Are they the same pp
- 1. Are they the same? Children come in all types
- 2. “Some teachers say that they find teaching classes of mixed ability one of their main problems. But maybe the problem is in thinking of mixed ability classes as a problem rather than as something natural in a group of individuals "
- 3. -Teachers´ experience of differences -Teachers´ expectations of pupils -Strategies for responding to different needs
- 4. Teachers´ experience of differences How different are children? They 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 of the world
- 5. How to respond to differences? Some suggestions and strategies Use group teaching Give differentiated tasks to suit particular needs Give attention to different groups at different times Vary teaching methods to cater for a range of different abilities and styles of learning
- 6. Challenges and solutions Time consuming satisfaction of seeing children make progress at their level. Design a material bank with activities for different levels Allocation of time/attention given to different groups. make pupils more independent so that they can work on their own. This will free teachers to spend time with individuals who need extra help. Difficulty in aiming the lesson at the right level. introduce lessons demonstrating very clear what is required to do. Pupil’s lack of interest or low ability in certain skills and certain types of activity. The first step is find out why a pupil is not interested-
- 7. Teacher’s expectations of pupils. What is the message of this cartoon? children are very quick to know how they have been labelled or assessed by teachers
- 8. How do your expectations of pupils affect them? Views and prejudices on the part of the teachers about what children should be like as students. Teachers' views and expectations about how individual children will perform in class based on their backgrounds or previous experience. Teachers respond to children according to their prejudices about them. If they think a child is clever, they will ask more challenging questions. If they think a child is weak, we will tend to give him/her more support in answering. Children begin to behave as we expect them to, and so they end up becoming successful or failing according to teachers' expectations.
- 9. What do labels tell us? Labels: High ability average low ability weak But what are we basing our labels on? Before making judgements or underestimating pupils’ abilities, think about this. Are we providing pupils with a huge and diverse range of activities, so that they have the chance of performing better?
- 10. How can you avoid labelling children? Teachers need to find out pupil’s views of themselves. This can help them to realize what worries or fears they may have which will hamper their progress. Teachers are responsible for creating diverse activities, topics and situations in which Children have the chance to show their skills and abilities.
- 11. High expectations. If we approach pupils with an open mind and expect the best from them, this will help raise their expectations of themselves which may predispose them to learn. It may also benefit pupils' attitude and behaviour at the time of learning. Consequently, children may perform better.
- 12. Strategies for responding to different needs Differentiating activities 1 Peer tutoring 2 Group teaching 3
- 13. Differentiating activities 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. Aim: to match work and activities according to pupil’s needs, interests and abilities and depending on the support children need.
- 14. Peer tutoring: Children work together with a partner or buddy. Slower or weaker pupils can be paired with a stronger partner for some activities, in which we feel they may need extra support. Rules: . 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.
- 16. Group teaching strategies Teacher: - 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: - To learn how to work more independently and to feel confident doing this - To collaborate and help each other - To learn to follow instructions