Response to intervention's impact on teachers' perceptions and effectiveness in providing literacy interventions at the middle level: a case study

Abstract

Response to Intervention is the process of identifying students who are struggling, providing increasingly intensive interventions to support students and using data to measure students' responses to the instruction. While RTI has been studied at the elementary level, there is little research existing to support its effectiveness at the middle level. This study was based on one school's RTI pilot program as it assessed whether participating in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) influenced a four tiered RTI process at the middle level, ascertained which factors contributed to the change in classroom teacher knowledge, practice and efficacy, and examined the impact of the implementation of a four tiered RTI model on student reading progress as evidenced by indicators of student progress. Teacher interviews, group discussions, classroom observations and student reading assessment data were compiled and analyzed through narrative and discourse analysis. The study's design was a formative design experiment that allowed for the study parameters to be modified based on data. The results of this study support working in PLCs while implementing RTI since PLCs encourages the Three Rs: Reflection, Relationships and Results. When these three practices were focused on, they positively impacted teachers' knowledge, practice and confidence. Furthermore, implementing the RTI process also impacted student performance academically, socially and emotionally. Challenges of implementing RTI at the middle level were also presented. Recommendations were made for a state endorsed RTI policy and the rejection of the IQ Achievement Discrepancy model. At the school level, recommendations included the formation of PLC; school infrastructure supports; a formation of an RTI school based leadership team; collaborative and job-embedded professional development for teachers; and encouraged the practice of looping.