Implementing Early Interventions to Solve

Students’ Academic and Behavioral Problems:

Using Teacher, Grade-level, and Building-level Teams

Dates               : 1 November 2016 and 2 November 2016 (2 day workshop)
Venue              : To Be Confirmed
Time                : 9.00am to 5.00pm
Closing date    : 2 September 2016 Friday

Click Here to Register

Workshop Fee:
S$450.00 per participant. If 2 or more participants from the same school/organization attend the same workshop, the discounted fee will be S$400.00 per participant for that particular workshop. Fees are subject to GST and include all training materials, 2 tea breaks and a lunch.

Other Information:
Registration is on a first-come-first serve basis. No refunds will be made for cancellations or in the case of absentees. The Academy accepts replacements for registered participants who are unable to attend for whatever reasons.

Workshop Description

While many students are successful, some struggle academically, and others demonstrate social, emotional, or behavioral challenges.   At times, students do not succeed because of organizational or school-level weaknesses. At other times, there are instructional or curricular gaps that affect students’ progress. And, most certainly, at still other times, there are student characteristics that are primarily responsible for the areas of concern.

This presentation will take a multi-level view of academically struggling and behaviorally challenging students, and address ways to prevent these problems from occurring, along with instructional and intervention strategies to respond when they do occur. This will be done from a practice perspective—based on on-site work in thousands of rural, urban, and suburban schools over the past 30-plus years.

The first level discussed will focus on the functional characteristics of effective schools and effective classrooms. Included here will be the goals of an effective school, the components of effective schools, the importance of shared leadership and a corresponding organizational and committee structure, and the knowledge and use of people’s skills, talents, and expertise.

The second level discussed will focus on the interdependency between the academic and the social, emotional, and behavioral elements of a successful school. Included here will be a description of the components within the “Positive Academic Services and Supports” (PASS) model, and the “Positive Behavioral Support System/Social-Emotional Learning” (PBSS/SEL) model. Both of these models begin with “Effective Classrooms with Effective, Differentiated Instruction, supported by Effective Classroom Management.”   The PASS and PBSS/SEL models will be described in detail from both prevention and early intervention perspectives.

The third level discussed will focus on a step-by-step learning support blueprint to guide a data-based problem-solving process as some students present with academic struggles and/or behavioral challenges. Included here will be the “First Things First”—the first things that teachers and support staff need to do when these students are identified, as well as the importance of using grade- or instructional-teams and building-level early intervention teams in the data-based problem-solving process.

Finally, the fourth level discussed will outline a multi-tiered approach to services, supports, strategies, and interventions for students with significant or persistent needs. Included here will be an overview of interventions at the different tiers, along with an end-of-school-year “Get-Go” process that helps to transition students from one year and one grade to the next, while identifying needed resources and supports at the beginning of the next new year.

The workshop will provide numerous examples and case studies throughout. Participants should leave the workshop with a working knowledge as to how to design and implement effective early intervention processes and intervention within a consultation-based problem solving process.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will learn:

1. The goals of an effective school, and the components of effective schools
2. The importance of shared leadership and a corresponding organizational and committee structure.
3. How to identify and use of people’s skills, talents, and expertise.
4. The components of the “Positive Academic Services and Supports” (PASS) model.
5. The components of the “Positive Behavioral Support System” (PBSS/SEL) model.
6. A step-by-step blueprint to guide a data-based problem-solving process for students with academic struggles and/or behavioral challenges.
7. The importance of using grade- or instructional-teams and building-level early intervention teams in the data-based problem-solving process.
8. A multi-tiered approach to services, supports, strategies, and interventions for students with significant or persistent academic and/or behavioral needs.
9. The end-of-school-year “Get-Go” process to transition students from one year and one grade to the next.

