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Making sense of the alphabet soup of MTSS, RTI, PBIS, ....
Making sense of the alphabet soup of MTSS, RTI, PBIS, ....
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a framework that helps educators provide academic and behavioral strategies for students with various needs. MTSS grew out of the integration of two other intervention-based frameworks: Response to Intervention (RtI) and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS).
As part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) updated by Congress in 2004, the Response to Intervention model of assessment originally sought to identify students who would benefit from more intensive supports. From these beginnings as a tool to help improve educational outcomes for students in special education, MTSS has grown to encompass all students at every level.
The catch for Exceptional Education is that, in our component districts' less restrictive environments, one of the Tier 3 supports is placement in the programs at Smith School. As such, we start from a point of ALL of our students navigating significant challenges that have not responded to the interventions and supports in traditional Tier 1 or Tier 2 educational offerings.
It is incumbent upon us to differentiate our intensive interventions to best meet the needs of our students.
Tier 1 – General Instruction: The high-quality classroom instruction that all students receive.
Some strategies for what Tier 1 looks like include:
1) Classwide or Whole Group Intervention that targets a specific skill gap. Instructional support, feedback or guidance to multiple students together. Gives students extra opportunities to practice and develop the specific skill. For instance, if a grade level is focusing on increasing reading fluency, teachers might start each class period with 5 minutes of reading, regardless of the course subject. The extra practice accumulates over time to help students master the skill of reading fluency.
2) Focusing on Student Engagement will ensure the maximum 'bang' for your instructional 'buck.' Empower students to play an active role in their own learning. Consider how students are talking, writing, and participating in the group. Maximize engagement through:
Building relationships: Ensure there is time to connect with students and build relationships, whether in onsite or remote environments. An example is the “2 by 10” intervention. This entails taking 2 minutes a day for ten school days in a row to connect with a student about something outside of classwork, such as hobbies, interests, and families.
Implement evidence-based instructional strategies: Incorporating evidence-based teaching methods and opportunities to show mastery can help students become more involved in the lesson and their own learning.
Increasing motivation: Incorporating games for practice, positive rewards, and feedback to help students stay engaged.
3) Adjust Dosage of intervention. Change the number of days per week the students receive intervention (frequency). Reevaluate the length of time the students receive the intervention in each session(duration). Reduce the number of students in a group for more individualized attention.
Modifications vs. Adaptations vs. Accommodations
Modifications vs. Adaptations vs. Accommodations
Adaptations or Accommodations (used interchangeably) are changes made to the learning environment, available equipment, or how assignments are completed by a student.
Modifications are changes to the content and skills that students are expected to master.
When in doubt, just ask yourself: “Am I changing WHAT the student is learning or HOW the student is learning it?”
What does this look like here?
Our students have access to the same NYS mandated curriculum across English, math, science and social studies as their general education, grade-level peers.
That curriculum is modified and adapted to meet students where they are academically, socio-emotionally and developmentally.
Tier 2 – Targeted, Smaller Group Interventions: In some cases, research-based supports can be provided to students who are struggling. These interventions are often implemented in small group settings to support many students with a similar need for the sake of systematic efficiency.
Specific Tier 2 interventions include practices such as social skills groups, service learning programs and academic supports and are often articulated in a student's IEP.
Progress monitoring tools are often confused with interventions. Progress monitoring in and of itself is not an intervention. The intervention is the research-based additional instructional supports that is provided to students to help expedite the growth of a specific skill gap. The progress monitoring tool is the assessment used to monitor whether the skill is increasing.
What does this look like here?
Even though our programs are a more restrictive educational environment, they are still not a one-size-fits-all version. Within a homeroom, students individual needs are supported in a variety of ways such as:
Supervised work experience with specific focus related to transition goals.
Individual or group counseling or therapy on various schedules.
Tier 3 – Intensive, Individualized Interventions: Students with more severe/chronic behavior/social-emotional issues who fail to respond to lesser interventions demand an increased attention in our programs as well.
An intervention plan to meet these needs:
is customized to the student's unique needs
can include various stakeholders as interventionists (e.g., student, teacher(s), support staff, parent, etc.)
often requires implementation of the intervention with consistency across multiple settings.
What does this look like here?
Daily behavior logs
Shortened day
1:1 adult support (aide or monitor)
Intensive, 1:1 reading support
Behavior Intervention Plan
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