what is tiered assignments

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Differentiated Instruction Strategies: Tiered Assignments

Janelle cox.

• September 23, 2014

Many teachers use differentiated instruction strategies  as a way to reach all learners and accommodate each student’s learning style. One very helpful tactic to employ differentiated instruction is called tiered assignments—a technique often used within flexible groups.

Much like flexible grouping—or differentiated instruction as a whole, really—tiered assignments 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 tiered assignments: challenge level, complexity, outcome, process, product, or resources. It is your job, based upon the specific learning tasks you’re 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 different assignments. Teachers can use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide to help them develop tasks of structure or questions at various levels. For example:

• Group 1:  Students who need content reinforcement or practice will complete one activity that helps  build  understanding.
• Group 2:  Students who have a firm understanding will complete another activity that  extends  what they already know.

When you tier assignments by complexity, you are addressing the needs of students who are at different levels using the 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 create a poster on a specific issue—recycling and environmental care, for instance—but 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.

Tiering assignments by differentiated outcome is vaguely similar to complexity—all 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.

This differentiated instruction strategy is exactly what it sounds like—student groups will use different processes to achieve similar outcomes based upon readiness.

Tiered assignments can also be differentiated based on product. Teachers can use the Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences 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.

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’s 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’re 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’s 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’s 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.

• #DifferentiatedInstruction , #TieredAssignments

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Tiered Assignments

What are tiered assignments.

According to Tomlinson (1995), tiered assignments are used by teachers within a heterogeneous classroom in order to meet the diverse needs of the students within the class. Teachers implement varied levels of activities to ensure that students explore ideas at a level that builds on their prior knowledge and prompts continued growth. Student groups use varied approaches to explore essential ideas.

Williams (2002) offers the following definition on her website: Tiered assignments are parallel tasks at varied levels of complexity, depth and abstractness with various degrees of scaffolding, support, or direction. Students work on different levels of activities, all with the same essential understanding or goal in mind. Tiered assignments accommodate mainly for differences in student readiness and performance levels and allow students to work toward a goal or objective at a level that builds on their prior knowledge and encourages continued growth. 

How can tiered assignments help your students?

Using tiered assignments allows for the following:

• Blends assessment and instruction,
• Allows students to begin learning where they are,
• Allows students to work with appropriately challenging tasks,
• Allows for reinforcement or extension of concepts and principles based on student readiness,
• Allows modification of working conditions based on learning style,
• Avoids work that is anxiety-producing (too hard) or boredom-producing (too easy), and
• Promotes success and is therefore motivating. (Tomlinson, 1995)

How can you implement tiered assignments in order to effectively meet the diverse learning needs of students?

One of the main benefits of tiered assignments is that they allow students to work on tasks that are neither too easy nor too difficult. They are highly motivating because they allow students to be successful at their level of readiness. Tiered assignments also allow students to work in their specific learning styles or preferences (Williams, 2002).

What are the guidelines for implementing tiered assignments?

Tomlinson (1995) offers the following guidelines for implementing tiered assignments:

• Be sure the task is focused on a key concept.
• Use a variety of resource materials at differing levels of complexity and associated with different learning modes.
• Adjust the task by complexity, abstractness, number of steps, concreteness, and independence to ensure appropriate challenge.
• Be certain there are clear criteria for quality and success.

Where can you find more information about tiered assignments?

Cherokee County Schools This homepage by Eulouise Williams has additional information on tiered assignments including examples of tiered assignments created by teachers in their district.

Using Tiered Instruction To Maximize Student Outcomes

As educators, your goal is to help every student in our classroom reach their full potential. However, with different learning styles, abilities, and needs, it can be challenging to meet the needs of every student in a class. This is where tiered instruction comes in, providing a framework that allows you to differentiate instruction to meet the unique needs of each student.

Understanding Tiered Instruction

What is tiered instruction.

Tiered instruction involves designing multiple levels of instruction for the same lesson or activity, with each level addressing the learning needs of different students. This approach allows you to provide support to struggling students, challenge advanced learners, and meet the learning needs of students in the middle.

Tiered instruction is a powerful tool because it allows you to differentiate instruction and meet the needs of all students, regardless of their abilities or learning styles. By providing multiple levels of instruction, you can ensure that all of your students are challenged and engaged in the learning process.

Benefits of Tiered Instruction for Students and Teachers

For students, the benefits of tiered instruction include the opportunity to receive instruction that meets their unique needs, which can increase classroom engagement and promote a growth mindset. When students feel that their learning needs are being met and you find that perfect balance of material that isn’t too easy or too challenging, your students are more likely to be motivated and invested in their own learning. 

As an elementary teacher, tiered instruction allows you to differentiate instruction and meet the needs of all your students, even in classrooms with a wide range of abilities. This can reduce the stress and frustration of lesson plans falling apart when half your students are struggling with material while half of your class breezes through and now is bored and waiting for more. Outside of helping you run more effective lessons, tiered instruction helps you ensure that all your students, regardless of ability, are meeting your desired learning outcomes.

Key Components of a Successful Tiered Instruction Model

A successful tiered instruction model includes several key components. These include identifying student needs and learning styles, creating tiered lesson plans and activities, differentiating instruction for each tier, and utilizing technology to support instruction.

Identifying student needs and learning styles is an important first step in creating a successful tiered instruction model. You must understand the unique needs of your students in order to create effective tiered instruction plans because this will directly impact how well you can adjust your materials to meet their diverse needs.

Creating tiered lesson plans and activities is another important component of a successful tiered instruction model. This involves using your knowledge of your students to design activities that are challenging and engaging for them regardless of their ability level.

Differentiating instruction for each tier is crucial for ensuring that every student is challenged and engaged in the learning process. Teachers must provide instruction that is tailored to the needs of each student, which may involve modifying assignments, providing additional resources, or offering one-on-one support.

Utilizing technology to support instruction is another important component of a successful tiered instruction model. Technology can provide students with additional resources and support, and can also help teachers to track student progress and provide targeted feedback. Kodable , for example, is an online educational game that helps teach K-5 students the basics of computer programming in a fun and engaging way. Because lessons are self-paced, this helps facilitate tiered instruction by allowing students to progressively work through levels at their own speed.

In summary, tiered instruction is a powerful tool that allows you to meet the needs of all students in your class. By identifying student needs and learning styles, creating tiered lesson plans and activities around those needs, differentiating instruction for each tier, and utilizing technology to support instruction, you can create a learning environment that is engaging, challenging, and effective for all your students.

Implementing Tiered Instruction in the Classroom

Implementing tiered instruction in the classroom can be a highly effective way to meet the diverse needs of your students. By grouping students according to their needs and strengths, you can provide targeted instruction and support that meets each student where they are at. Below are some key steps to implementing tiered instruction in the classroom.

Identifying Student Needs and Learning Styles

The first step in implementing tiered instruction is identifying students' needs and learning styles. This can be done through a variety of methods, including pre-assessments, observations, and conversations with students. By understanding each student's unique needs and learning style, you can create tiers that are tailored to each group of students.

For example, some students may be visual learners, while others may be auditory learners. Some students may struggle with certain concepts, while others may excel. By taking the time to understand each student's individual needs and strengths, teachers can create tiers that are optimized for learning and growth. See our full guide on teacher assessment tools for more information on pre-assessments and other types of assessments.

Creating Tiered Lesson Plans and Activities

Creating tiered lesson plans and activities is the next step in implementing tiered instruction. You should design each tier to include activities and tasks that address the needs and learning styles of the students in a particular group. These activities should build upon each other, with increasingly difficult tasks for advanced learners and additional support for struggling students.

For example, in a math class, the advanced tier may work on more complex problems that require critical thinking and problem-solving skills . The middle tier may work on similar problems, but with more support and guidance from the teacher. The struggling tier may work on simpler problems, with additional support and scaffolding from you.

Differentiating Instruction for Each Tier

Differentiating instruction for each tier is central to the success of tiered instruction. You should utilize a variety of instructional strategies, such as small group instruction, individualized instruction, and peer tutoring, to meet the needs of each group of students. You should also provide support and guidance as needed to help your students work through any challenges they may face.

For example, in a language arts class, the advanced tier may work on writing an essay independently, while the middle tier may work on the same essay with some guidance and support from the teacher. The struggling tier may work on a simpler writing assignment, with more support and scaffolding from the teacher. However, it’s important to make sure that when you create student tiers that you do so in a thoughtful way to ensure that students do not feel like they are in a superior or non-superior group.

Utilizing Technology to Support Tiered Instruction

Technology can be a valuable tool in supporting tiered instruction. You can use online resources, educational apps, and interactive whiteboards to provide additional instruction, practice, and feedback for students at each level. Thankfully there are even a number of free teacher technology tools that can help you get started with no budget needed.

For example, in a science class, the advanced tier may use a virtual lab to conduct experiments and analyze data. The middle tier may use the same virtual lab, but with additional guidance and support from the teacher. The struggling tier may use a simpler virtual lab, with more support and scaffolding from the teacher.

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By identifying student needs and learning styles, creating tiered lesson plans and activities, differentiating instruction for each tier, and utilizing technology, teachers can create a learning environment that is optimized for growth and success.

Assessing and Monitoring Student Progress

Assessing and monitoring student progress is a critical component of effective teaching and learning. It helps you understand what students know and can do, and it provides your students with feedback on their progress. In tiered instruction, a variety of assessment strategies can help you track student growth and make any necessary adjustments to instruction.

Formative and Summative Assessments in Tiered Instruction

Formative assessments are ongoing assessments that are used to track student progress in real-time. These assessments can take many forms, including quizzes, exit tickets, observations, and discussions. You can use formative assessments to identify areas where students may be struggling and to adjust instruction accordingly.

Summative assessments, on the other hand, provide a snapshot of overall student performance at the end of a unit or lesson. These assessments can take the form of tests, projects, or presentations. Use summative assessments to evaluate student learning and to determine if your students have met the learning objectives for a particular unit or lesson.

Learn more about formative, summative, and other types of assessments in our teacher assessment tools guide.

Tracking Student Growth and Adjusting Instruction

Based on the results of assessments, you should make any necessary adjustments to their instruction. These adjustments may include modifying lesson plans or activities, providing additional support or challenging students with more complex tasks, and revisiting content that students may have struggled with before. By tracking student growth and adjusting instruction, you can ensure that all your students are making progress and are being appropriately challenged by your material.

Providing Feedback and Encouraging Self-Assessment

Feedback is a critical component of effective teaching and learning that helps encourage achieving and struggling students to keep pushing on. You should provide feedback to students on their progress, both formally and informally to help facilitate this. Feedback can take many forms, including written comments, verbal feedback, and rubrics. By providing feedback, you help your students understand their strengths and weaknesses and provide guidance on how to improve.

