RTI and DI: Response to Intervention and Differentiated Instruction

Book excerpt: In today's diverse and inclusive classrooms, teachers face the challenge of delivering instruction that is effective and accessible to students with a wide range of needs, abilities, and learning styles. Newly updated for 2014, RTI & DI: Response to Intervention & Differentiated Instruction, by Helene Hanson, shows teachers how they can meet this challenge using the best practices of differentiated instruction (DI) within the framework of Response To Intervention (RTI). This laminated, six-page (tri-fold) guide clearly presents six common elements of RTI and DI that reflect the best practices in addressing classroom diversity within a standards-based curriculum, and provides examples for each. These include: ¿Student-centered activities ¿Flexible grouping ¿Learning centers/stations ¿Ongoing student assessment ¿Data-driven decision making ¿Collaboration and teaming Incorporating some or all of these elements into lesson plans has a proven beneficial impact on teaching and learning for all students. A valuable tool for general and special education teachers, RTI and DI also offers easy-to-implement strategies for planning, including opportunities for teachers to meet and plan together; suggestions for effective lesson plan design, such as active lessons and authentic practice; and caveats for learning.