Providing Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instructional Strategies and Interventions within the Response to Intervention Framework

Date of Award

Summer 7-2021

Document Type

Project (696 or 796 registration)

Degree Name

Master of Science in Special Education

Department

Graduate Studies

Committee Chair

Marci Glessner

Keywords

Response to Intervention, culturally responsive, instructional strategies, interventions, culturally and linguistically diverse

Abstract

Abstract Many districts have a Response to Intervention (RTI) model which provides a tiered approach to interventions. Through this approach, students are monitored and moved through each tier until they are either identified as needing a special education evaluation or meet educational standards. Without this intentional and explicit process, we may put our students at risk for over-identifying or under-identifying students who are learning bilingually. Implementing appropriate interventions and strategies allows teachers to determine the need for a special education referral, thus students must be receiving appropriate instruction and interventions that address their language acquisition needs before a referral. Students from non-English speaking backgrounds have often been mislabeled for special education services thus finding viable ways to appropriately identify English Language Learners is of critical importance (Linan-Thompson et al., 2006). Research states that using a three-tiered Response to Intervention model resulted in higher gains than English as a second language instruction alone (Rinaldi & Samson, 2008). Along with small group interventions, studies have consistently addressed the need for appropriate and high-quality instruction in the classroom, especially for bilingual learners. When researchers use a skills-based approach at Tier 1 or Tier 2 in a Response to Intervention framework, they often accelerate the academic progress of many children and reduce the likelihood that they will be wrongly identified as requiring special education (Kearns & Fuchs, 2013). Research has also shown explicit instruction in reading is imperative (Dussling, 2018). If done correctly, high-quality instruction and appropriate interventions can help students meet academic standards and reduce the number of students wrongly referred to a special education evaluation.

Abstract only: No full text available.

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