In addition to providing feedback, you should also encourage self-assessment. By encouraging students to reflect on their own learning, you can help them take ownership of their progress and empower them to become independent learners. Self-assessment can include self-reflection, peer assessment, and goal-setting.

Overall, assessing and monitoring student progress is an essential component of tiered instruction. By using a variety of assessment strategies, tracking student growth, and providing feedback and self-assessment opportunities, you can ensure that all students are making progress and are being appropriately challenged.

Collaborating with Colleagues and Parents

Building a supportive school culture for tiered instruction.

Building a positive classroom culture is essential to the success of tiered instruction in your classroom. Collaborating with your colleagues to share resources and best practices and create a cohesive approach to tiered instruction school-wide is a great way to ensure that not just your classroom, but your entire school are taking the right steps to educate all students.

Collaboration among your colleagues can be creating and sharing lesson plans and activities across multiple classes, sharing strategies for differentiating instruction , and sharing strategies for supporting struggling students. By working together, you and your colleagues can create a supportive learning environment that benefits all students.

In addition to collaborating with colleagues, you can also seek out resources and attend professional development opportunities to learn more about effective tiered instruction strategies. By staying up-to-date on the latest research and best practices, you can strengthen their instructional practices and provide better support to all students.

Engaging Parents in the Tiered Instruction Process

You should also engage parents in the tiered instruction process to ensure there isn’t any misunderstanding. This can be done through parent-teacher conferences, newsletters, and other communication methods that you already are using today. By involving parents in the instructional process, you can gain valuable insights into their child's needs and strengths and build a partnership with parents to support student learning.

Parents can also be a valuable resource to provide information about their child's interests, learning style, and home environment. This information can help you create more effective instructional plans and provide targeted support to students.

Overall, building a supportive school culture requires collaboration and communication among teachers, parents, and students. By working together, you can help create a learning environment that supports the success of all students.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is tier 1 tier 2 tier 3 education.

Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 are terms often used in the context of Response to Intervention (RTI) or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). They refer to different levels or tiers of instructional support provided to students based on their academic needs. Here's a breakdown of each tier:

Tier 1: This is the core instruction that is provided to all students in the general education classroom. It encompasses the regular curriculum and teaching strategies used for the majority of students. Tier 1 instruction is designed to meet the needs of the average learner.

Tier 2: This tier involves targeted interventions provided to students who require additional support beyond the standard Tier 1 instruction. It focuses on specific skills or areas where students are struggling. Tier 2 interventions are typically delivered in small groups and can be provided by the classroom teacher or a specialist.

Tier 3: Tier 3 is the most intensive level of support and is tailored to meet the needs of students who require significant individualized assistance. Students in Tier 3 typically have persistent difficulties and may receive more specialized interventions or one-on-one instruction. These interventions often involve more frequent progress monitoring and may be provided by specialized interventionists or special education teachers.

The goal of the tiered approach is to provide targeted and differentiated instruction to ensure that students receive the appropriate level of support based on their individual needs.

What is an example of a tiered lesson?

A tiered lesson is designed to address the varied needs of students within a classroom. Here's an example of a tiered lesson for a science topic:

Objective : Students will understand the water cycle.

Tier 1: Students will identify and label the basic stages of the water cycle (e.g., evaporation, condensation, precipitation).

Tier 2: Students will explain the processes of the water cycle and their interconnections using diagrams or visual representations.

Tier 3: Students will investigate and analyze factors that influence the water cycle in different environments (e.g., temperature, wind patterns, topography) and present their findings through written reports or presentations.

In this example, each tier addresses the learning objective but provides varying levels of complexity and depth based on students' abilities. This allows students to engage with the content at a level that matches their readiness and skills.

How do you use tiered instruction in your classroom?

To incorporate tiered instruction in your classroom, consider the following steps:

Assess student needs: Use a variety of formative assessments, observations, and data to determine students' strengths and areas of improvement.

Identify tiers and design activities: Create tiered activities or assignments that address the same core objective but offer different levels of challenge, complexity, or support.

Group students: Organize students into appropriate tiers based on their assessed needs. You can use flexible grouping to rearrange or change groups over time as students' progress.

Provide instruction and support: Deliver instruction at each tier, ensuring that students receive appropriate content, strategies, and resources based on their tier placement.

Monitor progress: Continuously assess and monitor students' progress to determine the effectiveness of the tiered instruction and make any necessary adjustments.

Differentiate as needed: Be prepared to make further adaptations or modifications for individual students who may require additional support or enrichment beyond the tiered activities.

By implementing tiered instruction, you can meet the diverse needs of your students, provide targeted support, and promote their overall growth and achievement.

Tiered instruction offers a powerful framework for meeting the unique needs of all students in your classroom. By identifying student needs and learning styles, creating tiered lesson plans and activities, and utilizing technology to support instruction, you can differentiate instruction to provide the right level of challenge and support for each of your student. By assessing and monitoring student progress, collaborating with colleagues and parents, and building a supportive school culture, you can also create an environment where all students can thrive and reach their full potential. By maximizing student outcomes through tiered instruction, you can truly make a difference in the lives of your students!

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Tiered Lessons: One Way to Differentiate Mathematics Instruction

This article is about differentiation. Due to the broad range of academic needs among students, teachers find themselves in a dilemma. The Burris Laboratory School outlines how teachers can reach all the students in their classrooms when they are academically diverse, have special needs, are ESL learners or have some combination of any or all of these factors.

Author: Adams, C. & Pierce, R. Publications: Gifted Child Today Publisher: Prufrock Press Volume: Vol. 27, Issue 2, pp. 50-65 Year: 2004

The movement toward inclusion has impacted classrooms by requiring teachers to respond to a broader range of academic needs. How can we possibly reach all the students in our classrooms when they are academically diverse, have special needs, are ESL learners, or have some combination of any or all of these factors? An answer to this question lies in differentiating instruction. Working in the Burris Laboratory School, an inclusion school using a resource consultation model to serve the needs of all its students, we have found that using tiered lessons is a viable method for differentiating instruction.

What is Differentiation?

Although differentiated instruction is not a new idea, the differentiation movement has recently taken center stage as a means of meeting the needs of all students in the classroom. It is an organized, yet flexible way of proactively adjusting teaching and learning to meet students where they are and help all students achieve maximum growth as learners (Tomlinson, 1999). Instruction may be differentiated in content/input, process/sense-making, or product/output according to the students’ readiness, interest, or learning style. By  content , we mean the material that is being presented.  Process  activities help students practice or make sense out of the content, while  product  refers to the outcome of the lesson or unit, such as a test, project, or paper.  Readiness  refers to prior knowledge and a student’s current skill and proficiency with the material presented in the lesson. A student’s interest may be assessed with an interest inventory for the particular topic being studied or by an individual conversation with the student. Many teachers use the theory of multiple intelligences to characterize learning styles (Armstrong, 1994; Gardner, 1993; Martin, 1996).

Essential elements for successful differentiation include specific classroom management techniques addressing the special needs of a differentiated classroom, planned use of anchoring activities, and flexible use of time, space, and student groups. In a differentiated classroom, the management plan must include rules for working in a variety of configurations. You can only work with one group or individual at a time. Therefore, we have developed two critical rules that thwart chaos and preserve sanity. The first is “Use six-inch voices,” meaning that students should modulate their speaking level so that their voices can only be heard six inches away. The second rule is “Ask three before me.” If students need assistance completing a task or come to a stumbling block in a lesson and you are not available, they should find three other students to ask before they may interrupt you. If their three peers cannot answer the question, the student has permission to interrupt you. Adding the caveat that the student should also bring along the three students who were asked will nearly eliminate the chance that you will be interrupted except in extreme cases. Anchoring or “sponge” activities are provided for students to use when they are waiting for you to assist them before they can go any further or at the beginning of the class period to get them ready to work. A wide variety of materials and resources can serve as anchoring activities (see our  website  for a listing of books that have great activities for anchoring). Flexible grouping arrangements such as pairs, triads, or quads, as well as whole-group and small-group instruction, create opportunities to meet individual needs. A flexible use of time allows lessons to proceed to their natural conclusion, rather than being carried out in set blocks of time. The desks or tables should be arranged in such a way as to facilitate group work, as well as wholeclass groupings that encourage sharing of ideas.

A variety of instructional strategies, including compacting, learning contracts, cubing, and tiered lessons, can be used to differentiate instruction (for a discussion of these and other strategies, see Gregory & Chapman, 2002; Heacox, 2002; Smutney, Walker, & Meckstroth, 1997; Tomlinson, 1999; Winebrenner, 1992). It makes sense to alert your administration and the parents that you will be trying some new strategies in the classroom in case there are questions.

The tenets of differentiated instruction support both the Equity Principle and the Teaching Principle of the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000). These principles direct us to select and adapt content and curricula to meet the interests, abilities, and learning styles of our students; to recognize our students’ diversity; and to encourage them to reach their full potential in mathematics.

What is a Tiered Lesson?

Tomlinson (1999) described tiered lessons as “the meat and potatoes of differentiated instruction.” A tiered lesson is a differentiation strategy that addresses a particular standard, key concept, and generalization, but allows several pathways for students to arrive at an understanding of these components based on their interests, readiness, or learning profiles. A lesson tiered by readiness level implies that the teacher has a good understanding of the students’ ability levels with respect to the lesson and has designed the tiers to meet those needs. Think of a wedding cake with tiers of varying sizes. Many examples of lessons tiered in readiness have three tiers: below grade level, at grade level, and above grade level. There is no rule that states there may only be three tiers, however. The number of tiers we use will depend on the range of ability levels in your own classroom since you are forming tiers based on your assessment of your students’ abilities to handle the material particular to this lesson. Students are regrouped the next time you use tiering as a strategy. Hence, the idea of flexible, rather than static, groups is essential.

No matter how you choose to differentiate the lesson—readiness, interest, or learning profile—the number of groups per tier will vary, as will the number of students per tier. You are not looking to form groups of equal size. When you form groups based on the readiness needs of individual students, Tier I may have two groups of three students, Tier II five groups of four students, and Tier III may have one group of two students. When the lesson is tiered by interest or learning profile, the same guidelines apply for forming groups: Different tiers may have varying numbers of students. Even when students are already homogeneously grouped in classes by ability, there is still variance in their ability levels that must be addressed.

To take a closer look at the anatomy of a tiered lesson, we have included a mathematics lesson (see Figure 1) that was developed as part of the Javits Grant, Project GATE, a federally funded partnership between the Indianapolis Public Schools and Ball State University, both in Indiana. When developing a tiered lesson, we have found the eight steps described below useful.

