Problem Solving Process

Step 1: Analyze

1.What might be the strengths the student has?

• • Probing for specificity

    • • What might be skills the student is better at than others?

      • What might be some tasks the student has found success in within the school setting?

2. What might be some specific challenges the student is having?

• • Probing for specificity

    • • We have identified a few concerns, what challenge is most pressing?

      • What might we be most worried about?

      • How can we clearly define this in behavioral terms? 

  • Have you asked the student about this?

  • Have you asked the parent about this?

3. If we are going to focus on _______, let’s list the data that will help us have a clearer understanding of where we are starting. Let’s see where this student is in comparison to others with a similar instructional package. (Document baseline on GEI documentation form) 

• • If staff does not have data:

    • • Behavior: Can you estimate the frequency/duration/intensity, or what might be some ways we can collect baseline data?

      • Academics: What might be some formative, diagnostic or progress monitoring data you have collected or could collect?

4. Before we dive deeper into the needs of the student, let's make sure we have an accurate picture of the child by completing the Student Background Data Form.

• • If the student background data form is completed, just review with the team

  • if no student background data form is complete, ask the following questions:

    • Vision/Hearing/Medical

      • • Did the student pass the vision/hearing screening?

        • Does the student have significant physical or medical needs that impact them educationally?

    • Attendance

      • • Does the student have a history of excessive absenteeism (in excess of 10 days per semester, or 20 days in a year?

        • How many absences this school year?

        • How many times tardy this school year?

        • Is there a history of frequent school transfers?

        • How many school districts have they attended?

• • • ELL

      • • Does the student receive ELL services?

        • What is the primary language spoken at home?

        • How many years of education in English?

        • If YES, include the Bilingual Questionnaire Background Form

        • If YES, refer to the Comparison of Language Differences Versus Disabilities Indicator Form for more information to help determine language differences from disabilities.

    • Appropriate Instruction

      • • Has the student received appropriate instruction in reading, including the defined essential components?

        • Has the student received appropriate instruction in math?

    • Social/Emotional/Behavior

      • • What are the number of Office Referrals this school year?

        • Total days of In-School Suspensions?

        • Total days of Out-Of-School Suspension?

    • Do we need to gather more background information?

Step 2: Design

1. It is evident you have considered and/or implemented strategies with the student’s success in mind. This is an opportunity for the team to narrow and focus on the student’s needs. (See ICEL Chart HERE)

• • Instruction

    • • Might the student need even more explicit and clearer instructions in academic or behavior skills than what others in the room need?

      • Might we need additional training or a description of the academic or behavioral intervention we originally chose to use?

      • Might we need to adjust the difficulty?

      • What might it take for students to retain the skills they have acquired?

        • • more repetition within the session?

          • more repetition across sessions (short sessions, but more frequent)?

          • increase review (start and end each session with review)?

      • What might it take for the student to generalize retained information?

        • • practice the information the same way it should be used?

          • measure a more general outcome than a specific measure?

      • What are your hunches about adjusting the pace of instruction? 

    • Curriculum

      • • What resources are we currently using? Could we consider making adjustments?

        • Might we need to adjust the difficulty?

        • Might we need additional training with the intervention we originally chose to use?

        • What are your hunches about adjusting the student's goal?

    • Environment

      • • Might the student appear to do better in one setting than another?

          • • What are your hunches about adjusting the group size?

            • What are your hunches about adjusting the instructor? 

        • Might there be frequent interruptions during the student’s intervention time?

        • Might the student do better with shorter transitions between tasks or activities?

        • What might be some observations before and after the behavior occurs? 

    • Learner

      • • What are your hunches about the child's motivation for the behavior: escape, avoidance or attention?

2. Facilitator will summarize needs identified by the team

• use tools helpful for summarizing and brainstorming (i.e. white board, chart paper, google doc displayed on screen, etc.)

3. Brainstorm intervention ideas and goals

• • What might be the goal you have in mind for this student?

  • What might success look like for the student?

  • Based on the specific need and the student goal, what might be some evidenced based interventions that could be implemented?

Step 3: iMPLEMENT

1. Identify who (implementing intervention, providing support, collecting data), what, how and when the next meeting will take place. (Complete GEI documentation form)

• • After selecting an intervention that is tied to the student’s specific need

    • • How might you teach this to the student and/or support staff ?

      • What supports might you need to be successful with the intervention selected?

      • Who might be in charge of implementing information?

      • Who might be collecting data?

      • Who might be contacting the parent?

2. Check clarity of the team.

• As you think about this plan, does it seem manageable?

• Are you feeling supported?

• How has this meeting/collaborative conversation been helpful?

3. Designated party will implement interventions and monitor progress.

Step 4: rEFINEMENT

1. Determine if interventions are effective. 

• How did it go?

• Analyze causal factors

  • • What are your hunches as to why it was successful/ not successful?

    • What are some trends you noticed?

    • What might you have noticed about the effectiveness of the strategies?

• Analyzing data

  • • So your hunch says it was/was not successful, let’s look at the progress monitoring to see if that aligns with your thinking.

    • Given the data, what are your hunches on how the student received the intervention?

2. Identify modifications that need to be made. (Record on GEI Documentation Form)

• Knowing you gave your best effort to implement the intervention, what might be the reasons the intervention wasn’t successful?

• What might you be able to do differently or adjust to increase student success?

3. If needed, determine and additional meeting or need for further evaluation.

Model of Problem SOlving COnversation