By Joanne Allain & Nancy Eberhardt

In our previous entry, we proposed that RtI and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiatives share a common goal: increased rigor for all students. The next step is to ensure that we seize the golden opportunity to use existing RtI structures and systems to facilitate the implementation of CCSS, the “new initiative on the block.”

Let’s take a look at a couple ways in which we can capitalize on the complementary aspects of these two initiatives.

Analyze and Improve Tier I

We know that without strong Tier I instruction, RtI will become a system of never-ending interventions rather than excellent first instruction. Given the importance of this strong foundation, a necessary component of a successful RtI system is to analyze and improve Tier I instruction. Part of that analysis will be to develop curriculum, instruction, and assessment based on the Common Core State Standards.

With a CCSS-based curriculum in place, assessment data will highlight student strengths and weaknesses. Through analysis of this Tier I data, the need for instructional adjustments will emerge. For example, if many students are referred to Tier II intervention in the primary grades for spelling deficits, then that instructional hole must be filled in Tier I to ensure that as many students as possible become proficient with first instruction. Assessment data based on the skills and concepts in the CCSS will help to identify opportunities to improve Tier I instruction.

For a comprehensive RtI system, the implementation of Common Core State Standards provides the impetus to focus on an effective Tier I to ensure that intervention isn’t a consequence of a weak foundation.  For emerging or fledgling RtI systems, the opportunity arises to integrate the new standards with the development of an RtI system designed to meet the needs of all students

Differentiate for All Students





In addition to using the CCSS as an opportunity to fine-tune Tier I content and instructional practices, we know that RtI requires that we serve all students within and beyond the parameters of the Tier I curriculum. In order to achieve this goal, we need to view the standards as having a range of accessibility and importance, much as students have a range of learning abilities and needs.

How students meet the CCSS expectations varies along a continuum according to a range of needs from concept development for students who also receive Tier II or Tier III intervention (what must they know) to enrichment (what could they know) (Allain and Eberhardt, 2011). As the following graphic illustrates, our response to instruction and intervention must consider the needs of the full range of learners.

Response to Instruction and Intervention

As we begin to implement the CCSS, we have an obligation to remember this full range of student needs. But, how do we do serve all learners with the Common Core? Let’s take a look at an example using a standard from the CCSS. The same standard can be addressed for all students but to different levels.

Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.^*

Must Know Students who also receive intervention	Should Know Students who are proficient or close to proficient	Could Know Students who are advanced or could be advanced
Describe how multiple or conflicting motivations of one complex characterdevelop over the course of a text, interact with another character, and advance the plot or theme.  Use supplementary materials as necessary.	Describe how multiple or conflicting motivations of complex characters develop over the course of the text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.  Use grade-level materials.	Describe and analyze the relationship of multiple or conflicting motivations of a complex character and other characters in the development of plot and theme. Use grade-level and above-grade-level materials.

^*Grade 9-10 Common Core State Standards:  English/Language Arts

Note that at each point along the continuum, the intent of the standard is addressed. We differentiate the variables—product and process, such as the level of analysis and the difficulty level of the reading material—but stay true to the focus of the standard. In this way, students who are receiving instruction to improve reading skills at another time of the day (e.g., during Tier II intervention) are still receiving the benefit of instruction in the CCSS—but with accommodations at their skill level.

What we see in this example is the fact that no matter what defines the goal of instruction—be it the CCSS, a purchased curriculum, or local goals and objectives—the need to differentiate instruction on this continuum from “must” to “could” will always exist. Frankly, it isn’t about having RtI or CCSS. It is about understanding and using the power of the structure of RtI to facilitate the implementation of CCSS.