• First, identify the grade level and subject for which you will write the lesson.  In this case, the grade level is first and the subject is mathematics.
• Second, identify the standard (national, state, district, etc.) you are targeting.  A common mistake for those just beginning to tier is to develop three great activities and then try to force-fit them into a tiered lesson. Start with the standard first. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know if you get there? The author of this lesson has selected the Content Standard “Number and Operations” of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ (2000)  Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (pp. 78–88).
• Third, identify the key concept and generalization.  The key concept follows from the standard. Ask yourself, “What big idea am I targeting?” In this example, it is to understand and represent commonly used fractions. While there are many concepts that could be covered under the standard chosen, this lesson addresses only one. The generalization follows from the concept chosen. Ask, “What do I want the students to know at the end of the lesson, regardless of their placement in the tiers?” In this lesson, all students will develop their understanding of fractions as representing parts of a whole.
• Fourth, be sure students have the background necessary to be successful in the lesson.  What scaffolding is necessary? What must you have already covered or what must the student have already learned? Are there other skills that must be taught first? Before engaging in this lesson, students have been exposed to halves and thirds. Fractions (halves/ thirds) have been introduced to the students, and they have illustrated them with pictures. There are several literature books that illustrate fractional parts using food that could be used to introduce the lesson.
• Fifth, determine in which part of the lesson (content, process, product) you will tier.  You may choose to tier the content (what you want the students to learn), the process (the way students make sense out of the content), or the product (the outcome at the end of a lesson, lesson set, or unit—often a project). When beginning to tier, we suggest that you only tier one of these three. Once you are comfortable with tiering, you might try to tier more than one part in the same lesson. This lesson is tiered in content.
• Sixth, determine the type of tiering you will do: readiness, interest, or learning profile.  Readiness is based on the ability levels of the students. Giving a pretest is a good way to assess readiness. Students’ interest in a topic is generally gauged through an interest survey, while the learning profile may be determined through various learning style inventories. In this lesson, the author chose readiness.
• Seventh, based on your choices above, determine how many tiers you will need and develop the lesson.  When tiering according to readiness, you may have three tiers: below grade level, at grade level, and above grade level. If you choose to tier in interest or learning profile, you may control the number of tiers by limiting choices or using only a few different learning styles. For example, tiering on all eight of Gardner’s multiple intelligences in one lesson may not be a good place to start, so choose only a few, such as logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, and linguistic intelligence. (For further information on multiple intelligences in an easy-tounderstand format, see Wahl, 1997). For this lesson, students are placed in one of three tiers based on their ability to work with halves and thirds as assessed by the teacher through observation.Differentiation means doing something different—qualitatively different. Make sure you keep this in mind when tiering the lessons. Second, be sure that students are doing challenging, respectful, and developmentally appropriate work within each tier. In other words, no group should be given “busywork.” We don’t want one group doing blackline practice sheets and another doing a fabulous experiment.Notice in this lesson that all three tiers are working on fractions. Students in each tier use paper shapes to divide. However, the activities for each tier in the sample lesson, beginning in Tier I and moving through Tier III, differ from concrete to abstract and from simple to complex, to use Tomlinson’s Equalizer word pairs (Tomlinson, 1999).
• Finally, develop the assessment component to the lesson.  The assessment can be formative, summative, or a combination of both. You may use some means of recording observations of the various groups, such as flip cards or sticky notes. You could develop a rubric for each tier based on the particular product that is created. You may give a formal paperand- pencil test. Whatever it is, choose your assessment based on your needs and your lesson design.In this lesson, the teacher observes the students as they share their answers and jots down notes for a formative assessment of each student. For example, which child is struggling with the concept? Which child is moving rapidly and accurately through the material? Whose answers show more thought and insight? Answers to these and other questions will assist you in determining who needs reteaching and who is ready to go beyond the material presented. A formal assessment is not used here since the standards emphasize that students should have “informal experiences [with fractions] at this age to help develop a foundation for deeper learning in the higher grades” (NCTM, 2000, p. 83).

When this lesson was taught, the students were engaged during the entire lesson. The lesson was introduced by reading the book  Eating Fractions  (McMillan, 1991). Students were placed in groups based on their level of readiness to interact with the content. Four students did not have a clear understanding of halves and fourths. These students needed a more concrete activity and were placed in Tier I. Another 12 students could recognize halves and thirds and were ready to complete the Tier II activity. They were placed in four triads. Two students had in-depth knowledge of halves and thirds and were placed in Tier III. This pair worked at a more abstract level, and the questions they were asked required them to use different critical thinking skills than the other two groups. Tier I and Tier II students were provided with activities from the book  Fractions  (Watt, 2001) to use as anchoring activities if they finished early or were waiting for the teacher’s assistance. The anchor for Tier III students was  Apple Fractions  (Pallotta, 2002), which introduced fifths through tenths.

The second sample lesson (see Figure 2) is tiered in process according to learning style. In this case, students are grouped heterogeneously based on one of two learning preferences: kinesthetic or visual. The same eight steps for tiering a lesson apply in this case. In the second lesson, notice that the activities are at relatively the same level of complexity. This would be the “layer cake” model as opposed to the “wedding cake” model used when tiering according to readiness.

Final Thoughts

Time, energy, and patience are required to learn to differentiate instruction effectively in an academically diverse classroom. In addition, you need administrative and peer support, as well as professional development over extended periods of time; therefore, don’t expect to have a differentiated classroom by Monday morning. Start small: Choose a favorite lesson in your next unit and differentiate it according to the needs of your students. Seek the expertise of specialists such as special and gifted education coordinators, media specialists, and others with whom you can collaborate to improve instruction in the academically diverse classroom.

For more information on tiering, contact the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development, Ball State University (BSU)  https://www.bsu.edu/academics/centersandinstitutes/giftedstudies .

Author Note

Research for this article was supported under the Javits Act Program (Grant R206A980067) as administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. Grantees undertaking such projects are encouraged to express freely their professional judgment. This article, therefore, does not necessarily represent positions or policies of the government, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

Armstrong, T. (1994). Multiple intelligences in the classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory and practice. New York: BasicBooks.

Gregory, G. H., & Chapman, C. (2002). Differentiated instructional strategies: One size doesn’t fit all. Thousand Oakes, CA: Corwin Press.

Heacox, D. (2002). Differentiating instruction in the regular classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.

Martin, H. (1996). Multiple intelligences in the mathematics classroom. Palatine, IL: IRI/SkyLight.

McMillan, B. (1991). Eating fractions. New York: Scholastic. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.

Pallotta, J. (2002). Apple fractions. New York: Scholastic.

Smutney, J., Walker, S., & Meckstroth, E. (1997). Teaching young gifted children in the regular classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.

Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Wahl, M. (1997). Math for humans.

Langley, WA: LivnLern Press.

Watt, F. ( 2001). Fractions. New York: Scholastic.

Winebrenner, S. (1992). Teaching gifted kids in the regular classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.

Disclaimer : The appearance of any information in the Davidson Institute’s Resource Library does not imply an endorsement by, or any affiliation with, the Davidson Institute. All information presented is for informational and archival purposes only. The Davidson Institute bears no responsibility for the content of republished material. Please note the date, author, and publisher information available if you wish to make further inquiries about any republished materials in our Resource Library.

Permission Statement

This article is reprinted with permission of  Prufrock Press, Inc.

This article is provided as a service of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people 18 and under. To learn more about the Davidson Institute’s programs, please visit  www.DavidsonGifted.org .

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Guide to Implementing Tiered Assignments in Classrooms

In the evolving landscape of modern education, differentiation stands out as a keystone in successful teaching. At its heart, differentiation is the acknowledgment that each student brings a unique set of skills, experiences, and needs to the classroom. Catering to these diverse backgrounds not only respects each learner’s individual journey but also maximizes their potential for success.

One powerful method to achieve this differentiation is through the use of tiered assignments. These assignments, designed to cater to varying levels of student readiness, offer educators the flexibility to meet learners where they are. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, tiered assignments open avenues for students to engage with material in ways that resonate most with their learning styles and proficiencies.

However, before digging into the mechanics of tiered assignments, it’s crucial to fully grasp the concept of a diverse classroom. The term “diverse learners” isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a reality that every educator must embrace if they’re to provide meaningful and equitable learning experiences for all their students.

Understanding Diverse Classrooms

Definition and characteristics of diverse classrooms.

A diverse classroom is not simply a mix of students from different backgrounds. It’s a rich tapestry of learners, each with distinct abilities, experiences, cultures, languages, interests, and ways of perceiving the world. While it’s easy to think of diversity purely in terms of ethnicity or socioeconomic status, it extends well beyond these factors. Inclusivity in education also encompasses learners with different cognitive abilities, learning preferences, and personal challenges, be they physical, emotional, or psychological.

Some key characteristics of diverse classrooms include:

• A range of learning abilities: from gifted and talented students to those with learning disabilities.
• Varied cultural, linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds.
• Differences in socioeconomic status, which might influence access to resources and prior educational experiences.
• Varied personal histories, family structures, and lived experiences that influence a student’s perspective and approach to learning.

The Significance of Acknowledging Individual Student Needs

Recognizing and addressing individual student needs is not merely a best practice – it’s essential for creating an equitable and inclusive educational environment. Here’s why:

Personalized Learning: Customized learning experiences increase engagement and retention. When students see themselves in the curriculum and feel that their needs are understood, they’re more likely to invest emotionally and intellectually in their education.

Building Confidence: Students who consistently feel out of their depth or, conversely, unchallenged, can become demotivated. By catering to each student’s readiness level, educators can boost their confidence and encourage a love for learning.

Preparing for the Real World: Our global society is diverse. By fostering an environment that respects and celebrates these differences, educators are preparing students for a world where they’ll interact with people from all walks of life.

What are Tiered Assignments?

At their core, tiered assignments are designed with the diverse classroom in mind. They are tasks or projects that are modified according to the learner’s level of readiness, ensuring that all students are challenged appropriately. This doesn’t mean that objectives change for different students; rather, the complexity, depth, or mode of an assignment might vary.

For instance, in a reading exercise, while one group might work on identifying basic story elements, another might delve deeper into analyzing themes and motifs. Though the material is the same, the way each student interacts with it differs based on their readiness and comprehension level.

Tiered assignments are a bridge, ensuring that each student has access to learning that’s rigorous yet within their zone of proximal development—the sweet spot where learning happens most effectively. This method respects the individual needs and abilities of each student, allowing them to grow at their own pace while still achieving common learning objectives.

Tiered Assignments: Definition and Core Principles

Tiered assignments, as the name suggests, involve creating layers or “tiers” of tasks that cater to different levels of student readiness. While the core learning objective remains consistent for all students, the process, complexity, and sometimes the product can vary to offer an appropriate level of challenge.

