Libby Doggett and Jennifer Rosenbaum on Recognition & Response and qualify teaching practice
In Nancy Walser’s article, Response to Intervention, our attention was drawn to the adaptation of the "Response to Intervention" (RtI) approach for use with prekindergartners, a technique called Recognition & Response. As early educators now working to secure high-quality preK for all three- and four-year-olds in this country, we offer both praise and caution regarding the methods and implications of Recognition & Response.The excellent teaching practices used in RtI and Recognition & Response come from special education. Because children with disabilities often have trouble learning, special educators must be master teachers who can assess children’s skills, adapt state-mandated curricula and standards, individualize instruction and monitor progress. We laud Recognition & Response for promoting intentional, individualized, quality teaching and strong parental involvement in early education. PreK classrooms across the country, whether in schools, Head Start or childcare settings, can benefit from teachers who effectively employ these practices.
In an ideal world, where highly trained early educators, ongoing teacher professional development and support and strong linkages with elementary and special education are accepted practice, Recognition & Response has tremendous potential to enhance every child’s educational experience. Its capacity to effectively address all aspects of development—not just early literacy—relies on high-quality teachers and settings to maximize the learning that occurs through play and exploration, which is the foundation of sound early childhood practice.
Unfortunately, ours is not an ideal world. Early educators with the professional training necessary to successfully adopt and skillfully implement these techniques are in short supply. Research demonstrates that the most effective preK teachers have a bachelor’s degree, specialized training in early childhood education and ongoing professional development. However, only 13 states require this combination of credentials in all pre-k settings. Though Recognition & Response includes robust professional development, we worry that teachers lacking a strong educational foundation may misinterpret the approach as promoting inappropriate or overly teacher-directed activities.
Further, while we commend Recognition & Response’s goal of easing the transition from preK to elementary school through a “learner passport,” we also question the feasibility of this approach when the preK system is still developing. Only three states—Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma—currently provide voluntary preK for all four-year-olds. Ten states lack any formal, state-supported preK system, and most states serve fewer than half of their four-year-olds.
PreK is often a child’s first formal group-learning experience, and some children arrive with limited experience handling books and art materials, playing with blocks and interacting with a teacher and other children. At the beginning of preK, some children stand back and watch before jumping in; others jump in, fall, get up, fall again, get up again and finally succeed. But no matter how children approach preK, it must foster their development and love of learning and give them opportunities to be successful. Recognition & Response in the right states and in the right settings can do that, but in the wrong settings it can result in more unwanted worksheets and uninspired, teacher-directed activities.
Libby Doggett, Ph.D., has a background in early childhood and special education and is now the executive director of Pre-K Now. Jennifer Rosenbaum is the state policy fellow at Pre-K Now and will begin teaching preK in Washington, DC, next fall.
