RTI:
Response to Intervention was one of the main focuses under the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act in 2005.  Response to Intervention, or RTI, is broken up into 3 tiers.  Tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3.  Tier 1 is the first tier and it includes all students in the general education classroom by the general education teacher.  Generally, the amount of students decrease as the tiers go up.  Teachers use progress monitoring to assess whether a student is responding to interventions or need to move up or back down in the tiers.  

If a student fails to respond to the interventions of Tier 1 then they will move on to tier 2.  Tier 2 is different from tier 1 because it requires an additional 20-30 minutes per day in addition to tier 1.  Tier 2 roughly includes about 20-30% of students and provides more intensive scientifically based instruction on specific areas of need.  In this tier, there is personnel assigned to help the student determined by the school.  This could be a specialized reading teacher or other trained personnel.  If a student continues to be unresponsive to tier 2 then they will move on to tier 3.

Progress monitoring for tier 2 takes place twice a month on the specific skill that the student is struggling with.  This is to ensure that adequate progress and learning is taking place.

In tier 3 students are required to participate in 50 minute sessions per day depending on the appropriateness of tier 1.  Again, there could be specific personnel determined by the school to help the student on specific needs.  Progress monitoring also takes place at least twice a month on the target skill to ensure that adequate progress and learning is taking place.

Reference:
Gargiulo, R. (n.d.). Special Education in Contemporary Society 5e (5th ed.). Sage. 

Response to Intervention (RTI)

UDL:
The purpose of the universal design for learning, or UDL, is to ensure that all students have equal access to education.  According to Garguilo, “UDL is the design of instructional materials and activities that allows the learning goals to be achievable by individuals with wide differences in their abilities to see, hear, speak, move, read, write, understand English, attend, organize, engage, and remember” (2015, p.28)  UDL is meant to be flexible for teachers in designing curriculum, differentiating instruction, and using the right evaluations and assessments.  UDL is achieved by using flexible curricular materials and activities that provide differentiated activities for students who are diverse.  

The main idea of UDL is that there is not one right way to learn.  All students should have equal access to learning and not just equal access to information.  Every student learns differently and UDL ensures that students should be able to learn in the way that best suits them.  

Reference:
Gargiulo, R. (n.d.). Special Education in Contemporary Society 5e (5th ed.). Sage. 

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

AT:
The growing use of technology in today’s classrooms has provided assistance for students with disabilities.  Although technology has become part of everyday life, educational technology is meant to facilitate the learning and improved performance of students with specific technology.  Assistive technology, or AT, refers to devices and services.  Most people assume that assistive technology is just a device but there are two categories: assistive technology devices and assistive technology services.  

The reauthorizations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provided guides for assistive technology that students with disabilities use today.  In the year of 1990, IDEA included assistive technology for the first time.  A student’s individualized education program, or IEP, will assess whether a student qualifies for assistive technology.  The reauthorization of the IDEA in 1997 “mandated that IEP teams consider assistive technology for all students with disabilities” (Gariulo, p.133).  Frameworks are used to help assist IEP teams when making decisions on assistive technology for a particular student.  

Students may try out assistive technology tools or devices before the IEP team makes any recommendations.  Once assistive technology is selected, it is then put in place to help a student meet his or her goals set on the IEP.  

There are four categories of assistive technology: no-tech, low-tech, mid-tech, and high-tech.  No-tech could include graphic organizers or mnemonics.  Low-tech could include pencil grips, raised lined paper, braille playing cards, or highlighter strips.  Mid-tech could include calculators, audio recorders, or switches.  Finally high-tech could include iPads or word prediction. (Garguilo, p.137). Generally assistive technology helps to assist students with reading, writing, or mathematics.

Reference:
Gargiulo, R. (n.d.). Special Education in Contemporary Society 5e (5th ed.). Sage. 

Nalin Tjitradjaja