I remember the first time I was introduced to RTI…it was a brief training with a checklist, with the main point being that we did this for about 15% of our students.
I was confused!!!
As a math teacher, after school tutoring was a norm, kids really couldn’t move on without mastering the previous concept. Then, there was test corrections, homework help, etc. I am sure all you math teachers can relate.
However, the idea of tracking what I was doing, how often, what materials, what skill, the progress…that was all new to me. Later, I was asked to
teach a remediation class
for students who struggled or did not meet state standards. Talk about a whirlwind. These kids needed extra support, but they had gaps, wide gaps, different gaps, and I was entrusted with the task of filling them in. Whew, I get tired just typing about it!
I will say it was one of my favorite classes. We set lots of goals and worked for incentives. We celebrated every small success and really aimed to build confidence in our math skills. At the end of the year, it felt as though I had different students, more confident, higher skill base, better problem solvers, and in general, they may not yet LOVE math, like me…but they liked it a bit more. I remember how excited they were when we got our state assessment scores back. It was awesome!
Now, I tell you all that to share one of the ways I did it.
By
trial and error
, I found two incredibly helpful methods.
1. Previewing upcoming skills
About two days before we started something new in our regular math class, I would introduce it to my remediation class. We would break it down, work a few problems, and focus on the process. I think this gave them a great deal of confidence.
2. Small groups, centers, stations, whatever you like to call it.
Each week students were given a schedule for stations. I divided them into groups and each group visited a different station. Much like an elementary classroom, one of the stations was a small group with me. I focused on correcting misconceptions and catching their errors right away.
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This is my
that is aimed at tutoring, small groups, and RTI intervention…check it out
! As a special thank you, I would like to
GIVE IT AWAY
to a blog follower, so please enter below.*
Oh, RTI still scares me! Just when I think I have a handle on it, I realize there is more or there is a new way of doing something! This looks great! I just pinned it to a couple of teacher pin boards!