Ep. 193: Systems to Get Better Reading Results with Stephanie Stollar
May 10, 2024
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Stephanie Stollar discusses implementing Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in schools to improve student performance, with a focus on reading. She emphasizes the importance of blending general and special education resources from the start and providing intensive support as needed. The podcast explores the tiered model of prevention in reading education and the significance of personalized, data-informed instruction to address student needs.
MTSS blends general and special education resources to provide seamless support for all students.
MTSS emphasizes different tiers of instruction to prevent and support struggling readers at varying levels.
Deep dives
Understanding the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)
MTSS is a comprehensive framework aimed at improving student outcomes by providing support for various needs. It blends general education and special education resources to offer seamless support for all students. This system focuses on using data to identify barriers hindering student performance and collaboratively creating plans to eliminate these obstacles.
The Three Tiers of Instruction
In the MTSS model, there are three tiers of instruction: tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3. Tier 1 aims to prevent reading failure for all students through effective classroom instruction. Tier 2 provides extra customized support for students at higher risk, focusing on accelerating progress. Tier 3 offers individualized intensive support to catch up struggling readers, emphasizing the importance of accurate and fluent reading.
Aligning Instruction with Student Needs
The MTSS approach emphasizes aligning instruction with students' needs through screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring assessments. Screening data informs effective classroom reading instruction in tier 1, while diagnostic assessments provide specific guidance on what to teach next. Progress monitoring ensures instructional adjustments are made in real-time to support student growth.
Special Education within the MTSS Model
Special education within the MTSS model is integrated seamlessly across all tiers to provide support for students with disabilities. It emphasizes proactive intervention and specially designed instruction based on student responses to individualized and intensive supports. The system prioritizes effective instruction to minimize the need for intensive interventions and special education services.
In this conversation, Stephanie Stollar discusses the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). MTSS is a framework for school improvement that helps to provide support for students with various needs. The MTSS framework focuses on using data to identify barriers to student performance and making plans to eliminate those barriers. Stollar explains that word recognition skills are more discreet and sequential, while language comprehension skills are more unconstrained and complex. Stephanie recommends that special education resources should be blended with general education resources from the beginning, and students should receive intensive support as soon as it is needed, without having to go through a series of interventions and assessments. She also emphasizes the importance of evidence-aligned instruction and the need for team-based decision-making in the MTSS model.
Takeaways
MTSS is a framework for school improvement that helps teachers provide support for students with various needs
The tiers in MTSS are prevention of reading failure, with tier one being primary prevention for all students, tier two providing extra support for students at higher risk, and tier three offering intensive and individualized support for struggling readers
Differentiate tier one instruction and provide targeted instruction based on screening and diagnostic data
Assessments in MTSS include screening assessments to identify students at risk, diagnostic assessments to determine specific instructional needs, and progress monitoring assessments to track student progress.
Blend special education resources with general education resources from the beginning and provide intensive support as soon as it is needed.
Focus on evidence-aligned instruction and team-based decision-making in the MTSS model.