Courses in Tier 3 offer opportunities to learn more about intensive interventions and the use of data at Tier 3.  Intensive interventions are delivered individually to students at the highest risk for not meeting academic, behavioral, and/or social-emotional outcomes. Tier 3 learning opportunities will include courses on using data to intensify and individualized intervention, as well as the team process required to support this intensification.


Tier 3 Overview

Tier 3 Overview

If we’re ever truly going to meet the needs of all of the students, we’re going to need something more intensive and individualized for our most complex learners.  This course is the first in a series of self-paced courses to help us build our Tier 3 Intensive Intervention systems and implement Data-Based Individualization (process of individualizing within intensive intervention).  Like all courses on BRIDGE-RI, Data-Based Individualization (DBI) comes from decades of research and shares characteristics with single-case design (except applying the scientific principles in school, rather than research studies).

Upon completion of this course, participants will:

  • Understand the "big picture" of Tier 3 intensive intervention and how it fits within a greater MTSS framework
  • Describe the purpose of and essential components of Tier 3
  • Identify components of Data-Based Individualization 
  • Identify and explain some common obstacles to an effective Tier 2 that could limit effectiveness of your Tier 3 work


Intended Audiences

K-12 Educators, Interventionists/Specialists, Related Service Providers, Administrators

Course Type

Self-Paced

Recommended # of PLUs

3 PLUs


Facilitator: Nicole Bucka, Ellen Reinhardt

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Tier 3 Systems Teaming for Intensive Intervention

Tier 3 Systems Teaming for Intensive Intervention

Meeting the needs of our most complex learners is hard work!  In MTSS, building systems to support the adults in doing the hard work is as important as data and evidence-based instruction/intervention.  Effective and efficient teaming is essential for intensive intervention and data-based individualization (aka Tier 3, student-by-student problem solving).  This course provides tools, resources, and training for effective Tier 3 systems. Objectives are that the team will:

  • Identify team functioning roles for each team member (i.e., facilitator, note taker, scribe, time keeper, etc.) 
  • For each role, team members will explore support tools and resources provided
  • Implement effective team functioning protocols for DBI using a case study student
  • Engage families and students as integral assets to our DBI process


Intended Audiences

K-12 Educators, Interventionists/Specialists, Related Service Providers, Administrators

Course Type

Self-Paced

Recommended # of PLUs

3 PLUs


Enroll in course

Tier 3 Practices - Validated Intervention & the Map

Tier 3 Practices - Validated Intervention & the Map

Tier 3 or intensive, individualized intervention builds upon the quality and fidelity of Tier 1 and Tier 2.  The majority of schools don't realize it, but they lack a Tier 2 and don't have clear entrance/exit decision rules that support which students need what interventions.  This means that MTSS isn't implemented well, if at all.  Schools/teams focusing on Tier 3 often find it necessary to improve their Tier 2 systems as part of continual school improvement in order to better meet the needs of their most complex learners (National Center on Intensive Intervention 2022).  This course will help you do just that.  Please note that this course is for advanced-knowledge participants and it is highly recommended that beginner or intermediate-knowledge participants complete the Tier 2 Practices course first.  Upon completing this course, you will:

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  • Define the Taxonomy of Intervention Intensity (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Malone, 2017) dimensions with an advanced level of depth.

  • Evaluate an intervention platform, the first step in the Data-Based Individualization (DBI) process, by the Taxonomy dimensions.
  • Use this evaluation of an intervention platform to inform "the map" (system to support the adults in matching intervention to targeted need).


Intended Audiences

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Interventionists/Specialists, Special Educators, MTSS Coordinator/Coach, Administrators
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Course Type

Self-Paced

Recommended # of PLUs

3 PLUs


Course Contact: Nicole Bucka

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Tier 3 Data Progress Monitoring & Data-Based Individualization

Tier 3 Data Progress Monitoring & Data-Based Individualization

As Rick DeFour says:  "Don't tell me you believe 'all kids can learn', tell me what you are doing about the kids who aren't learning."  This course is intended for advanced implementer (i.e., those who have completed Tier 2 Data, the Tier 3 course series, and who have implementation experience and/or coach the work).  Upon completion of this course, you will:

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  • Understand and implement the Rate of Improvement (ROI) norm-based method of setting a progress monitoring goal for the most complex learners (building upon Tier 2 Data course Benchmark method of setting a progress monitoring goal)
  • Understand and be able to explain progress monitoring goal setting and data-based decision making with some additional considerations for students with IEPs and multilingual learners
  • Demonstrate the use of progress monitoring data (i.e., a trend line as compared to a goal/aim line) to determine responsiveness to an intervention and how this leads to a particular type of adaptation to intensify 


Intended Audiences

Interventionists/Specialists, K-12 Special Educators, Related Service Providers, Coaches, Administrators

Course Type

Self-Paced

Recommended # of PLUs

3 PLUs


Course Contact: Nicole Bucka

Enroll in course