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The use of technology and blended learning to alter response to intervention

Robert Horn

Lamar University

EDLD 5305
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The use of technology and blended learning to alter response to intervention

Introduction

Over the course of the progression of education throughout history failure has been an option.

As much as students attempt to avoid this path, it rears its ugly head, and students find

themselves not able to grasp, understand, or show proof of learning in a concept or area of

knowledge. As this occurs, teachers are left with an option as to what the next action should be.

Intervene and remediate the lesson for better understanding, or move on and the student is left

with the gap in learning. The pressing question to instructors is how do you create meaningful

remediation for the struggling student while allowing the other students to continue to learn and

advance.

Response to intervention (RTI) is a process used by

educators to help students who are struggling with a skill or lesson;

every teacher will use interventions (a set of teaching procedures)

with any student to help them succeed in the classroom—it’s not

just for children with special needs or a learning disability. If a

student is struggling, his or her teacher will use test scores and

other measures of progress to choose a researched and proven

intervention suited to help the child learn. If a child does not

respond to the initial interventions, more focused interventions are

used to help the child master the skill (RTI and Learning supports,

2013).
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The use of RTI was introduced in the reauthorization of the IDEA (individuals with disabilities

education act) of 2004. RTI has expanded over the past 15 years, but the literature review will

determine if the use of a blended classroom learning model could better serve all students in a

classroom with individualized learning lessons driven with a technology base, and rooted in the

idea that all students could continue to learn within the subject at varying levels of engagement.

Changing the role of the teacher

Recently, the role of the teacher has begun to evolve. Teachers are being asked to evolve and

change as technology and blended learning begins to move into classroom (NMC/CoSC, 2016).

As this occurs the role of the teacher moves from the traditional form that was expected for 100+

years, to a new role of facilitator of learning that individualizes student understanding, and

differentiates lessons based on student understanding and ability (NMC/CoSC, 2017). This can

occur as teachers obtain new ideas and training through staff development and furthering their

education. Inversely, as more demands are put upon teachers to change their work load and

thought process of teaching, resources also must evolve with more support from district and state

administers to foster the teacher growth and development (Nodine, 2013). Technology plays a

huge role in this development. Integrating technology into lessons and learning, allows teachers

to structure lessons to serve all levels of students while being able to free up valuable time to

better serve the population of students who need the most assistance. As lessons and technology

blend into the normal classroom setting, the process of RTI is better supported. Students with

the most need for RTI require remediated learning in order to gain a better understanding of the

information (RTI and Learning supports, 2013). This process combined with a blended learning

model, gives the teacher the freedom to help these students in multiple ways.
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RTI students’ needs

In this literature review information points to the need for a blended learning environment for

learners in different stages of the learning process. As students reach levels of learning in a

blended classroom setting, they can move forward and expand their learning while other students

are still mastering the concept on a different level (Horn, 2015). This review is not arguing that

all learning should be made digital or with technology. A balance of technology and hands on

learning delivery has shown to deliver the best results (Horn, 2015). The basis of this idea is that

once the lesson is delivered, the students can then use the technology as supplemental support to

show their proof of learning. Students who do not so adequate grasp of the skill or information

then could enter the RTI process. Normally this is over the process of multiple trials where the

student has shown a deficit. By using blended learning, there is an increased probability for

students to use the enhanced learning to avoid the RTI process altogether. As students become

engaged with the technological piece of the learning process, the teacher is able to have time to

focus more time with struggling students before they enter RTI. AS students continue to struggle

over time across multiple learning modules, teachers can then use the technology portion to help

track these struggles and move to RTI. RTI then becomes and intervention model to focus more

intensely on the specific needs of a student. The changing of the structure of the classroom while

giving the student authentic learning experiences gives the students support and resources needed

to correct gaps in learning that had developed (Mastropieri, 2005). All students will not benefit

from the RTI model, and could end up in testing for special education and placement. By

changing the process of the approach to RTI teachers and administrators can close the gaps that

develop during the identification process, and possibly curb the need for the number of students

who spend extended time in the RTI process.

Students who do not need RTI

Students not needing RTI can also benefit from the blended learning model in a classroom while

utilizing the technology portion of the lesson. As blended learning occurs, teachers can create

lessons that allow for extension of the learning for students to delve deeper into the information,

and being held back while others gain understanding of the topic (Mastropieri, 2005).

Essentially, the use of technology to extend lessons challenges both delayed and advanced

learners through the use of self-paced learning modules. If students are allowed to continue to

expand on a topic while others achieve mastery, students can then become assistant facilitators of

the learning to the instructor (Weber, 2016). This not only allows the student to master the

information, but also gain key social skills in leadership and responsibility.

Implementation

Blended learning with technology should be implemented with focus. Lessons being created for

the technology aspect should pertain to the information given during the teaching, and use

common vocabulary, methods, and sequence. The commonality across the learning

environments allows all students to relate the learning to the information given (Weber, 2016).

While students are working in these technology, instructors and teachers can pull students for

small group work of students with comparable skill levels to focus on the technology

presentations. By utilizing this time, the teacher can individualize and differentiate for each

student. Differentiation is key to helping a struggling student grasp a concept on a level that they

are able to relate to the concept (Horn, 2015).

Interpretation

Expert have differing ideas on how the RTI process should take place, but many believe the

blended classroom aspect is the direction classroom are moving. Clayton Christensen Institute

for Disruptive Innovation have classified blended learning as a disruptive innovation to change

the landscape of learning and how schools can better serve the diverse student population

(Christensen et all, 2013). Seeing the focus of blended learning, allows this group to see the

present and future growth and benefits from this style of blended learning. Though it places

increased effort and time from teachers, that can easily be remedied by a districts ability to

develop curriculum and implement standards that become part of the learning and planning

process.

Conclusion

During this literature review, more and more ideas were discussed, but most referred in the

reading to the benefits of blended learning with the individualization of the education leading to

fewer instances of failure, use of RTI, or increasing of learning gaps. By changing how

teachers, administrators, and district approach blending technology with standard classroom

teaching models, the landscape of education student achievement and learning is also

changing.
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References

Christensen, M., Horn, C., B. Staker, M., & Heather. (2013). Is K-12 Blended Learning Disruptive?

An Introduction to the Theory of Hybrids. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED566878

Horn, M. B., Staker, H., & Christensen, C. M. (2015). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to

improve schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2005). Feasibility and Consequences of Response to

Intervention. Journal of Learning Disabilities,38(6), 525-531.

doi:10.1177/00222194050380060801

NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2017 K-12 Edition. (2017). NMC.

NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition. (2016). NMC.

Nodine, S. (2013). The Perfect Blend - Aligning Learning Outcomes, Activities, and Assessments in

the Blended Learning Environment. Innovations in Teaching & Learning Conference

Proceedings,5. doi:10.13021/g8j02b

RTI and learning supports: Addressing barriers to learning and teaching & re-engaging disconnected

students. (2013). PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e529682013-001

Weber, C. (2016). RTI and Blended Learning: A Perfect Pairing - leadered.com. Retrieved

December 3, 2018, from http://www.leadered.com/pdf/RTI-and-Blended-Learning.pdf