The Academically Misunderstood: Creating

Systems that Understand and Meet Instructional Need

Gregory J. Benner, Ph.D.University of Washington, Tacoma

Email: gbenner@u.washington.eduTelephone: (253) 692-4621

Fax: (253) 692-5612

Big Picture Objectives The academically misunderstood:

Who are they? Systems that understand and meet

instructional need Features of supplemental instruction

Academic Systems Behavioral Systems

1-5% 1-5%

5-10% 5-10%

80-90% 80-90%

Intensive, Individual Interventions•Individual Students•Assessment-based•High Intensity

Intensive, Individual Interventions•Individual Students•Assessment-based•Intense, durable procedures

Targeted Group Interventions•Some students (at-risk)•High efficiency•Rapid response

Targeted Interventions•Some students (at-risk)•High efficiency•Rapid response•Individual or Group

Universal Interventions•All students•Preventive, proactive

Universal Interventions•All settings, all students•Preventive, proactive

Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success

Understanding

Have you ever been misunderstood? In what ways are students with behavioral

problems misunderstood?

Key idea: Solutions to academic and/or behavioral problems start with understanding them.

Story

“The Dinosaur that Drove a Dumptruck”

The Real Story:

Access to the Core Instruction Program Varies Across Schools

All Students80%

Some Students15%

A Few Students5%

Difficult to think this way in schools serving large disadvantaged populations

Some

Few

To Achieve Greater Success—Think!!

Effect Size Difference in Total Language

ED Population General Population

ES=1.2

Pathway Analysis (Nelson, Benner, & Neill, 2006)

Language

Behavior

Academic Fluency

Academic Skills

-0.21

0.67

0.26

-0.21

0.81

From the Research Literature(Nelson, Benner, & Gonzalez, 2003)

10

Rapid NamingES: .51

Rapid NamingES: .51

BehaviorES: .46

BehaviorES: .46

MemoryES: .30

MemoryES: .30

IQES: .28

IQES: .28

PhonologicalES: .42

PhonologicalES: .42

Most Influential

Least Influential Demographic

ES: -.01

DemographicES: -.01

LiteracyOutcomes

The Best of Times• Randomized controlled trials of intensive

fluency instruction on neurological functioning– Increased activity in the left hemisphere regions of

the brain after instruction– Maintained more than one year after

• Reading (Shaywitz et al., 2004)

• Math (Delazer, Domahs, Bartha, Brenneis, Locky, & Trieb, 2004)

– “Actual shift in brain activation patterns as untrained math facts are learned (Delazer et al., 2003)”

Fluency: The True Definition of Mastery

12

Fluency = Accuracy + Speed

= Automatic or “Second Nature” Response

= True Mastery of Basic Skills and Composite Performance

Everybody Needs Fluency

13

Even, Ray Charles

• ROBERT SIEGEL: You practice a lot?

• RAY CHARLES: Whenever I can. I don’t -- I don’t practice as much as I would like to, because I’m not around a big piano all the time. But I try to, you know, I try to practice a little bit every day for the most part.

• ROBERT SIEGEL: And when you practice, I mean, do you practice the tunes that you’ll be playing at the next concerts......?

• RAY CHARLES: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.....

• ROBERT SIEGEL: I guess the answer is no, you’re saying?

• RAY CHARLES: No. No. I practice things like scales and chords and movement of my hands and things like that, because, I mean, I -- what I’m going to play on stage, I know. What I’m practicing for is to try to improve what I might play, you know. You gotta practice. I mean you gotta keep your fingers loose, you gotta keep your mind active, you know, because what your mind thinks of -- the question is: what your mind thinks of, can your fingers play it?

• ROBERT SIEGEL: Right.

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Systems that Understand: Matching

Instruction to Need

An Achievable Outcome with Well Selected and Implemented Supplemental Programs

All Students95%

A Few Students3-5%

How do you spell student success?

Supplemental InstructionSupplemental Instruction

How Much Does High Quality Supplemental Instruction Matter? 281 middle school students

Screening criteria (conducted spring prior to intervention year) Median DIBELS ORF score fell in the “at-risk” category

participated: 5th (<103), 6th (<104), 7th (<125), and 8th (<125).

Corrective Reading Decoding Placement Test Ensure that the Corrective Reading Decoding strand was appropriate

for addressing their word reading skill problems Establish homogenous groups and place students in the appropriate

level (B1, B2, or C)

Reference: Benner, G. J., Nelson, J. R., Stage, S. A., & Ralston, N. C. (2008). Fidelity of Implementation: Influence on the Effects of a Reading Intervention for Middle School Students Experiencing Reading Difficulties. Manuscript in Progress.

School Demographics School 1: Rural, 75 participants

Enrollment: 222 53% free/reduced, 14% special education services Ethnic breakdowns: 51% Caucasian, 46% American Indian/Alaskan

Native, 3% Hispanic, 1% African American.

School 2: Rural, 63 participants Enrollment: 250 60% free or reduced, 12% special education services, 10% ELL Ethnic breakdowns: 58% Caucasian, 24% Hispanic, 14% American

Indian/Alaskan Native, 2% Asian American, 1% African American.

School 3: Urban, 143 participants Enrollment: 585 59% free or reduced lunch, 14% special education services, 3% ELL Ethnic breakdowns: 55% Caucasian, 23% African American, 15%

Hispanic, 5% Asian American, 3% American Indian/Alaskan Native.

