Kids Say ... From B’s and C’s to A’s and B’s
"My grades went up a lot--from B's and C's to A's and B's."
The basic ideas in Response to Intervention (RTI) are straightforward and focus on: interventions tailored to address the needs and learning issues of students, using research-based interventions, the use of tiered responses, and carefully monitoring student progress and adjusting as needed.
The following table illustrates the role BrainWare Safari cognitive skills development can play in an RTI initiative.
| RTI Procedure | BrainWare Safari Cognitive Skills Development as an Intervention |
|---|---|
| Identify students who need intervention. |
In many cases, routine academic assessments and teacher observations are effective in identifying students who are struggling or failing to master academic standards. The key is to determine whether the issue is instruction (that is the student needs additional instruction and/or practice) or whether there is a barrier that warrants an intervention. If additional instruction does not resolve the problem, it is likely that an intervention is in order. In some cases, BrainWare Safari can be used in a diagnostic mode to quickly indicate weak cognitive processing areas. |
| Provide intervention that effectively resolves the problems for the majority of students who receive the intervention. | A great advantage of BrainWare Safari is that it develops cognitive skills comprehensively and in an integrated fashion with significant impact for virtually all students following a 10-12 week program. This obviates the need at this stage for a detailed diagnosis. The program is designed to require more practice of weaker processing skills and to address individual strengths and weaknesses within the framework of a program that is easy to implement and helps a broad base of students. |
| Monitor the effects of the intervention to ensure integrity of implementation and effects on learning. | BrainWare Safari enables teachers and staff to monitor student progress and adherence to the recommended protocol. Adjustments in individual student focus can be instituted. Following the intervention, routine academic assessments and teacher observation can quickly show the impact on academic progress. |
| Make decisions about the need for further intervention. | The reporting tool in BrainWare Safari allows trained personnel to draw insights regarding areas of cognitive strengths and weaknesses for each student. While many students will require no additional intervention, specific targeted interventions and supplementary exercise and practice may then be determined on a case-by-case basis. |
