tiering

I have often wondered how I can possibly give all of my students challenging instruction when they are all on different levels. After reading chapter 6 in Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom, one of the answers is tiering. (Not to be confused with tiring.) haha

To get you excited about tiering, here is beautiful, multi-layered cake:

"Tiering assumes that within a particular lesson or product, a wide range of students should work toward the same knowledge, understanding, and skills. However, it acknowledges the varied readiness levels of students in approaching the task and thus presents the work at different levels of difficulty. Thus, while essential outcomes are similar, the demands of the task are structured and scaffolded in response to learner need."

Let's go back to the cake. Each tier is unique. Some are bold, some are not. Some are on bottom, some are on top. Even though each of these tiers looks different, they all serve the same purpose and that is to feed people. If the cake represents tiering a lesson, then think of each tier of the cake representing different tasks that could be given to different groups of students. The basic nature of the task (or the purpose) should be the same for each group. (i.e learning and exploring the stages of the water cycle) Even though each task entails the same goal, they will not all look the same. (Just like the tiers on the cake.) Some groups might learn best by listening to a book on tape about the water cycle, while some might need to act it out and pretend they are the water cycle.

I really liked the example given in the book with Mr. Johnson and his lesson on buoyancy. I was really interested in his lesson because first of all, I am teaching a science lesson on buoyancy with Brittany this Friday in our science class, and secondly, I was interested in how he tiered his lesson. I loved that each group was given an exciting, yet challenging task. You could see the different levels each task presented, but you could also see how each task appropriately scaffolded the group of students it was intended to scaffold.

Mr Johnson's two-tiered inquiry lesson: In tier one, the students needed to make a boat that could float and hold washers, in tier two (a little more challenging) the students had to create a boat that could hold exactly 10 washers, which meant it would need to sink if it hit 11. Can you see the difference and similarities?

I like this tiering idea. It will take more work, but if we are properly differentiating in our classroom, we have already decided to invest in our students so the extra time will just be second nature.

tame me

A couple blog posts ago, I wrote about taming the fox, a metaphor on using differentiation in the classroom. Chapter 5, in Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom, explains more about "taming" our future students. "Although the teacher's role bears some of the hallmarks of the counselor, parent, coach, social worker, and so on, those are not the teacher's central role. It is mandate of the teacher to teach"  (p. 56). While it is important for us as teachers to be their coach and to counsel with them, it is far more important to equip the students with "intellectual wherewithal" that is becoming more and more necessary to succeed in a society that demands academic preparation.

One thing that stood out to me as I was reading chapter 5 of Tomlinson's book, is when she was talking about an 8th grade algebra teacher she once had. Tomlinson stated, "She taught Algebra. But she did not teach me." That kind of scared me. I don't want to be that kind of teacher. What if I think I'm teaching my future students, but in the end, all I've done is taught the curriculum. I don't want that to happen. You can bet your bottom dollar that I was paying close attention when she talked about her German teacher, a teacher who was successful in teaching the students and not just the subject matter.

Tomlinson's German teacher was successful because:

-She always seemed sure her students could succeed & gave them work so that they could prove this
-She had eye contact with her students & smiled a lot
-She made each student's presence feel significant
-She helped the students understand the importance of the subject & how it relates to real world experiences
-She checked understanding and proficiency & worked with individuals when needed

In essence, her German teacher was saying, "I will learn about you and do whatever it takes, using this subject matter, to make sure you are a fuller and more potent human being than you were when you walked in this room. Please be my colleague in that quest."

Tomlinson gave five characteristics of curriculum and instruction in the classroom that genuinely helped her learn. The work needs to be:
1. Important
2. Focused
3. Engaging
4. Demanding
5. Scaffolded

I completely agree with this! When I look back at my own personal experiences, I can relate. My Psychology teacher in High School, whose name is Ms. Leek, truly wanted each of us to succeed. She knew me by name, she knew what my hobbies and interests were, she made learning so interesting and challenging; her class was not easy. I had to work hard, but I was motivated to learn because she helped me see the importance of Psychology. This pales in comparison to many other teachers I have had. I cannot remember their names, and I cannot remember what I learned. All I remember is feeling frustrated and/or bored.

I have included the following page from the book because it breaks down the five characteristics of curriculum and instruction listed above.

I wanted to include this because if I ever forget in the future what curriculum and instruction should look like in the classroom, the basics are all right here. At the beginning of the year, my students will be saying, "tame me" and I will have a better idea of what that looks like.

Baseball Camp: A Metaphor for Differentiation

Today I was reading from this book:

And guess what?! It starts off with a metaphor for differentiation. 

I love metaphors and the one in this book is a good one. 

