Coaching for Success:
Teaching & Learning
Through RtI
Gina M. Zugelder
National Education Consultant
www.devstu.org
Session Goals
•  Discuss Response to Intervention (RtI)
•  Discuss the critical roles for reading/literacy
coaches within the Problem-Solving process of
RtI process
•  Consider and discuss my role in this process.
Collaborative Partners
•  Introduce yourself to a partner/table.
Discuss…
•  What enticed you to participate in this
session.
•  What is your goal for attending this
session? This conference?
Where are you with RtI?
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
Just
heard
of
the
innovation
Beginning
to
gather
information
Know
enough
to
try
it
out
Fully
implemented
and
working
on
making
it
better
5.  Ready
to
work
on
helping
others
so
that
it
becomes
culturally
embedded
in
our
practice
Response to Instruction & Interventions
RtII is the practice of (1) providing high-quality
instruction/intervention matched to student
needs and (2) using learning rate over time and
level of performance to (3) make important
educational decisions to guide instruction.
National Association of State Directors of Special Education, 2005
Shifts in Practice
•  Focus on intervention not placement
•  Use of assessment to identify effective
interventions
•  Base interventions on student need rather than
label or diagnosis
•  Make decisions based on student outcome
•  Apply Problem-Solving/RtI fluidity
Shifts in Focus
“RtI seems like a better solution than that
usually somewhat haphazard selections
of supports. RtI tries to make sure that
classroom teaching is “up to snuff” and
that when students falter, there will be a
rich, and ultimately, sufficient
instructional response to his or her
reading needs.”
T. Shanahan, 2008
Paradigm Shift
•  Instead of this question:
•  What about students is causing the performance
discrepancy?
•  This question:
•  What about the interaction of the curriculum,
instruction, learners and learning environment
should be altered so that the students will learn?
How might this shift effect what is happening
in your role as the coach?
Multi-tiered Model
ALL students receive
Tier 1 services.
The three tiers of
service are stacked
resources so that they
are layered and
aligned with each
other.
Tier I: Instruction and Support
Tier I - Assessment
Benchmark Assessment
Universal Screening-District
Curriculum-based
Assessments
Tier I - Core Instruction
Whole-class Instruction
Differentiated Instruction and
Accommodations
10
‐
15%
Good First Instruction
• 
Developmentally appropriate
• 
Comprehensive and balanced literacy program
• 
Explicit instruction in different component areas of
literacy at different developmental stages
• 
Assessment that informs instruction
• 
Extensive opportunities to read and write
• 
Different materials, tasks and approaches accomplish
different outcomes
• 
Different text for different purposes
• 
Instruction that is differentiated and responsive to
student needs.
Lipson & Wixson, 2010
Successful Tier One Instruction
PK-12
• 
A successful RtI process begins with the highest quality
classroom core instruction; that is, instruction that
encompasses all areas of language and literacy as part of a
coherent curriculum that is developmentally appropriate
for preK-12 students and does not underestimate their
potential for language and literacy learning.
• 
This core instruction may or may not involve commercial
programs and, in all cases, must be provided by an
informed, competent classroom teacher.
IRA Commission on RtI, 2010
Focus on the Big Picture
Think about the long-term expectations or outcomes of your coaching.
Ask yourself:
•  Are we providing them the strategies and dispositions necessary
to be lifelong learners?
•  Are students communicating effectively through reading,
writing, listening, speaking and viewing?
•  Are students becoming strategic, self-regulating learners?
•  Are students able to engage in self-assessment and selfreflection?
•  Do students know how to apply dispositions and strategies to
other subject areas and to their lives?
Tier II & Tier III: Intervention/Support
Tier III: Individualized
Interventions
Academic Intervention Plan
Individual Tutoring
Intensive Intervention Services
Tier III: Assessments
Curriculum-based Assessments
Progress Monitoring Graph/RtI
(Eligibility Assessment)
Tier II Assessments
Curriculum-based Assessments
Classroom Observations
Intervention Data
(peer group comparison)
Tier I
Assessments
Discipline Data
(ODR)
Benchmark
Assessment
Universal
Screening
80
‐
90%
10
‐
15%
Tier II Targeted
Interventions
Targeted Group Interventions
Differentiated Instruction
& Small Groups to Increase
Intensity and Duration (e.g.,
Tutoring, Supplemental
Resources, etc.)