An Opportunity to Change

If we continue to view each initiative—new or not—as a separate entity, we are playing out the common silo-esque approach to implementing innovation. Our observation is that, rather than integrating a new initiative into the existing structures so that it has a multiplier effect on impact and efficiency, we all too often view new needs or initiatives as a linear process. A linear process works from a “limited capacity” mind-set—as the next initiative comes online, another must be bumped out of line. Tragically, when we do this, we throw the baby out with the bath water. We can and must change this trend. The implementation of RtI and CCSS provides the golden opportunity to have these initiatives complement each other rather than compete for our limited resources.

See our previous blog for a discussion on RtI and CCSS.

Joanne Allain

Joanne Allain, M.A., works with states, districts, and schools across the country to develop, implement, and coach customized RtI systems. Her career experience at both the classroom and district level provides the perspective of a practitioner in real schools with real students. She is the author of Logistics of Literacy Intervention: A Planning Guide for Middle and High School and Logistics of Literacy Intervention: An RtI Planning Guide for Elementary Schools as well as coauthor of RtI: The Forgotten Tier.  You can contact Joanne at Joanne.Allain@3tliteracygroup.org

Nancy Chapel Eberhardt

Nancy Chapel Eberhardt works with districts and schools to implement RtI systems focusing on literacy instruction and intervention. Her career in education has included roles as a special education teacher, mainstreaming associate, and administrator. She also worked extensively, as editor and coauthor, on LANGUAGE! (Editions 2–4). Most recently, she coauthored RtI: The Forgotten Tier with Joanne Allain. Nancy can be contacted at nancy.eberhardt@3Tliteracygroup.org.

About Joanne Allain

Books by Joanne Allain: Logistics Of Literacy Intervention

By Joanne Allain & Nancy Eberhardt
The implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is upon us—oh no! I guess we will have to put Response to Intervention (RtI) aside to make room for the focus and resources needed to implement the Common Core. Budgets are tight; something has to go. RtI or MTSS (Multitier System of Supports) will take care of itself. Does this sound familiar?

The reality is that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will replace and/or enhance individual state standards and change grade-level instruction in scope, sequence, and methodology. In order to implement the new standards and the assessments that will accompany them, districts have begun to shift the focus of professional development to Common Core.

CCSS professional development is essential because teachers must be trained on the changes that will be expected of them. What seems to be missing from both the CCSS professional development and implementation planning, however, is seizing the opportunity to address the Common Core State Standards within the framework of RtI. This approach pits these initiatives as competing rather than complementary.

The following quotes from RtI and CCSS experts point out the interconnectedness between the two initiatives.

In the article Response to Intervention—The Promise and the Peril, the Council for Exceptional Children maintains that “It (RtI) has the ability to transform how we educate students—all students. With RtI, students may get the support they need as soon as they show signs that they are having difficulty learning, regardless of whether or not they have a disability.”

Let’s pair the previous statement with the “promise” of the Common Core State Standards from the webinar by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO): “These Standards are not intended to be new names for old ways of doing business. They are a call to take the next step. It is time for states to work together to build on lessons learned from two decades of standards-based reforms. It is time to recognize that these standards are not just promises to our children, but promises we intend to keep.”

Both initiatives urge educators to take the next step. RtI urges educators to meet the needs of all students—including those who are proficient and advanced. The implementation of CCSS urges educators to extend student learning of content and skills in Tier I to an application level. The common goal: increased rigor for all students.

The necessity and value of combining initiatives is further corroborated when we take into account what the CCSS do NOT define, yet the developers feel are important enough to identify as valuable instructional factors. Consider this list, provided by the NGA Center and the CCSSO, of things that the standards do not define:

• How teachers should teach

• All that can or should be taught

By Dr. Steven Richfield

One of the challenges of raising children is determining how much to help, guide, and remind and when to give them room to steer themselves. The differences between a “hands-on” and a “hands-off” approach to parenting have far-reaching implications. Some children can truly benefit from more guidance, while others experience help as intrusive and even suffocating. Conflict may arise when kids receive too much or too little parental involvement, leaving parents frustrated and unsure of what to do.

