Many teachers use 聽as a way to reach all learners and accommodate each student鈥檚 learning style. One very helpful tactic to employ differentiated instruction is called tiered assignments鈥攁 technique often used within flexible groups.
Much like聽flexible grouping鈥攐r differentiated instruction as a whole, really鈥攖iered assignments聽do not lock students into ability boxes. Instead, particular student clusters are assigned specific tasks within each group according to their readiness and comprehension without making them feel completely compartmentalized away from peers at different achievement levels.
There are six main ways to structure聽tiered assignments: challenge level, complexity, outcome, process, product, or resources. It is your job, based upon the specific learning tasks you鈥檙e focused on, to determine the best approach. Here we will take a brief look at these techniques.
Ways to Structure Tiered Assignments
Challenge Level
Tiering can be based on challenge level where student groups will tackle聽different assignments. Teachers can use as a guide to help them develop tasks of structure or questions at various levels. For example:
- Group 1:聽Students who need content reinforcement or practice will complete one activity that helps聽build听耻苍诲别谤蝉迟补苍诲颈苍驳.
- Group 2:聽Students who have a firm understanding will complete another activity that聽extends聽what they already know.
Complexity
When you tier assignments by complexity, you are addressing the needs of students who are at different levels using the聽same assignment. The trick here is to vary the focus of the assignment based upon whether each group is ready for more advanced work or simply trying to wrap their head around the concept for the first time. You can direct your students to聽create a poster聽on a specific issue鈥攔ecycling and environmental care, for instance鈥攂ut one group will focus on a singular perspective, while the other will consider several points of view and present an argument for or against each angle.
Outcome
Tiering assignments by differentiated outcome is vaguely similar to complexity鈥攁ll of your students will use the same materials, but depending on their readiness levels will actually have a different outcome. It may sound strange at first, but this strategy is quite beneficial to help advanced students work on more progressive applications of their student learning.
Process
This聽differentiated instruction strategy聽is exactly what it sounds like鈥攕tudent groups will use different processes to achieve similar outcomes based upon readiness.
Product
Tiered assignments聽can also be differentiated based on product. Teachers can use the Howard Gardner鈥檚聽multiple intelligences聽to form groups that will hone particular skills for particular learning styles. For example, one group would be bodily/kinesthetic, and their task is to create and act out a skit. Another group would be visual/spatial, and their task would be to illustrate.
Resources
Tiering resources means that you are matching project materials to student groups based on readiness or instructional need. One flexible group may use a magazine while another may use a traditional textbook. As a tip, you should assign resources based on knowledge and readiness, but also consider the group鈥檚 reading level and comprehension.
How to Make Tiering Invisible to Students
From time to time, students may question why they are working on different assignments, using varied materials, or coming to dissimilar outcomes altogether. This could be a blow to your classroom morale if you鈥檙e not tactful in making your tiers invisible.
Make it a point to tell students that each group is using different materials or completing different activities so they can share what they learned with the class. Be neutral when grouping students, use numbers or colors for group names, and be equally enthusiastic while explaining assignments to each cluster.
Also, it鈥檚 important to make each tiered assignment equally interesting, engaging, and fair in terms of student expectations. The more flexible groups and materials you use, the more students will accept that this is the norm.
Tiering assignments is a fair way to differentiate learning. It allows teachers to meet the needs of all students while using varying levels of tasks. It鈥檚 a concept that can be infused into homework assignments, small groups, or even learning centers. If done properly, it can be a very effective method to differentiate learning because it challenges all students.
