Mod 3

What about meeting the needs of diverse learners do you feel most confident about?  Less confident?  Explain.

 I'm confident about meeting the needs of most learners, and less confident when it comes to meeting the needs of those with higher needs. That sounds obvious, and as if it were tautological, but I think there are plenty of teachers out there who really feel called to work with students who are most at-risk or struggling... I don't think I'm one of those teachers, and so working with those students is going to be a challenge for me at first. 

MTSS and PBIS – Student Support Services – Monterey Peninsula Unified School District
This representation of the MTSS model, taken from a Monterey School District webpage, is a very close analogue for my own confidence level with working with different students. I'm pretty confident about the tier 1, who are the majority, less confident about the tier 2, who are at risk, and most concerned about the handful of individuals with the most need for interventions.

Who those students are will vary, of course, and I'll try to act confident with everyone, even if I'm not! That way, I won't prejudge anyone based on what I've heard from other teachers, or based on a bad day or a rough week. I'll try to leverage the help of parents/guardians, and I'll collect data and work with any existing plans students might come in with, for learning or behavior or both, and give students every chance to be successful. And I'll bear in mind that students can move, based on how they are doing--they are by no means fixed in one of these categories. I think that goes for my confidence and preparation, too. I'll keep working hard to support the students who need the most interventions, and hopefully that will gradually take them back down from the precipice.

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