Response to Intervention: Get in the Zone!

The Response to Intervention (RTI) model gained credibility in recent years as an eligibility model for special education services. But RTI is also a useful approach to providing data-based decision-making for any students who may be in need of extra interventions for improving their performance. Since data driven decision making is one of the key reforms emphasised by the Federal government's stimulus funding guidelines, RTI is currently a hot topic.

The RTI model comprises of 3 tiers, universal interventions (green zone), group interventions (yellow zone) and individual interventions (red zone). At each tier, assessments and interventions are offered within general education classrooms to identify and correct potential learning issues. The goal is twofold: to prevent children from being channeled into special education programs and to help mainstream students already in special programs.

At each zone the following questions are asked:
1. What is the problem?
2. Why does the problem exist?
3. What should be done to address the problem?
4. Did the intervention work and what’s next?

Neuropath Learning programs are designed to help teachers and school administrators implement practical RTI programs in elementary schools. For example, our programs Early Mind Matters and Knowledge First, can help with both assessment and intervention at each level. Since the program does all the work, it is a very practical universal intervention to offer school wide as a preventive measure. The multimodal differentiated instruction and comprehensive assessment covers a broad range of possible learning issues. The programs are able to clearly and precisely define the cognitive gaps that are leading to various learning issues. The cognitive challenges in the learning activities then train the brain to develop the cognitive skills found to be weak. This type of cognitive training facilitates academic achievement and the benefits of this training have been shown to be long lasting. Data is collected in real time as the student interacts with the program and the teacher and principal can view this data distribution in the context of individual performance, class performance and school performance. The students progress through the programs at their own pace, once one program is completed they can move on to more advanced programs. The programs can track individual student progress and measure learning. Whats more, our programs are fully customizable for addressing special needs of certain groups of students with the same learning issue or individuals with who need tailor made interventions. Thus offering solutions for students in the green zone and red zones. This is the power of our technology. We like to think we offer learning solutions and not just sell software to schools. Our goal is to partner with schools to help students reach their full potential and we strive to make sure our programs are used correctly to obtain maximum benefits.

If you are wondering, "well that's great news for learning issues, but what do I do about behavioral issues?" you should read the previous post where I explain how Neuropath Learning programs address both learning and behavior issues at the same time using executive function training activities. Here is the link: http://neuropathlearning.blogspot.com/2009/08/killing-two-birds-with-one-stone.html

Be sure to check out our website, http://www.neuropathlearning.com/, for more information, interactive demos, sample charts and success stories.