If these circumstances sound all too familiar, consider the following coaching tips to navigate your way to a mutually comfortable helping role with your child:

• Choose a calm time to have a frank discussion with them about the issue. Share your observations of the roles each of you play in the too much vs. too little help drama. Gently bring up the times when they have resisted help but later found it could have led to a better outcome. Balance this discussion with examples of how well they did when receiving no help. Ensure that they understand your goal is for them to become self-sufficient and independent adults who can rely upon their own resources. Invite them to offer their honest perspective on you as a “hands-on” vs. “hands-off” parent.

• Develop a help plan that entails dividing up areas of life where the two of you agree more or less parental help is needed. Where there is agreement, try to detail the ways your child would like to receive help:

•  Do they want a single reminder?

• Is it better for you to offer guidance when you find out they have a specific task ahead of them?

• Should you wait for them to request help no matter how much they appear to be struggling?

Don’t dwell on the areas of disagreement over help. Instead, suggest that the two of you place them in the category of “undecided” until future events clarify what level of help appears to be needed.

As you watch events in the “undecided” column unfold in your child’s life, resist the urge to insert comments as they occur. “This is why I think you need my help” will likely backfire, making your child less agreeable to a help plan.

Keep in mind that the timing of comments and environmental context will have a major impact on how well your child accepts what you offer. Consider and/or acknowledge if another parent does not support your view of how much help is needed. Recognize that your message will have the greatest impact when delivered in a loving tone and with words that focus on your child’s happiness and success in the world.

When you offer the agreed-upon help, do so in a manner that displays your confidence in their abilities. This requires an attitude combining your unemotional guidance with praise for their efforts. Suspending your reactions is often a critical requirement for them to try to manage their own.

Dr. Steven Richfield is an author and child psychologist in Plymouth Meeting, PA. He has developed a child-friendly, self-control/social skills-building program called Parent Coaching Cards. He can be contacted at director@parentcoachcards.com or 610-238-4450. To learn more, visit www.parentcoachcards.com.

About Steven Richfield

Products by Steven Richfield: The Parent Coach

By Dr. Steven Richfield
Parents of children with autism often confront the daunting task of determining how much to expose their child to the everyday behaviors and activities of non-autistic peers. Part of the problem entails wondering how peers will respond and whether the outcome will be beneficial or harmful to their child’s growth.

While many autistic children want to do what their peers are doing at any given time, their approach to becoming included is often fraught with confusion and lack of knowledge about social customs. If this situation is familiar, read on for coaching tips to help the autistic child find greater peer acceptance:

Use and reinforce the mantra: “Find the friendly path.” This expression refers to the various factors that combine during encounters with others that make for the flow of friendly feelings back and forth. When explaining  to the child, use pictures, video clips, and role playing to highlight facial expression, eye contact, tone of voice, questions of interest, and sustained listening. These five factors are emphasized as “the way we start and stay upon the friendly path,” and watch if the other person “is interested in joining us on the path.” Use the same factors to depict which message the other person is sending about their interest in continuing the play or discussion.

Be mindful of the beginnings and endings that are so critical to social interaction. Since autism pulls a child into what appears as a self-centered world, it is habit for them to initially relate to others based upon requests rather than friendly greetings. Parents can shape the alternate habit of giving a friendly greeting at the beginning of the encounter, just as it’s appropriate to say something nice when entering someone’s home. Similarly, when leaving an encounter, the child can be coached in ways to express kind appreciation for being included and positive feelings about the next encounter. Upon approaching someone, the parent can provide a gentle reminder, “remember entrances and exits,” to cue the child to this importance.

Recognize that certain social customs will not follow literally from what the child has been taught to expect in the past. For example, the reminder to “use your words” may now come with the expectation that doing so will lead peers to grant their requests. Some habits, such as unusual sounds or movements, have been verbally monitored by parents and teachers to remind the child to refrain from them. Instead of making this request, peers will distance themselves from the autistic child due to their own discomfort with the habits. Parents can make their autistic child aware of how important it is for them to try their hardest “habit control” when in the company of peers and, if necessary, offer inconspicuous substitute habits.

