This is the first module in a series of modules about intensive intervention in reading. There are two parts in this module that answer the questions (1) why is intensive intervention in reading important? and (2) how does data-based individualization (DBI) apply to reading?

NCII, through a collaboration with the University of Connecticut, developed a set of course modules focused on developing educators’ skills in using explicit instruction. These course modules are designed to support faculty and professional development providers with instructing pre-service and in-service educators who are developing and/or refining their implementation of explicit instruction.

In this video, Amy McKenna, a special educator in Bristol Warren Regional School District shares her experience with data-based individualization (DBI). Amy discusses how she learned about DBI, the impact her use of the DBI process had on students she worked with, and how DBI helped changed her practice as a special educator.

This IRIS Star Legacy Module, first in a series of two, overviews data-based individualization and provides information about adaptations for intensifying and individualizing instruction. Developed in collaboration with the IRIS Center and the CEEDAR Center, this resource is designed for individuals who will be implementing intensive interventions (e.g., special education teachers, reading specialists, interventionists).

This module provides the foundational information for users interested in learning more about intensive intervention and the DBI process. The module defines intensive intervention and DBI, describes how intensive intervention fits within a tiered system such as MTSS, RTI, or PBIS, demonstrates how intensive intervention can provide a systemic process to deliver specialized instruction for students with disabilities, and provides two case examples to allow viewers to apply new knowledge.