Training Schedule/Content Overview:

1. Characteristics and components of effective schools
2. Shared leadership and a School Committee Structure Blueprint
3. Identifying Internal and External Consultants
4. The Positive Academic Services and Supports (PASS) model
5. The Positive Behavioral Support System (PBSS) model
6. A Data-based Problem-solving Blueprint for Students with Academic and/or Behavioral Challenge.
7. Designing and Using Grade- or Instructional Team and Building-level Early Intervention Teams
8. A Multi-Tiered Approach to Services, Supports, Strategies, and Interventions
9. The “Get-Go” Process

Target Audience
General and special needs classroom teachers at all levels, school and district administrators, allied educators (including school psychologists, counselors, social workers, others), other educational specialists and community-based professionals. Schools are encouraged to send teams of teachers.

Addressing Students with Significant Academic or Behavioral Needs: Using Data-based Problem Solving to Link Assessment to Intervention

Dates               : 3 November 2016 and 4 November 2016 (2 day workshop)
Venue              : To Be Confirmed
Time                : 9.00am to 5.00pm
Closing date    : 2 September 2016 Friday

Click here to register

Workshop Fee:
S$450.00 per participant. If 2 or more participants from the same school/organization attend the same workshop, the discounted fee will be S$400.00 per participant for that particular workshop. Fees are subject to GST and include all training materials, 2 tea breaks and a lunch.

Other Information:
Registration is on a first-come-first serve basis. No refunds will be made for cancellations or in the case of absentees. The Academy accepts replacements for registered participants who are unable to attend for whatever reasons.

Workshop Description

When students demonstrate significant or persistent academic or social, emotional, behavioral difficulties, a systematic data-based problem-solving process should be used—first to determine the underlying reasons for a student’s specific difficulties, and second, to link the results of the assessment process to high-success instructional or behavioral interventions. This process should begin in the general education classroom whenever possible—supported by teacher-colleagues, administrators, learning and behavioral support specialists, and others. Ultimately, the goal is to implement interventions in the general education classroom. More specialized settings should be used only when needed to implement more intensive supports.

This presentation will discuss a data-based problem-solving process used to assess students with significant academic and/or behavioral challenges, and how to link the assessment results to specific instructional and/or intervention approaches. This will be done from a practice perspective—based on on-site work in thousands of rural, urban, and suburban schools over the past 30-plus years.

While there are a number of sound problem solving models and processes, all of the effective ones have four primary components: Problem Identification, Problem Analysis, Intervention, and Evaluation. Day 1 of this presentation will focus on teaching and practicing a well-established data-based problem-solving process—especially emphasizing the Problem Analysis phase of the process. This will be done through a series of case studies where participants will generate different hypotheses for different student problems, and discuss what data will confirm or reject their hypotheses. Hypotheses will especially focus on instructional, curricular, and student factors.

Day 2 of the presentation will identify the “Seven High-Hit Reasons” why students present with significant academic or behavioral concerns. These “High-Hit” reasons will be linked to specific instructional or social, emotional, behavioral interventions, and a number of these interventions will be presented in detail.

Prior to Day 2, workshop participants will identify the most significant academic or behavioral concerns that they have with students in their classrooms or schools. These will be used to guide the selection of the interventions that will be presented.   In all cases, step-by-step implementation protocols will be presented for the interventions discussed so that participants will leave with a beginning sense of how they might address specific student needs.

Numerous case studies will be presented to demonstrate this process and allow participants to practice. Discussion will be strongly encouraged. Participants should leave the session with a working understanding of how to apply the data-based problem-solving process on an individual staff, grade- or instructional-team, or multi-disciplinary school staff level.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will learn:

1. The data-based problem solving process—including the Problem Identification, Problem Analysis, Intervention, and Evaluation steps.
2. How to complete a data-based Problem Analysis of a student’s academic or behavioral challenges—including how to generate and confirm or reject different instructional, curricular, and student hypotheses to explain specific challenges.
3. The “Seven High-Hit Reasons” why students present with significant academic or behavioral concerns.
4. How to link these “High-Hit” reasons to specific instructional or social, emotional, behavioral interventions.
5. How to implement a number of interventions selected to address workshop participants’ most significant academic or behavioral concerns with students in their classrooms or schools.

