The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers’ level of autonomy in a Response-to-Intervention (RTI) model school system and with delivering a Tier 2 reading intervention, as well as, to understand teachers’ perception of student response to the adapted reading materials. Qualitative data collection involved individual teacher interview, observations, post-intervention survey, and a focus group. Teachers selected reading materials that focused on sight word learning to adapt to fit student need and then delivered the intervention for six weeks. Quantitative data were the students’ progress monitoring scores of sight words learned and overall oral reading fluency rate. Results showed that each teacher adapted the materials differently, and that intervention practicality and elements of the current educational structure affect teacher autonomy. While specific elements can play into intervention practicality, it is truly difficult to analyze an intervention separate from the system in which it is being delivered. Teachers defined intervention practicality as ease of delivery, while additionally defining elements of district operations and governing forces of the system, as broader themes that placed control over their instructional practice, thus restricting autonomy. Implications for practice and future research encompass ways to empower teachers to build autonomy and ways to create teacher involvement during system-level change.

Att automatisera innebär att kunskap lagras och lätt kan plockas fram ur långtidsminnet. Detta är viktigt när elever ska lösa komplexa matematiska uppgifter. Om eleven automatiserat t.ex. multiplikationstabellerna kan eleven ägna tid åt problemlösning istället för beräkningar. Denna studie är tänkt att genomföras som steg 3 för elever i år 3. Eleverna bör innan interventionen genomgått undervisning i steg 1 och steg 2 enligt RTI. Interventionen är utformad för att träna automatisering av multiplikationstabellerna. Tabellerna är i studien indelad i två nivåer, lättare nivå och svårare nivå. 3 elever deltog i studien. Resultatet visar positiv effekt för två av eleverna i studien vad gäller automatisering av den lättare nivån. Resultatet visar också att effekten av interventionen är bevarad även tre veckor efter interventionen för de två eleverna som visade positiv effekt av interventionen. För den tredje eleven i studien syns inte samma positiva effekt som för de andra eleverna. Denna elev har övat på den svårare nivån. Det finns flera möjliga orsaker till att interventionen inte gav samma effekt för denna elev. Testerna som användes för att mäta effekten passade inte lika bra för den svårare nivån som för den lättare nivån. Då en metod i interventionen bygger på dubblering hade det innan interventionen startade behövts kontrolleras att eleverna var säkra på positionssystemet samt begreppet dubbelt.

There is a problem with fidelity of implementation (FOI) of the Response to Intervention (RTI) framework in an elementary school in the southeastern United States. Both teachers and administrators have observed inconsistent implementation of RTI and teachers' reported lack of motivation to implement RTI as designed. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gather teacher and administrator perceptions of the FOI of RTI model using interviews, surveys, and review of archived documents. The implementation of science framework formed the conceptual foundation of this qualitative project study. The research question focused on the FOI of the RTI model as it related to effective interventions, implementation methods, enabling contexts, and intended outcomes. The purposeful sample included 9 participants using the selection criteria for educators who were employed as Kindergarten to 3rd grade elementary teachers or as administrative/support staff and actively participated in the process and procedures of the implementation of the RTI model at the target site. Data were coded and analyzed using inductive analyses. Findings included common themes related to the need for professional development (PD) on interventions, progress monitoring, expectations, differentiation, and the value of RTI. Based on the findings, a project was constructed to include collaborative learning within ongoing PD sessions and development of professional learning communities (PLCs) to refine implementation of RTI. The findings from this study may lead to positive social change by allowing educators to implement RTI with a greater fidelity to accommodate the needs of diverse learners.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of West Florida, 2009. / Submitted to the Dept. of Professional and Community Leadership. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 0 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

