Focus Group Questions: March 17, 2008
1. Under the heading of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, our 2007-08 School Improvement Plan lists the following action steps:
• Pilot “Response to Intervention” model, as part of the system-wide initiative in Kindergarten • Apply “Response to Intervention” structures to Grades 1 – 4
• Connect Language Arts assessments to “Response to Intervention” • Use DIBELS phonics assessment in Kindergarten (Fall, Winter, Spring)
We’re working on these action steps though our RTI initiative, which includes Class TATs, assessments (progress-monitoring), in-class interventions, and RTI intervention groups. Our focus, this year, is on literacy. Please answer the following questions, in relation to how they apply to your grade-level:
a. In what ways is our RTI initiative helping us address the needs of our struggling readers who are Urban Partners students?
b. In what ways is our RTI initiative not doing enough to address the needs of our struggling readers who are Urban Partners students?
c. What elements should we add to our RTI model to better address the needs of these students?
2. Under the heading of Human Resource Development, our 2007-08 School Improvement Plan lists these action steps:
• Conduct “Response to Intervention” study groups
• Incorporate cross-grade-level meetings into more staff meetings
We’re working on these action steps through various Professional Development activities about RTI this year. Through study groups, presentations, and discussions during staff meetings and Curriculum Days, we’ve learned about RTI. In addition, Kindergarten teachers have had workshops and meetings about the DIBELS
assessment and related interventions.
a. How have these Professional Development activities helped you understand and implement the RTI approach?
b. How have these Professional Development activities helped you instruct our struggling readers who are Urban Partners students?
191 APPENDIX D: Reflections on April 7, 2008 Staff Meeting
(Grade-level discussion of three articles about RTI)
There are many different types of professional development. Teachers take courses, attend conferences, consult professional journals, attend workshops, etc. In some instances, all the teachers in a school read articles, reflect upon the ideas in the articles, and discuss them with colleagues. Please provide feedback regarding your beliefs about the value of this type of professional development by circling the appropriate response.
1. How valuable is it to read articles during staff meetings?
no value minimal value some value significant value
2. How valuable is it to discuss articles during staff meetings?
no value minimal value some value significant value
3. How valuable is it to discuss articles with grade-level colleagues (or with those whose jobs are similar to yours), as we did during the April 7 staff meeting? no value minimal value some value significant value
4. How valuable is it to discuss articles in cross-grade-level groups (and with colleagues whose jobs are different from yours) as we did during the February 1 Curriculum Day?
no value minimal value some value significant value
5. How valuable is it that all professional staff members are involved in these
discussions (rather than having only a small number of staff members focusing on this topic)?
no value minimal value some value significant value
6. How valuable is it to have reading, reflection, and dialogue as part of your professional development?
no value minimal value some value significant value
192
APPENDIX E
Feedback from Spring Class TATs
April 6, 2008 Dear Participants in the Study of our RTI Initiative,
During the next two weeks, you will all participate in a Class TAT, the purpose of which is to get a snapshot of the students in your class and determine if there are additional intervention steps which need to be taken to help any particular students. The spring Class TAT is a component of the “progress monitoring” in our RTI model. After your Class TAT, I would appreciate your thoughtful responses to the following questions:
1. Did the spring Class TAT help you to address the needs of struggling readers in your class? If yes, in what ways? If no, why not?
2. Did the spring Class TAT help you to address any particular needs of struggling readers who are Urban Partners students? If yes, in what ways? If no, why not?
3. Are there specific intervention strategies (to be accomplished by you, by an aide, by a specialist, etc.), identified during the spring Class TAT, which will help you instruct struggling readers? If yes, what are they? If no, in which components of literacy instruction do you need additional intervention strategies?
4. What additional feedback would you like to give about the spring Class TATs?
5. What additional feedback would you like to give about the Class TATs (fall and spring) in general?
193
APPENDIX F
Response to Intervention Study
Interview Questions: April 30, 2008
1. The National Staff Development Council has developed standards for professional development organized in three categories: content, process and context. Two
prominent experts on Professional Learning Communities (Richard DuFour and Robert Eaker) have written that, in a professional learning community:
• the content of a staff development program is based on research, • the process of staff development includes reflection and dialogue, • the context of staff development is job-embedded.
To what extent do you believe these elements of our Professional Development about the RTI initiative have helped you with your understanding of RTI?
2. In what ways is our RTI initiative helping teachers to address the needs of our struggling readers?
3. What else do we need to do to address these needs?
4. In what ways is our RTI initiative helping teachers to address the needs of our struggling readers who are Urban Partners students?
5. What else do we need to do to address these needs?
6. How have our Professional Development activities helped you instruct our struggling readers who are Urban Partners students?