Response to Improvement (RTI) is a multi-tier approach to classroom learning enabling teachers to identify the abilities of individual learners and provide additional instruction to learners who may benefit from support in smaller, more targeted settings. The RTI process begins with high-quality instruction and universal screening of all children in the general education classroom.
Through discussions with classroom teachers, the RTI team identifies students who need extra support in a particular area. At Monash, we provide RTI in reading, writing, mathematics, social skills and English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D). Students work in small groups or individually, with a teacher or educator on identified learning needs. This builds on concepts covered in class that students have not quite grasped and need extra practice with. Some students will participate in RTI for a short time and others will need longer depending on their need.
RTI is a process “that emphasises how well students respond to changes in instruction. The approach is intended to shift educational resources toward the delivery and evaluation of instruction, and away from the provision of supports based on diagnosis or classification of disabilities. The essential elements of an RTI approach are:
- the provision of scientific, research-based instruction and interventions in general education
- monitoring and measurement of student progress in response to the instruction and interventions
- use of these measures of student progress to shape instruction and make educational decisions.