School social workers are currently in a unique position to support and lead schools through the change process initiated by districts' adoption of a Response to Intervention model. This dissertation describes an exploratory study to develop and pilot-test a self-administered survey for use by school social workers for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of school social work practice. The survey was developed using DeVellis' 8-step process for survey design. The survey consisted of four subscales theorized to measure school social worker effectiveness as determined by a review of current literature in the field: Response to Intervention, Evidence-Based Practice, School Climate, and Roles and Leadership. The survey was pilot tested with 105 school social workers in Hillsborough County, Florida. Reliability and validity of the instrument was assessed through SPSS using Cronbach's alpha and exploratory factor analysis. Once adjusted for negatively-worded items and dropping items that failed to load, four factors emerged explaining almost 44% of total variance. Cronbach's alpha analysis of the final scale length of 27 items resulted in values of .815 for the Evidence-Based Practice subscale, .792 for the Response to Intervention subscale, .676 for the School Climate subscale, and .726 for the Roles and Leadership subscale. These values indicate that the final instrument has good internal consistency reliability. An additional item was rewritten for clarity and included in the 28-item version of the survey suggested for use in future research. Analysis of the collected data indicated that the survey demonstrates both validity and reliability, making it a useful tool for school-based social workers; suggestions for further development of the survey and future directions for research are discussed. The Professional School Social Work Survey can serve as a means of both self-assessment and planning for professional development.

Reading problems are the most frequent referring reasons for special education evaluations. Recent changes in the law have implications for the changing role of the school psychologist, specifically the evaluation and identification of students with reading disabilities. Traditionally, the assessment of children with suspected reading disabilities has focused on the presence of an aptitude/achievement discrepancy in which general intellectual ability is significantly higher than reading skills. IDEA 2004 introduced a second model, Response to Intervention (RTI), in which children with a reading disability may be identified through a set of curriculum-based measures and progress monitoring data.In light of the broadening evaluation processes, the present study was designed to examine the relationship between school psychologists' attitudes and assessment practices in the identification of students suspected of reading disabilities. In addition, the study examined whether there were significant attitudes and practice differences related to school psychologists' prior teaching experience, gender status, number of years in practice, certification, grade of service delivery, professional credentials, and ethnicity. Finally, the study examined the variability in their practices for evaluating children with reading disabilities. The present study replicated and expanded the work (survey) of Nelson and Machek (2007) and Fish and Margolis (1988).Data were collected from 81 members of the Arizona Association of School Psychologists (AASP). Each participant completed a survey, which was made up of 30 items, regarding perceptions and practices psychologists use in the evaluation of students with reading difficulties using a 5-point Likert scale. Results indicated a relationship between attitudes and current practices suggesting that school psychologists' practices are compatible with their attitudes. In addition, the most remarkable correlations were observed in regard to school psychologists' attitudes that in order to identify children with a reading disability, school psychologists need to include measures of intelligence and cognitive processing, even within an RTI framework. In regard to the variability of assessment practices, school psychologists' practices for evaluating children with reading disabilities were similar.Implications from this study indicated the need for school psychologists to have a broad working knowledge of the evaluation requirements to identify children with reading disabilities beyond the aptitude/achievement model.

The new IDEIA (2004) mandates regarding the implementation of Response-to-Intervention (RtI) present challenges for general education teachers. The law dictates the implementation of Response-to-Intervention, which requires the application of a pyramid of interventions for students failing to make adequate yearly progress in response to general education programs. Response-to-Intervention regulations redefine general education teacher roles, increase responsibilities regarding instructional interventions for at-risk learners, and change the process used to determine qualification for specific learning disability (SLD). A qualitative case study investigates how three general educators in a rural public elementary school understand and implement Response-to-Intervention policy. The study also examines teacher descriptions of the influence policy implementation on instructional practices for at-risk students. Data collection methods include structured and unstructured interviews, videotaped classroom observations, Teacher Performance Record data, lesson plans, and relevant RtI artifacts to advance understanding of RtI implementation in relation to the particular research site and study participants. Focusing on a single site allowed the researcher to develop holistic descriptions of contextual situations to inform future RtI implementation, as well as improve professional development and instructional practices for students involved in the RtI process. Study results provide a framework for understanding how elementary school teachers negotiate RtI implementation in the general education setting. The findings report personal influences on implementation, environmental supports for implementation, and positive and negative consequences of implementation. The study concludes with recommendations for local education agencies (LEA), administrators, and professional learning, as well as suggestions for future research.

