Research documenting decision-making practices across different types of teams will add to the emerging value of RtI. A school or district’s RtI model will only be effective if there is clear decision-making protocol amongst team members. In fact, having a better idea of the decisions being made may lead to the development of
the specific factors that influence and impact the educators involved in the RtI decision- making process. The implication is that objectively measuring and comparing RtI practices and procedures would serve to advance the knowledge of teams. Specifically, this research will examine the decision-making of the personnel who serve on their core RtI team. Moreover, because some RtI models are solely implemented in elementary settings, and others are in both elementary and secondary levels, it remains unclear what decision-making differences are made between those levels.
The research indicates that measuring decision-making between team levels are important for several reasons. By middle and high school (i.e. secondary), a greater emphasis on inter-disciplinary content is made when teams make decisions (Sanger et al., 2012). A problem-solving team should include various educators of different disciplines working together, who can help to develop strategies based on their specific knowledge. This opportunity might not be the same for both settings, and comparing team levels may show differences in their decision-making. Additionally, team decision-making may vary due to the fact that secondary teams require more logistical coordination with respect to staffing, allocating resources, and scheduling (Prewett et al., 2012; Sanger et al., 2012). Even philosophical differences may exist between team levels; teams need to decide if they should consider RtI to be a prevention model, or instead view RtI as a way to narrow gaps in the basic content skill areas as much as possible (Prewett et al., 2012). Comparing team level decision-making may help ascertain this viewpoint.
I am interested in studying these teams and developing quantitative data based on their problem-solving practices. My study is aimed to add to the literature on the process of decision-making by studying various personnel serving on RtI teams and analyzing
which decisions they make and why they make them, including measuring factors that influence their team and personal decision-making. Understanding decision-making is essential to learning more about RtI, and my research is needed to further expand the team-decision-making approach, which I measured through an RtI decision-making survey I developed, called the RtI Team Decision-Making Questionnaire.
Measurement tools need to be designed to improve the process of using data to inform classroom instruction and support educators’ efforts to meet the individual, academic, and social learning needs of all students (Newton et al., 2009). My survey ensured this by measuring practical, relevant, and specific aspects of RtI team and personal decision-making. Moreover, any tool designed to assess decision-making behaviors should include items that professionals agree represents essential components of decision-making (Algozzine et al., 2012), which will help to support team personnel with their problem solving (Newton et al., 2009). My survey met these criteria as well, as it allowed for a better understanding of decision-making practices across different
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
The overall purpose of this research study was to examine multiple factors that influence the decisions of educators participating on RtI teams. The study specifically examined factors that influence school personnel involved in the following components of the RtI decision-making process:
1. Research based assessments, curriculums, progress monitoring probes, evidence- based interventions, and the measures associated with them that are implemented in the school setting (i.e. Measures and Tools).
2. Data-driven decisions that are made based on the assessment and intervention data, including the rules, guidelines, and processes involved in these
determinations (i.e. Data-Driven Decisions).
3. The process of the decision-making itself, including the model approach, the dynamics of the team members, and the influences (internal and external) impacting decision-making (i.e. Process and Procedures).
The study allowed for the relationships to be examined among the factors that influence the decisions of the various personnel on the core RtI team. The study also measured those influences that have the greatest impact on the decisions personnel make within the RtI team. The research questions this study measured were:
overall RtI decision-making processes?
2. What factors do RtI team members report as the most influential to their personal RtI decision-making processes?
3. Do team members’ perceptions of their positions on their RtI team influence their decision-making within each RtI tier?
4. In what aspects of the decision-making process do team members report participating in for each RtI area? Do these aspects differ across roles and personnel?
5. Do the decision-making aspects of RtI personnel differ according to school level (elementary v. middle v. high)?
The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the methodology that this study implemented. Specifically, the setting, study participants, research design, data collection, and the survey instrument are all examined. The survey instrumentation will be explained, and references associated with its development will be summarized.
3.1 Overview of the Study Procedures