2008 Woodie Awards
UOP speaker offers RTI
Nika Megino
Issue date: 3/4/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Learning disabilities and the children who are affected by them were the main focus of "Response to Intervention: An Alternative Approach to Special Education Eligibility," a lecture offered by Frank M. Gresham, Ph.D.
Gresham, a professor at University of California- Riverside, presented the concept of Response to Intervention, or RTI, at UOP, Friday Feb. 25.
Gresham discussed the alternative to "special education" courses through the process known as RTI. He also mentioned that despite what others may say, RTI is not a new idea.
RTI is referred to as a problem-solving method. The concept focuses on identifying and addressing difficulties that a student may have by using effective instruction.
"The focus in RTI is on direct measurement of achievement, behavior, and instructional environment," said Gresham. "It is a big deal because many kids that are labeled as having a learning disability is because of poor instructional causalities."
Gresham mentioned that previously, learning disabilities were issued through IQ tests and that this was a problem. "The use of IQ achievement discrepancies as a marker for learning disabilities makes early identification and intervention difficult. It is a 'wait-to-fail' mode," said Gresham.
The RTI model gives a different way to issue learning disabilities to a child. The RTI model says, "Specific learning disabilities are conceptualized as low level of performance in relevant domain in relation to peers, slow growth rate despite high quality interventions, documented impact on educational performance and documented need for special education," said Gresham.
Gresham also presented advantages of an RTI approach, which include an early identification of learning problems, conceptualizing learning problems from a risk, rather than a deficit model, and reduction in identification biases.
The advantages avoid a "wait-to-fail" approach and decrease the chance of a teacher referring a student to special education as influenced by nonacademic behaviors.
The two ways to utilize the RTI approach is by problem solving identification, analysis, planned implementation and evaluation, and standard protocol approaches that include evidence based on treatment protocols.
The lecture was free to the public and was followed by a reception where attendants of the lecture were able to speak to Gresham.
Gresham, a professor at University of California- Riverside, presented the concept of Response to Intervention, or RTI, at UOP, Friday Feb. 25.
Gresham discussed the alternative to "special education" courses through the process known as RTI. He also mentioned that despite what others may say, RTI is not a new idea.
RTI is referred to as a problem-solving method. The concept focuses on identifying and addressing difficulties that a student may have by using effective instruction.
"The focus in RTI is on direct measurement of achievement, behavior, and instructional environment," said Gresham. "It is a big deal because many kids that are labeled as having a learning disability is because of poor instructional causalities."
Gresham mentioned that previously, learning disabilities were issued through IQ tests and that this was a problem. "The use of IQ achievement discrepancies as a marker for learning disabilities makes early identification and intervention difficult. It is a 'wait-to-fail' mode," said Gresham.
The RTI model gives a different way to issue learning disabilities to a child. The RTI model says, "Specific learning disabilities are conceptualized as low level of performance in relevant domain in relation to peers, slow growth rate despite high quality interventions, documented impact on educational performance and documented need for special education," said Gresham.
Gresham also presented advantages of an RTI approach, which include an early identification of learning problems, conceptualizing learning problems from a risk, rather than a deficit model, and reduction in identification biases.
The advantages avoid a "wait-to-fail" approach and decrease the chance of a teacher referring a student to special education as influenced by nonacademic behaviors.
The two ways to utilize the RTI approach is by problem solving identification, analysis, planned implementation and evaluation, and standard protocol approaches that include evidence based on treatment protocols.
The lecture was free to the public and was followed by a reception where attendants of the lecture were able to speak to Gresham.