Academic interventions are designed to bring students up to par with their classroom peers. They are strategies for “at-risk” students who have poor grades, truancy problems, or behavioral problems. Academic interventions are created by a team made up of the classroom teachers, special education teachers, counselors, psychologist, the student, and their family.
Interventions include any additional instruction provided outside or within the classroom. Classroom performance on tests and observations determines which students need extra help. Students with individual educational plans may also be included in interventions.
Examples of Academic Interventions
Interventions are needed and used in all grade levels. They consist of various strategies for core subjects. In the regular classroom, a student who struggles with basic math or reading skills can receive small-group interventions to keep up with their peers, while progress is recorded. Special education students also receive interventions in the classroom or through a pull-out program to meet their individual needs. Other interventions include peer-tutoring, individualized tutoring, self-monitoring techniques, and resources that help build organizational skills. All interventions require constant monitoring.
Interventions vs Accommodations
Interventions target a specific skill based on a student’s need. They are designed as a supplement to the regular classroom curriculum. Interventions are evidence-based strategies that help improve a skill.
Accommodations require a change to teaching or testing to remove a barrier that hinders learning. The accommodation doesn’t change the curriculum; it alters how the student learns.
Help or Not
Research indicates that interventions may have little effect on a student’s academic performance, leaving them behind their peers. However, many students who receive help are better able to cope with specific challenges that arise.
Interventions provide students with a chance to bond one-on-one with the teacher. It also gives students the individualized attention they need but cannot get in a class of 25-30 students. When students bond with their teacher, their behavior and academic performance improve.
It may be difficult to fit student intervention time into the classroom. Intervention programs may fit best after school. However, the programs may interfere with extracurricular activities. They may also be too much for students after a long day in the classroom.
The best time for students to receive extra help is during the school day and in the same classroom. Struggling students should not feel that interventions are a punishment. They need to be fun and engaging and not take away from other events that happen during the school day.
