A tiered intervention is one of the most powerful techniques used to both prevent and overcome students’ behavioral problems. While a Tier 1 intervention presents only basic instructions, the following ones address a certain person and certain problems. Such kind of individualization allows to determine the core of a problem and succeed in solving it.
A Brief Summary of the Article
Kern and Wehby (2014) describe a tiered intervention aimed to improve a behavior of one of the students of Highland Middle School, named Isaac. Firstly, teachers try a Tier 1 approach, which is “school-wide” (Kern & Wehby, 2014, p. 45). Since the student’s behavior does not improve, they supplement Tier 1 with new instructions and proceed to Tier 2.
Finally, the last one, a Tier 3 intervention is presented and proved successful. According to Kern and Wehby (2014), Isaac has both academic problems, (refuses to do his homework, appears unprepared for lessons, etc.), and “difficulties getting along with his peers”, which usually lead to aggression and even fistfights (p. 45).
The first phase of intervention was based on “Highland High Five Expectations”, which were “Be Ready, Be Responsible, Be Respectful, Be Safe and Be Kind” (Kern & Wehby, 2014, p. 46). The students were encouraged to meet those demands, as well as aware of the consequences of not meeting them. However, Isaac’s behavior remained the same, so a Tier 2 intervention was developed.
As Kelley and Goldstein (2014) claim, a Tier 2 intervention is not a replacement of Tier 1, but a supplement. At this stage, personal information is also investigated. So, firstly, all students every day and after each period had to get points (from 0 to 2) for their adherence to each of “Highland High Five Expectations”.
Secondly, the support team studied which of these expectations were the most difficult for Isaac and expanded the list for him. Nevertheless, he still managed to gain only the half of the possible points. Finally, during a Tier 3 intervention, all of Isaac’s problems were examined in details. He had to train his organizational skills, solve math problems and attend the homework club.
He also got a specific schedule and was taught how to solve conflicts with his peers without any aggression. Finally, the support team members even managed to encourage Isaac to do all of these by letting him attend the sports team. As a result, Isaac’s behavior improved, he showed better results in education and stopped having fights with his peers.
Article Analysis
The student Isaac, whose story is described in the article, is fictional. However, his behavior model and the problems he faces (both academic and social ones) are very common. Kern and Wehby (2014) explain how these problems can be solved even in the most difficult cases. As it is stated in Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord”.
In other words, discipline is everything. Students should always be led by right teachers in order to develop their best qualities. The approach presented by Kern and Wehby (2014) is supported by more than ten sources, including previous studies made in this area, what makes the information reliable. Article material is presented clearly and understandably and also sustained by several tables.
I assume, an idea to show how intervention plans work on a particular example is very well-turned because it helps to understand the concept better. Finally, the information presented in this article is valuable since it can be applied to many other cases. As it was already mentioned before, a tiered intervention is one of the most efficient methods of solving behavioral problems.
References
Kelley, E., & Goldstein, H. (2014). Building a Tier 2 Intervention: A Glimpse Behind the Data. Journal of Early Intervention, 36(4), 292-312.
Kern, L., & Wehby, J. H. (2014). Using Data to Intensify Behavioral Interventions for Individual Students. Teaching Exceptional Children, 46(4), 45-53.