Consider a child-friendly explanation to peers that helps demystify autism. Potential playmates can greatly benefit from understanding that certain autistic behaviors, though unusual, are ways that children calm themselves and/or explore their surroundings. Provide peers with clear and direct language that they can use to communicate friendly interest to the autistic child. Peers’ success with opening up channels of play and communication will greatly relieve their anxiety or discomfort.

Dr. Steven Richfield is a clinical psychologist in Plymouth Meeting, PA. He has developed a child-friendly, self-control/social skills-building program called Parent Coaching Cards and is coauthor of The Parent Coach book. He can be contacted at director@parentcoachcards.com or 610-238-4450. To learn more, visit www.parentcoachcards.com.

By Dr. Steven Richfield
Although today’s technology provides immediate news and endless information, it also adds one more challenge to raising children: balancing access with the ability to put it into perspective.

The “Internet world” can take the most heinous deeds or scariest events, condense for attention, and place front and center. Curious children can’t help themselves as they point-and-click themselves into an emotional black hole of worry and confusion. Television news and radio broadcasts can serve up similar meals for the naive consumption of unsuspecting children.

Many parents react to this barrage of input by closing down access points, but this only works to a limited degree, or for a temporary period. Here are some parent-coaching suggestions to address the issue:

Don’t discount the emotional effects of information.

As children absorb startling information or exaggerated news flashes, it’s easy for them to reach premature conclusions and internalize tension and anxiety. In some cases, they may not even be aware of the effects certain news has upon their mental or emotional selves. Even a short radio broadcast or television news story can threaten their view of the world. Some kids hold on to the “sound bites of sensationalism,” and this can gradually erode their feelings of present security or trust in the future.

Open dialogue with your child is the best “Internet net.”

Don’t hesitate to follow up with gentle questions or open-ended comments following a news broadcast. Explain that if they are still thinking about it, that’s a sign that it needs to be talked about. Encourage them to put the information into their own words, and watch for inaccuracies or overly narrow conclusions. Children have a tendency to apply what they have seen, heard, or read to their own life. Ask them if they see any linkage. Correct what doesn’t apply by providing context and help them see where they may have drawn conclusions out of very little information.

Encourage children to reserve discussion about disturbing news to parents and trusted adults.

Peers are another source of information overload. A respected or admired peer who imparts the “shock news of the day” may do so with an air of certainty. Those within earshot may accept the news without even considering that the “reporter” may not have his or her facts straight. Ask your kids to share such discussions with you, and subject the “news” to a broader review for: (1) accuracy of facts, (2) linkage to your child, and (3) lessons learned. These three components help children build perspective when exposed to the news of the world.

“Lessons learned” are the most relevant aspect to childhood.

The characters and events within today’s newscasts run the gamut of human foibles and trying circumstances. Taking the bait when provoked, errors in judgment, lying, unjust accusation, admission of guilt, and situations beyond our control—just to name a few—provide a backdrop for parents to “fill in the blanks” with enriching discussion that helps children learn from the mistakes and victories of others. Help children see the real linkage that exists between these world events and the daily events and social decisions they encounter.

Dr. Steven Richfield is an author and child psychologist in Plymouth Meeting, PA. He has developed a child-friendly, self-control/social skills-building program called Parent Coaching Cards. He can be contacted at director@parentcoachcards.com or 610-238-4450. To learn more, visit www.parentcoachcards.com.

About Steven Richfield

Products by Steven Richfield: The Parent Coach

By Dr. Shirley Patterson
Professional development may be defined or labeled differently by researchers and practitioners, trainers and professors, but most definitions have the commonality of branching PD into two lines, For example, here are two prominent definitions:

By Dr. Michele Douglass

Multiple researchers discuss the best practices to use to maximize student achievement in mathematics. The good news is that the authors share many of the same big ideas.

