Using Interventions in the Classroom

This is the process of altering teaching methods for a child so as to boost academic excellence. Also known as academic intervention, this is a set of steps or a certain program for addressing the academic needs of struggling students(Critical Race Theory).

Instructional interventions contain different ways of tracking the progress of students. These include intentional interventions targeted at a certain challenge and formalized and specific interventions, which appear with specific duration, and the progress of the student is assessed at fixed intervals. It also involves flexible interventions which allow the school to include more instruction time or more intense support. Some students may need an exceptional amount of intense interventions(A Guide to Critical Race Theory), which might be an early indication of learning differences.

Generally, the students, who are provided with an instructional intervention, are the ones who might struggle with different skills in the classroom. The school performance of the student might be significantly impacted by these struggles. Subject-matter support may appear in different forms based on the school district. For instance, an academic intervention may include helping a student to learn how to properly organize the notebook. It may also be working with them on submitting homework assignments consistently or time management skills. Using weekly agendas(Entelechy), note-taking skills, and study strategies also come under instructional interventions.

Apart from providing core instruction, teachers should use intervention time to offer targeted instructions pertaining to certain concepts or skills to help students get a significant boost. This is different from previewing content or pre-teaching that is commonly used for students who may require extra processing time to get prepared for upcoming lessons or lack background knowledge. In order to help a student achieve academic excellence, there has to be an appropriate system to observe and review learning so that teachers can identify critical missing concepts(Pedagogue) and skills – this is where instructional strategies prove to be of great help.

It’s important to understand that an accommodation is different from an academic intervention. An accommodation can be used for any student to make learning accessible to them. However, teachers may combine accommodation with academic intervention. For instance, students, who struggle with reading, may be allowed to use TTS software along with a certain program (P-20 EducationCareers)

to better their reading skills.

Similarly, teaching strategies are also different from interventions. However, an intervention may involve teaching strategies. For instance, teachers (Edrater)may allow students to move around to keep them engaged when providing an intervention.