multiple Intelligences Ranking

1	Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence
2	Interpersonal Intelligence
3	Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
4	Intrapersonal Intelligence
5	Spatial Intelligence
6	Linguistic Intelligence
7	Moral Intelligence
8	Naturalist Intelligence
9	Spiritual Intelligence
10	Musical Intelligence
11	Existential Intelligence

Blog #8

I think there are positive and negative arguments regarding whether we should separate boys and girls when they are in school.  A couple of the arguments for separating by gender include: less distractions, it helps them learn better, they have more confidence, and it allows the boys and girls to take subjects they may not otherwise take.  Some classrooms have distractions that come mainly from boys.  On the other hand, girls can be the cause of drama that disrupts the entire class. 

I remember when I was in High School we were only separated for gym and sex education classes.  I think boys can be less mature than girls.  I know when it comes to the sex education class, boys seem to be much more immature and sometimes have to be removed from the class because they are not able to learn the subject in a respectful manner. 

One of the arguments against separating by gender would be that students of different genders would not have interactions with each other and would not learn how to interact with the opposite sex.  I think school provides good opportunities to learn this important life skill.  I also think it is better to have the different opinions and viewpoints from both genders during class discussions and when they work on group projects.  A project may be biased if it only has one general viewpoint, such as that from one gender. 

Another aspect to think about is how boys and girls learn and how their brains develop.  Do boys and girls learn differently?  Boys might draw pictures with more action and less details.  Girls draw pictures with more detail and color.  Brain research has proven that male and female brains do develop differently. 

I do not think we necessarily have to separate students by gender, but we do need to teach them the different ways that they learn.  We do know that there are some advantages for each gender.  For example, boys tend to have more privileges and freedoms than girls, but teachers may have lower expectations for girls.  I think in order to be successful in the real world you need to be able to work cooperatively with different people, especially the opposite sex.  I have never had the experience of attending an all boys school, but I believe that some students might benefit from going to a same sex school. 

-Marco Olson Guillén

Accommodating Diversity

In order to be an effective teacher, it is important to find out everything you can about your students to better serve and educate them.  We live in one of the most diverse countries in the world so it is extremely important to learn about each student’s background, living situation, culture, language, interests, talents and family.  We have so many students from different backgrounds and nationalities and it is important to make them feel comfortable by providing a physically and emotionally safe classroom environment so they can learn.   Inclusive classrooms are classrooms in which instructors and students work together to create and sustain an environment in which everyone feels safe, supported, and encouraged to express her or his views and concerns.  Many classrooms are full of diverse races and learning styles, so I think is crucial to change the way we teach and accommodate all of their needs.

I think respect is one of the most important factors to creating a safe environment.  Acknowledging and respecting each student’s culture is very important.  Teachers need to be aware of that and treat every student with respect, no matter how different they may seem.  As a teacher, you cannot be demeaning to any student.  Disrespecting a student’s race, heritage, clothes, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, language or religious beliefs is absolutely unacceptable.  Unfortunately, some teachers continue to demonstrate a lack of understanding and respect for students who are different from the majority.

The Hispanic community in Green Bay and throughout the United States has grown and continues to grow.  Our schools have many students of Hispanic background.  Spanish is a very popular language that is spoken here in the United States and in our schools.  We also have growing populations of Russian and Somalian families.  I think it is important for teachers to learn a second language to communicate with students and families, and to show the students that you are interested in them and what they have to say is important.  Even having something small in the classroom representing a student’s culture makes a difference.  As I mentioned in my autobiography, I went to a school where I was one of a few students of Hispanic background.  I did not have the help or support I needed in my own language (Spanish).  Sometimes I did not fit in or feel like part of the classroom because I did not know the language (English) yet.  I did not feel connected to my teachers.  I am glad things are getting better with bilingual education and English as a Second Language (ESL) services. 

I also think it is important to create a safe environment for the kids who are still searching for their identities.  Sexual orientation is often like a red flag for people.  Many students are afraid to express their sexual orientation because they do not want to be harassed by other students or possibly even by their teachers.  As a teacher, it is our job to make all students feel comfortable, safe, fully accepted and valued as a member of the class.  We need to be open-minded and not let our own personal opinions or biases affect how we teach. 

