Transcript Tiered Lessons – Process

Tiered Lessons – Process
Project Aspire
Broadcast 7
Sara Delano Moore, Ph.D.
What are tiered lessons?
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Tiered lessons are a way of
creating systematic variations on a
single lesson plan that are
responsive to student learning
needs and practical for the teacher
to manage.
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There are several ways in which
lessons can be tiered.
How can lessons be tiered?
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Dimension of Learning
– Content
• What students are learning
– Process
• How students are learning
– Product
• How students show mastery
How can lessons be tiered?
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Characteristics of the Learner
– Readiness
• How skilled is the student in this area?
– Interest
• What topics are engaging to the student?
– Learning Style
• How does the student learn best?
On what basis are lessons
tiered?
Content
Process
Product
Interest
X
Learning Style
X
Readiness
X
Tiering Process by Learning
Style
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Providing students with options
about how they learn new
information in your classroom
Remember that Interest and
Learning Style overlap at times
Thinking About Learning
Styles
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Select a model that you’re comfortable
with and stick to it
The key is that you provide variety in a
systematic way
Models to Consider
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Visual/Auditory/Kinesthetic
Multiple Intelligences
Concrete/Abstract – Random/Sequential
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Examples of Varied Instructional
Strategies
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Working Independently or in Groups
Reading silently or out loud
Doing the lab first or reading the text
first
Working with concrete manipulatives or
visual images or equations
Taking readings “by hand” or taking
readings with technology (e.g., CBLs)
Classroom Structure
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The teacher chooses the path through
the options available.
For example, we do the lab first in this
lesson and the reading first in the next
lesson. The alternation pattern
continues.
We do this lesson solo and the next
lesson in small groups. Again, the
alternation pattern continues.
Classroom Structure
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Another possibility is to do a single, wholeclass experience to introduce a concept and
then give students a menu of choices for how
they develop understanding.
Menu can be 2 items and the students pick
one.
Menu can be items in three categories and
students choose one from each category.
Menu can be items worth various points and
students must earn a certain number of points.
Menu items can be done in class or outside of
class or a mix of both.
Classroom Structure
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A third possibility is to dedicate various
areas of the room to various learning
stations and have the students work
through these options with teacher
guidance but little, if any, whole class
instruction.
You can assign some stations and allow
students to choose others.
It is important to spend a day orienting the
students to the stations in your room.
This is not the approach to use first!
Creating Menu Options or
Learning Stations
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The choices you create are based on
the learning styles model you work with
in your classroom.
Work with one lesson at a time. Identify
which learning styles are wellrepresented in your lesson and start
looking for other learning experiences
about the same concept which work
within different learning styles.
For example…
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You’ve got a great lab on inclined planes – very
good for kinesthetic learners
Can you find a web page with an electronic
simulation/demonstration and develop an
assignment based on exploration of that page
for your visual learners?
Can you find a good reading assignment about
inclined planes and their uses in the real world,
again for visual learners?
Is there a strong video/DVD about inclined
planes where auditory learners can listen and
learn?
For example…
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You have a good lab on cooling
liquids which uses CBLs to collect
data and creates the graphs as you
go – terrific for visual learners.
Can you create a similar lab guide
where students collect the data
manually for kinesthetic learners?
For example…
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You have a good reading selection on
the structure of the skeleton and muscle
systems – good for your visual learners.
Can you identify a lab where students
work with skeletons, chicken legs/thighs,
and other materials to explore the same
concepts for kinesthetic learners?
Can you record an audiotape or find a
video of big ideas for students to listen
to for auditory support?
For example…
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Your textbook has a good section on
FOIL as a procedure for multiplying
binomials – good for visual learners.
Can you develop an activity with algebra
tiles where kinesthetic students model
the process?
Can you make the textbook work or the
lab a partner assignment where one
student has to tell the other the steps to
follow and then they swap roles? (for
auditory learners)
Assignment for Next Time
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Select one lesson you’ll be teaching shortly
after the holiday.
Identify the learning style framework you’re
comfortable with and which style(s) your lesson
is most attractive to.
Develop one or two alternative activities which
are responsive to other styles.
Implement your alternate activities in one of the
classroom structures suggested in this
broadcast.
Report on your work using the online form on
the Aspire web page.