Are they the same?- Jayne Moon- Chapter 3

Are they the same?

Description of pupilsMario can’t sit still or concentrate. He enjoys action

games.Lucia is very quiet- does not say much. But she

listens carefully and her written work is always good.

Emanuela has moods. Some days she takes part in everything. Other days she just sits silently and stares.

Carlo is very quick to answer and to finish his work.

Teachers´ experience of differences

Teachers´ expectations of pupils

Strategies for responding to different needs

How different are children? Pupils may differ in their… …perception of the language …relationship with the teacher …family background …types of intelligence …interests …gender …attitude and motivation for learning English …experience

Teachers´ experience of differences

Suggestions for managing classes of mixed ability children

1. Use group teaching2. Give differentiated tasks3. Give attention to different groups

at different times.4. Vary your teaching/ learning

methods to include different activities.

Managing classes of mixed ability children Strategies:

1 •Teach children in groups, according to ability

2 •Prepare activities to suit the level of groups

3 •Vary teaching methods to cater for a range of different abilities and styles of learning.

Challenges

I. Time consuming.II. Allocation of time/attention given to

different groups.III. Insufficient time to cater for all the

different groups.IV. Difficult to aim the lesson at the right

level in the presentation stage.V. Pupils’ lack of interest or low ability in

certain skills and certain types of activity.

Ways of meeting these challenges

A. Planning differentiated activities.B. Giving enough time to different

groups.C. Catering for all the different needs.D. Aiming your lesson at the right

level.E. Catering for pupils’ lack of interest

or ability.

Teachers´ expectations of pupils

What is the message of this cartoon? How do your expectations of pupils affect

them? How can you avoid labelling pupils?

What is the message of this cartoon? Children are very quick to know how they have

been labelled or assessed by teachers.

How do your expectations of pupils affect them? Teachers are likely to have views and prejudices

about what children should be like as pupils. Children begin to behave has we expect them to.

How can you avoid labelling pupils? Teachers need to find out pupils´ views of themselves.

What do labels tell us?

Name Type of personalit

y

Typical behaviour

Speaking and

listening skills

Reading and

writing skills

Order of ability Possible evidence

Katya: high Very able, listens carefully, creative, ready to answer, interested in everything.

Eva: middle Interested and co-operative but sometimes a bit shy, not so good at speaking.

Gabor: low absent-minded, cannot concentrate, always wants to play.

Action plan. Procedure:

•Choose a pupil who is slow or underachieving.•Focus on this pupil for three or four weeks.•Ask him/her more questions than usual.•Be prepared to wait the answers. Don't give up.•Give plenty of encouraging smiles and show interest in what he/she says. •Set tasks in which he/she can be successful. •Get him/her to help you in classes.•Keep a diary and write down the pupils reactions.•See if it makes a difference to his/her attitude and behaviour.

Strategies for responding to different needs

Different teaching strategies:

1. Differentiating activities2. Peer tutoring3. Group teaching

Differentiating

Teachers can consider… … Core work for pupils … Reinforcement work for more intensive practice … Extension work for helping to move pupils further on and to challenge them.

Peer tutoring: “buddies”Children work together with a partner or buddy

Buddies are friends.They are there to help you.

They support you, not dominate.They help you when you get

stuck.They help you to do things for yourself- they do not tell you

the answers.

Peer tutoring:

Strategy used in activities when the teacher wants slower or weaker pupils to get more help and support.

Advantages Disadvantages

It involves pupils in helping each other.

Some pairs may not work well together.It may be difficult to pair pupils appropriately.

Both weaker and stronger pupils gain from the system, i.e. the weaker pupil learns how to do the task and the stronger pupil learns to think more strategically in order to help his/ her buddy.

Stronger pupils may be less challenged.Stronger pupils may not necessarily be very good at helping their peers to learn how to do activities. They may want to give the answers.

Pupils become more involved in the learning problem.

Some pupils may try to dominate their buddies.

Pupils are learning to be more independent.

It takes time to train pupils how to work effectively as buddies. It may be possible to use this system only for straightforward or routine types of activity.

It is a flexible system which can be used according to need. It allows different pupils the opportunity to be “buddies” for areas where they have particular strengths.

Without careful handling by the teacher, this procedure may reinforce a lower status for the weaker students in the class. Weaker pupils will also need opportunities to act as “experts”.

Group teaching strategies:

The teacher will need: … to be very well organized and plan the lesson carefully. … to develop a proper system for monitoring and checking work done by pupils on their own. … to train pupils to be able to work independently for a large part of the lesson.

Pupils will need:

… to learn how to work more independently and to feel confident doing this … to collaborate with each other and help each other … to learn to follow instructions … to learn to work quietly so as not to disturb others

Advantages Disadvantages

It helps pupils to become more independent as learners

It takes time to train pupils to be independent.

It enables teachers to spend focused tie daily with different groups of learners

Pupils who are not interested or lacking in confidence may disrupt other groups.

It ensures that teachers of large classes, in particular, give regular attention to different ability groups.

It may be very difficult to implement with young learners who cannot read and write, as many of the independent tasks rely on reading and writing skills.

It encourages pupils to collaborate more and help each other.

It means a lot careful planning and preparation by the teacher.

It allows pupils to work at their own pace and be successful at what they do.

There may be a tendency for pupils to be labelled permanently according to the group they belong to. It may be difficult for them to progress to another ability group.

Action plan. Procedure:

•Choose one of the three strategies described before.•Try it out with a group of pupils over a period of two or three weeks or longer.•Note down aspects which worked well and aspects that did not work well.•Decide what you would do differently next time in order to make it more effective.•Try it out together with another teacher so you can share experiences.

Avendaño, Ivana Blanco, Fatima Fernandez, Fiorella Gonzalez, Mercedes Onischuk, Giselle Oses, Gisela