FIAE Chapter 5

Chapter 5 discusses tiering assessments, and the best way to do so with different types of students. This was really helpful, as it is something that I have thought about quite a lot. How does one challenge the advanced students, and the students of lower readiness alike? While also not overwhelming any of my students? Tiering is to start in a less complicated area, and gradually develop into harder work, giving student individual attention to determine at what grade level each of your students is at, and what and how you need to be teaching them in accordance with that. I found the lists on pages 60 and 61 particularly helpful, as they give examples of grade level, advanced level, and early readiness level tasks and worked through ways that students in these categories could be challenged enough to grow at that level. The chapter also discusses learning contracts, which is a vehicle for tiering assessments, which is a very student-interactive way to assess development and mastery.They involve checkpoints for task completion, and assignment dates, as well as "contractual stipulations" (61), all of which are negotiated between teacher and student.
I would definitely be interested in using tiering in the classroom, as it seems like a great way to differentiate instruction. I have always worried that I wouldn't be able to challenge students at every level, and this definitely seems like a good place to start, though I do not feel like I have enough of a grasp on exactly how to execute it to use it were I in the classroom right now. The learning contracts are also interesting, but I feel like if they weren't set up in the right way they could overwhelm and possibly disinterest students.