Project BERS Intervention Plan

Tier IV: Students with Severe Reading Problems Corrective Reading B1 (65 Lessons) then B2 (65 Lessons)

& Rewards (20 Lessons)

Tier III: Students with Moderate Reading Problems Corrective Reading B2 (65 Lessons) then Rewards (20

Lessons), and C1(125 Lessons)

Tier II: Students with Mild Reading Problems Rewards (20 Lessons) then Corrective Reading C1 (125

Lessons)

Tier I: Average or Above Average Readers Rewards Plus in Science and Social Studies

Project BERS Progress Monitoring Plan Tier IV: Students with Severe Reading Problems

Every week 3rd Grade DIBELS ORF (3 probes) DIBELS NWF (2 probes)

Tier III: Students with Moderate Reading Problems Every two weeks

4th Grade DIBELS ORF (3 probes) DIBELS NWF (2 probes)

Tier II: Students with Mild Reading Problems Every two weeks

6th Grade DIBELS ORF (3 probes) 6th Grade MAZE CBM (1 Probe)

BAM-IIIDate

ORF Progress

AimlineChange Lines

9/24/2007 30 30

10/1/2007 31

10/8/2007 32

10/15/2007 31

10/22/2007 35

10/29/2007 36

11/5/2007

11/12/2007

11/19/2007

11/26/2007

12/3/2007

12/10/2007

12/17/2007 50

R.O.I. 1.00

PrintingSet Up GraphEntering DataSaving the File

Oral Reading Fluency ProgressStudent Name

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Week

Wor

ds R

ead

Cor

rect

per

Min

ute

ORF Progress

Aimline

ORF ProgressTrendline

aim

line

chan

ge

inst

ruct

ion

chan

ge

If 4 consecutive progress points are above the aimline, then raising the aimline is recommended.If 4 progress points fall below the aimline, a change of instruction is recommended.

OutcomesWJ-III Gains Across 3 Middle Schools

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1 2 3

School

Sta

nd

ard

Sc

ore

Ga

in

(pre

/po

st) Broad Reading

Letter-Word ID

Passage Comp

Word attack

School 3 (14 Teachers)Fidelity and Gain

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Broad Reading Gain

Fid

elit

y P

erce

nta

ge

School 2 (3 Teachers)Fidelity and Gain

0%10%

20%30%40%50%

60%70%80%

90%100%

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Broad Reading Gain

Fide

lity

Per

cent

age

An Example of the Importance of Implementation

Implementation Area Standard Score Effect

Follows the lesson format 3.34**Uses specific praise statements and feedback

1.11

Monitors student responses 2.42**Re-teaches when needed 2.48**Uses established error correction procedures

2.69**

Overall 12.80**

Overview of Tier III Pilot

Reading Mastery—Language StrandTier III, ELL, and Sped (as needed) grades 3-5 in 3 high need elementary schools

Reading Mastery—Reading StrandTier III: Grades K-2

Corrective Reading—Decoding StrandTier III: Grades 3-5

Decoding B1: Lessons 16-35Lesson Number

Fluency Progress

(wpm)Errors Aimline

Change Lines

Lesson 16 55 1 60

Lesson 17 56 2

Lesson 18 58 0

Lesson 19 60 2

Lesson 20 59 5 60

Lesson 21 61 7 65

Lesson 22 62 4

Lesson 23 60 2

Lesson 24 63 0

Lesson 25 65 1 65

Lesson 26 67 2 70

Lesson 27 70 4

Lesson 28

Lesson 29

Lesson 30 70

Lesson 31 75

Lesson 32

Lesson 33

Lesson 34

Lesson 35 75

R.O.I. 6.25

PrintingSet Up GraphEntering DataSaving the File

Words per MinuteStudent Name

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

Wo

rds

Rea

d C

orr

ect

per

Min

ute

Fluency Progress (wpm)

Aimline

Fluency ProgressTrendline

aim

line

chan

ge

inst

ruct

ion

chan

ge

Number of ErrorsStudent Name

012345678

Err

ors

Example Expectations: Large and Small Group

Demonstrate learner position: Students’ backs are against the back of the chair, feet are on the floor in front of the chair, and hands are together on desk/lap.

Look at the focus of instruction: Students’ eyes are on the instructional materials, teacher, or peer.

Answer on signal: Students start and stop on teacher signal (group and individual).

Responses are teacher-initiated and subject focused: Students’ responses are only teacher-initiated and subject focused.

Use classroom voice: Students use six-inch voices.

Teacher Students

15 pts. 30 pts.

Outcomes

36 kids with behavior, reading, and language difficulties (n = 36) Word Meaning (Language):

12th to 24th percentile Word Recognition:

17th to 30th Silent Reading Comprehension

13 to 23rd Spelling

17th to 27th

Effective Supplemental Instruction

Diagnose well Daily fluency CBA. Graphing—kid takes ownership High quality programs implemented well

(small things—big gains) Fluency teaching Manage behavior during instructional

situations

Book

Nelson, J. R., Benner, G. J., & Mooney, P. (2008). Instructional practices for students with behavioral disorders: Strategies for reading, writing, and math. New York: Gilford Press.