Core Principles

Consistent Learning Objectives: The heart of tiered assignments is ensuring that while tasks may differ, the fundamental goal or learning objective remains consistent for all students.

Flexibility: These assignments are designed to be adaptable based on student assessment, ensuring that as students grow and their needs change, the assignments can be adjusted accordingly.

Equity, Not Equality: The aim isn’t to give everyone the same assignment but to ensure each student has an assignment that offers them an equitable chance to succeed and be challenged.

Responsive Design: Tiered assignments respond to individual differences. Educators should be ready to modify assignments based on ongoing assessments and student feedback.

Benefits of Tiered Assignments in Diverse Settings

Personalized Learning Paths: Students can engage with materials in a way that resonates with their individual strengths and readiness levels.

Enhanced Engagement: When students feel neither overwhelmed nor underwhelmed by assignments, they’re more likely to be engaged and invested in their work.

Increased Achievement: By working within their zone of proximal development, students are more likely to grasp and retain the content.

Collaborative Environment: Different tiers can encourage collaboration among students, allowing them to learn from one another and appreciate diverse perspectives.

Professional Development for Educators: Designing tiered assignments pushes educators to think critically about their teaching methods, fostering growth and innovation in their pedagogical approaches.

Steps to Implementing Tiered Assignments

Assessment of Student Readiness: Begin with a pre-assessment to gauge the current skills, understanding, and readiness levels of each student.

Design Varied Tasks: Based on the assessment, design tasks with different levels of complexity, ensuring they all align with the core learning objective.

Group Students: Depending on the assignment, group students by similar readiness levels. Remember, these groups should be fluid, allowing students to move between them as they progress or face challenges.

Provide Clear Instructions: Each tier should have clear instructions, so students understand what’s expected of them and how they can achieve success.

Monitor and Adjust: Continuously monitor student progress. Adjust the assignments or move students between tiers as necessary, based on their performance and feedback.

Facilitate Peer Collaboration: Encourage students to collaborate within and across tiers, fostering a rich learning environment where students can learn from each other’s varied experiences and perspectives.

Review and Reflect: After the assignment, take the time to review its effectiveness. Reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and how the process can be improved for future tiered assignments.

Assessing Learner Readiness and Levels

Before implementing tiered assignments, it’s crucial to understand where each student stands in terms of skills, knowledge, and readiness.

Diagnostic Assessments: These are pre-assessments that help determine students’ prior knowledge and skills in a particular area. They can include quizzes, discussions, or tasks related to the upcoming content.

Observations: Regularly observe students during class activities. Noticing how they approach tasks, the challenges they face, and the strategies they use can provide valuable insights.

Student Feedback: Encourage students to self-assess and provide feedback on their comfort level with the material. This can be done through reflection journals, surveys, or one-on-one discussions.

Continuous Assessment: Rather than just relying on a one-time pre-assessment, continually assess students throughout the unit or course to adjust tiers as needed.

Designing Assignments with Varying Complexities

With a clear understanding of student readiness, assignments can be designed to cater to varying levels of complexity.

Bloom’s Taxonomy: Utilize Bloom’s taxonomy to create tasks at different cognitive levels, from basic recall to more complex analytical and evaluative tasks.

Varied Resources: Provide resources at different reading levels or complexities to cater to diverse learners.

Differentiated Product: Allow students to showcase their understanding in different ways, whether through essays, presentations, projects, or other mediums.

Incorporating Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles

Recognizing that students have different strengths and preferences in how they learn is key. Incorporating Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences can provide varied entry points for learners.

Linguistic and Logical: Traditional reading, writing, and mathematical challenges cater to these learners.

Visual-Spatial: Integrate diagrams, charts, and opportunities for artistic expression.

Kinesthetic: Include hands-on activities or movement-based tasks.

Musical: Integrate music, rhythms, or sound-based activities.

Interpersonal and Intrapersonal: Encourage group activities or self-reflection tasks.

By diversifying tasks, students can engage with the material in ways that resonate most with their personal strengths.

Strategies for Effective Management

Implementing tiered assignments requires meticulous organization and management to ensure smooth execution.

Transparent Communication: Make sure students understand the purpose of tiered assignments and how they’re designed to benefit individual learning.

Structured Workspace: Design the classroom layout to facilitate group work, individual tasks, and teacher-led instruction seamlessly.

Regular Check-ins: Regularly check in with students, ensuring they feel supported and providing guidance where necessary.

Peer Support System: Encourage collaboration and peer support, so students can leverage each other’s strengths.

Utilize Technology: Digital platforms and tools can help in creating, distributing, and monitoring tiered assignments effectively.

Feedback Loop: Create a consistent feedback system where students can express their feelings and concerns regarding the assignments, allowing for continuous refinement of the process.

Optimizing Tiered Assignments: Resources, Techniques, and More

Tools and Resources for Tracking Progress

Effectively tracking student progress is essential to ensure that tiered assignments are meeting their intended outcomes. Here are some tools and resources:

Learning Management Systems (LMS): Platforms like Google Classroom , Canvas , or Moodle can help manage assignments, track submissions, and monitor student engagement.

Differentiated Lesson Planner: The Teachers’ Blog Differentiated Lesson Planner makes tiered tasks a cinch.

Digital Portfolios: Platforms like Seesaw or Portfolium allow students to document and reflect on their learning journey, providing a holistic view of their progress.

Online Assessment Tools: Quizzing platforms like Kahoot or Quizizz offer instant feedback, helping gauge student understanding in real-time.

Progress Trackers: Spreadsheet tools, like Google Sheets or Excel, can be used to create custom progress trackers, charting student growth over time.

Grouping Techniques: Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous

Homogeneous Grouping: This method groups students with similar readiness levels or abilities together.

Pros: Allows for targeted instruction; students can move at a similar pace.

Cons: Risk of creating ability “labels” or limiting peer-to-peer learning opportunities.

Heterogeneous Grouping: This method mixes students of different abilities and readiness levels.

Pros: Encourages peer-to-peer support and diverse perspectives; can boost confidence for lower-achieving students.

Cons: Risk of advanced students dominating tasks or some students feeling overwhelmed.

Best Practice: A combination of both methods can be effective, varying groupings based on the task’s objective and desired outcomes.

Feedback Mechanisms for Continuous Improvement

Formative Assessments: Regular, low-stakes assessments can provide ongoing feedback to both educators and students.

Peer Review: Encourage students to review and provide feedback on each other’s work, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

Self-Assessment: Equip students with rubrics or reflection templates to evaluate their own work and set future goals.

Regular One-on-Ones: Individual meetings with students can offer deeper insights into their experiences and challenges.

Challenges and Solutions

Challenge: Differentiating instruction might be seen as favoritism or unfair treatment.

Solution: Ensure transparent communication about the purpose and benefits of tiered assignments to both students and parents.

Challenge : Designing multiple versions of assignments can be time-consuming for educators.

Solution: Collaborate with fellow teachers, tap into shared resources, or use adaptive learning platforms that auto-adjust based on student performance.

Challenge: Some students might feel demotivated if they perceive their tier as “lower” than their peers.

Solution: Emphasize the value of growth and the idea that everyone’s learning journey is unique. Rotate groups regularly to avoid fixed labels.

Conclusion: Championing Tiered Assignments in Diverse Classrooms

The educational landscape is ever-evolving, but one constant remains: the diversity of our classrooms. In this rich tapestry of learners, where each individual brings unique strengths, challenges, and perspectives, lies the challenge and the opportunity for educators.

Tiered assignments emerge as a beacon of differentiation in this context. They recognize that not all students are on the same page, and instead of trying to force a uniform approach, they adapt to each student’s unique page. They’re a testament to the fact that equal does not always mean equitable. Instead of giving everyone the same, they aim to give everyone what they need to succeed.

As we’ve journeyed through the intricacies of tiered assignments, from understanding diverse learners to assessing readiness, designing assignments, and managing them effectively, a recurring theme is evident. The approach is as dynamic as the students it serves. And that’s its strength.

For educators, the takeaway is twofold. First, embrace the complexity of diverse classrooms, not as a challenge but as an opportunity. Each student, with their unique abilities and experiences, enriches the classroom, and tiered assignments can help channel this richness effectively.

Second, while tiered assignments offer a robust framework, the real magic lies in continuous adaptation. The world of education is fluid. New tools emerge, best practices evolve, and our understanding of learning deepens. As educators, staying adaptive, staying curious, and being willing to refine our methods is paramount.

To conclude, tiered assignments are not just a pedagogical tool; they’re a philosophy. A philosophy that centers on the student, acknowledges diversity, and strives for inclusivity. In the ever-evolving quest to provide the best for our students, they’re not just an option but an imperative. As educators, may we always strive to match the diverse beats of our classrooms, ensuring every learner feels seen, challenged, and empowered.

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There are critical considerations to reflect on before implementing differentiation strategies - to aspects of content, process and product - in direct response to a student’s readiness, interests and learning profile.

Bringing it all together

Critical considerations.

Before introducing strategies for differentiation, it is important to note 3 interrelated considerations for teachers who wish to differentiate instruction.

1. Differentiation that is founded in ineffective classroom practice cannot succeed.

Trivial and fluffy curriculum remains trivial and fluffy, even after differentiation. Varied versions of an ill-focussed product are no more helpful. A pernicious classroom environment cannot invite learners to be comfortable with themselves and one another. A teacher who does not see assessment as a continual window into the needs of his/her students has little sound footing from which to differentiate instruction. A teacher who cannot learn to trust and share responsibility with his/her students, would, at best have students seated in rows and completing varied worksheets silently and alone.

2. Differentiation is more than a strategy or series of strategies – it's a way of thinking about teaching and learning.

…..teacher growth in differentiation is not so much about introducing tiered lessons, independent study alternative forms of assessment – or even moving to multi-text adoption. Practising quality differentiation is much more about knowing what matters to teach, realising that learning happens in us rather than to us, continually reflecting on the ‘particularness’ of each of our students, and pondering how to develop both the commonalities students share as humans and the singularities students bring to us as individuals. If we as teachers understand the nature of our art more fully and deeply, more differentiation would likely evolve from that understanding. Learning some new ‘tricks’ with little sense of why they matter is less helpful.

3. Movement towards differentiation in teaching is movement towards expertise.

Regarding differentiation, teachers can say, “I already do that”. Most teachers at some times and in some ways obviously adapt or adjust for students’ learning needs. The truly expert teacher understands, however, that even after a dozen careers in the classroom he/she could still learn more about his/her subject and his/her learners and how to link each learner and subject with power and joy. … expert teachers teach students the most important things in the most effective ways.