One thing that stands out is a strong focus on procedures that has existed for years in the elementary grades. This emphasis is linked to the language and testing of our state standards, but lacks problem-solving development and the foundations of knowledge needed for higher-level mathematics.

The strategies that exist across multiple authors for improving mathematics achievement include:

1. Making number sense a part of everyday instruction

1. Focusing all content around problem solving

1. Using communication every day

1. Supporting learning with the use of tools and representation for all levels of students

1. Make NUMBER SENSE a part of every day’s lesson.

Number sense doesn’t build in a single chapter or topic; it builds over time. By providing students opportunities every day to build number sense, we help them become better problem solvers. They also learn to think about the size of the number while they learn to work with numbers in flexible ways.

Building number sense also develops estimation skills. We all know that in the real world, we rarely as adults pull out a pen and paper. Rather, we think about the numbers to estimate solutions. Think about how you solve the problem 15 x 16 without a pencil or paper. What about 45% of 250? We must support students to think about numbers in multiple ways so they don’t have to rely on an algorithm or the calculator on their cell phone.

Making this happen isn’t as hard as it seems. You can incorporate number sense into your warm-ups by figuring out the number sense that scaffolds into your lesson. Use a timer, as it’s easy to make number sense an entire lesson. Set the timer for 10 minutes. If you are working on exponents, your number sense might be on multiplying repeated factors to see how students group the factors to find the product. If your lesson is on multiplication, your number sense might be on multiplying numbers by 10 or 100. You might estimate your age in seconds or the height of 1,000 or 1 million pennies. You know the set of number sense topics that are critical at your grade level. Use these specific topics as the basis for your number sense problems. Some days, you might do a single problem, and as students learn methods for thinking about numbers, they will be able to do more than one problem.

2. Integrate more PROBLEM SOLVING.

Students learn new skills through the process of solving problems such as learning facts. Problem solving is a great way of connecting conceptual knowledge with procedural knowledge. While we often think as adults that the problem-solving problems are the hardest, children often need the context of a problem to connect the meaning within a procedure.

To begin with problem solving, choose problems that are open-ended, allowing for multiple ways to arrive at a solution. Problems need to allow students to make and test conjectures. They should foster creativity while either using formulas or connecting procedures to concepts. Many times you can find a problem in your textbook that you can turn into an open-ended problem. For example, turn a simple area problem into a comparison of two sets of dimensions and add a context. Which has the greater area and why? Ask students to justify their answers in more than one way.

3. COMMUNICATE, Communicate, communicate.

The one thing to remember about communication is that you can’t communicate either in written or oral formats without having the knowledge to express the idea in a coherent manner. To support students in communicating, begin with a safe learning environment.

Through communication, students are orally processing what it is they think they know. However, communication also gives the instructor the opportunity to be aware of how students are thinking about a concept or set of symbols or even a definition. For example, if all you ask is the answer to 2 to the 4^th, you might not realize that the student is simply multiplying 2 times 4. When you ask students to go beyond giving you an answer, you learn whether they grasped that 2 to the 4^th is the same as 2 times 2 times 2 times 2.

Oral and written communication in mathematics also supports language learners and students who struggle with language development in a content area. By speaking and communicating, students are building language skills and specific math academic language.

One way to begin with communication is to ask the question “Why?” And don’t just ask this when a student provides an incorrect solution. Asking “Why?” all the time makes students rethink the solution and the steps they used to arrive at the solution. Asking “Why?” to a student whose solution is correct enables you to hear the student’s process. If the process is accurate, the student is providing teaching to the class. However, there are many times when a student is getting the correct answer for the wrong reasons. If we never ask “Why?” then the student is being set up for making continuous errors.

