FIAE+B1+Chapter+5

Chapter Abstract and Synthesis By Abby Hersom

Abstract: Chapter 5 of //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// introduced this idea of tiering assignments. Tiering is when lessons are adjusted based on student’s prior knowledge and experience with a subject as well as their interests and learning style. All students come into a class with different backgrounds and, because of this diversity as well as the student's individual learning styles, students are on different levels when it comes to previous knowledge on the material being presented. Thus, to keep the students with more knowledge on the subject from becoming bored and to help those lacking the skills to easily achieve the learning goals, lessons are tiered or set up at different difficulty levels. It is important to note that the actual standards of a unit should not be changed but rather these standards are made the bare minimum of understanding acceptable in regards to the subject and the tiering is set up accordingly. This does not mean setting low expectations for some students and high standards for others. Teachers need to stay focused on the actual outcome and help students to continually be growing and learning by equipping them with the necessary skills, opportunities, and support. This chapter also introduced two important tiering strategies: RAFT and learning contracts. RAFT allows students to pick a role, audience, format, and topic from a list and create their own unique assignment. Learning contracts enable teachers and students to work together to create an individualized learning assignment that will ensure that the student learns the standards, but allows them to work at their own speed and in their own way within the guidelines set by the teacher. It is stressed however that these contracts be specific and well organized to keep students on track as well as help teachers to ensure that the standards are learned. This concept of tiering is presented as a vital part of lesson planning that helps engage advanced students and help out those having trouble.

Synthesis: Although some of the class was hesitant at first, everyone agreed that tiering lessons is important to help keep students engaged as well as prevent them from falling behind and becoming overwhelmed. The idea of using RAFTs was particularly popular because it helps teachers tier lessons without it being obvious to the students. It enables them to have a choice and everyone agreed that the more choices that a student is given, the more engaged they become with their learning. However, the class also agreed that it is important to make sure that the ultimate goals are kept in sight. The student [|learning contract] was the most popular of the examples given because it allowed students a choice and enabled them to work at their own pace and still achieve the desired goals on the unit. The class saw it as an opportunity to really engage students in the learning and thought it was an invaluable tool in helping the bored or struggling students. Some also saw it as an opportunity to encourage students, get parents involved in the classroom, and help teachers and students work together to achieve. Overall, the class found this chapter to be extremely beneficial and many mentioned being excited to actually try out these ideas in their own future classrooms. The class particularly liked this chapter because it talked about holding high expectations for all students as well as focusing on the idea that it is the actual learning that matters and not the means by which this understanding is reached.

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Abby
Tiering is when you set up your lessons or tests for several different levels of learning. Each student is required to meet the standards that you are teaching in that unit, but the level of understanding or the amount done with the content may differ. The standard is set as the bear minimum and all students must meet this, but the ways to which they reach this standard may take different routes. A pre-assessment is done to see what the student’s familiarity with the concept is and then lessons are planned accordingly. Students who are familiar with the material and have a pretty good grasp or are more capable are challenged where other students who may be behind or lack the skills necessary to reach mastery on their own are guided more strictly. This is the multiple intelligence theory at its height. Each student is required to reach a goal but the ways in which he or she reaches it differs.

I think that this is an important concept to keep in mind. I do not think that all assignments should be tiered because it causes students to not do their best. For example in my freshman science class we were put in CP1 or CP2 according to your prior science knowledge as well as your overall grade history. I remember students who were put in CP2 complained about being looked down on and used the excuse of being dumb to get easier assignment. CP1 students complained that they had to do more work and that more was expected of them. I think that the concept of tiering is good, but that in practice it does not always work so I would be skeptical about using it in my own classroom.

Ally
This chapter was all about tiering assessments. Tiering is when “teachers adjust assignments and assessments according to students readiness levels, interests, and learner profiles” (page 56). This occurs for multiple reasons, it can be for a specific student with disabilities or it can be for a whole class because they didn’t understand part of the test. With specific students who have trouble-learning teachers can create a possible learning contract, which allows them to work at a rate that they feel comfortable and the test meets their needs. I have seen many teachers do this for students and it has worked for them in the end because they end up with better grades in the class but they are still proving to the teacher what they know. Many teirs are set up to allow students to have choices because that way they are more apt to prove they know the content information. Another for is cubing which asks them different questions because they role the cube but they respond to the prompt that is on the certain side of the cube. I personally like Frank William’s Taxonomy of Creativity because it allows for flexibility and originality that way students can show their creativity. I like the idea of changing the verb in a prompt because I think it might make a difference to a student. This will help me as a teacher because if my students don’t understand or if I have students who need specific requirements when doing their work I need to accommodate that. My classroom would be more successful if I helped them with a test or made it more understandable for them.

