Two Ethnographic Case Studies of Response to Intervention

Response to Intervention (RtI) is being implemented in classrooms across the nation as a method of strengthening instruction and an option for replacing the severe discrepancy model in the identification of Learning Disability (LD). This study explores two teachers’ understandings of the construct of LD and describes implementation of RtI in their classrooms. These two ethnographic case studies allow data triangulation of archival documents and pre-research events, classroom observations, and teacher interviews. The implementation of the RtI policy was interpreted by the teachers and interrupted by First to the Top, but the explanatory ethnographic case studies provide a classroom level glimpse of RtI that is missing in the literature.