Baseball Camp: A Metaphor for Differentiation

Coach Mac is the director at a baseball camp called Home Run Baseball Camp. Each summer, he works with all kinds of different children. Male, female, short, tall, big, small, shy, goofy, experienced in baseball, not experienced in baseball, the list goes on and on. Even though they are all different, they all have one thing in common: they are at camp to get better at playing baseball. 

Coach Mac watches the kids carefully, assessing their strengths and their weaknesses. Sometimes he will teach them all the same drill and sometimes he will have them work in groups. The unique thing about Coach Mac's coaching style is that he doesn't just teach them skills required to do well in baseball, but he also teaches the small players life lessons and skills they will need to function in society. He can't control the amount of talent each child brings, but he can control the amount of effort they give toward developing their talent. I love the following quotes from Coach Mac:

"Talent is what you bring. Effort is what you give."

&

"Everyone loves winning, but winning is a short-term thrill. Long-term satisfaction comes from success, not winning. What constitutes as success? Giving it all you've got. Getting better. Growing. That's durable."

A lot of what Coach Mac does during a summer of baseball camp mirrors what differentiation in the classroom should look like. We need to study our students just as Coach Mac did with his players. We need to continually craft our teaching methods according to each child's strengths and weaknesses. We need to teach children life lessons and not just the curriculum. 

I love, love, love the second quote above. The one about success. I want to teach my students about success. I want my students to feel successful whenever they are giving it their all or whenever they are growing. Not everyone will be good at math or reading. Not everyone will love learning about history or science. But everyone can be successful if they are giving it their best. I love the quote so much, I think it could make a really good class creed.

Taming the Fox

Take a look at the following books:

The first book, I read when I was in High School.

The second, I just started today.

Before beginning my differentiation textbook, I never would have guessed that it had something in common with The Little Prince. Then again, it shouldn't surprise me that it does. The Little Prince is jam-packed with over-my-head metaphors that sometimes I can make sense of. But usually someone just has to tell me what that tiny little book and that tiny little prince are talking about.

Thankfully, my differentiation textbook did just that.

Right around page 6, Tomlinson begins to explain that metaphors help people extend their thinking. To further explain this notion, she informs the reader that there is a metaphor in The Little Prince that can help  extend their thinking about differentiation in the classroom. The metaphor she is talking about is called: Taming the Fox. 

"The Little Prince, a young boy who is in many ways representative of all of us, goes on a pilgrimage to make sense of life. In particular, he needs to understand what love means in the scope of his existence. Along the way, he meets and learns from a varied lot of folks-both wise and foolish. Near the end of his journey, he encounters a fox and asks the fox to play with him. The fox responds that he cannot pay with the Little Prince because he-the fox-is not tamed. The Little Prince is puzzled and asked what it means to be tamed. The fox responds that it means to establish ties-an act too often neglected, he observes:

To me, you are still nothing more

than a little boy who is just like a

hundred thousand other little boys. 

And I have no need of you. And you, 

on your part, have no need of me. To 

you, I am nothing more than a fox like 

a thousand other foxes. but if you tame

me, then we shall need each other. To

me, you will be unique in all the world...

My life is very monotonous...

And, in consequence, I am a little bored.

But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun 

came to shine on my life. I shall know the 

sound of a step that will be different from

all the others. Other steps send my hurrying 

back underneath the ground. Yours will call

me, like music, out of my burrow.

(p. 80,83)

But the Little Prince is skeptical. He is very busy, he explains. He has so many things to do-so many things to understand. The fox gives a simple reply: "One only understands the things one tames" (p. 83). The Little Prince agrees to tame the fox. 

The fox explains that taming takes time, patience, and listening. Words, he notes, are often the source of misunderstanding. In time, the Little Prince tames the fox, who shares with his new friend two important truths:

1. "What is essential is invisible to the eye," (p. 87) and

2. "You become responsible forever for what you have tamed." (p. 88)

In the end, the fox and Little Prince must part ways, of course. There is great sadness in the parting, but there is happiness born of fulfillment as well. The two will be joined forever by the small memories they made together-the times they shared."

Tomlinson continues to explain that teachers are like the Little Prince who say, "Come play with me" and "Come do what I ask you to do." Each child, in their own unique way will say, "I can't do that until you have tamed me." Tomlinson states, "In 30 different ways, students in a class of 30 say to the teacher, like the fox, 'Tame me, please.' They want to feel a personal connection to those who share the classroom with them. They want to be affirmed there."

Obtaining a differentiated classroom means taming each child that comes my way. It takes time, patience, and listening. It takes getting to know each child's strengths and weaknesses. It means continually adjusting how I teacher according to their needs. And then once it's summer, I will have to part ways with them. It will be hard, but if I have done my job correctly, then there will also be rejoicing because of the things we have learned and the memories we have made. 

Wow, what a great metaphor. 

When Tomlinson said it would extend my thinking on differentiation in the classroom,

she was right!