Jasmine
Every classroom is going to be filled with a variety of learning abilities. Some students will have work come easily to them while others struggle significantly to get less work accomplished. It is a tough balance for teachers to make, because it is not fair to expect the world from students who are less capable and it is unfair to let the advanced students get bored or just coast through because things come easier to them. This chapter discussed what to do in situations like these. As a teacher, I would like to make a healthy learning environment for everyone in the class. This includes giving more in depth assignments to more advanced students, and less in depth to those who aren’t quite ready for that yet. In math, this could include using more or fewer variables or shorter/ longer problems accordingly for students who are ready for either. The struggle will come in when it is time to test. The students all need to be learning at the level of standard. As long as a teacher can make sure students are able to do the standard expectations of work, that teacher will be successful. Another way that a teacher can successfully reach all students is with RAFT, which stands for role, audience, format, and topic. This includes making a menu of choices for students to decide what they want to do for a unique task. Students get to choose their own assignments. This way they get to choose whether or not they will be successful. This can’t work for every assignment of course but it should be used sometimes.

Dan
As educators, we must realize that not all students learn at the same degree as the next, so teachers must be able to tier some assignments. I was very interested in this chapter, because I was constantly thinking how to change the style of an assignment but without sacrificing knowledge. After reading this chapter, many ideas have come into mind. The idea of learning contracts seemed very ridiculous when I first approached it. I saw many problems associated with it, like students taking advantage of it and not getting their work done. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. It allows students to work at their own pace as needed with consequences if the student does not follow the rules outlined clearly in the contract. When I do assignments that involve reading a novel or play, if some students struggle to read then we can create a contract together that best fits their desired needs. RAFTs are another great tool for tiering students. I did many RAFTs in high school and I found them enjoyable, even though some students did not. But as a teacher, I see the potential within RAFTs, as they can be easily differentiated for students by just changing T from topic to time to make it harder for students. I could easily see myself using RAFTs during certain assignments, like Shakespeare or exploring new cultures. Whatever the topic or study, RAFTs seem like a great tool to challenge students or guide them efficiently.

Jake
Chapter 5, in Fair Isn’t Always Equal, introduces a new idea known as tiering. Tiering is adjusting assessments and assignments based upon the advancement of the class. This was a really revealing idea and introduced a variety of brand ideas. A couple that really stood out to me, and that I would really like to incorporate into my classroom where “Learning Contracts”, and “RAFT(S)”.

Learning Contracts are a means of individualizing assignments for students at different levels. If one student is behind or ahead of the majority of the class it is a good way to individualize their learning plan so that they can move at a pace that is appropriate for where they are as learners. The contract will have a series of assignments coupled with due dates and checkpoints, that spread over a period of time. If the student is unable to abide to the contract than the contract is revoked and the student returns to the pace of the class. I think this idea is phenomenal and I would even consider putting an entire class on a learning contract and seeing how they progressed. I think it could be a very powerful tool.

The RAFT(S) allows students to choose their own role, their audience, their assignment, and their topic. The teacher creates a grid with the potential option that the student has to choose from and the student has the opportunity to elect which track he wants to follow. I think this is a phenomenal idea as it really instills a sense of student ownership. The student has a freedom to do what he wants, while at the same time remaining under the teachers direction. As an English concentration I believe this will be a really good tool in helping students to develop their writing.

This was by far my favorite chapter that we’ve read thus far; I felt as though the entire chapter was learned information. I can not wait to try out some of these ideas.

