Differentiated Instruction Professional Development
Tiering Using Bloom’s
Component (Big Idea): Teachers can use Bloom’s taxonomy as a guide to developing tasks at various levels of challenge.
Design Team Members: Barry Meadows, Lou Maynus
Length of Time: 3-6 hours
Essential Questions: How can tiered lessons using Bloom’s taxonomy improve instruction and student learning in the differentiated instruction classroom?
Participants will Know: the advantages of using tiered lessons with Bloom’s taxonomy in the differentiated classroom.
Participants will Understand: For tiered assignments to be relevant, they include respectful, meaningful assignments that are interesting, engaging and challenging. They must add depth and breadth to students’ understanding of essential questions and unit questions.
Participants will be able to Do (Skills):
· Record responses to phrase “tiering using Bloom’s”.
· Identify levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
· Identify examples of different levels of Bloom’s.
· Discuss what can be tiered.
· Complete concept ladder.
· Develop a basic task and an advanced task.
· Share examples of tiered assignments.
· Design a cube.
· Plan a menu.
· Reflect on what they will start doing, stop doing, do less of and do more of.
Sponge Activity (15 minutes): What words, phrases or images come to mind when you hear the phrase “Tiering Using Bloom’s”? Have small groups of participants record their answers on chart paper and display them in the room as a pre/post-assessment activity.
Activating Prior Knowledge (20 minutes):
To activate prior knowledge of Bloom’s taxonomy, ask participants to help you as you fill out a graphic organizer of Bloom’s using the PowerPoint, begin by listing the six level and their definitions.
Give participants a copy of the Summary of Bloom’s Six Levels (Handout #1).
Next, (use handout #2 Your turn to guess???) have participants in pairs write the level of Bloom’s questioning from the two fairy tales. Have participants hold up the card with the correct level of Bloom’s as you read each question. This will allow the presenter to quickly assess prior knowledge of Bloom’s taxonomy.
Specialized Vocabulary: Tiered assignments, “What can be tiered?”
Use a Concept Ladder to discuss the meaning of the vocabulary term “tiered assignments” (10 minutes)
Active Learning:
· Making Tiering Invisible: Using Basic tasks/Advanced task point out that it is two different levels of work, not simply more or less work and Bloom’s taxonomy will help with this. Carol Tomlinson suggests that this is a good entry point for beginners to tier lessons.
(Group participants- according to content area specializations).
Have participants choose a concept in their content area to develop a basic task and an advance task. Remind participants to think in terms of lower level Bloom’s for the basic tasks and higher level Bloom’s for the advanced tasks.
Have participants share their tiered assignments as time permits, using overhead transparencies or chart paper.
Presenter will then share the Handout #3 Basic task/Advanced task.
Show slide of “What zone am I in?” Explain how this is a reflection tool that can be used to be sure students are working on the correct task for their ability level (30-45 minutes).
· A handy way to provide directions for each tiered assignment is to create work cards using index cards or half- or full-sized sheets of paper. Explain to participants that when they make these for their own classrooms, they can number, label or color-code the cards to indicate the team or group they’re written for (for example, the red team gets the red card). If the cards will be used repeatedly, suggest they laminate them or slide them into clear, plastic sheet protectors.
Share “work cards” examples from different content areas on Handout #4
Examples of Work Cards. Be sure to point out the level of Bloom’s on the
cards. Discuss way participants can use work cards in their content area (20-30
minutes).
· Cubing is a technique which will assist students in considering a concept from six points of view, by giving students suggestions on how to conceptualize a particular concept. While envisioning the six sides of a cube, the student is told that each side represents a different way of looking at the idea.
(Notice the sides of the cube are the levels of Bloom’s taxonomy)
Cube Sides Function - Use terms like
Side one - Describe it, recall, name, locate, list
Side two - Compare it, contrast, example, explain, write
Side three - Associate it, connect, make design
Side four - Analyze it, review, discuss, diagram
Side five - Apply it, propose, suggest, prescribe
Side six - Argue for/against it debate, formulate, support.
Using this idea of cubing, the same concept is looked at from six different perspectives, and the various levels of knowledge of different students may be addressed in this context (e.g. some students considering initial descriptions of the concept while others are involved in analysis of it). In the differentiated classroom, the teacher will intentionally construct his or her lessons based on this cubing concept, and that will emphasize to the students that concepts covered in this fashion are multidimensional and must be considered in a more complex fashion.
Distribute the cubing template to participants. Have them choose a concept to design a cube. They may choose to work individually or in pairs.
Share participant’s cubes with the group as time permits.
Show the PowerPoint slides of cubing examples across the curriculum (45-60 minutes).
Distribute Handouts #5A-F Cubes.
· Menus Discuss ways to develop menus using Bloom’s taxonomy as a guide. The Main Dish is required and is usually lower level Bloom’s. Students choose side dishes and desserts according to interest or learning style. Side dishes and desserts may be higher level Bloom’s.
As time permits, distribute Handout #6 Blank Menu, allow participants to plan a menu for their subject area. Participants may work in content area groups or individually. Suggest to participants to plan a menu that can be used in their own classrooms. (30 – 40 minutes)
Share ideas with the group.
Show the Algebra I Menu Planner Slide.
· Six Essentials Components to Developing a Tiered Activity using Bloom’s-Show PowerPoint Graphic Organizer “Developing a Tiered Activity” (10 minutes).
· Show equalizer slide. Point out that the equalizer works in the same way that you might adjust the volume on your stereo. The teacher uses the equalizer as a planning tool to think about the kinds of adjustments that might be made for struggling, on-level, and advanced learners. This is an attempt to match the task with readiness levels of the students. It is not necessary to adjust all nine equalizer buttons for each activity (10 minutes).
· Revisit Participant made “Tiering Using Bloom’s” charts (pre/post assessment). Have participants use a different color marker and edit their initial responses to the prompt “What words, phrases or images come to mind when you hear the phrase “Tiering Using Bloom’s?” (15 minutes).
Reflections: PowerPoint Slide
Handout #7 Now that I have attended this workshop, I will start ____,
stop____, do less______, do more______,final thoughts.
Next Steps: Handout # 8
Remember that becoming an expert at differentiation is a career-long goal.
One step at a time, you can get there. Carol Ann Tomlinson
Materials/Resources Needed for professional development session:
In the following order:
· LCD Screen
· Computer
· PowerPoint “Tiering Using Bloom’s”
· Handout #1 Summary of Bloom’s Six Levels
· Handout #2 Your turn to guess??? (Fairy tales)
· Cards with Bloom’s levels listed (one set of cards per group)
· Overhead projector
· Overhead transparencies
· Markers for the overhead transparencies
· Handout #3 Examples of Basic/Advanced Tasks
· Handout #4 Examples of Work Cards
· Cubing template
· Scissors
· Tape
· Glue sticks
· Markers to write on cubes.
· Handouts #5A, B, C, D, E, F Cubes
· Handout #6 Blank Menu Handout
· Handout #7 Reflection sheet
· Handout #8 Next Steps
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Tiering Using Bloom’s