4. Use TOOLS and REPRESENTATIONS.

Tools and representations help students build relationships among numbers, construct knowledge and meaning of concepts and ideas, and make connections between concepts and connecting procedures. Tools and representations have also been found to help maintain a positive attitude about mathematics, as they support the sense making of mathematics. Mathematics is abstract even from the nature of the symbols. There isn’t anything concrete about the way you write the number 5 to know that it represents 5 things. This must be learned. Tools provide methods for solving problems by allowing space to organize, think, reason, and test ideas.

As you begin with tools and representations, refer to your text and capitalize on the representations used by the authors. Supplement to use a variety of items. As you use different manipulatives, help students transfer understanding by showing a representation of the manipulative on paper. For example, if you use place-value blocks, you might teach students to draw a square to represent the 100 block but to use a line for the 10 rod and a dot for the unit pieces.

It takes time upfront, but the time we spend reviewing could be minimized if we spend more time supporting students in building concepts and strategies through these methods.

Michele Douglass, Ph.D., is the president of MD School Solutions Inc., a company that contracts with school districts on content and pedagogy with teachers and leaders. Her experience ranges from math instructor to director of curriculum and instruction at Educational Testing Services. She has authored several math curricula, as well as professional development and technology programs.

About Michele Douglass

By  Dr. Steven Richfield

Parents expend considerable effort preparing children for the challenges ahead but little attention is typically paid to helping them communicate in emotionally meaningful ways. Emotional literacy empowers children to identify feelings within themselves, draw distinctions, understand subtleties, and verbalize their emotions with sincerity and consideration of others. This capacity to translate feelings into precise language can be nurtured at even young ages but opportunities abound throughout childhood. Benefits include greater self-control, enriched relationships, and pronounced self-awareness. Those who lack the skills to correctly read and respond to their emotions face greater challenges in adulthood due to the enormous role emotions play in all aspects of life.

Consider the following coaching tips to advance your child’s emotional literacy:

□ Capture the chance to provide “emotional captions” to life events.  Kids’ countless questions and observations open the door to a deeper dialogue that goes beyond the exchange of information. When parents ask,” What do you think she was feeling?” or “How did his emotions lead to action?” children are prompted to establish an “emotional vocabulary” that goes beyond simply labeling feelings. Parents help by highlighting clues, emphasizing context, and building a bridge between what children perceive and how they process emotional experiences.

□ Supply and replenish an “emotional word bank” that grows in sophistication as children mature. While youngsters need help distinguishing jealousy from frustration, or sincerity from sarcasm, older kids are guided toward unraveling more complex emotional puzzles. Examples include the state of ambivalence when opposing feelings tug for dominance, the mixture effect when several feelings converge at once, or the flashback feeling state when earlier ego wounds or painful memories suddenly resurface due to a current stimulus. These and many other emotional scenarios require prompt reading of oneself and the presence of mind to process, and not react to emotional experience. Challenge your child to review scenarios, offer revisions when necessary, and discuss their discoveries about themselves.

□ Plant seeds for the growth of emotional literacy. Building a fluent emotional vocabulary requires penetrating interactions with your child. It is not done in haste but in the patient security of the parent-child bond. Parents lead the way by sharing their own emotional scenarios and decoding the feelings, expectations, revelations, attributions, and other structures that underlay processing. When scenarios erupt between parent and child, grab the opportunity to tag the structures. For example, when a parent admits, “I almost reacted with sharp anger when I thought you had broken a promise but then I considered other explanations,” they model how to process, and not react.

□ Discuss how emotional literacy enhances the quality of life. Children who project emotional depth are considered confident, secure, and unpretentious. They are seen as leaders and avoid the superficial contests of childhood.  Friendships take on a more meaningful and satisfying quality. Such a solid foundation in self-awareness and self-control paves the way for fulfilling relationships and future decision-making borne out of self-definition.

Dr. Steven Richfield is an author and child psychologist in Plymouth Meeting. Contact him at 610-238-4450 or director@parentcoachcards.com

About Steven Richfield

Products by Steven Richfield: The Parent Coach

By Nancy Hennessy

If all students learn differently, teaching approaches must differ too