Jenn
In this chapter of //Fair Isn’t Always Equal//, it talks about the various methods and techniques one can use to tier assignments to help students of various learning levels meet the standard. Some of things I really enjoyed about this chapter was how it encouraged tiering to start at the standard or grade level performance, then move up to reach more advanced students. Tiering down wasn’t discouraged, but it was suggested to be used only when it was clearly indicated it was needed. I really like this idea because I agree with having high expectations for your students. I think it makes sense to expect every student to be at least at the standard, so that when moving on to the next grade, or even the next lesson, the student is prepared. In concordance to that I really support the idea of creating tiers for what was determined through pre-assessment. This is using differentiated instruction at its finest, and also can help strengthen your pre-assessment techniques so that you are sure you’re getting all the necessary information. I really like the ideas of using tiering subtly by giving students choices, which also relates to differentiated instruction. In this way students are also using self-assessment techniques to choose what they understand to work with, or even to push themselves past what they know. Also, this prevents students who may be at a lower level from feeling like they are only able to do lower level thinking, because everyone has the same choices. Clearly this is an ideal system to use in any classroom. I also feel that with these choices, if the students are struggling, or maybe getting work done to easily, you are able to challenge them both by asking them to try a more suited choice. All in all, this is a useful technique that everyone should use at some point.

Katie
Tiering is an important concept in teaching because teachers constantly need to adjust their assignments and assessments according to how ready their students are with the level of learning they are being taught. Students are taught based on where they are in readiness levels and it is tiering that helps teachers to adjust their lessons according to it. Teachers should start their assessments at the student’s on-grade-level so that they can move above or below grade level if needed based on how well their students process and achieve the task given to them. Learning contracts are also mentioned in this chapter and are used to map out students success in a project while informing the teacher, student, and parent of what the student wants to achieve individually throughout the year. Contracts have checkpoints which have dates and descriptions that tell when each item will be submitted to the teacher to help organize the student and inform the parent of when their child will be accomplishing certain tasks.

When I become a teacher, I know that I will be using tiering every time I create a lesson for my students. I will have to figure out how I can lower as well as increase the standards of every lesson I create so that I can adjust it accordingly. I will also use learning contracts with students I feel need them most. I like the idea of learning contracts because parents as well as teachers get involved in the students learning and what they hand in for work on which days. Getting parents involved with students school work is what I feel should be one of the most important things when I am a teacher.

Tyler
The author introduces a new term called tiering. Tiering is how teachers adjust their lessons to student's readiness level, interests, and learning profiles. When tiering, be sure to give each student the same expectations. Do not give some students high expectations and others lower expectations because this may cause teachers to lose sight of learning outcomes. Also, teachers must realize that the material being taught can be broken down into subsections, which allows students to explore similar content. Teachers must not forget to adjust their tiering to meet student needs. Keeping each student at the same level may cause some students to fall behind and others to get bored with work they consider easy.

There are ways to apply tiering in the classroom. One of which is Tomlinson's Equalizer. The equalizer is a way to transition from one teaching style to the exact opposite style. For example, concrete to abstract, structured to open, and dependent to independent. Learning contracts also coincide nicely with tiering because this allows students to work at their own pace and still get their work done. Requiring check in points and deadlines keeps students on pace and focused to completing their work. Another tiering exercise is pyramid summaries. Basically, each layer of the pyramid has its own topic and the student has to use the space given to fill in each blank. One-word summaries also provide a rich learning experience while still using tiering. One-word summaries are when a class is given a topic and they have to brainstorm a list of words that describe the topic. Using these strategies while teaching is sure to keep a class engaged and focused.

Lizz
Chapter 5 is all about tiering assessments. Tiering is when your lessons or tests have different levels of learning incorporated into them. Some students in the classroom will be able have work come easy to them while some struggle with simplest tasked asked of them. Tiering assessments can be difficult for teachers to achieve because teachers cannot expect the students that are struggling to perform on the same level, as the students do not struggle. In addition, teachers cannot let the students who do not struggle get bored because it is a teachers job to keep them learning and when students are not engaged that is when behavioral problems start popping up. Some things that I found interesting in chapter 5 were learning contracts and RAFT. Learning contracts all students to work at their own pace and on skills that best meet their needs. In most contracts, there is a combination of teacher and student-designed tasks that fulfill the expectations of that unit. It is important to remember though that it is a contract so it can be broken and become invalid if the student is taken it for granted. RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. It allows the students to choose from each column to create a unique task. A motivation factor of this is that the students actually get to choose their own assignments, which students love to have choices. These both are something that I want to incorporate into my lessons because I think it is important that students have choices if they cannot do the other work. I do not want to discourage my students, I want them to learn and be successful in life.