Training Schedule/Content Overview:

1. The Data-based Problem Solving Process
2. Focusing on Problem Analysis: Generating Hypotheses to Explain Students’ Academic or Behavioral Challenges
3. Applying the Data-based Problem Solving Process to Case Studies
4. The “Seven High-Hit Reasons” Why Students Present with Significant Academic or Behavioral Concerns
5. Linking the “High-Hit” Reasons to Specific Instructional or Social, Emotional, Behavioral Interventions
6. How to Implement a Number of Selected Interventions

Target Audience
General and special needs classroom teachers at all levels, school and district administrators, allied educators (including school psychologists, counselors, social workers, others), other educational specialists and community-based professionals. Schools are encouraged to send teams of teachers.

About the Trainer – Dr. Howard Knoff

Howard M. Knoff, Ph.D. is an internationally-known innovator and hands-on practitioner in the areas of:

• School Improvement and Turn-Around, Strategic Planning and Organizational Development
• School Discipline, Classroom Management, and Student Self-Management (PBIS/PBSS/SEL)
• Differentiated Academic Instruction and Academic Interventions for Struggling Students
• Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Instruction and Strategic and Intensive Interventions for Challenging Students
• Multi-tiered (RtI) Services, Supports, and Program
• Effective Professional Development and On-Site Consultation and Technical Assistance

Howie is the creator and Director of Project ACHIEVE, a school effectiveness/school improvement program that has been designated a National Model Prevention Program by the U. S. Department of Health & Human Service’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Over the past 30 years, Howie has implemented Project ACHIEVE components in thousands of schools or school districts—training in every state in the country. He has also been awarded over $21 million in federal, state, or foundation grants for this work, and recently received three U.S. Department of Education grants to support work in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Kentucky.

Howie also served as the Director of the $12 million State Improvement Grant (SIG)/State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) for the Arkansas Department of Education—Special Education Unit from 2003 through 2015. In this position, he was directly responsible to the Director of Special Education for the state of Arkansas, and involved in many Departmental policy and procedure discussions and deliberations.

Dr. Knoff received his Ph.D. degree from Syracuse University in 1980, and has worked as a practitioner, consultant, licensed private psychologist, and university professor since 1978. Dr. Knoff is widely respected for his research and writing on school reform and organizational change, consultation and intervention processes, social skills and behavior management training, Response-to-Intervention, and professional issues. He has authored or co-authored 18 books, published over 100 articles and book chapters, and delivered over 2,500 papers and workshops nationally—including the Stop & Think Social Skills Program (preschool through middle school editions) and the Stop & Think Parent Book: A Guide to Children’s Good Behavior through Cambium Learning/Sopris West Publishers and Project ACHIEVE Press, respectively.  

Among his recent books are the following:

• Knoff, H.M., & Dyer, C. (2014).   RTI²—Response to Instruction and Intervention:   Implementing Successful Academic and Behavioral Intervention Systems. Rexford, NY: International Center for Leadership in Education

• Knoff, H.M. (2012). School Discipline, Classroom Management, and Student Self-Management: A Positive Behavioral Support Implementation Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

A recipient of the Lightner Witmer Award from the American Psychological Association's School Psychology Division for early career contributions in 1990, Dr. Knoff is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (School Psychology Division), a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, a Licensed Psychologist in Arkansas, and he has been trained in both crisis intervention and mediation processes.Frequently interviewed in all areas of the media, Dr. Knoff has been on the NBC Nightly News, numerous television and radio talk shows, and he was highlighted on an ABC News' 20/20 program on "Being Teased, Taunted, and Bullied." Finally, Dr. Knoff was the 21st President of the National Association of School Psychologists which now represents more than 25,000 school psychologists nationwide.