I have just finished reading some really interesting blog discussions! I really appreciated those groups that took the opportunity to practice giving feedback to the teacher vignettes from the readings. I like how many of you offered to co-teach or demonstrate how to do either the anticipation guide or work with a group so the teacher could really observe what was happening during the flexible grouping time. And thanks to those who read the position statement from ILA on models of coaching and discussed that in the blog as well. I know we are coming up on or you are finishing up on spring break as I write this on Friday, March 16 in the morning. We are moving on to other aspects of program improvement for Week 10 after spring break and we will be meeting together right before the probable teacher walk out. I don't completely want to leave coaching since you have that assignment to complete, so please bring to class questions about coaching models, the coaching process, etc.
I had a question about just exactly how many meetings with the teacher you are coaching you need to have. It depends. You need to meet with her to set goals for your coaching. Based on those goals, you will need to decide if you need to do a demonstration lesson, do co-planning, do co-teaching. Then you will need to determine when you will observe and do a pre-observation conference to set up parameters of the observation and your focus (you can't watch everything at once!). Of course, you both need time for reflection--you may want to provide some structure for the teacher you are coaching--and the post observation. Don't forget that you need to be keeping a journal of the the coaching activities and then there will be a final reflection.
So, for Week 10, you are reading about instruction and the role of the literacy leader. You will be reading about differentiation, the instructional role of the reading specialist as a collaborator with classroom teachers, RTI, and how to develop your instructional role in your school to work with struggling readers. What do you know or see in your school about the instructional role of the reading specialist? What do you know about differentiation and RTI? What do you hope to learn as you read B&D 11 and Bean 2 and 3?
As you blog over this content before I see you on March 31, there are several activities you might consider: Bean Chapter 2 Reflections 1 and 3 and Activity 3 at the end of the chapter will help you apply that information. Bean Chapter 3 Activity 2 will as well. What do you think about the steps for differentiation discussed in B&D chapter 11? What do you think about push in vs. pull out programs for struggling readers?
I'll be in Texas for most of spring break with my elderly mother but will have email and answer it if you want me to take a look at PD plans or anything else. The University is closed March 19 and 20 for electrical maintenance but we have been assured the IT infrastructure will still be working. I'll see you on March 31 at 1-4 pm for our next face to face class. Bring questions on assignments, a draft of your PD plan for my feedback, and please have decided which activity on that plan you will be writing up in detail. My blog for Week 11 will go live after class.
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ReplyDeleteNot having a Reading Specialist and knowing that my teachers can be somewhat resistant to change I wonder how an instructional coach will be received by my teachers. I hope that they will see me as an asset and allow me into their classrooms and give me access to their interests and challenges. I know that RTI is a tool that we can use to help our students fill the literacy gaps that they are missing. I've worked with pull out and pull in groups. I see advantages and disadvantages with both types of groups. For our reading this week, I'm not sure what I'm wanting to know, but I recognize that I have lots to learn. :)
ReplyDeleteIn our building, our reading specialist has two assistants and all have the sole goal of to work directly with students. They tend to work with students in small groups, sometimes pushing into the classroom and at others, pulling students out of the classroom, depending on the preferences of the classroom teachers. Students are selected based on their data, typically working with students that are slightly below grade level as an extra support to get those students on grade level. Most of their concentration falls on students Kindergarten through 3rd.
ReplyDeleteDifferentiation and RTI are two ways to reach students and fill educational gaps or support learning. At some point, lessons are differentiated for every student. This can be done as a way to support where a student's current understanding, a way to engage and motivate learners. RTI is intensive and research based. It requires monitoring of progress for those students involved.
In our building, there is not much collaboration between the reading specialist and classroom teachers. I hope through the readings, I will learn about ways in which the reading specialist can collaborate with classroom teachers when considering instructional roles for students.
Our district uses RTI and our reading specialists play a large role in this process. Tier one is considered our whole group instruction and the differentiation we provide in our own classrooms to meet students' needs. In my classroom in order to differentiate I modify assignments, provide supplemental instructions or guidance, or have students join me at my teacher table for additional direct instruction or support depending on particular students' needs. This can differ greatly from day to day and even lesson to lesson. Students that we notice are struggling been with this classroom differentiation and brought up and discussed at our monthly RTI meetings. The RTI team, comprised of the grade level team, both school reading specialists, the resource teachers, the school psychologist, the counselor, and the principal, then decide whether or not to move the student to tier 2. This tier is where the Reading Specialists come in. These students are pulled out of class for small group instruction and practice on their specific needs. The Reading Specialists keep documentation on the services provided and the students' progress. At each RTI meeting this progress is discussed. If a student has been unable to make adequate progress within a certain number weeks, they are moved to tier 3. At tier three the Reading Specialist pulls them out more frequently and in smaller groups, normally no more than two or three students at a time. Students who have made great progress may stay on the tier they are on, or if the team feels they are ready to be successful on their own they can be moved back to tier one. Student who continue to struggle to make progress after a certain number of weeks on tier three may be referred to be evaluated. to learn more about the student and how they learn.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to providing these RTI services with students, the Reading Specialist at my school use the remainder of their time during the day to push into flex center time in various classrooms.
