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The following sequential four steps of the student support process are completed in all
situations, whether addressing large groups (district or school-wide), smaller groups
(grade level or classroom), or individual children.
1. Problem Identification, entails accurately identifying the problem and the desired
behavior for the student(s) experiencing academic or behavioral difficulty.
2. Problem Analysis, involves analyzing why the problem is occurring by collecting
data to determine possible causes of the identified problem.
3. During Intervention Design & Implementation, evidence-based interventions
based upon data collected previously are selected or developed, then
implemented.
4. Lastly, evaluating the effectiveness of the interventions utilized is paramount in a
student support process. This fourth step is termed Response-to-Intervention. It
is in this fourth step that a student’s or group of students’ response to
implemented intervention is measured so that staff may evaluate the
effectiveness of the instructional efforts.
1
Problem Identification
During the first step, Problem Identification, the problem is stated in objective,
measurable terms as the difference between what is expected and what is observed. In
this way, a problem can be defined by the following equation:
Problem = Expectation - Observation or P = E - 0
For instance, you may be working with a third grader whose oral reading fluency rate in
the middle of the year is 41 words correct per minute (wcm). The expectation at that
time is 67 wcm, thus the problem = expectation – observation. The problem = 26 wcm.
Equally as important, it must be understood whether the identified problem exists for
only one student, a small group of students, or a large group of students. Different
interventions will be necessary to address these different situations. A large group
problem cannot be solved one child at a time. When large group problems are noted,
problem solving is conducted on a large scale and changes in overall curriculum and
instruction are often appropriate interventions. Small group problems result in designing
instruction that is matched to student need delivered in small group settings. If the
problem is present only for one or a very few students, individual student problem
solving occurs.
The definition of the problem must focus on teachable skills that are alterable and
educationally meaningful that can be changed through the process of instruction.
Problem Analysis
Once a problem has been clearly defined by the student support team, the problem
must be analyzed with the goal of answering the question, “Why is this problem
occurring?” During this step, the relevant information known about the problem is
considered, potential hypotheses about the possible causes of the problem are
generated, and information is gathered to confirm or disconfirm the hypotheses. The
gathering of this information is the assessment process in a problem solving model.
2
The domains assessed for information to analyze the problem are instruction,
curriculum, environment, and learner. Some of the questions asked are – “Has the child
received instruction in the target skill?”, “Does the curriculum contain the target skill?”,
and “Does the environment support the acquisition and display of the skill?”
The methodologies used to assess these areas are reviewing existing data, interviewing,
observing, and testing.
Most often, this is not a linear process. Frequently, the consideration of known
information, possible causes, and necessary unknown information happens quickly,
nearly simultaneously. Thus, these steps do not always occur in the same order.
Intervention Design
Once a problem has been defined and analyzed, the goal is to take the information
gathered through problem analysis and utilize it to develop an instructional plan that
matches the identified student need. This is accomplished through intervention
design. Identified missing skills are targeted for explicit instruction within a supported
learning environment.
Instructional strategies that are based on the nature of the defined problem and yield
the most likelihood for success are selected.
A good intervention plan:
3
Response to Intervention
In order to answer the question “Is it working?” information on student performance over
time must be gathered. Since decisions need to be made quickly if they are not
delivering the desired results, it’s necessary that staff gather this information frequently.
Thus, key features of the instrumentation used to collect these data are that they can be
administered frequently and are sensitive to small changes in behavior.
Also important, this information must be plotted on a graph so that trends in student
performance can be visualized (See Table 1). That is, a visible target should be
included to measure progress. Data are used to make important decisions about
whether to continue the intervention, modify it, or change it completely.
Date WCM
15-Sep 10 Reading Progress Montitoring
22-Sep 25 Graph
29-Sep 32
80 65 64
6-Oct 31 62 60
Words Per Minute
55
13-Oct 42 60 45
42 38
20-Oct 38 40 32 31
25
27-Oct 45 20 10
3-Nov 55 0
10-Nov 65
17-Nov 62
24-Nov 64 Date
Target 60
If an intervention is not producing the desired results, a first step is to evaluate whether
the intervention plan is being implemented as designed. If not, make adjustments to
ensure that it is. If the treatment integrity has been verified, all the previous problem
solving steps should be reviewed. A mistake may have been made in problem
identification, problem analysis, or intervention design.
If an intervention is not producing the desired results, it does not necessarily mean that
it is the wrong intervention. It may be the right intervention, but the intensity needs to be
increased.
4
Three basic ways to increase the intensity of an intervention are:
5
o Intervention plans are explicitly documented, and intervention integrity is
assured through direct observation
o Student progress is evaluated based on data
o Typically meet one time per week (about 45 minutes)
o Meetings scheduled at a time when referring teachers can attend (most
often before or after school)
o The district philosophy is to use a strengths based approach in the
problem solving process