Response to Intervention Using
Personality Surveys & Research
Based Interventions
By Laura A. Riffel, Ph.D.
Give and Score the Student Learning Style
Survey- Select Student Color Based on Results:
RED
ORANGE
YELLOW
GREEN
LIGHT BLUE
INDIGO
PURPLE
TURQUOISE
BURGUNDY
PEACH
LIME GREEN
HOT PINK
Orange Interventions
Based on Student Style Survey
Laura A. Riffel, Ph.D.
ORANGE
These students are usually fairly well adjusted and seldom develop emotional
or behavioral problems. In fact, they may appear better adjusted than
students with a typical profile. They do have a tendency to talk loudly and
to respond impulsively.
Recommendations for High EAGLE students:
• Give these students short study periods interspersed with different
activities
• Praise work that is done well
• Direct other student’s attention to the student’s good work
• Allow the High Eagle student to participate in group work, especially when
he or she can lead the group
• Use opportunities to work with other students to reward individual work
• Educators may have to restrain the High Eagle student’s impulsive
responses by requiring him or her to “stop and think” before responding
ORANGE
•
•
•
•
•
•
After a study period, allow a short break before testing or questioning the High Eagle student on the
material just studied
Use threats of negative consequences sparingly
Use stimulating materials with High Eagle students
Games and competition can be used to arouse the High Eagle student during school work
Emphasize broad general principles, rather than details, as much as possible
Placing the High Eagle students under moderate stress may facilitate their performance, especially for easy
material
• Article that identifies what causes stress
•
•
•
Continuous feedback should be given to high Eagle students
Teachers in the upper grade levels, especially, should concentrate on making their instruction more
consistent with the learning styles of High Eagle students
High Eagle boys, in particular, should be encouraged to act in a less impulsive manner
Low Porpoise
This child scored low on the Porpoise
Scale. Here’s what that means:
Conduct
• Very sociable, friendly, and seldom exhibit
hostility or aggression.
• Not very susceptible to serious psychological
disorders.
Acquire
• Learn easily from experience.
• Do better in school at all levels.
• Teachers find Low Porpoise students more
“teachable” and less troublesome.
Regulate
• Tend not to be disruptive and easy to
discipline.
Excitement
• Do not find high levels of stimulation
particularly enjoyable and therefore will tend
to less stimulating kinds of activities and will
have greater regard for the potential
consequences of their behavior.
High Eagle
This child scored high on the Eagle
Scale. Here’s what that means:
Conduct
• Tend to work quickly and make careless errors.
• Will appear under-motivated and easily
distractible and will get easily bored with most
tasks.
Acquire
• Tend to learn major points that are
emphasized better than minor points.
• Recall material better after a short delay
between learning and testing.
• Typically do better in elementary school.
Regulate
• Respond to reward and punishment.
• More sensitive to rewards and reminders
about potential rewards.
Excitement
• Improved performance with external stress.
• Arousal to stress relative to the Eagle trait and
is primarily related to external stimulation
(noise, cognitive challenge, problem solving)
• On an easy task the optimal level of arousal
will be higher than on a difficult task.
Low Rabbit
This child scored low on the Rabbit
Scale. Here’s what that means:
Conduct
• Mild or no reaction to emotional stimuli.
Acquire
• Tend to approach learning in an exploratory
style.
• Study best for short periods broken up by
other activities.
• Do better in elementary school.
Regulate
• Tend to be more receptive to reinforcement.
Excitement
• Often performs poorly on tasks because they
are under-stimulated and under-motivated.
• External pressure can be used to enhance
performance.
• High arousal level is best for easy tasks and
relatively low arousal is best for difficult tasks.
p e r
Low P-High E- Low R
Minimal praise after work completed – more praise before
work begins.
Test immediately after learning material.
Emphasize details.
Give behavioral feedback in private.
Threats of consequences can be used with this child.
Avoid arousing settings as much as possible with these
students.
Encourage to initiate interactions.
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Cooperative Groups
The authors of Classroom Instruction
that Works cite research showing
that organizing students in
cooperative learning groups can lead
to a gain as high as 28 percentiles in
measured student achievement
(Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock
2001).
Work
Individually
Allow to work individually.
Wakefield, J., Goad, N.; 1981
Some people use this as a time out and that’s
not what I’m saying here. Have a place where
students can go if they want to work alone. It’s
not a punishment place, it’s a place to go and be
free from distractions. I would have a
comfortable chair, headphones with 60 beats
per minute music, and supplies available so they
can work without distraction. Call it the office,
Australia, the cubicle, or something like that- but
not Time Out or the Penalty Box.
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Serious
Looking
Materials
Use serious looking materials for these students. (Don’t dumb it down.)
Wakefield, J., Goad, N.; 1981
Website with materials for creating worksheets
and lessons
Permission to copy as long as original author is
cited "Riffel" copyright 2008
Give everyone a file folder to put their work in
when you pass it out. The student with learning
difficulties will have two cuts on the top half of
the file folder. Teach them to open the top third
and do that. Walk by and put “C” on all the things
they have correct. Have them correct errors and
then open middle section and follow suit for
whole page.
p e r
Social and Uninhibited
Use a variety of choices about different ways to show mastery
(Gardner, 1983)
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm
Encourage leadership roles.
