Personal Takeaways: Although extensive research is required to begin to address these concerns, I was inspired to look at how RTI is completed in my current school, and try to help implement a way to make the process more consistent. My goal for the upcoming school year is to collaborate with my teammates to implement strategies that will help identify students needing tier 2 instruction in a more organized format.
Lingering Questions: As a teacher leader, how can I inspire and motivate my colleagues to use RTI in an effective manner that meets the needs of their students, and help them to see it is a tool to help them and not add to their load?
ECI 508 - Teachers as Leaders was a course that helped to inspire and develop leadership skills as educators so that we could be advocates for our students. As advocates our duties are to participate in school reform by incorporating the knowledge and skills learned from the previous courses. One of the books we had the option to collaborate with classmates to discuss was The Reading Specialist: Leadership and Coaching for the Classroom, School, and Community. As a teacher leader, it is our duty to make sure we provide the best possible support to foster learning with our school community. While reading chapter two of the text, some important questions were brought to the forefront to tackle the inconsistencies that go along with RTI, such as
What sort of tier 2 instruction is best for students?
How long should students receive tier 2 instruction?
Does the number of tiers make a difference in student learning?
How can RTI instruction make the transition into secondary grades?
As teacher leaders we should take charge in developing an action plan to address these needs, but how can this be done if there is no set standard throughout states and even the U.S. to address these concerns?
Bean, R. M. (2015). Working with students: an overview of the instructional role. In The reading specialist:leadership and coaching for the classroom, school, and community. (pp. 20–54). New York: The Guilford Press.