EVALUATION OF MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT CONTENT IN A REQUIRED COURSE FOR TEACHER CANDIDATES

Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) involve the practice of providing high-quality instruction/intervention corresponding to student needs, and using learning rate over time and level of performance to make important educational decisions ( Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006a). It is being implemented in schools across the country in order to impact the learning of students with and without disabilities. MTSS integrates increasingly intensive instruction, reviews the student’s progress, and then identifies whether students need additional levels of intervention (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006b). The purpose of this research project is to examine how well the critical components of MTSS are being taught to SIU students who are taking EDUC 308: Characteristics and Methods for Teaching Exceptional Children, a required course for all pre-service elementary education teacher candidates. I will analyze the syllabus for the presence of the critical components, and give students a survey to discover how student perception regarding MTSS compares with how much knowledge the student truly possesses regarding critical components of MTSS. The goal of my project is to learn how student perceptions regarding MTSS compare with their actual knowledge regarding MTSS. I will also evaluate the effectiveness of this course as reflected in the syllabus by analyzing student performance on the survey