FIAE- Chapter 5

This chapter discusses the idea of tiering not just how and when to implement it but it is also known as how teachers respond to their students’ needs when dealing with their assignments and assessment. Tiering is seen as adjusting the level of challenge to each student’s ability. This means that the student needs to be challenges without being overwhelmed. It is important for all teachers to be able to work with their students on every level in order to bring them up to the potential that the teacher believes the student to possess. Teachers should begin with the minimum expectations and students should not be targeted higher or lower of the benchmark. Teachers should also be able to categorize or list the material at hand, making it easier for the students to understand the different steps involved. On the other end of the spectrum we have “over-tiering” which is when teachers can implement this strategy too much, over using it. The best way to begin tiering is to start with what is expected of the student at his or her grade level. The teacher must work with what level or at what level in learning the student is ready for. Tiering should ideally be gone by the end of any unit because the students should have moved from one level to the next finally reaching that end result of the highest tier or goal.

Another way to help students is to set up a learning contract. This could mean that one student may learn and engage at a different pace than the rest of the class. This would mean that I would have to make myself available and understanding to those who need that extra time and help. All of this, including tiering, involves making myself ready for whatever my students may come to my classroom with, knowing, and able to do. If I can adjust my classroom learning to each student in an efficient way I can then make the most of the learning within the classroom. I hope that I can truly make myself available in and outside the classroom to so many different kinds of learners. If I can mold myself into adapting many new techniques and strategies for teaching and helping my students then I can become a successful teacher.