Constructivism Learning Theory

What is Constructivism?

• Constructivism is a theory based on observation and scientific study about how individuals learn.
• Individuals construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world by experiencing situations and reflecting on those experiences.
• When encountering something new, people reconcile it with pre-existing ideas and experiences and might change their beliefs or reject new information.
• Individuals actively create their own knowledge and achieve this through asking questions, exploring, and assessing what is known.
• In a constructivist view of learning, teachers point towards different teaching practices in classrooms.
• Teaching practices involve encouraging students to use active techniques like experiments and real-world problem solving to build knowledge.
• Students then need to reflect and discuss what they are doing and how understanding is changing.
• Constructivist educators assess student activity to see if the activity is helping them gain understanding.
• Students ideally become "expert learners" through questioning themselves and their strategies in a constructivist classroom.
• Students learn how to learn with planned classroom environments that give them ever-broadening learning tools.
• Continuously reflecting on experiences allows students to develop complexities in their ideas and gain strength to integrate new information.

Key Elements of MTSS

• MTSS is not a specific curriculum, rather it's a proactive strategy with key elements.
• MTSS is a system of supports that provides a multi-layered approach, becoming more intense from one level to the next.
• MTSS supports the adults at school.
• The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the main education law for public schools, and cites MTSS as a way to increase teacher effectiveness.
• ESSA gives states funding that can be used for professional development to help teachers using MTSS.
• Key elements within MTSS include the following:
• Universal screening for all students early each school year.
• Increasing levels of targeted support for struggling students.
• Integrated plans addressing students' academic, behavioral, social, and emotional needs.
• School-wide support with teachers, counselors, psychologists, and specialists working as a team to assess student needs and plan interventions.
• Professional development for staff to provide effective interventions and progress monitoring.
• Family involvement so parents and caregivers understand the interventions and provide support at home.
• Frequent monitoring of student progress to help determine if more interventions are needed.
• Evidence-based strategies at every tier of support.

Major differences between RTI and MTSS

• RTI focuses on specific academic needs of struggling students.
• MTSS is broader and addresses academic as well as social and emotional areas, including behavior, attendance, school culture, teacher professional development, and family/community engagement.
• MTSS provides academic and behavioral considerations, integrating them for student success.
• MTSS can be viewed as an umbrella covering different approaches and interventions.
• These might include:
• Curriculum design
• Positive behavior intervention and supports (PBIS)
• Teacher learning and collaboration
• School and family collaboration in problem-solving
• Both RTI and MTSS signify a shift from previous approaches requiring intentional redesign of programs and supports to address student needs.
• MTSS may include school-wide and district-wide changes with effective leadership and widespread communication that are essential to success.
• As MTSS becomes the new standard, state education offices and districts develop their own implementation methods, frequently involving a four-step problem-solving process.

MTSS vs. RTI Similarities

• RTI's main goal is to support students academically by combining different intervention approaches.
• MTSS is a school model incorporating data-driven problem-solving and systemic change to address both the academic and non-academic needs of students.
• MTSS provides a comprehensive framework for administering support and a process for making team-based decisions.
• Similarities include:
• Features a continuum of multiple supports based on documented need.
• Delivers interventions and services in a multi-tiered support structure, increasingly using intensive interventions and supports in Tier 2 and Tier 3.
• Emphasizes high-quality instruction at all levels.
• Both models require the need for frequent progress-monitoring and data-driven instruction.

Understanding RTI: Response to Intervention

• Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) are commonly used but are not the same.
• RTI is a structured, multi-tiered approach for identifying and supporting struggling students.
• RTI focuses on high-quality instruction and interventions at three different levels, also known as tiers.
• All students receive good instruction and screening within Tier 1.
• Approximately 80% of students are expected to succeed in Tier 1.
• Tier 2 offers targeted interventions that increase in intensity.
• Tier 3 offers more intensive and individualized interventions.
• Four components of RTI include a multi-tiered system and universal screening to identify students.

Multi-Tiered Support Systems

• Some districts use a four tiered system of support, but three tiered systems are more common.
• Tier 1 involves the whole class with all students in the general education classroom.
• Teachers use instruction that has been proven to work.
• Students may work in small groups based on individual strengths and weaknesses.
• Tier 1 monitors all kids' progress.
• Students who are struggling may move to Tier 2.
• Tier 2 entails small group interventions.
• Students in Tier 2 still take Tier 1 lessons with their fellow students.
• Students get more targeted support through small group lessons or via special teaching and interventions.
• Students who do not make progress may stay in Tier 2 or move to Tier 3.
• Tier 3 uses intensive individualized support with small group work or individual lessons.
• Most students in Tier 3 spend a large part of their day in the regular classroom but may spend more time in a resource room.
• MTSS screens early and gives support quickly to tell the difference between students who haven't had sufficient instruction and those who need special education.
• The next step, if students do not make enough headway in Tier 3, is a special education evaluation.
• Student documentation can be helpful when developing this evaluation.
• Parents and caregivers do not have to wait for their children to go through all MTSS phases and can request an evaluation at anytime.

Assessment Types

• Summative assessments are used to evaluate student performance at the end of an instructional period or school year.
• Examples of summative assessments might include an end-of-unit test or a state reading test.
• Summative evaluations determine a student's overall reading performance and how effectively the the school reading programs work.
• Formal tests are standardized with a norm group or benchmarks for comparison of student results to peers.
• Informal tests are flexible and provide a holistic view of a student's reading.
• Informal tests do not have a norm group, so a student's score cannot be compared to another's.
• Observation checklists, informal reading inventories, and teacher-made tests can be used as informal tests.
• DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is a set of procedures and measures to assess literacy skills.
• Designed to be short one-minute fluency measures, DIBELS can regularly detect risk and develop early literacy and reading skills from grades K-8.
• DIBELS provide individual student development as well as give grade-level feedback for instructional objectives.
• MTSS refers to multi-tiered system of supports, which is a framework schools use to give targeted student support to struggling students.
• It may be called the MTSS framework, the MTSS process, or the MTSS model.
• MTSS is designed to help schools identify struggling students early and intervene quickly.
• The framework supports, “the whole child,” which includes academic growth, behavior, social and emotional needs, and absenteeism.

Types of MTSS Assessments

• Within the MTSS framework, there are four types of reading assessments: universal screeners, diagnostic tests, progress monitoring tools, and summative assessments.
• Using formal and informal tools helps schools determine who needs extra help, plan instruction, monitor growth, and evaluate program success.

Universal Screeners

• Universal screeners are tests given to a class, grade, or school 1-3 times a year to check for potential reading difficulties.
• Students who don't meet schools standards are at risk for reading problems or are eligible for support.

Diagnostic Assessments

• Diagnostic assessments identify specific student strengths and weaknesses in reading skills.
• Diagnostic tests give a detailed profile of the student’s needs to guide intervention.
• Diagnostic tests are given after a student fails a screener and may be repeated as needed by the teacher.

Progress Monitoring Tools

• Progress monitoring tools measure student's progress throughout instruction and intervention.
• Progress may be given weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly depending on the intensity of intervention or the student the test.
• Progress monitoring tools report the student’s growth in reading and help the teacher adjust instruction.
• Summative assessements are assessments used to evaluate student performance at the end of an instructional period or school year.
• Two examples could be an end of unit test or a state wide grade read test.
• These types of tests measure a student's overall reading performance and the effectiveness of the schools' reading program.