As I read, I hope to learn more about other roles reading specialists may have that differ from what I have seen at my school.
Since our school is not a title one school, we only have a part-time reading specialist. She works with students from kindergarten to third grade. Instruction is provided to students who are struggling to read within the regular classroom by means of a pull-out class. Our reading specialist tries to collaborate with teachers during our double plan time that we have once a month. During this time, the other teachers in my grade level and her work to make sure we are all on the same page in terms of instruction. She offers the students instruction that that is tailored to meet their specific needs in a small group setting. I have worked at other schools where the reading specialist pushed-in but from my experiences this seems to be rare. As I read, I hope to learn more about the instructional role of the reading specialist outside of what I have witnessed from my experiences.
ReplyDeleteDifferentiated instruction is a student-centered instructional approach to teaching in which the classroom teacher plans for the diverse needs of each student within the same classroom. Teachers can differentiate instruction in terms of content, process, and products, according to the student’s readiness, interests, or learning profiles.
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a three-tiered approach that is used to identify and support the needs of students. All students are given an initial universal screening assessment and this data is used to guide the placement of students on the tiers. Tier one students are those that are showing progress from general instruction within the classroom. Tier two students are those that are not showing adequate progress from the general instruction that is being provided within the classroom. These students receive the general classroom instruction in addition to more intense interventions that are tailored to meet their needs. The classroom teacher can meet with these students to provide more intense interventions within a small group setting and/or the specialists can also push-in or pull out the students to offer them more support as well. If students are progressing to the point that they no longer need the extra support, then they are moved back to tier one. However, if the student is not showing adequate progress, then they are moved to tier three where the students are supported with even more intense interventions usually in a one-on-one setting with a specialist. At this point, the data that has been collected can also be utilized to refer students for SPED testing.
My school does not have a reading specialist. If a school in my district would like to hire a Reading Specialist, they are paid through Title I funds. Since I have been at my school for the past eight years, we haven’t had a Reading Specialist. I would expect the role of the Reading Specialist to be working with small groups of students who are struggling and those who are mid-level. Also a Reading Specialist could collaborate with teachers for guidance as to how to help these students meet grade-level standards. A Reading Specialist may also work with or give teachers strategies for students who are above grade level expectations. A Reading Specialist could also work with teachers one-on-one as a resource for guided reading or small group instruction or managing workstations or on a specific strategy for a specific skill. I see a Reading Specialist in a partnership with classroom teachers and those in Special Education and with students.
ReplyDeleteDifferentiation is teaching a lesson or skill at different levels to meet the needs of individual students. RTI is the process of Tiers to meet the individual needs of students. Tier I is whole group, on level instruction for the entire class. Tier II is the level in which some students have gaps in learning that need attention to bring them to grade-level. And Tier III is students who are in need of intervention because they are several grade-levels below being on-grade level. If students on the Tier III level do not improve with several weeks of intervention, consideration for special education may be possible.
Because my school does not have a Reading Specialist or a Literacy Leader, I hope to learn about instruction and the role they play in a school. This would be information I could take to my principal and Leadership team to decide if it would be beneficial for our students and our school. I hope to discover more information about differentiation and the RTI process.
My school has two reading specialists, one for the lower grades and one for the upper grades. Both pull kids into their classrooms in small groups based on their differing DRA levels. The one specifically focused on my grade pulls my students in two groups, based on their level, along with students from the other three classes. They go about four days a week with the reading specialist and work on targeted instruction to help strengthen their fluency and decoding skills.
ReplyDeleteDifferentiation is a way for teachers to target and plan instruction that meets all of the students needs in the classroom. It can be as simple as altering the same activities so they are more developmentally appropriate, or can be a different activity entirely if necessary. Teachers can also give students different options in choosing how they want to represent what they learned.
My school also uses RTI. As I understand it, it’s a three-tiered system that aims at differing interventions depending on a students’ need. Tier 1 is where students who can learn in whole group settings. Tier 2 is for students who need a little extra intervention to get them to be on grade level. And finally, Tier 3 is for students who need a lot of extra intervention to get to grade level, and usually get pulled by a reading specialist for some supplemental work as well.
Because I am still so unfamiliar with RTI and how it should be administered most effectively, I want to learn that aspect of it. I also want to read the pros and cons of push-ins versus pull-outs. Our school just started push-ins with our resource teacher and I feel as if this would be beneficial for our students as well.
At our school, we have two, experienced and high-qualified reading specialists that each work part-time to add up to one full-time person. They mainly work with students in Kindergarten through 4th grade in a pull-out program. I’m not sure how students are grouped to see the reading specialist or how many students are seen at one time. Students are identified to see the reading specialists using the DIBELS test. I’m not exactly sure how students “test out” of going to see the reading specialist.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, our reading specialists do not see any 5th-8th students on a regular basis though they will test or consult on these olders students as needed. I have talked to our curriculum director many times about the need for a middle school reading specialists to work with students who do not score proficient on the state reading tests, but we have not had the funds to hire someone.