(Tomlinson & Allan 2000)

What and how to differentiate

Effective differentiation takes place when teachers adjust aspects of content, process and product in direct response to a student’s readiness, interests and learning profile. Teachers may also modify the learning environment in direct response to a student’s learning profile.

‘What’ and ‘how’ teachers differentiate depends on the needs of the students in the class at any one time.

The following diagram illustrates the connections between classroom elements and student characteristics and the multiple opportunities teachers have for differentiation. It shows that teachers can adjust classroom elements - content, process and product - in direct response to a student’s readiness, interests and learning profile. Teachers can also modify the learning environment in direct response to a student’s learning profile.

Tiered instruction

Tiered instruction is when teachers make slight adjustments within the same lesson to meet the needs of students.

All students learn the same fundamental skills and concepts but through varying modes and activities.

The tiers need to challenge students appropriately at their ability levels. The teacher’s challenge is to make sure all tasks, regardless of tier level, are interesting, engaging, and challenging.

Activities and assignments can be adjusted by:

• level of complexity
• amount of structure
• materials provided
• time allowed
• pacing of the assignment
• number of steps required for completion
• form of expression, for example letter, essay, report, research paper, short story, speech
• level of independence required.

The 6 ways to tier a lesson

• tier by challenge level - Bloom’s Taxonomy
• tier by complexity - when you tier by complexity, you address the needs of students at introductory levels as well as the needs of students who are ready for more advanced work
• tier by resources - when you choose materials at various reading levels and complexity of content, you are tiering assignments by resources
• tier by outcomes - students use the same materials but the end products vary
• tier by process - the end products are the same but the ways students arrive at those outcomes may vary
• tier by product - group by multiple intelligences or learning styles followed by assignments that fit those preference.

1. Tiering by challenge level

Use Bloom’s taxonomy as a useful guide to develop tasks at various challenge levels.

An example is activities for book talk presentations:

• list story elements (knowledge)
• book summary (comprehension)
• support a conclusion about a character with evidence from the book (application).
• discuss the theme or author’s purpose for writing the book (analysis)
• create a new ending for the story (synthesis)
• critique the author’s writing and support your opinion (evaluation).

2. Tiering by complexity

When you tier by complexity, you provide varied tasks that address a student’s level of readiness, from introductory levels to more abstract, less concrete, advanced work.

Be careful to provide advanced work to the higher level student, rather than just more work. An example is after whole group class reading of a current events issue in a magazine such as global warming, students complete a related activity differentiated by complexity.

• Tier one: Students are asked to write a public service announcement using jingles, slogans or art to convey why global warming is a problem and what people can do to prevent it.
• Tier two: Students conduct a survey of peer awareness and understanding of global warming. They design a limited number of questions and decide how to report their results such as with charts or in a newscast.
• Tier three: Students debate the issue about the seriousness of global warming with each side expressing a different viewpoint. They must provide credible evidence to support their opinions and arguments.

3. Tiering by resources

Use materials at various reading levels and complexity to tier by resources. Students using tiered resources may be engaged in the same activity or they may be working on a different, but related activity.

4. Tiering by outcome

Students all use the same materials but what they do with the materials is different. An example is pattern block maths:

• Tier one: Identify all the ways you can group your pattern blocks.
• Tier two: Identify all the different patterns you can make with your pattern blocks.
• Tier three: Create a bar graph to show all the different kinds of pattern blocks in your bag.

5. Tiering by process

Students work on the same outcomes but use a different process to get there. An example is: What are the characteristics of a hero?

• Tier one: Make a chart of specific heroes and what they did to make them become a hero.
• Tier two: Choose two or three heroes and compare them in a Venn diagram.
• Tier three: List personal characteristics exhibited by heroes and rank them from most to least important.

6. Tiering by product

Groups are formed based on learning preference using Gardner’s multiple intelligences. For example: For a unit on the solar system - the study of rotation and revolution of the earth.

• Tier one: Create a flipbook, diagram, or model showing the rotation of the earth around the sun (visual-spatial).
• Tier two: Position and move three people to demonstrate the concept of the revolution and rotation of the earth with respect to the moon and sun (bodily-kinaesthetic).
• Tier three: Make a timeline of a year detailing the position of Queensland with respect to the sun (logical-mathematical).

How to create a 3-level tier

• Identify key concepts, skills and essential understandings that you want all students to achieve. These elements become the basis for your ‘on-level’ tasks.
• Identify how you will cluster groups/activities. Although you can create multiple levels of tiers (2-6), keep the number of levels consistent with your group of students. For example, don’t make 3 tiers if there are only 2 groups of students exist in your classroom (those working at the appropriate level and those students who require extra support).
• Select elements to tier (see ‘Six ways to tier a lesson’ above).
• Create your ‘on-level’ tier (tier one).
• Design a similar task for learners who require extra support. The task should make adjustments based on student readiness (tier two).
• If needed, develop a third, more advanced activity for learners who have already mastered the basic standard or competency being addressed. Make sure the task actually requires higher-level thinking than the ‘on-level’ tasks. The advanced tier shouldn’t just be more of the same thing (tier three).

As you construct the tiers make sure that in order for students to accomplish a higher level, they must also have an understanding of the lower levels.

Compacting is the process of eliminating teaching or student practice if students have already mastered a concept or skill. For example, a year 3 class is learning to identify the parts of fractions, and diagnostics indicate that 2 students already know the parts of fractions. These students are excused from completing the identifying activities and are taught to add and subtract fractions.

Steps for compacting

• identifying the learning objectives or standards that all students must learn
• offering a pre-test opportunity or planning an alternate path through the content for those students who can learn the required material in less time than their age peers
• planning and offering meaningful curriculum extensions for students who qualify
• eliminating all drill, practice, review or preparation for students who have already mastered such things
• keeping accurate records of students’ compacting activities.

A layered curriculum

The layered curriculum approach features a 3 layer model (like a pyramid) where students start with basic learning and skills (layer C) and move to use higher-level thinking skills (layer B and then layer A) as they work through the layers. Developed by educator and author Kathie Nunley (2006) the approach came as a response to her classroom experiences with high school students.

Layer C - the foundational level

The base level of competency, layer C, is basic learning and skills. This layer reflects what every student must be able to know, understand, and do. At this level, students gather information and add it to their bank of knowledge.

Layer C reflects what all students must do and the activities ask students to collect factual information.

Layer B - the middle level

The middle level of competency, layer B, is application. This is where students apply and manipulate the information.

Layer B provides students with the opportunity to apply, manipulate and play with the information they gathered while completing C layer activities. Typically, this layer requires students to apply, manipulate, discover, hypothesise and prove, demonstrate or problem solve.

Layer A - the top level

The top-level of competency, layer A is critical thinking. This is where students evaluate and think critically about an issue. Nunley says the purpose of layer A is to teach students critical thinking skills and to apply their classroom learning into their daily lives. Layer A consists of questions that ask students to analyse a topic. Frequently, no right or wrong answer exists.

Nunley emphasizes that all layers should provide students with some control over their learning. She suggests a menu-like approach to the tasks in each layer. The approach allows students to pick and choose from the available options provided by the teacher.

A menu offers students a way to make decisions about what they will do in order to meet class requirements. A menu could be for a single lesson, a week-long lesson or even a month-long period of study. Once the teacher has decided on what the essential understandings and/or skills are, they can begin to create a menu.

Steps for creating menus

• Identify the most important elements of a lesson or unit.
• Create an imperative or required assignment or project that reflects the minimum understanding you expect all students to achieve.
• Create negotiables which expand upon the ‘main dish’ or imperative assignment or project. These negotiables often require students to go beyond the basic levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. For example, they often include activities that require synthesis, analysis or evaluation.
• Create a final optional section that offers students the opportunity for enrichment. The optional section often reflects activities that students can use for extra credit.

Wormeli (2006) suggests placing the menu options in a restaurant menu style (see below) that could include an ‘appetisers’, a ‘main dish’, ‘side dishes’, and even ‘desserts’. He suggests the following format.

• a list of assignments or projects
• students select one item to complete.
• an assignment or project that everyone must complete.
• students select two items to complete.
• optional but irresistible assignments or projects
• options should be high interest and challenging
• students choose one of these enrichment options
• level of complexity.

Cubing requires students to look at a topic from 6 different angles. Teachers often create a visual cube that serves as a starting point when they want students to analyse or consider various aspects of a topic. Cubes can be used as an after-reading strategy that requires students to think critically about a topic. When students work with cubes they apply information in new ways. Cubes can be differentiated by interest and readiness.

Introducing the strategy to students

One of the best ways to introduce cubing is to apply the activity to a common or familiar object. Select an object appropriate to the age and interests of the students, distribute the object to students and then assign groups to look (or study) the object from several angles.

Students work in assigned pairs or groups. If desired, the groups can be created by readiness levels since the cubing perspectives below begin at the least complex level and become increasingly complex. Using the object as the topic, ask students to:

• describe it – what does it look like?
• compare it – compare the object with something else/ what is it similar to or different from?
• associate it – what do you associate the object with/ what does it make you think about?
• analyse it – describe the object’s parts/ how is it made?
• apply it – what can you do with the object/ how can you use the object?
• argue for or against it – what is an argument for or against the object?

Give students about 10 minutes to build a mini-presentation, then one student in each group presents to the class.

Steps for cubing

Select a topic, for example, World War 1 (WW1). Decide in advance how much time you want to devote to the cubing process. Informal cubing activities can easily be accomplished within a class period. However, activities can be extended if research is required.

Create groups based on readiness or interest.

Assign each group a perspective from which to explore the topic:

• describe WW1
• compare the WW1 to another war
• associate the WW1 with other issues, topics, or concerns
• analyse the WW1 by discussing the events and decisions that led to the war
• apply the lessons you’ve learned from studying WW1. How does learning about WW1 help you understand events, issues, topics, and decisions that still exist today?
• argue for or against WW1. Should the war ever have been fought? Take a stand and list your reasons.

After the designated amount of time, ask representatives from each group to present their perspectives.

Adaptations

Cubing, looking at a topic from 6 different angles, can be adapted. Adaptations can include:

• Design cubes based on interest or learning profiles.
• Use the cubes for independent work. Require students to complete each element on the cube but allow them to pick and choose the order in which they complete the activities.
• Use the cubes as dice which students roll.
• In maths, create problems for students to solve. One problem is printed on each side of the cube.
• Knowledge - students recall and cite content
• Comprehension - students demonstrate their understanding of the content
• Application - students use their knowledge and skills in a different way or situation
• Analysis - students break down topics into pieces and analyse them
• Synthesis - students consider aspects that seem to contradict each other and form something new
• Evaluation - students use their previous learning to judge the value or success of something guided by specific criteria.

