RtI (Response to Intervention)/RtI2 is a framework that can be applied to ELL support. It outlines tiers of support that vary in intensity and degree. Like many teaching practices and frameworks, I have some experience with the broad-strokes of RtI but have not worked explicitly with it. It should be noted that RtI is ranked near the top of influences on student achievement according to John Hattie’s Hattie Ranking: 252 Influences and Effect Sizes Related to Student Achievement research. This is reasonable, as interventions that are put in place as a direct result of student data and assessment should, by nature, be tailored to each learning need.
The updated RtI2 Model must be governed by a set of key principles and practices if a successful implementation is to occur. In order for ELLs specifically to benefit from this model, there are also some necessary conditions:
The updated RtI2 Model must be governed by a set of key principles and practices if a successful implementation is to occur. In order for ELLs specifically to benefit from this model, there are also some necessary conditions:
In the above table, which can be found on page 9 of the WIDA document HERE, I think that of these most important conditions my school this past year excelled at "recognizing the need for both ELL literacy instruction as well as academic language instruction across content areas." As I was at a K-5 school, the academic language was not as complex as with the higher grades, and many students (including English-first speakers) were learning the content vocabulary for the very first time. This naturally led to the good practice of pre-teaching vocabulary, anchor charts, and building on student prior knowledge, which might be similar for all in a class.
We also assess students' academic achievement and academic language proficiency separately. This makes teaching more "instructionally-responsive and action-oriented. An RtI2 model incorporates formative assessments (observations, performance-based projects, conversations, writing samples, standardized assessments, to name a few) in all three tiers to provide information for different purposes" (WIDA, p. 9).
What about your school? What conditions and supports from the table above are currently in place? What do you need to do to implement the next steps?
We also assess students' academic achievement and academic language proficiency separately. This makes teaching more "instructionally-responsive and action-oriented. An RtI2 model incorporates formative assessments (observations, performance-based projects, conversations, writing samples, standardized assessments, to name a few) in all three tiers to provide information for different purposes" (WIDA, p. 9).
What about your school? What conditions and supports from the table above are currently in place? What do you need to do to implement the next steps?