When children with disabilities are included in a general education class, it is often suggested that they should be pulled out of that class into a separate classroom either individually or with a small group to receive evidence-based interventions to meet their IEP goals. Within the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) — a framework that can provide targeted intervention and support for children who need it — these interventions might be Tier 2 or Tier 3 interventions.
The problem with this approach to specially designed instruction is that students often miss key instruction in the general education classroom and then inevitably fall behind. A more universally designed approach adjusts the lesson plan in the general education classroom to include the specially designed instruction without the need for pull out. This is often called embedded instruction. For more information, we spoke to Inclusion Consultant Michael McSheehan of Evolve & Effect, LLC.
If our goal is to keep students with disabilities in the general education classroom as much as possible, how can we navigate doing this? McSheehan tells us that, first of all, the goal is to have equitable participation in schoolwide structures, not just for the individual child: “The place-based measures of inclusion at a student level don't provide the whole story. In equity-based inclusion, it's situated in the school-wide framework.”
For example, if the school is using a framework like Multi Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), a schoolwide approach to teaching and learning that provides a scheduled intervention block for all students, then it would be consistent with what's happening for peers and that would be equitable participation.
Second, we must utilize embedded instruction. Embedded instruction integrates teaching strategies into natural classroom activities, allowing students to work on their IEP goals within their daily learning environment. McSheehan says, “If we're considering the use of evidence-based practices, specifically for reading instruction that are available, beyond the use of pre-made packaged intervention programs, it's also possible to embed and intensify reading instruction in Tier 1.”
McSheehan points to the Institute of Educational Science What Works Clearinghouse Practice guides as an example; they have practice guides for K-3rd, and 4th-9th struggling readers.
Embedding evidence-based reading practices in K-3rd
In K-3rd, teachers are developing students’ awareness of segments of sound in speech and how they link to letters, as well as teaching students to decode words, analyze word parts, and write and recognize words. Those evidence-based focus points can be embedded in general education instruction when we think about time in small groups and how we provide reading materials. This enables the teaching team to still anchor on these evidence-based practices, while embedding them in tier one (general education) instruction.
Embedding evidence-based reading practices in higher grades
In higher grades, struggling readers might be working on decoding skills at the multi-syllabic word level or practicing fluency. McSheehan reiterates that it’s important for students to be practicing with text that they can be really independent with and using comprehension building practices to make sense of text — building world knowledge and word knowledge, opportunities to ask and answer questions about text, a routine for getting the gist of a short segment of text, and self-monitoring for comprehension.
Strategies like this can be embedded in general education instruction, McSheehan says, “where you're using materials that are consistent with your peers, so you have access to all the literate peer models at the same time that you're practicing your most important skill set.” Find out more about these evidence-based reading instruction strategies in our article on the reading rope.
It is important that teachers who are embedding instruction are doing that in a way that intensifies and approaches it as an intervention. It's still very specific learning goals, specific teaching methods, and specific materials.
McSheehan has a nice way to remember the key points of embedded instruction through the acronym EMMET. Teachers can manipulate all of those to embed instruction and intensify instruction in tier one.
Match educators with the greatest expertise with the students with the greatest needs, not by title, but by expertise. First grade reading and general education reading teachers know how to teach reading more than a lot of special education teachers.
One way educators can strengthen Tier 1 instruction is by exploring collaborative and co-teaching structures. When students switch between teachers, we don’t want them to feel like they’re learning to read in completely different ways with Mrs. Smith versus Mrs. Jones. Instead, by coordinating our teaching approaches, we can create a more consistent learning experience while leveraging our educators' expertise to enhance instruction in Tier 1.
When it comes to teaching methods, we can enhance Tier 1 instruction by incorporating modeling, breaking tasks into smaller steps, sparking student interest, and making lessons more relevant to their lives. When students are engaged and see a meaningful reason to work toward a goal, they're more motivated to learn. By increasing opportunities for practice, providing more feedback, and using a variety of instructional strategies, we can strengthen and intensify learning in Tier 1.
Aligned with Universal Design for Learning (UDL), we should incorporate multiple ways to represent concepts. This could mean using pictures to support text, presenting ideas through various visuals and media, or adjusting text levels to better meet students’ needs. By offering diverse ways to access information, we create a more inclusive and effective learning experience. Often, a barrier to embedded instruction is that schools are not adapting their text-based materials to their current reading level. Teachers can be working on these in any content area that has text-based materials, not just during the reading block.
McSheehan says, ”For students reading two grades below level, you don't want to just adapt the materials for English Language Arts. We want to do that for the entire day. When students have books that they can read in their hands all day long, we can expect greater effect from supplemental instruction and targeted interventions. With more differentiated set of curriculum materials in place, we might expect a better balance of whole class, small group, and side by side lessons.”
To intensify instruction, we can rethink the learning environment and instructional arrangements. Using more small-group instruction allows for a higher teacher-to-student ratio — shifting from one teacher for 25 students to one teacher for five, for example — giving students more individualized support.
Small groups can be really useful for emphasizing particular goals or skills or strategies during tier one time. If a teacher is teaching whole class instruction and then breaks for students to be working at their level on their personalized goals across the whole class, the teacher might pull aside a small group that's all working on a particular skill set and provide additional intensified instruction at that time and ensuring that students have access to materials that are matched to their independent as well as their instructional reading level across the whole day.
Additionally, helping students understand the reasons behind their successes and challenges in reading can impact their motivation and future learning. When students develop adaptive attributions and recognize their own role in their progress, they build a growth mindset, which can boost both confidence and academic performance.
Finally, we need to consider time — how often, how long, and for how many weeks or months we embed these instructional strategies. How frequently should small group instruction happen? What session length best meets students’ needs? How long should a particular student or group receive targeted support? Note that all of this needs to be documented in IEP, even as embedded instruction.
No matter the approach — whether implementing MTSS schoolwide, using high-leverage, evidence-based reading instruction, or simply strengthening embedded teaching methods — the goal is to maximize students’ time in general education while ensuring high-quality reading instruction. This shouldn't create a false choice between being included in class or being singled out for extra support. Instead, it’s about making sure all students receive the instruction they need without stigma.
Make sure the goal states what the environment was for the work, as well as the kinds of materials for the work. Include in the IEP the supplementary aids and services that are related to that, such as the adaptive materials and particular teaching methods. The times of frequency would be embedded there as well in direct relationship to the goal, but can be broadly stated as supplementary aids and services within the IEP in addition supporting that goal.
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