During fall 2020, educators provided virtual, in-person, and hybrid intervention with an ongoing need to engage with and support parents and families. Although the context and environment may have changed, the focus on providing high-quality interventions with validated practices, monitoring student progress, and adapting and intensifying supports based on student data as outlined in the data-based individualization (DBI) process continues to be applicable across virtual, in-person, or hybrid models. This document presents considerations for implementing DBI in light of COVID-19 with an emphasis on delivery in virtual settings.

In this Voices from the Field piece, we talk to Dr. Chrissy Brown, a recent National Center for Leadership in Intensive Intervention (NCLII) scholar. Dr. Brown discusses the NCLII program and how it has guided her in preparing educators to implement intensive interventions. 

This collection highlights a sampling of recent research focused on intensive intervention and data-based individualization (DBI). As different terms are used to describe intensive intervention, a search using EBSCO focused on articles that used the following related terms: intensive intervention, precision teaching, experimental teaching, clinical teaching, data-based individualization (when in the context of providing individualized instruction), and data-based program modification. Hand searches of the following journals were also conducted: Exceptional Children, Journal of Special Education, Journal of Special Education Leadership, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Learning Disability Quarterly, Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, Teaching Exceptional Children, Journal of Positive Behavior Support, Behavior Disorders, Remedial and Special Education, Assessment for Effective Intervention, and Journal of Educational Psychology.

This Voices from the Field piece highlights how North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, and Texas have raised awareness, visibility, and statewide knowledge of data-based individualization (DBI) at statewide conferences through keynote speakers, workshops, breakout sessions, and facilitated team time.

This fourteen minute video shares Wyoming’s journey in building the capacity of educators to implement data-based individualization (DBI) to improve academic and behavior outcomes for students with disabilities as part of their state systemic improvement plan (SSIP). Wyoming administrators, teachers, parents and students from Laramie County School District # 1 and preschool sites share how DBI implementation impacted teacher efficacy, team meetings, quality of services, student confidence, and state and local collaboration.

In this video, Dr. Luann Purcell discusses the role of the local special education director in intensive intervention. Dr. Purcell is the Executive Director of the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) which is an international professional educational organization affiliated with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).

The first module in the Intensive Intervention Math Course Content focuses on the mathematics content necessary to include within intensive intervention. This includes matching decisions about instruction and assessment to the mathematics content.

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.

In this article, Dr. Carrie Thomas Beck from the Oregon Department of Education discusses the dyslexia law in Oregon, the role of intensive intervention in Oregon’s dyslexia initiative, and provides advice for states defining their dyslexia frameworks.