Tic-Tac-Toe choice boards

Tic-Tac-Toe choice boards give students the opportunity to participate in multiple tasks that allow them to practice skills they’ve learned in class or to demonstrate and extend their understanding of concepts. From the board students either choose or are assigned 3 adjacent or diagonal tasks to complete.

Choice boards address student readiness, interest or learning preferences - and are easily adapted to a subject area.

Steps for tic-tac-toe

• Identify the outcomes and instructional focus of a unit of study.
• Use assessment data and student profiles to determine student readiness, learning styles, or interests.
• Design nine different tasks.
• Arrange the tasks on a choice board.
• Select one required task for all students and place it in the centre of the board.
• Students complete three tasks, one of which must be the task in the middle square.

The 3 tasks should complete a Tic-Tac-Toe row.

Tic-Tac-Toe choice boards can be adapted. Adaptations include:

• Allow students to complete any three tasks - even if the completed tasks don’t make a Tic-Tac-Toe.
• Assign students tasks based on readiness.
• Create different choice boards based on readiness (struggling students work with the options on one choice board while more advanced students have different options).
• Create choice board options based on learning styles or learning preferences. for example, a choice board could include 3 kinaesthetic tasks, 3 auditory tasks and 3 visual tasks.

Sternberg’s intelligence preference

You can assess students according to Sternberg's intelligences:

• Analytical - linear – schoolhouse smart - sequential
• Practical - street-smart – contextual – focus on use
• Creative - innovator – outside the box – what if

An idea to assess students in this way is possible through the following scenario:

'Imagine you are driving with your parents and they are listening to the radio. An interesting discussion starts about something you do not know. As you listen, you get more and more interested - and what do you most want to know?

• Do you want to know all the little details that go into it?
• Do you want to know how it is being used?
• Do you want to know only enough information to think of other things to do?'

Students who choose the first question fall into the analytic intelligence, the second corresponds to the practical and those who choose the final question are the creative learners.

Example 1: matter

• Know: there are 3 states of matter - solid, liquid, and gas
• Understand: all matter has both mass and volume
• Do: distinguish each state of matter from the others and show how each changes to the others.

Analytical:

• Choose 3 items from our classroom that are all in different states of matter. Show how each item is in a different state of matter in comparison to the other two items. Use terms like mass and volume to explain your answer.
• Use the idea of water, ice and vapour to create a chart to show how these 3 things change from one state to another. Include condensation, evaporation, melting point, freezing point, expanding and contracting in your chart.
• Create 3 imaginative items to demonstrate different states of matter. Make an illustration of each item and explain why each one fits into the state it is in. Use mass and volume in your explanation.
• Make a visually appealing poster to teach primary students how each state changes into the other states. Be sure the way you teach is original. Show condensation, evaporation, melting point, freezing point, expanding and contracting in your poster.
• There are 3 mysterious objects in a box on a museum shelf. Their states of matter are not yet identified. Your task is to figure out the state of matter for each one. Design a museum exhibit for these. Use the terms mass and volume in your exhibit signs.
• There is a close friend of yours who does not understand how one state of matter changes into another. You want to help your friend out. Write out how you would explain to your friend using all these terms: condensation, evaporation, melting point, freezing point, expanding and contracting. Make your explanation as clear as you can.

Example 2: geographical terms

• Know: geographical terms such as isthmus, delta, peninsula, river and island
• Understand: landforms and bodies of water affect human movement and influence the development of cities
• Do: locate and label specific landforms.

Analyse how landforms produce economic advantages that establish settlements. After students have read and taken notes on the chapter, the teacher reviews, with the whole class, the basic information on landforms. Then, students are given a choice of 3 assignments to be done individually or in groups of 2 or 3.

Create clues or a set of directions to help us identify and locate at least 8 landforms on the map (given in the textbook or on a map provided by the teacher). Clues/directions should also be based on population and economic growth and changes.

Develop a map of a new world that has at least 8 different types of landforms and/or bodies of water. For example, using labels determine how these sites would grow due to the economic possibilities of these geographical features and predict population growth over a period of time.

Using these 8 given cities (or you may choose other cities after approval by the teacher) demonstrate how landforms and bodies of water contributed to the development and movement of people to this site over a period of time. You may use overlay transparencies or models to show the areas and growth.

• Heacox D. (2002) Differentiation Instruction in the Regular Classroom: How to Reach and Teach All Learners, Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.
• Heacox, D. (2005). Promoting Student Independence and Responsibility in Academically Diverse Classrooms. 2005 ASCD Annual Conference. Orlando, FL.
• Nunley, K. E. (2006). Differentiating the High School Classroom: Solution Strategies for 18 Common Obstacles. Thousand Oaks: CA: Corwin.
• Tomlinson, C. A., & Allan, S. D. (2000). Leadership for Differentiating Schools and Classrooms.
• Wormeli, R. (2006). Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

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How to Tier Your Lessons Successfully

• Differentiation , Planning

We all have heard of differentiation. I’m sure at some point we have all wondered just how exactly are we suppose to make sure that we are tiering our content so that we can meet the needs of  all  of our students, both high and low. In this post, I’m going to help you understand how to tier your lessons successfully so that you can help reach all of your students without writing out individual lesson plans for each student.

Honestly, we have all heard that there is no “one-size fits all” lesson plan, but when it comes to planning out lessons for each student where they are– at their individual level –it can become daunting and very time-consuming. Here is how I do it.

Sorting Students to Differentiate

First I sort my students into three different groups. I typically call these groups my low, medium, and high, but you can call them whatever. No one sees this list but me and it changes depending on what concept we are learning. I sort students based on their data from a major test, such as the ITBS. If I don’t have any information from a test such as that, I make sure I provide students with a pretest before I start a unit to get an idea of their level of understanding.

Students who are grouped into the “low” group are students who don’t quite have the concept mastered or are below-grade level. Students who are in the “medium” group are students who are exactly where they should be: on-grade level. Finally, students who are in the “high” group are students who have already grasped the concept and are ready for a challenge, or above-grade level.

While I understand that this doesn’t “individualize” each student, it does help get us closer to their needs.

Tiering Your Lessons

Next, I start with my students who are on-grade level  (medium)  and plan my lesson for them. This is likely what you normally plan each week anyway. I write all of this in my lesson plan book and prepare everything I need as I normally would. Then, I look at what I have planned and the standards I’m addressing.

So let’s say that I’m addressing the fourth-grade reading literature standard RL.6 –

“Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first-and third-person narrations.” 

For me to tier my lesson plans for my below-level students  (low) , I can do this one of two ways:

1.) Examine my data (pretests or other tests) to determine what specifically I need to address with these students.

2.) Look at the standards for the previous year as my starting point.

In this case, I would likely consult both. I would make sure my students understood what point of view was and then have them practice a bit more by distinguishing their point of view from a character’s in a story. I wouldn’t necessarily have to print new material for these students. I could pull small groups with these students and together we could work on it using trade books or picture books. This would also help me see any particular misconceptions or address anything specifically from my data.

How you choose to tier your lessons would depend on your students and their needs. This may even vary from year to year.

For my above-grade level students  (high) , I have two options:

1.) Look at the standards for the year after as my starting point (acceleration).

2.) Enrich the standards for on grade level with more critical thinking (think top-level blooms with independent projects) (enrichment).

Using the same standard above with this example, I could look ahead at the fifth-grade standards and have them examine how the narrator’s point of view actually influenced how the events in the story are described. Or if I’m thinking independent projects, I could have them all work together in a literature circle and read two different books that are similar in subject but with different points of view. Then I could have them create a presentation of some sort.

I have also used the above-level students to “peer-tutor” on-level students or below-level students for some activities.

Planning Tiered Activities

Another option when planning tiered lessons is asking yourself “how can I scaffold this content for my students who are not on grade-level?” That will help you take the activity and break it down a bit more for those students. When trying to reach your above-level students, you can always ask yourself, “what more can I do to help them understand this topic a bit more or even deeper?”

Ultimately, when planning, remember that you need to reach all students in your classroom regardless of what level they are at. This can be done without spending extra time making multiple copies of different worksheets for each learner. When you tier your lessons in a way that can both scaffold instruction and enrich, students will be able to learn and you’ll save time.

• Differentiation Featured , Lesson Planning , Tiering

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25 Modern Differentiated Instruction Strategies That Propels Any Classroom to Success

Ausbert Generoso

Do you often find yourself wondering how to best cater to each of your student’s diverse learning needs and unique strengths?

As common knowledge as it is – that’s the reality of teaching, where the art of education is as dynamic as the students it serves. Although as expected, would you rather settle for old instructional habits or go the next level with help of our guide on unique strategies for differentiated instruction?

Think about your classroom for a moment. Picture the diverse group of students, each with their own set of abilities, interests, and learning styles. It’s like conducting an orchestra, where every instrument plays a crucial role in creating a harmonious melody. We’re here to show you how to fine-tune that orchestra, helping each student find their rhythm and reach their full potential.

Ready to dive in?

Understanding Differentiated Instruction

Before we jump into the exciting world of modern Differentiated Instruction strategies, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about what Differentiated Instruction actually means in the pedagogical sense .

What is Differentiated Instruction?

Differentiated Instruction (DI) is an educational approach that focuses on recognizing and celebrating the diversity of students’ learning needs and abilities within a single classroom. Teachers who adopt Differentiated Instruction approach to teaching tailors the content, process and product to individual students’ needs.

Why Differentiated Instruction?

In reality, the educational landscape is evolving faster than you can say “classroom.” The days of one-size-fits-all teaching are behind us. Students aren’t cookie-cutter replicas; they’re unique individuals with their own strengths, needs, and ways of learning. That’s where differentiated instruction sweeps in like a superhero to save the day. 

How to Differentiate Instruction: The Three Key Principles of Differentiated Instruction

• Content : DI acknowledges that not all students are at the same place in their learning journey. It means offering a variety of content options to meet students where they are. Some might need more challenging material, while others require additional support to grasp the basics.
• Process : Learning doesn’t have to follow a one-size-fits-all model. DI allows for flexibility in how students access and process information. This might involve different teaching methods, various levels of scaffolding, or even letting students choose the path that suits them best.
• Product : In the world of DI, students are encouraged to express their understanding and showcase their knowledge in various ways. This might mean offering different types of assignments, projects, or assessments to cater to diverse interests and talents.

In a traditional classroom, education often assumes a uniform path, where all students are expected to learn at the same pace and in the same manner. However, DI challenges this one-size-fits-all model . It acknowledges that students are unique individuals, each with their own set of strengths, weaknesses, interests, and readiness levels. Instead of trying to fit students into a predetermined mold, DI offers a flexible, inclusive, and individualized approach. It’s akin to the craft of tailoring, but instead of suits, we’re customizing the learning experience for each student , making Differentiated Instruction strategies indispensable tools in any educator’s arsenal.