I think building that teacher-student relationship is very important.  Teachers can share with students a little bit about their own lives, when appropriate.  I think by doing this, students feel more comfortable with their teacher and begin to trust their teacher which leads to more sharing about themselves.

           

Video Performance Assessment

The video “Performance Assessment: Student Presentation in High School English Class” was interesting.  First the teacher gave the students the rubric and they did the project at home.  Later they came back and she asked them how they wanted to be graded and what their criteria was for getting a good grade.  They suggested ideas to the teacher about how they wanted to be graded and she developed a rubric based on what the students suggested.  The rubric she created covered the major themes the assignment was designed to teach them. I think it could be used in middle school but I think it would need to be adapted for elementary students.  She could have used question and answer activities, open group discussions, reflective journaling, diagrams, essays, individual presentations, projects, research, workshops and/or tests for other kind of assessments.  Tests can be used to check the progress of each student’s level of understanding and functional skills.  Group discussion is a good way to test verbal skills by having students explain or defend work.  Assignments, both written and drawn out, can also be used to test research skills and the understanding of the topic’s objectives.  These can be given as worksheets to be completed in class or at home.

-Marco Olson Guillén

Education Legislation

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act is the largest source of federal support for K-12 education that was started in 1965.  It is federal assistance that helps low economic schools and communities.  Title 1 is one of the programs that help schools that have students and families living in poverty.  The Title 1 offers money to schools to create programs such as early-childhood education, tutoring, after school programs and much more.  I work at Nicolet Elementary and it is a Title 1 school that offers great programs for the students and the families.  Some of the activities that Nicolet has include, Back to School Barbecue, Seuss on the Loose, Showcase of Learning, Vocabulary Parade, and Math Night to name a few.  Some of that money is also used for professional developments for teachers and tutoring.  However, being a Title 1 school needs to report the progress academically in order to keep receiving the funds.  Nicolet school has goals that need to be met.  At Nicolet it is expected to have 100% in different areas such as parent’s involvement in at least two school activities, participation in conferences and is also expected that 100% of students in all grade levels meet all the academics goals. 

Title IX is part of the Education Amendments of 1972.  This is an amendment that prohibits discriminations on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program.  It protects the rights of males and females from pre-kindergarten through graduate school in academics, sports, financial aid, employment, counseling and school policies.  Unfortunately some of the act’s regulations have been violated by some schools.

In 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was created to ensure that children with disabilities could receive free, adequate public education just like other kids.  Before this act was created, there was no organized, fair way to address the need of the students with disabilities.  They were marginalized and separated and not taught to their learning potential.  Now the federal legislation has made it possible to include kids with special needs to a regular classroom with different degrees of inclusion depending on the needs of the student.  Research has shown that inclusion is better for special education students and students from the general population.

-Marco Olson Guillén

Rules for Teachers

The Rules for Teachers from 1915 and 1872 are different from the ones we have today.  These rules mainly targeted teachers and did not affect the students.  Some of the rules were quite harsh, especially towards female teachers.  Female teachers had stricter rules than male teachers.  They could not be seen in public with a male unless it was their father or their brother.  Teachers would lose their integrity and could even lose their job by doing social things in the community, such as smoking and drinking in public, and even shaving their beards.  Incredibly, teachers could not even go outside of the city limits without permission from the school board.  In addition, teachers had to be home between certain hours at night.  I actually found some of these rules to be funny because they seem so unreasonable now.  The modern NEA Code of Ethics mainly focuses on each teacher’s commitment toward the student and the teaching profession.  The Code of Ethics are also in place to protect the students.

            I definitely believe there are unwritten “social rules” for teachers.  They are certainly not as harsh as the one from 1872 and 1915, but with the same principles.  As educators we need to be positive role models to our kids.  I think some of the important social rules for teachers include dressing appropriately and using proper hygiene, using appropriate language, not having romantic relationships with the students, being on time, and being an upstanding member of the community, including appropriate social behavior outside the school.  For example, teachers should not go out to the bars and get drunk or have any type of disorderly conduct in the community.  Also, we need to watch how we use modern technology, especially on-line.  Teachers definitely have more freedom now than in the past, but I think we need to continue to work to keep some of these freedoms.