Research Evidence on Recognition & Response

Visit the new R&R website to learn more about R&R and to access the webinar online: www.randr.fpg.unc.edu

Over the past year, our efforts to disseminate Recognition & Response (R&R)—a Response to Intervention (RTI) model for pre-k—have taken us to a number of states and allowed us to meet with many different groups of administrators and practitioners in early childhood who are seeking information and guidance on this topic.  Along the way, we’ve observed that the field’s reaction to R&R has evolved from showing interest in an innovative practice, to asking questions about whether and how to implement this new approach, to district-wide decisions to adopt the model in every pre-k classroom. As teachers, specialists, and administrators have begun to apply the R&R model to their own practice in different types of settings, a number of new questions have emerged:

• Can we use our current assessment tools for screening and progress monitoring, or do we need to select new tools for this purpose? If so, what selection criteria should guide our decision?
• How do we use the screening and progress monitoring results to determine which children need additional supports to learn and to make the necessary adjustments to the interventions we offer these children?
• What curriculum resources exist for use within tiered interventions? Where can I find these resources? Have these been shown to be effective for this purpose with pre-k children?
• What about children with disabilities? How will R&R change the way we provide services and classroom supports to these children and their families?
• Who should serve on the collaborative problem-solving team, and more important, how will this structure support data-based decisions related to instruction and interventions for individual children? How should we involve families and what is the best way to communicate with them within a problem-solving framework?
• How can other tiered models such as those that focus on social-emotional development or participation in inclusive settings be integrated with R&R?

The current knowledge base on R&R provides answers to some of these questions, but not others. It will take additional research, more experience implementing this approach in early childhood settings, and the field’s collective wisdom to resolve many of these issues. As a first step in this regard, we will release findings from a research study of the first implementation of R&R. The study addresses several key questions:

• Is R&R effective in improving the language and literacy skills of pre-k children who need additional supports to learn these concepts?
• Can pre-k teachers implement R&R and do they find the model acceptable and useful?

We invite you to post your questions and comments on R&R to begin an exchange on this topic.