In essence, DI is about meeting students where they are, both academically and developmentally. Its goal is to ensure that every learner has equitable access to high-quality education . By tailoring teaching methods, content, and assessments to match the individual needs of students, educators can create an environment where each student can thrive and reach their full potential.

The Core Belief Behind Differentiated Instruction

At its heart, Differentiated Instruction believes that all students can learn, but not all students learn in the same way or at the same pace. It’s about providing equitable opportunities for success, regardless of a student’s starting point.

Just like how there are certain teaching and classroom management styles that better align with your philosophy and strengths, there are a wide range of learning styles catered towards different students’ needs. In today’s diverse classrooms, where students come with a wide range of abilities, backgrounds, and learning styles, DI is more relevant than ever. It’s about creating an inclusive learning environment where every student has a chance to shine.

💬 But… how does it really work?

Here’s a little story to easily relate to! In a bustling classroom, there was a teacher named Steph. She had a mix of students, each with their own quirks and potentials. Steph decided to embrace the magic of differentiated instruction. She didn’t just teach; she orchestrated a symphony of learning.

Some of her students zoomed ahead with challenging tasks, while others received extra support to catch up. Steph used a variety of materials, strategies, and assessments, custom-tailored to each student. The result? Her classroom transformed into a place of genuine excitement, where every student felt seen, valued, and motivated to learn. Keyword: equity over equality.

💬 And… Can I really take classroom management to the next level with DI?

That’s exactly the secret sauce – “Next Level” classroom management. It’s all about going beyond the basics , elevating your teaching game, and truly unlocking the potential of every student. So, as we journey deeper into this guide, keep that idea close to your heart. We’re about to explore Differentiated Instruction strategies that will not only make your classroom management shine but also leave a lasting impact on your students’ lives.

25 Proven Modern Differentiated Instruction Strategies

Now that we’ve laid the groundwork and grasped the essence of Differentiated Instruction (DI), it’s time to roll up our sleeves and explore specific strategies for Differentiated Instruction. These are not your run-of-the-mill techniques; they’re tried and tested strategies built for modern classrooms, that are guaranteed to  take your classroom management to a whole new level . Trust us!

1. Tiered Assignments and Assessments for A (Tier)iffic Experience!

What It Is :  Tiered assignments and assessments involve creating multiple versions of a learning task or test, each designed to suit different readiness levels of students. In simpler terms, it’s like offering a buffet of learning options, ensuring that every student finds a suitable dish.

How to Do It :  Begin by assessing where your students stand in terms of readiness. Then, design assignments or assessments that cater to different levels of understanding. In a literature class, for instance, while some students may delve into deeper analysis of a novel, others might work on summarizing key plot points. By tailoring tasks to individual abilities, you ensure that everyone is appropriately challenged.

2. Flexible Grouping Strategies to Flex Your Students’ Brainpower

What It Is :  Flexible grouping strategies involve shuffling students into different groups based on their specific needs, interests, or collaborative strengths. It’s like assembling a dream team for each project or learning task.

How to Do It :  Assess your students’ profiles, considering their strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. Then, strategically form groups for various activities. Imagine, in a science project, combining a budding scientist, a creative thinker, and a natural leader. This approach fosters diverse collaborations, allowing each student to showcase their distinctive abilities.

3. Technology-Enhanced Differentiation for the Modern Classrooms

What It Is :  Technology-enhanced differentiation leverages digital tools and resources to personalize learning experiences. It’s like having a virtual tutor that adapts to each student’s pace and preferences.

How to Do It :  Explore educational apps, online platforms, and adaptive software that allow students to explore topics independently. For instance, in a language class, students can use language-learning apps at their own pace, with the software adjusting difficulty levels based on their performance. This approach empowers students to take charge of their learning journey while receiving tailored support.

4. Get Hands-On with Project-Based Learning (PBL) !

What It Is :  Project-Based Learning (PBL) immerses students in real-world problems or challenges, encouraging them to explore and solve issues while pursuing their unique interests. It’s like turning the classroom into a laboratory for innovation.

How to Do It :  Start by identifying a compelling real-world problem or question that relates to your curriculum. In a geography class, for instance, students could investigate local environmental issues. Encourage students to select projects aligned with their interests. PBL not only nurtures critical thinking and problem-solving but also provides a platform for students to shine with their unique talents.

5. Learners’ Buffet: Choice Boards and Menus

What It Is :  Choice boards and menus offer students a menu of learning tasks or projects from which they can select based on their interests and learning preferences. It’s like giving them the opportunity to design their own learning path.

How to Do It :  Create a versatile grid or menu offering a range of learning options linked to your curriculum. In a literature class, students might have choices such as analyzing a poem, crafting a character diary, or staging a scene from a book. Allow students to pick tasks that match their interests and learning styles. This approach promotes not only autonomy but also genuine engagement in their learning journey.

6. Get students Moving Around with Diverse Learning Stations and Centers

What It Is :  Think of learning stations and centers as the theme park of your classroom, where students embark on a journey through various aspects of the curriculum. This approach provides students with varied learning experiences.

How to Do It :  Design your classroom with distinct stations or centers, each dedicated to exploring a different facet of the curriculum. For example, in a science class, you could have stations for hands-on experiments, research, group discussions, and multimedia exploration. This diverse approach ensures that every student finds their path to understanding.

7. Flip the Class with Flipped Classroom Techniques

What It Is :  Flipped classroom techniques are like turning the traditional teaching model on its head . It’s about having students engage with instructional content at home, freeing up precious class time for interactive activities and rich discussions.

How to Do It :  Provide students with materials to study independently outside of class, such as video lectures or readings. In the classroom, focus on collaborative activities, debates, and problem-solving. This approach caters to various learning paces and encourages active engagement.

8. Scaffolding for Struggling Learners

What It Is :  Scaffolding for struggling learners is akin to constructing a sturdy support system. It’s about providing targeted assistance and gradually removing it as students gain independence, ensuring that no one gets left behind within the expansive options of strategies for Differentiated Instruction.

How to Do It :  Identify where struggling learners need assistance and offer guidance through step-by-step support. As students become more confident, gradually reduce the scaffolding, allowing them to take ownership of their learning journey. This strategy ensures that every student progresses at their own pace while mastering core concepts.

9. Enrichment Options for the More Advanced Students

What It Is :  Enrichment options for advanced students are like opening the door to a world of intellectual adventures. It’s about challenging high-achievers with activities, projects, or coursework that takes them beyond the standard curriculum.

How to Do It :  Identify advanced students and offer them opportunities to delve deeper into topics that ignite their passions. This could involve advanced readings, research projects, or participation in enrichment programs. By providing avenues for intellectual growth, you ensure that advanced learners are continually engaged and challenged.

10. Assessing and Accommodating Learning Styles

What It Is :  Assessing and accommodating learning styles is like tailoring a suit to fit each student’s unique preferences. It’s about recognizing and adapting to diverse learning styles, whether they’re visual, auditory, kinesthetic , or a mix of these.

How to Do It :  Observe your students’ learning preferences and provide options that cater to their styles. For example, offer visual learners diagrams, charts, and infographics, while auditory learners benefit from lectures or audio resources. This approach ensures that each student receives content in a format that resonates with them.

11. Data, Data, Data: Gather Data Using Formative Assessment Loop

What It Is :  The formative assessment loop is like having a GPS that guides your teaching journey in real-time. It’s about continuously gathering data on student performance and using it to adjust your teaching strategies on the fly.

How to Do It :  Employ frequent quizzes , discussions, or quick polls to gauge student understanding. Use this data to refine your teaching methods, focusing on areas where students may need additional support or challenge. This ongoing assessment ensures that you’re always aligned with the needs of your students. Fortunately, modern teaching tools like ClassPoint offers real-time insights and report on students’ performances so you can immediately adjust your teaching to suit different needs.

12. Jigsaw Cooperative Learning ( Not the Actual Jigsaw Puzzle)

What It Is :  Jigsaw cooperative learning is like assembling a puzzle, where each student becomes an expert in a specific topic and then shares their knowledge with their peers. It’s about collaboration at its finest within the context of strategies for Differentiated Instruction.

How to Do It :  Divide the class into smaller groups and assign each group a specific topic to master. Afterward, reassemble the class into new groups where each member represents a different expertise. Students then teach their topic to their peers, fostering teamwork and ensuring that each student plays a crucial role in their learning journey.

13. Harnessing the Student Powe r with Peer Tutoring and Peer Review

What It Is :  Peer tutoring and peer review are like setting up a knowledge exchange market within your classroom. It’s about encouraging students to teach and learn from each other.

How to Do It :  Pair students together, allowing them to take turns as tutors and learners. For instance, in a math class, one student could explain a concept to their peer, who then reciprocates with another topic. Similarly, employ peer review for assignments, where students provide constructive feedback to their peers. This strategy not only builds a strong learning community but also promotes a deeper understanding of the material.

14. Contract-Based Learning (Of Course, They’re Not Legally Binding!)

What It Is :  Contract-based learning is like signing a pact for academic success. It’s about collaboratively setting learning contracts with students, granting them ownership of their educational goals.

How to Do It :  Sit down with students to discuss their learning objectives, interests, and how they plan to achieve them. Create a contract that outlines expectations, deadlines, and support mechanisms. This approach encourages responsibility, as students actively engage in shaping their educational journey.

15. The Universal Favourite: Mind Mapping and Graphic Organizers

What It Is :  Mind mapping and graphic organizers are like providing students with a visual roadmap for understanding complex concepts. It’s about helping them organize thoughts and ideas more effectively than other approaches in the list strategies for Differentiated Instruction. Mind maps and graphic organizers are known to work for a wide range of learning styles. 

How to Do It :  Introduce students to mind mapping tools or provide templates for graphic organizers. Encourage them to use these tools when brainstorming, taking notes, or summarizing information. By embracing visual learning techniques, you empower students to enhance their comprehension and critical thinking skills.

16. Allow Students to Choose Their Homework Assignments !

What It Is :  Differentiated homework assignments are like custom-tailored outfits, designed to fit each student’s unique learning needs. They provide extra practice where necessary and offer extensions for those who crave more challenge.

How to Do It :  After assessing student readiness and comprehension in class, assign homework that aligns with their skill level. For instance, if some students need additional support in math, provide them with exercises that reinforce fundamental concepts. Meanwhile, offer advanced problems or research assignments to those seeking extra challenge. By individualizing homework, you ensure that every student benefits from targeted practice.

17. Run Literature Circles

What It Is :  Literature circles are like forming book clubs within your classroom, where students select and read books based on their interests and reading levels.

