Tiered Instruction, Engagement, Responding, and Services (TIERS)

The purpose of TIERS is to increase the number of high-quality early childhood interventionists serving children exhibiting significant delays in emotional development, social-communication, and school readiness. We intend to train two cohorts, each consisting of ten scholars, throughout the duration of the grant. Half of the scholars will work towards a Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (IECE) and half will work towards a Master's degree in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). IECE scholars will finish the program with a Rank II teaching certification and ABA scholars will finish having met all requirements to sit for the Board Certified Behavior Analyst examination. TIERS is designed to provide IECE and ABA scholars with a tiered-framework (e.g., multi-tiered systems of support, response to intervention, positive behavior interventions and supports) that addresses assessment, instruction, and progress monitoring for children with high-intensity needs across classroom and home enivornments. To accomplish this, scholars will receive coursework and shared experiences on evidence-based practices and services provided at the classroom/home level (i.e., Tier 1) up to the individual child level (i.e., Tier 3). To better manage observation, feedback, and evaluation of shared experiences, a doctoral level research assistant will be employed through the grant. To increase the likelihood that scholars master the competencies put forth in TIERS, a combination of direct observation measures and technical writing reviews will be formatively conducted and evaluated to guide each scholar's individual progress.