Lori Voss-Schoonover

JCCC MATH 111

Foundations of Mathematics

Tiering & The Equalizer

Purpose/Focus:
The strategy utilized in this lesson provides students an opportunity to practice a real-world application
of adding and subtracting integers through analyzing or creating a bank statement.

Instructional Groupings
Whole Group
Homogeneous
Small Group
Heterogeneous
Peer Partners
Individual

Readiness

Student Learner Elements

Interest

Differentiation
Content
Process
Product

Learning Profile

Pre-Assessment:
Students will be pre-assessed in a previous class with a quiz that provides evidence of ability to add or
subtract integers outside the context of an application. Students performing below expected proficiency
will be placed in tier 1, students performing at proficiency will be placed in tier 2, and students
performing above expected proficiency will be placed in tier 3.

Results of This Lesson:

Students will KNOW (basic facts and essential information)
How to add and subtract integers
Which items are common to bank statements
Students will UNDERSTAND (principles, generalizations, and big ideas)
Bank statements and how withdrawals and deposits relate to positive and negative integers
Better the circumstances that might lead a person into debt
That there are increased opportunities when working together to improve understanding
Students will BE ABLE TO (essential skills, observable and measurable outcomes)
Review their own bank or credit card statements to verify balances
Better perform on related application problems which may be on an exam

Differentiation Strategy:
Tiering presents each student with a task that is appropriate to their level of understanding. In this case,
for students with a weak understanding of integer addition and subtraction, they are asked to verify a
bank statements balance to help support their learning and understanding. Students with an
understanding which is near the expected level are challenged complete an activity which is an
independent application of material which was covered at a previous session. For students who are
showing proficiency with integer addition and subtraction, they are challenged to create a document
which demonstrates competency and allows for creativity.

The Equalizer is a tool which is used to guide for planning differentiated lessons. In this example, Tier 1
students have an activity which is more structured, less independent, and supports a small leap in their
understanding. The activity for Tier 2 students is concrete, but more open with multiple facets to
provide some challenge with a comfortable, concrete task. Tier 3 students have a fuzzy problem with
more independence, and allows for much more transformational learning because the students are
encouraged to create while using integer operations.

When to Use This Strategy

(e.g., introducing a topic, group work, individual work, culminating learning activity)

The Equalizer and Tiering can be used to provide small groups of students an opportunity to build
competency in a topic. Before students are divided into their assigned groups, a pre-assessment is
necessary for the instructor to determine the appropriate group for the students level. A student in a
lower tier for early lessons might be in a higher tier in later lessons and vice versa so assessment is
required before each tiered activity to adequately challenge each student.
The Equalizer is used as part of a tiered lesson to help an instructor vary the challenge level of each
activity. For Tier 1 activities, the buttons of the equalizer should be moved to the left while Tier 3
activities have more buttons toward the right. Tier 2 activities would have a mix that is challenging for
an on-level student.
From the example, the Tier 1 activity is more structured, less independent work, and requires less of a
mental leap for the students. These are options on the left side of The Equalizer. The Tier 3 activity is
transformational, with a complex, fuzzy problem options on the right side of The Equalizer.

Problems/Challenges with This Strategy

Choose at least one, and describe how you might overcome the possible challenges.

Typically a strategy to be used with small groups, Tiering faces challenges that are inherent in group
work. Instructors are challenged to encourage all students to participate and contribute to the groups
products. In addition to encouraging participation, overzealous students may take charge and dictate
the direction of the groups progress without input from the other members.
In addition to managing group dynamics, instructors must also be aware of student abilities as they are
placed into groups. If a student is placed inappropriately either too high or too low the student is not
being challenged in a way that will best serve them. This can be minimized by adequate pre-assessment
before and appropriate scaffolding during an activity.

Strategy Evaluation
What are you trying to accomplish? How will you know the strategy is working?

Tiering is particularly useful when there is a diversity of student abilities in the classroom. In a tiered
lesson, an instructor wants to provide sufficient support to students who require it but still challenge
more advanced students to learn a little more. The effectiveness of this strategy can be seen in two
ways: the immediate response from the students and the improved ability which can later be
demonstrated on an assessment.

Students who find the activities sufficiently challenging will be encouraged and have a better grasp of
the material. If students also enjoy the activity, this positive experience can create a better rapport with
their classmates and their instructor for future lessons. With a well-designed activity, students will be
better able to complete a task individually for a summative assessment that could contribute to the
students overall grade.
Additional Instructor Resources
Example Lesson Plan
Tomlinsons The Equalizer Tool
Refer to pages 46 to 51 in Tomlinsons How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability
Classrooms, 2nd Edition for more description of The Equalizer
Refer to page 101 in Tomlinsons book for more tips on Tiered Assignments

Additional Student Resources Needed

For example lesson plan, Tier 1 students will need an activity packet which contains a completed
bank statement and a questionnaire to complete to demonstrate understanding. Students in
Tier 2 groupings will have a small stack of cards indicating amounts, a blank bank statement to
complete, and a questionnaire to demonstrate understanding. Tier 3 students will have a blank
bank statement, a problem statement sheet, and a questionnaire to demonstrate
understanding.

Tomlinsons The Equalizer Tool

Sample Lesson Plan

Lesson: Develop proficiency with applications of addition and subtraction of integers
Class: Math 111 Foundations of Mathematics
This activity will follow a whole-class demonstration where we discuss applications of integers related to
personal banking.
Task
Tier 1 Below Level

Tier 2
At Level

Tier 3
Above Level

Verify a Bank Statement

(Sample bank statement created
which shows deposits,
withdrawals, interest earned,
and fees paid. Students must
answer questions from index
cards along the way as they
verify the statement is correct)
Find the Account Balance
(Students will be given a stack of
cards which is randomly mixed to
show deposits, withdrawals,
interest earned, and fees paid.
Amounts will not be signed, but
indicated as D, W, I, or F.)
Create a Bank Statement
(Students will be given a final
balance and requirements for
the numbers of line items in each
category including deposits,
withdrawals, interest earned,
and fees paid. Students will
randomly receive life event
cards from the teacher that must
be accommodated in their
statement.)

Equalizer Focus
Dimensions
More Structured, Less
Independence, Small
Leap

Deliverables

Concrete, More Open,

Multiple Facets

Students will provide

the final balance as
well as a description of
their strategy used to
complete the task.

Transformational,
Complex, Fuzzy
Problem

Students will provide a

bank statement and a
description of the
strategy used to
complete the task.

Students will
demonstrate that they
reached the same
ending balance and
provide answers to
worksheet.

Describe how applying the Equalizer would benefit your lesson:

Because all the students are working on similar problems with different complexity, as opposed to
everyone working on the Tier 2 problem , the students that need more structure can see how the math
works while the students in Tier 3 are able to be creative and work a little faster.