How to Do It :  Divide your class into small groups, and within each group, let students choose books to read. Encourage them to discuss their selected books, exploring themes, characters, and plot developments. This strategy not only fosters a love of reading but also allows students to engage with texts that match their individual preferences and abilities.

18. Conduct Socratic Seminars

What It Is :  Socratic seminars are like intellectual gatherings, where students engage in thoughtful dialogues to explore complex topics deeply and critically.

How to Do It :  Select a thought-provoking topic or text and facilitate a discussion where students take the lead. Encourage them to ask open-ended questions, challenge each other’s ideas, and explore various perspectives. Socratic seminars stimulate critical thinking and help students develop the skills needed to tackle intricate subjects.

19. Try Peer Editing and Revision Workshops

What It Is :  Peer editing and revision workshops are like turning your classroom into a writing studio, where students empower each other to improve their writing skills.

How to Do It :  Pair students to review and provide constructive feedback on each other’s work. This collaborative process not only enhances writing proficiency but also cultivates a sense of responsibility for one’s writing. It allows students to understand that writing is a journey of continuous improvement.

20. Let Students Choose Their Own Assessments!

What It Is :  Choices in assessment is like granting students the keys to their own learning journey. It’s about allowing them to choose how they demonstrate their understanding of a topic, whether through essays, presentations, or creative projects.

How to Do It :  After teaching a unit, offer various assessment options and allow students to select the one that aligns with their strengths and preferences. This approach empowers them to take ownership of their learning process and showcase their understanding in a way that feels meaningful to them.

21. Fluctuating Group Sizes

What It Is :  Fluctuating group sizes are like changing the seating arrangement at a dinner party, encouraging different types of interactions and cooperative learning.

How to Do It :  Periodically vary group sizes for collaborative activities. For instance, some projects could involve pairs, while others require larger groups. This strategy enables students to work with a range of peers, enhancing their adaptability and collaborative skills.

22. Guide Students to Set Their Own Goals

What It Is :  Student goal setting is like handing over the steering wheel to your students on their educational journey. It involves involving them in setting their academic goals.

How to Do It :  Encourage students to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations. Then, collaboratively set achievable goals that align with their learning needs and interests. This process empowers them to take responsibility for their educational path.

23. Exit Tickets : The Tickets to Better Understanding Your Students

What It Is :  Exit tickets are like quick snapshots of student comprehension, allowing you to gauge understanding and adjust instruction accordingly.

How to Do It :  Incorporate exit tickets in your classroom routines . At the end of a lesson, ask students to respond to a brief question or prompt related to the day’s topic. Review their responses to identify areas where students might need additional support or where you can advance the lesson. Exit tickets provide valuable real-time insights into student understanding.

Pro Tip: Use ClassPoint’s Word Cloud for exit tickets to have a visual representation of the whole class’ ideas and learnings, to effectively convey the key takeaways and common themes of the day’s learning.

24. Differentiation by Process

What It Is :  Differentiation by process is like adjusting your recipe to cater to different tastes. It involves adapting the way you teach a concept to meet the diverse needs of your students.

How to Do It :  Recognize that students have varying preferences for learning. Some may benefit from hands-on activities, while others thrive in a lecture-based setting. Offer multiple instructional approaches, allowing students to choose the method that best suits their learning style.

25. Mirror, Mirror in the Classroom : Conduct Reflections and Self-Assessment s

What It Is :  Reflection and self-assessment are like providing students with mirrors to examine their own learning progress. They encourage students to reflect on their growth and set personal goals for improvement.

How to Do It :  Regularly prompt students to evaluate their own progress, strengths, and areas for improvement. Encourage them to set specific, achievable goals and create action plans to reach them. This practice fosters a growth mindset, where students see challenges as opportunities for growth – one of the most effective growth tracking approach among the many strategies for Differentiated Instruction.

Best Practices to Employ Differentiated Instruction Strategies in Modern Classrooms

Incorporating Differentiated Instruction strategies into your modern classrooms requires careful planning and execution. Here are some best practices to ensure the effective implementation of these strategies:

👐🏻  Know Your Students

Begin by gaining a deep understanding of your students’ diverse needs, abilities, and learning styles. This knowledge will serve as the foundation for tailoring your instruction.

🎯  Set Clear Learning Objectives

Establish clear and measurable learning objectives for each lesson or unit. These objectives will guide your differentiation efforts and help students understand what is expected of them.

📝  Use Formative Assessment

Continuously assess your students’ understanding through formative assessments like quizzes , discussions, and observations. This real-time feedback will inform your instructional decisions.

📚  Provide Varied Learning Materials

Offer a range of learning materials, including textbooks, digital resources, videos, and hands-on activities, to accommodate different learning preferences.

✅  Offer Choices

Whenever possible, give students choices in how they learn and demonstrate their understanding. This empowers them to take ownership of their learning.

✍🏻  Provide Clear Instructions

Clearly communicate your expectations for each activity or assignment, ensuring that students understand the purpose and criteria for success.

🌱  Foster a Supportive Environment

Create a classroom culture that values diversity and supports risk-taking. Encourage students to help each other and celebrate individual and group successes.

🤔  Reflect and Adjust

Regularly reflect on the effectiveness of your differentiation efforts. Seek feedback from students, and be prepared to adjust your strategies based on their needs and progress.

🎉  Celebrate Growth

Recognize and celebrate the growth and achievements of your students, no matter how small. This positive reinforcement fosters a growth mindset and encourages students to embrace challenges.

✊🏻  Stay Patient and Persistent

Implementing differentiation strategies may come with challenges and setbacks. Stay patient and persistent, and be willing to adapt as needed to support your students’ diverse learning journeys.

From tiered assignments and flexible grouping to literature circles and Socratic seminars, the strategies we’ve covered are more than just tools, but rather, the building blocks of inclusive and modern classrooms where every student can thrive.

🔑 The key lies in knowing our students, adapting our instruction, and fostering an environment where growth is celebrated. 

But differentiation is not without its challenges and conflicts . It requires dedication, ongoing assessment, and a willingness to embrace change. It’s a journey that demands patience and persistence, but the rewards are immeasurable—a classroom filled with engaged, confident, and self-directed learners.

As an educator, may you keep the drive to create a safe space where every student’s unique abilities are not just acknowledged but celebrated—a journey that leads to the next level of classroom management , where differentiation becomes the cornerstone of education’s bright future. It’s a journey worth taking because, in the end, it’s about transforming lives and lighting the path to a world of limitless possibilities.

Further Readings

20 Proven Effective Classroom Management Strategies For All Types of Classes

26 Handy Classroom Management Strategies for New Teachers

The Classroom Management Styles Guide: Find Your Best Fit

40+ Must-Have Classroom Procedures for All Grade Levels

About Ausbert Generoso

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Articles / Mathematics

Tiered Activities Make Math More Inclusive

by MiddleWeb · 06/02/2020

MiddleWeb is featuring excerpts from three new books edited by the  editorial team  of Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, both teachers in Sacramento CA and co-authors of  The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox . Here’s our third article, from The Math Teacher’s Toolbox. Also see: Social Studies and Science .

By Bobson Wong and Larisa Bukalov

In our experience, the biggest obstacle to differentiating math instruction is figuring out how to do it effectively on a regular basis. In this article, we discuss one of our favorite differentiation techniques – tiered activities (sometimes called parallel tasks ).

In a tiered activity, we divide work into levels by complexity so that students with different levels of understanding on a topic can work simultaneously. We sequence work to move students through their zone of proximal development. The tasks are designed to be accessible enough so that students can use their past knowledge to understand it, but challenging enough so that students can extend their learning.

We typically use four or five levels since our students are used to seeing these scales on the state tests and AP exams that they take. The table below shows a brief description and example of each level.

Click to enlarge.

We fit our tiered lessons into the familiar framework of a whole-group introductory discussion, guided independent practice, and a whole-group summary. Our lessons have Do Now questions that are accessible to students based on their prior knowledge.

The class discussion of the Do Now activity leads into the lesson. Classwork problems range from the easiest questions in Level 1 to the hardest questions in Level 5. The lessons conclude with a summary question that students can answer individually as an exit ticket or with the class in a whole-group discussion.

Our classwork sheets contain all of the problems in the lesson. By providing all levels to everyone, students can monitor themselves, know what they need to do to improve to the next level, and work through the lesson at their own pace. Most of our students follow along with us while we discuss the lesson and do examples. After they become comfortable with the new material, many continue without our guidance, often working with a classmate.

Creating a Tiered Activity

To create a tiered lesson, we use the following steps:

1. Determine the goals and skills for the lesson. We typically take these from our unit plan.

2. Determine the Level 4 problems that are appropriate for those goals. Since Level 4 problems meet the standards for the lesson, we use them as our end goal. We refer to sources such as textbooks, websites, and end-of-year assessment questions to help us.

3. Adjust the Level 4 problems as necessary to match the skills and readiness of our students. Matching the levels to our students’ current skills and readiness is also critical to their social-emotional learning. If the Level 4 problems are too easy for our students, we may label them Level 3 so that students can get challenging work. If the Level 4 problems are too difficult, we may label them Level 5 or put them off into a future lesson to prevent students from getting too discouraged.

4. Identify three or four skills necessary to complete Level 4 problems. These skills help us determine the difficulty of Level 1 (one skill required), Level 2 (two skills required), and Level 3 (three or more skills required) problems.

5. Put an appropriate number of problems for each level. We typically put between two and four questions in each level, depending on the difficulty of the questions and the amount of time we have in class. This usually gives most students enough time and practice to reach Level 3 or 4.

6. If we have students that we believe can complete Level 4 problems and want an additional challenge, we create Level 5 problems. We often use textbooks for advanced courses or questions from math competitions as inspirations for Level 5 questions.

Advantages and Challenges of Tiered Activities

Tiered activities help students to engage in productive struggle , in which they actively work with little guidance on a task that is just beyond their abilities. When students struggle productively, they are not experiencing pointless frustration or practicing something that has just been demonstrated. If students see struggle as a necessary step towards eventual mastery, they are more likely to persist in academic endeavors , which helps promote a growth mindset.

Unfortunately, tiered activities don’t work for every lesson. They tend to work best for topics that require relatively little direct instruction so that students have enough time to work through the levels.

Tiered activities often require a great deal of time and energy to organize. Relying on textbooks and other sources that order questions by increasing difficulty (even if they don’t explicitly group problems by level) can make this task easier.

Despite these challenges, we believe that the many benefits of tiering make the effort worthwhile.

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MiddleWeb is all about the middle grades, with great 4-8 resources, book reviews, and guest posts by educators who support the success of young adolescents. And be sure to subscribe to MiddleWeb SmartBrief for the latest middle grades news & commentary from around the USA.

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