Use this child as a role model for younger children earning privilege
of going to younger class for reward.
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2008
Check In Check Out Program
• Hawken & Horner (2007) www.pbis.org
• Have the student check in with a preferred adult first thing in the morning- before
they go to their first class.
• Have them check in again at the end of the day with this preferred adult.
• This adult will check to see how the day is going and prevent things that might be
brewing.
• Some children will need to check in throughout the day.
• Use the check-in check-out program in a prosocial way- let them come in and be
the teacher’s helper in the morning. (Hawken, et. al, 2008)
• http://www.researchpress.com/product/item/8314/ (Staff training DVD)
HUGS:
Hello
Update
Good-bye
Younger Children
Check inCheck out
Earned
reward
Home
check
-in
Morning
check-in
with
preferred
adult
Graph
points
End of day
check-out
with
preferred
adult
Hourly
teacher
evaluation
Review points
Graph
points
Hourly
teacher
evaluation
Mid-day
check in
with
preferred
adult
Adapted from
Hawken 2008
Student-Teacher Rating Form
Date:
Student
Hour One
Hour Two
Hour Three
Hour Four
Hour Five
Hour Six
Respect
Self
Respect
Others
Respect
Property
Total
Points
3= Great Day- No or very few behavioral learning opportunities occurred
2= Pretty Good Day- few behavioral learning opportunities occurred
1= This day could have been better- more than a few behavioral learning opportunities occurred
Student Signature: _________________________________________________
Teacher Signature: _________________________________________________
Parents' Signature: _________________________________________________
For younger students use smiling faces:
Token Economy
Use a token economy
•Remember the token should pay off for the function of the behavior and
not a piece of candy or small toy.
•Example: If the function of the behavior is to get out of work, then tell
the student that “X” number of tokens will earn them 3 free answers on
their homework.
•My favorite: Tell the student they will earn 3 free answers for the
whole class; as this is good PR for the student’s self-esteem.
Article on effectiveness of a token economy with ADHD students
Article on effectiveness of a token economy in general
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Direct other student’s attention to the
student’s good work
• Secret Spy or Agent Game:
– Choose one student each day to be the secret spy- no one
knows who it is.
– Tell the class “I will be watching the secret spy all day and if
they are (label the behaviors you want to see)- they will
earn a reward for the whole class. (homework free night,
extra recess, 5 free answers etc.)
– At the end of the day if this student has been successful –
tell the whole class who earned the prize for the class
– At the end of the day if this student has not been
successful- tell the whole class that you will be choosing
another student the next day and do not reveal who the
secret spy was.
Sound Blocking Devices
Offer sound blocking devices when doing independent work.
Talk in a calm voice and avoid emotional experiences:
•Walker, H.M. & Walker, J.E. (1991). Coping with noncompliance in the classroom: A positive
approach for teachers. Austin, TX:: Pro-Ed, Inc.
Remember some students
have super sensitive hearing.
Noise reduction sound muffs
http://www.alibaba.com/productgs/206090702/dollar_store_item_Sound_Muff/show
image.html
Permission to copy as long as original author is cited "Riffel" copyright 2008
KWL Chart
Use a KWL Chart (Ogle, 1986);
by Robert J. Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane E.
Pollock (Paperback - Jan 2001)
The state of Kansas
What we
KNOW:
•Grow wheat
•Sunflower is state
flower
•Buffalo is state
mammal
•Shaped like a
rectangle
•Meadowlark is state
bird
•(List all the things
the children say here)
What We
to Know:
WANT
•How many people
live in Kansas?
•What are the
biggest cities?
•What are the rivers
in Kansas?
•Why did people
originally come to
Kansas?
•(List all the things
the children want to
know here)
Permission to copy as long as original author is
What we
LEARNED
Use this section to
review for the test
by listing all the
things you taught
about Kansas –
soliciting responses
from the students.
Michenbaum
Step One: The teacher voices and models the steps of a problem
Step Two: The teacher voices and the students model the steps
of the problem
Step Three: The students voice and model the steps of the
problem
Step Four: The students whisper and model the steps of the
problem
Step Five: The students think and model the steps of the problem
Example of what this looks like in spelling on the next page:
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Spelling Example
Step One: Boys and Girls, I looked at our spelling words for the
week and I think the most difficult word to spell is “muscles”. So I
took the spelling and put it to the tune of Nestles chocolate. M-US-C-L-E-S, muscles make the very best, biceps. (The teacher sings
the tune and writes the word on the board while the students
watch.)
Step Two: The teacher sings the tune while the students
write the word.
Step Three: The students sing the tune while they write
the word.
Step Four: The students whisper the tune while they
write the word.
Step Five: The students think the tune while they write
the word.
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p e r
Interventions
These children could be paired with “yellows” as they will bring
out their shyness.
Use positive statements before they begin work with cues about
success.
Use pre-questions to introduce a new topic
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/20072004.pdf
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