Teach Effectively!

In the chat section of Education Week there is a transcript of a discussion of the implications of response to intervention (or instruction; RtI) for classrooms. Although the questions they answer cover much broader scope than classroom instruction (e.g., roles of administrators, counselors, and psychologists), Judy Elliot and Doug Fuchs provide responses to many instructional matters in the transcript.

Here’s an example of a question and answer:

Question from Cliff Rabe, Middle School Lang Arts Teacher, Camp Ernst Middle School:
From my understanding, RTI was/is primarily used in elementary schools, and is seemingly successful. How effective would such a model be in a middle school? Is there any research that supports that it works at that level?

Douglas Fuchs:

hi cliff: you’re right. RTI was initially modeled after “reading first,” the early intervention centerpiece of NCLB. as such it was conceived as a service delivery system for the primary grades (K-grade 3). moreover, it was initially meant for the area of reading bec the research on early reading is very strong. during the past 3-5 years, we’ve seen RTI morph into “something for everyone.” the fact of the matter is that there is very little research on how to think about RTI, let alone implement it, in middle and high school. i’m not saying RTI at these levels is wrongheaded; rather, there is very little empirically to guide us at this time.

Link to the discussion of “What Does RTI Mean for the Classroom?” Remember to explore the Teach Effectively page of RtI commentaries for more by Professor Fuchs and others.