Tier I Core
Interventions
School-wide Discipline
Positive Behavior
Supports
Whole-class
Interventions
Key Design Features
Tier 2 & Tier 3
•  Begin an intervention plan.
•  Match reader and text level.
•  Dramatically expand reading activity.
•  Use very small groups or tutoring.
•  Coordinate intervention with core classroom instruction.
•  Deliver intervention by expert teacher.
•  Focus instruction on metacognition and meaning.
•  Use texts that are interesting to students.
Allington , 2009
Interventions are…
•  Enhancements of the general education curriculum
•  Based on student’s performance on a variety of
assessment and measures
•  Targeted to a particular skill or set of skills to
improve student outcomes
•  Short-term, explicit instruction
•  Monitored frequently to document progress
•  Revised as necessary based on student performance
Rhode Island Technical Assistance Project (RITAP)
Intensity of Intervention Planning
•  Time and Response
•  Core Program Efficiency
•  Program Implementation
•  Group Size
•  Coordination of Program and Instruction
Simmons, 2003
The Challenge
Good enough is no longer good
enough to get all students where
they need to be.
Karen James, 2008
•  What can we do in our role to keep moving
teachers so that they can be “good enough”
instructionally to meet the need of our
students?
Literacy Coaches...
play a critical role in Response to Intervention (RtI).
• 
They often encourage teachers to reflect on instruction in small
and large collaborative groups.
• 
They support teachers in implementing instructional options for
students who are at risk for learning to read and write.
• 
They monitor student progress during instruction by observing
student learning and evaluating student work.
These are the aspects of RtI where literacy coaches can
share leadership.
Whether the goal is forming community, supporting teacher change,
or monitoring student progress, the literacy coach works with the
entire school to improve student learning.
Walker, B, 2008
IRA Guiding Principles
•  Instruction – optimize language and literacy
instruction
•  Responsive teaching and differentiation –
differentiated and intensified instruction or
intervention
•  Assessment - inform instruction
•  Collaboration – dynamic, positive and
productive collaboration
•  Systematic and comprehensive approaches
– instructional approaches to support all learners
International Reading Association, 2009
Collaboration that is…
•  Deliberate
•  Intentional
•  Ongoing
Collaboration – joining of forces, pooling
resources, and sharing of expertise in order to
meet shared goals for instruction and
assessment.
Ehren, B., Laster, B., & Watts-Taffe, S., 2009
The Collaborative Coaching Process
•  Coaches support teachers’ questions, concerns, needs
during implementation of plans.
•  Coaches develop and use fidelity checklists that guide
teachers in implementing the research-based
instructional strategies.
•  Coaches identify additional resources, as needed.
•  Coaches collect, analyze, and share assessment data
for continuous progress monitoring.
•  Coaches model demonstration lessons that serve as
“training” on the job (job-embedded).
Do something.
If it works, do more of it.
If it doesn't, do something else.
- FDR
Beliefs for effective RtI Programs
•  All students can learn.
•  One size does not fit all in learning.
•  Waiting for students to fail is not a good approach.
•  Research has value in guiding education.
•  Assessment is crucial to instruction.
•  Education is a partnership.
•  There is no quick fix.
•  The system will change only if I change.
IRA Commission on RtI, 2010
Practices for effective RtI Programs
•  Teachers use sound instruction.
•  Options are offered to meet learning needs.
•  A committee or team coordinates supports.
•  A data management system exists.
•  Data are used to inform instruction.
•  Teachers, support personnel and administrators work
together to meet the learning needs of all students.
•  Teachers and administrators participate in ongoing
professional development.
IRA Commission on RtI, 2010
Think About It
This was probably due in part to the literacy
coach who was available to the teacher in the
regular classroom to help problem solve about
each individual child on a biweekly basis. This
coaching was a critical part of the intervention
that needs greater scrutiny as the crucial
mediator of the intervention effectiveness.
Vernon-Feagans, Gallagher, Ginsberg, Amendum, Kainz, Rose, Burchinal, 2010
Reflect
RtI holds the promise of ensuring that all
children have access to high-quality instruction, and that
struggling learners are identified, supported, and
served early and effectively.
- RtI Action Network, 2008
•  What might be your next steps in the process?
•  What do you need in order to take the next steps?
•  What might be challenges to taking these steps?
Questions, Comments, Reactions
Gina M. Zugelder
National Education Consultant
[email protected]