Differentiated Instruction Strategies: Tiered Assignments
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.
Challenge Level
Tiering can be based on challenge level where student groups will tackle different assignments altogether. Teachers can use
Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide to help them develop tasks of structure, or questions at various levels. For example:
1.
2.
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.
Complexity
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.
Outcome
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 learning.
Process
This differentiated instruction strategy is exactly what it sounds like—student groups will use different processes to
achieve similar outcomes based upon readiness.
Product
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 example, one group would be bodily/kinesthetic and their
task is to create and act out a skit. Another group would be visual/spatial and their
task would be to illustrate.
Resources
Tiering resources means that you are matching project materials to student groups based on readiness or instructional need.
One flexible group may use a magazine while another may use a traditional textbook. As a tip, you should assign resources
based on knowledge and readiness, but also consider the group’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.