Additionally, our beloved ELL teacher passed away last year. Since we have a small ELL population (mainly Hispanic students), one of the reading specialists has added working with these student to her schedule. Our reading specialists are more the traditional model and do not do very much teacher coaching or pushing into classrooms.
Our school does not use the RTI model for intervention. Differentiation is mainly carried out in individual classrooms through the use of guided reading groups in the elementary grades and other, more age-appropriate ways with middle school students.
I would like to learn more about how to implement RTI. I know what the tiers are, but I don’t always understand the logistics of how to make it work. I would also like to know what kinds of interventions and types of differentiation are most effective for struggling middle school readers. Some of what I’ve read suggests that to make up achievement gap for these older students requires daily, intense interventions.
Although my school does not have a certified reading specialist, we do have an amazing "reading interventionist" who is really just a fantastic ex-teacher/mom who was volunteering her time and slipped right into a new role. She works very hard to communicate with the teachers on what lessons they are focusing on in a whole group setting, and builds of that skill, or explain further individually or small group. In addition, she continues to work on skills they have covered in the past so that these are not forgotten with passing time. It's really just a time for students to cover the same material they have in class, slow down and review again.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure exactly how RTI is supposed to work. I do know that the reading interventionist keeps very detailed notes over what the students she serves are working on and how they show growth over time. The students who she serves are Kinder through 3rd grade who score "on watch" according to the SRAR reading and early literacy test. In other words, if the children are not on or above reading level, they go to small group reading. I have found this intervention to be hugely beneficial. First, we catch the struggling readers early. So often, we catch them so that they can benefit from a few months of small group and excel when they are back in the classroom for the full reading time.
I think all of our teachers see the reading interventionist as a major asset to the success of our students. I only wish there were another few so that we could serve the upper grades as well.
I hope as a read this week's lesson, I will gain more insight as to how to differentiate for struggling readers in the classroom without compromising students who are not struggling and even looking for a push. I know this must be less of a problem in a small group setting as one a reading specialist might have, but I can imagine this must sometimes occur in small groups who are being served at the same time with the specialist, but who are needing different levels of intervention.
We are very fortunate to have a full time reading specialist at my school even though we are not a Title I school. I know that our reading specialist plays a very significant role in RtI- holding monthly meetings with each grade level (as well as principal, vice principal, counselor, and myself) to go over each student on RtI individually. I don't really know specifically how she works with teachers on RtI or differentiated instruction- I will ask her about that this week. I do frequently witness her talking with teachers of all grade levels about students and giving her advice/opinion. I also know that she has reading lab every morning and pulls small groups most every day. For the past month or so she has been working with the principal and vice principal on "test prep" every Friday with third and fourth grade students I believe. Basically, even though Im aware of her active involvement in our school, I am not sure on many details of her instructional role or involvement in RtI. I do know she is very much respected and appreciated within our school community.
ReplyDeleteDuring the readings for this week I hope to learn more about how the reading specialist is involved in the RtI process (although I know it will be different based on the school) and differentiated instruction as well as more about the instructional role of a reading specialist in general.
At my school, our reading specialist meets with our struggling readers in 1st and 2nd grade only. She doesn't visit our kindergarten classes for some reason. However, I would think it is just as important to meet with struggling kindergarten students to ensure they do not fall too behind from the rest of the other students. Our reading specialist doesn't meet with us to discuss what strategies are being used in the classroom. She doesn't provide any resources or suggestions for better practice. She doesn't inform us of any recent findings or studies for improved literacy practices. And she doesn't visit with us to develop a relationship. It's a bit frustrating to reflect on how little she contributes to our school and students.
ReplyDeleteI use differentiation in my classroom to provide my students with instruction and practice in areas that are within their ZPD. The activities are designed to challenge the students using instructional levels materials. When activities are too frustrating or too easy, students are not able to learn efficiently. Therefore, when differentiation is used in instruction, all students are able to work efficiently, successfully, and develop in literacy skills. We use a strategy influenced by RTI in our classrooms for our struggling readers. We are expected to provide our students with interventions to help with areas in literacy to help with the skill gap. We are also required to document our intervention times based on a quantitative goal. We were never provided PD for this practice, so I believe it is done very differently among the building.
This week, I hope to learn more about the RTI process and how I can use it effectively in the classroom. I also hope to educate my fellow team members and teachers in my building to execute this procedure effectively and cohesively.
For us our literacy coach is a little different. She deals with our title 1 things, coordinates our tutoring schedules for our little ones, and plans our PD. Our coach does a variety of other things as well. What is different is that since our school has over 900 kiddos she is also used as a sort of admin person as well. We can take our discipline problems and any other problem up to her as well. She is a versatile lady :)
ReplyDeleteI believe that RTI is the process of which we determine which child needs what care. We figure out what tier the student is on. Differentiation is how we tailor our instruction to fit the different students on those three tiers!