In a multi-tiered system of supports, high-quality Tier I instruction should support 80% of students (Shapiro, 2014). With pandemic-fueled learning loss, teachers are seeing reading fluency scores suffer for more than 20% of their learners. To support students, Tier I educators need to be equipped to think and practice like an interventionist, using differentiated instruction and intentional groupings to move decoding proficiency forward and increase successful access to grade level content. Attendees will analyze screening data, identify skills and set goals, discover evidence-based practices that are age and curriculum agnostic including structured subskill practice, appropriate texts, oral repeated reading strategies, and wide reading (Pikulski & Chard, 2005), and understand the importance of monitoring growth. At the close of this session, teachers will be equipped with knowledge, tools, and resources to meet a variety of fluency needs within the Tier I classroom.
Nicole Kingsland is a Manager of Content Design and Development at AIM Institute for Learning & Research, and assumes the responsibility for designing and developing AIM Pathways courses and content. Prior to joining the Institute, Nicole was an Elementary and Special Education teacher where she wrote curriculum and served as a mentor teacher for colleagues and student teachers. She received a M.S. in Special Education from Saint Joseph’s University, and holds a Wilson Level I certification and a Structured Literacy Classroom Teacher certificate through CERI.
Dr. Megan Gierka serves as a Senior Content Designer and Integrated Literacy Facilitator at the AIM Institute for Learning and Research. Megan previously served as an instructional coach and reading specialist for Cumberland Valley SD in Mechanicsburg, PA. During her tenure, she successfully trained all teachers and administration in the fastest growing district in the state while implementing a novel instructional coaching model to support Tier I practices and MTSS guidance in grades K-8. Megan holds a BS.Ed. in Elementary Education, M.Ed. in Reading Education, and Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction.