RTI: Tier 2 for Writing Jim Wright
Workshop PPTs and handout available at: http:///awsa
RTI at Tier 2 Focus of Inquiry: What are the quality indicators of a Tier 2 program? 3
Evaluating a Student s Non- Responder Status: An RTI Checklist (Available Online)
RTI Non-Responder Checklist: Purpose The document Evaluating a Student s Non Responder Status: t An RTI Checklist was created to help schools to: audit the quality of their current RTI efforts in any academic area. create concrete guidelines for judging whether RTI intervention efforts for a particular student are of adequate quality. 5
Evaluating a Student s Non-Responder Status: t An RTI Checklist Interventions: e Evidence-Based & Implemented e ed With Integrity Tier 1: High-Quality Core Instruction Tier 1: Classroom Intervention Tier 2 & 3 Interventions: Minimum Number & Length Tier 2 & 3 Interventions: Essential Elements Tier 1, 2, & 3 Interventions: Intervention Integrity 7
Core Instruction & Tier 1 Intervention Focus of Inquiry: What are the indicators of high-quality core instruction for writing? 11
Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC Alliance for Excellent Education. Retrieved from http://www.all4ed.org/files/ WritingNext.pdf 12
The Effect of Grammar Instruction as an Independent Activity Grammar instruction in the studies reviewed [for the Writing Next report] involved the explicit and systematic teaching of the parts of speech and structure of sentences. The meta-analysis found an effect for this type of instruction for students across the full range of ability, but surprisingly, i this effect was negative Such findings raise serious questions about some educators enthusiasm for traditional grammar instruction as a focus of writing instruction for adolescents.overall, the findings on grammar instruction suggest that, although teaching ggrammar is important, alternative procedures, such as sentence combining, are more effective than traditional approaches for improving the quality of students writing. p. 21 Source: Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC Alliance for Excellent Education. 13
Evaluating the Impact of Effect Size Coefficients 0.20 Effect Size = Small 0.50 Effect Size = Medium 0.80 Effect Size = Large Source: Cohen,J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nded.). Hillsdale,NJ:Erlbaum. 14
Elements of effective writing instruction for adolescents: 1. Writing Process (Effect Size = 0.82): Students are taught a process for planning, revising, and editing. 2. Summarizing (Effect Size = 0.82): Students are taught methods to identify key points, main ideas from readings to write summaries of source texts. 3. Cooperative Learning Activities ( Collaborative Writing ) (Effect Size = 0.75): Students are placed in pairs or groups with learning activities that focus on collaborative use of the writing process. 4. Goal-Setting (Effect Size = 0.70): Students set specific product goals for their writing and then check their attainment of those self- generated goals. Source: Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC Alliance for Excellent Education. Retrieved from http://www.all4ed.org/files/writingnext.pdf 15
Elements of effective writing instruction for adolescents: 5. Writing Processors (Effect Size = 0.55): Students have access to computers/word processors in the writing process. 6. Sentence Combining (Effect Size = 0.50): Students take part in instructional activities that require the combination or embedding of simpler sentences (e.g., Noun-Verb-Object) to generate more advanced, complex sentences. 7. Prewriting (Effect Size = 0.32): Students learn to select, develop, or organize ideas to incorporate into their writing by participating in structured pre-writing activities. 8. Inquiry Activities (Effect Size = 0.32): Students become actively engaged researchers, collecting and analyzing information to guide the ideas and content for writing assignments. Source: Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC Alliance for Excellent Education. Retrieved from http://www.all4ed.org/files/writingnext.pdf 16
Elements of effective writing instruction for adolescents: 9. Process Writing g( (Effect Size = 0.32): Writing instruction is taught in a workshop format that stresses extended writing opportunities, writing for authentic audiences, personalized instruction, and cycles of writing (Graham & Perin, 2007; p. 4). 10. Use of Writing Models (Effect Size = 0.25): Students read and discuss models of good writing and use them as exemplars for their own writing. 11. Writing to Learn Content (Effect Size = 0.23): The instructor incorporates writing activities as a means to have students learn content material. Source: Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC Alliance for Excellent Education. Retrieved from http://www.all4ed.org/files/writingnext.pdf 17
Writing Blockers (Online)
Physical Production of Writing Y N Writing Speed. Writes words on the page at a rate equal or nearly equal to that of classmates Teach keyboarding skills Allow student to dictate ideas into a tape-recorder and have a volunteer (e.g., classmate, parent, school personnel) transcribe them. Y N Handwriting. Handwriting is legible to most readers Provide training in handwriting Teach keyboarding skills.
Mechanics & Conventions of Writing Y N Grammar & Syntax. Teach rules of grammar, syntax Knowledge of grammar (rules governing use of language) and syntax Have students compile individualized checklists of their own common grammar/syntax Y N (grammatical arrangement of words in sentences) is appropriate for age and/or grade placement Spelling. Spelling skills are appropriate p for age and/or grade placement mistakes; direct students to use the checklist to review work for errors before turning in. Have student collect list of own common misspellings; assign words from list to study; quiz student on list items. Have student type assignments and use spell-check.