Roger
The fifth chapter in FIAE is about varying the levels of assessment for various students. This method makes a lot of sense, since not all students learn at the same rate, nor do they start at the same level. This method of assessment ensures that students are adequately challenged, but it does not push them too far. All students will still be able to get the basic concepts, but the students who can go above and beyond are not limited. This also ensures that lower level students still get what they need out of the class, as well.

Tiering instruction is a critical part of maintaining a challenging curriculum. Just because a curriculum accommodates for students does not mean that it should not be challenging – in fact it should be the opposite. A curriculum that provides enough of a challenge (but not too much of one) for each student is a vital component in ensuring student success. If students have too little of a challenge, there will be nothing to learn. If there is too much of a challenge, students will be overwhelmed by what there is to learn that they will not retain it.

Basically, the tiering of instruction is a huge component in making curriculum matter to students. The methods of tiering need to be adjusted from time to time, since anyone will get tired and bored of the same thing over again. If done properly, tiering instruction is an excellent way to maintain student interest and improve the chances of retention.

Alex Slack
FIAE Chapter 5: Tiering Assessments: First of all I feel as if this chapter was a long winded chapter that was terribly long and also way to focused on grades and grading papers. I mean I get the idea that papers a test and grades are important but in all reality school is not about test, papers, or even grades, it is al about learning and prepping the students for life and just letting they know that it is an ok to love learning and enjoy school. Grades are the back bone of school because it is what you need to graduate but in all honesty they do not make or break school, as much as teachers and everyone play them out to be. I really enjoyed in this chapter through all the bad was the concept of such different way so distributing the information, the variety of templates and instructions are great resources for this class. Also the variety instruction allows for superior organization and variety of used.

Brittany
Tiering an assignment, test or assessment means to bring it to the students level or readiness. The chapter provides some great examples for Early Readiness Students, such as removing variables from math problems and providing answers and having students match them to the appropriate phrase. The chapter then provides some examples of tiering an assignment to be more complex for a student, such as incorporating multiple skills, identify the big picture, defend completed work and apply to content to situations not yet experienced. What I really found interesting is that the chapter also gave "look-fors", or insightful answers and responses, for proficient students when assessing them. I like that the change in complexity would happen subtly and over time, that way it is easier to stop the process if it is too much for the student. The chapter provides a few good ideas for how to help students, they all involve student and teacher cooperation. Student contracts were my personal favorite. They are great way to help students who are early or advanced readiness. Learning contracts allow students to work at their own pace while working towards specific objectives. The student has the opportunity to negotiate different parts of the work, demonstrate mastery, and fulfill the expectations of the unit. An important piece to the learning contract are the checkpoints. These allow students and teachers to receive and give an assessment in a set time period, and keep students dedicated. When a section of the contract is not completed the teacher can choose to dismiss the contract and return the student to the pace and skill level of the class. I can't wait to make my first attempt at helping students work at the level that is best for them using learning contracts. I think they would be a great addition to my classroom.

Caleb
From the previous chapters stated we understand that students learn and assess differently. This diversity amongst the students will not only show up in specific intelligence but it will also show up in the amount of knowledge they know from previous encounters. This is why a teacher must be able to tier their assignments. Putting tiers on assignments means that a teacher either increases the level of difficulty or allows them to become simpler. Making an assignment more complex isn’t just about throwing more complex terms in but it may be about bringing a new understanding for the kids or they have to figure out a different way to solve a problem. It’s allowing the students to explore the six facets. Developing tier assignment is all about the students’ choice in the end. Thinking about this in math class would mean that if we were learning about quadratics being able to solve them easily would cause the teacher to place a new assignment such as understand why a quadratic function is shaped in a bowl shape. In my classroom I will present my students with choices. Seeing how projects went during the final years of High School I can see that more choices would have made projects interesting. In my physics class I was allowed to come up with my own lab about me punching a punching bag. Using technology to figure that out and allowed to have a choice on how to show that I understood the information was a grand concept. Each of these choices that have been talked about need to follow the curriculum as well, if they tend to get off track it can get hard to get back on.