Education for All (2005) offers a developmentally appropriate plan based on responsiveness to intervention (RTI) research. The model, termed the tiered approach, advocates intervention as a step in the process of identification which involves closely monitoring students in the primary years and providing additional support through direct instruction and increased monitoring of students who are at-risk. There are numerous empirical studies discussing the potential benefits of the RTI model (Feiker Hollenbeck, 2007; Fuchs & Deshler, 2007). However, the promise of a theory is never enough to ensure a change in the practice of teachers or an improvement in the learning of students. Since it is the teachers who will alter their classroom practice and systematically monitor student progress in order to decide whether suitable learning trajectories are being achieved, researchers must examine how best to support teachers in the face of such change. This study describes, through the use of focus group data, teachers’ views of their experiences participating in a pilot project of the RTI model. While exploring the supports and barriers that these teachers face in the first year of implementing the RTI model, this study describes the limitations imposed by the teachers’ perceived lack of empowerment throughout the pilot project. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2009-06-24 12:49:27.836

Installation of exposed fire sprinklers may cause inconvenience in areas where architectural and interior presentation is significant. In order to overcome this inconvenience, recessed and concealed sprinklers were created and are applied widely. Response Time Index (RTI) and C-factor are the thermal sensitivity (intrinsic parameters) used to characterise a sprinkler. They are also used as input parameters in computer fire models to simulate sprinkler response time. However, the RTI and C-factor are not published by the manufactures. Therefore the RTI and C-factor of the recessed and concealed sprinklers have been analysed and determined in this research. In order to obtain the RTI of the recessed and concealed sprinklers, four of the most commonly used sprinkler models (two recessed and two concealed) in New Zealand have been investigated in plunge test experiment by using a wind tunnel in this research. The UC3 wind tunnel used to conduct the plunge test has been fabricated in this research. This work has demonstrated that the UC3 wind tunnel could provide a very stable and uniform temperature profile in the test section. However, the velocity uniformity of the tunnel needs to be improved in the future. The "apparent" RTI for different recessed and concealed sprinkler models (two recessed and two concealed) have been determined in the plunge test experiment. It should be noted that the "final calculated RTI" for each tested recessed and concealed sprinklers has been denoted as "apparent RTI" in this study. BRANZFIRE computer model has been used to model the fire scenarios in the full scale fire tests conducted by Bill and Heskestad (1995). The best input fire object location, the best input sprinkler distance below the ceiling and the input "apparent C-factor" in BRANZFIRE for the flush, recessed, concealed and the recessed sidewall sprinklers have been determined in this research. This work has generally improved the guidance available to fire safety engineers for the RTI and C-factor of the recessed and concealed sprinklers.

In this project we set out to find when the resistance level against first line antibiotics would reach 20%. This was executed by first defining relevant bacteria and antibiotics for urinary and respiratory tract infections (UTI's, RTI's). The data was collected from the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) and the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP). The data included the level of resistance for specific years for countries in Europe, as well as for the USA. A prediction model was made using the programming language R. A linear model was used to make a five and ten year prediction. The accuracy was tested. The results were then visualized using R and MATLAB. The results show a big variation between different bacteria and antibiotic combinations. For the two E. coli combinations the resistance is already near 20% for many countries and the resistance is increasing. For the three K. pneumoniae combinations the resistance is high in Southern Europe, meaning many countries have reached or are near 20%. For the two P. aeruginosa combinations there is also a higher resistance in Southern Europe but the resistance is decreasing in most countries. The resistance for E. faecalis is also decreasing and is generally very low in all of Europe. For the only RTI relevant combination, S. pneumoniae and penicillins, the resistance is low and many countries except for Sweden show a decrease in resistance. The USA did not have data for the same time span as Europe and was therefore analyzed separately. For many combinations the USA are near the 20% limit. Only for two combinations the USA showed a decrease in resistance level, and for one of those combinations the prediction is too uncertain to make any assumptions about. For the USA there were two more combinations for RTI than for Europe. For the S. pneumoniae and penicillins combination they have, just as most of Europe, a decreasing resistance. The two combinations with Acinetobacter spp. have a high resistance that is increasing. The main challenge during this project was finding relevant data with a long timespan and with high certainty. The data found is based on invasive isolates which means that the disease which the samples are taken from is not known. The timespan and the certainty of the data affected the accuracy of the prediction model and how long period that could be predicted. The prediction model generated 202 predictions that were visualized. An ethical analysis was made concerning both research ethics and general ethics on the topic of antibiotic resistance. This analysis is meant to acknowledge these questions since we believe they are important when discussing antibiotic resistance. The objective of this project turned out to be more difficult to attain than first believed. This was because of the lack of quality data. Even though we cannot give a clear answer when each country will reach a resistance of 20% this report gives a good understanding of how the situation looks for UTI and RTI relevant bacteria.