"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." Mark Twain
Writing Content Y N Vocabulary. Vocabulary in Compile list of key vocabulary and written work is age/grade appropriate related definitions for subject area; assign words from list to study; quiz student on definitions of list items Introduce new vocabulary items regularly to class; set up cooperative learning activities for students to review vocabulary. Y N Word Choice. Present examples to the class of Distinguishes word- formal vs. informal word choices choices that are Have students check work for appropriate for informal appropriate word choice as part of (colloquial, slang) writing revision process. discourse vs. formal written discourse
"Your manuscript is both good and original. But the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good." Samuel Johnson
Writing Content (Cont.) Y N Audience. Identifies Direct students to write a targeted targeted audience for writing assignments and alters written content to audience profile as a formal (early) step in the writing process; have students evaluate the final writing match needs of projected audience product to needs of targeted audience during the revision process. Y N Plagiarism. Identifies when to credit authors for use of excerpts quoted verbatim or unique ideas taken from other written works Define plagiarism for students. Use plentiful examples to show students acceptable vs. unacceptable incorporation of others words or ideas into written compositions.
"Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs." Henry Ford
Writing Preparation Y N Topic Selection. Have student generate list of general Independently selects appropriate topics for writing assignments topics that that interest him or her; sit with the student to brainstorm ideas for writing topics that relate to the student s own areas of interest. Y N Writing Plan. Creates writing plan by breaking larger writing assignments into sub-tasks (e.g., select topic, collect source documents, take notes from source documents, write outline, etc.) Create generic pre-formatted work plans for writing assignments that break specific types of larger assignments (e.g., research paper) into constituent parts. Have students use these plan outlines as a starting point to making up their own detailed writing plans.
Writing Preparation (Cont.) Y N Note-Taking. Researches topics by writing notes that capture key ideas from source material Teach note-taking skills; have students review note-cards with the teacher as quality check.
"When I sit at my table to write, I never know what it s going to be until I'm under way. I trust in inspiration, which sometimes comes and sometimes doesn't. But I don't sit back waiting for it. I work every day. " Alberto Moravia
Writing Production & Revision Response to Intervention Y N Adequate Seat Time. Allocates realistic amount of time to the act of writing to ensure a quality final product Use teacher s experience and information from proficient student writers to develop and share estimates of minimum writing seat time needed to produce quality products for typical writing assignments Have students keep a writing diary to record amount of time spent in act of writing for each assignment. (Additional idea: Consider asking parents to monitor and record their child s writing time.) Y N Oral vs. Written Work. Student s dictated and written passages are equivalent in complexity and quality Allow student to dictate ideas into a tape-recorder and have a volunteer (e.g., g, classmate, parent, school personnel) transcribe them Permit the student to use speech-to-text software (e.g., Dragon Naturally Speaking) to dictate first drafts of writing assignments.
Writing Production & Revision Response to Intervention Y N Revision Process. Revises initial i i written draft before Create a rubric containing the elements of writing i that students turning in for a grade or evaluation should review during the revision process; teach this rubric to the class; link a portion of the grade on writing assignments to students use of the revision rubric. Y N Timely Submission. Trns Turns Provide student incentives es for in written assignments (class work, homework) on time turning work in on time. Work with parents to develop home-based plans for work completion and submission. Institute school-home communication to let parents know immediately when important assignments are late or missing.
Writing Blockers
Writing Interventions Focus of Inquiry: How can our school find intervention programs or ideas to address writing delays? 32
Cognitive Strategy Instruction http://www.unl.edu/csi/ / This website contains a series of cognitive strategies for writing (and other academic areas) that students can be taught to use on their own.
FreeReading http://www.freereading.net This open source website includes free lesson plans that target writing instruction and intervention.
What Works Clearinghouse http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/ This website reviews core instruction and intervention programs in reading/writing, as well as other academic areas. The site reviews existing studies and draws conclusions about whether specific intervention programs show evidence of effectiveness.
Best Evidence Encyclopedia http://www.bestevidence.org/ This site provides reviews of evidence-based reading and math programs. The website is sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education's Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE).
National Center on RTI Instructional Intervention Tools Chart http://www.rti4success.org/ instructiontools Sponsored by the National Center on RTI, this page provides ratings to intervention programs in reading, math, and writing. Users can streamline their search by subject and grade level.
Writing School-Wide Screenings Focus of Inquiry: What school-wide screenings are available for writing and how is that information used in RTI? 38
RTI: Status of School-Wide Skills for Writing There are few RTI writing tools available for screening or progress-monitoring. For instance, the National Center on RTI lists only reading and math screening and progress-monitoring tools on its tools-ratings pages. 39
CBM Writing: Group-Administered Probe One RTI-compliant progress-monitoring tool that can be used to track the mechanics and conventions of writing is Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) Writing. CBM Writing can be administered to groups of students. The student is given a story starter (story stem) and asked to think for one minute about a story he or she would like to write. The student is then given 3 minutes to produce a writing sample. The CBM Writing probe is then scored for total words written, correctly spelled words, or correct writing sequences. 40
Sample CBM Writing Probe
CBM Writing Probe Generator