Catering for Learner Diversity in the Primary English Classroom

Language Learning Support SectionEducation Bureau

10th March 2015

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Programme rundownPart I Introduction

- What is learner diversity (LD)?- Why do we need to cater for LD?

Part II Strategies on how to cater for LD: - Varying material design - Varying teaching process

Part III Catering for learner diversity in reading and writing lessons in everyday teaching

Part IV Conclusion2

Part IIntroduction

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What is learner diversity (LD)? Why do we need to cater for LD?

Age Gender

Personality

Motivation

Life experience Socio-cultural background

Interests

Learning styles

Intelligence

Learning strategies

Ability?

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What causes differences in learning?

http://www.eenet.org.uk/resources/docs/square_holes.php

1. Do teachers use the same strategy to teach all students and students have to adapt to the way teachers teach or fail?

2. Do teachers use a wider variety of teaching strategies to meet the needs of different

students?5

Part II: Strategies on how to cater for LD

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HOW can we cater for learner diversity?

What do schools do in order to cater for learner diversity?

Student

School Organisation Level

School Curriculum Level

Class / group Level

Guidance and exemplars provided by C&A Guides, EMB 334 web

Funding and support provided (e.g. staffing, grants, professional development)

Facilities, Physical conditions for appropriate learning environment

Systemic Level

Wide choice of subjects, ApL courses & OLE Forming a task force to co-ordinate and lead

Devising a Whole-school Policy

Ethos building to value diversity and individual differences, as well as uniformity

Human Resource Deployment:

Strengthen communication with parents on student progress Partnership with community to motivate student participation in a wide range of learning activities and competitions

e.g.

• Forming learning support team

• A dual class teacher system

• Assign a teacher to one level instead of a range of levels

• Arrange a teacher to the same class for 3 years

• Employ teacher assistants

• Pedagogy, Environment and Assessment to motivate learning

• Student learning profile to record progress (formative)

• Recognise non-academic achievements and participation in report cards

Identify the core and extended / elective parts of the curriculum for different students

KLA / Panels devise plans to cater student diversity

Make adaptation to assessment, e.g. separate core and extended content in the assessment papers, introducing challenging questions in exam

Learn from other teachers by sharing, peer observation, reflection on lessons and student feedback

strategies:e.g. Multi-level activities, co-construction, learning portfolios

Motivating strategies

Catering for learner diversity at different levels

Learning & Teaching / Assessment

Timetabling

Professional Development Opportunities

Strategic plan (e.g. 3 yr plan)

Flexible groupingsExtended timetable for

remedial

Developing interdependent, collaborative learning community; celebrating diversity

Enhancement programmes for more able

Modification, tailoring or differentiation within the subject, OLE

Curriculum Development Institute, EDB, 2007

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Have you … used different contents set on the same theme? set graded materials and different tasks? varied task requirements? varied the format of questions (e.g. MC, cloze, Qs requiring short

or long answers)? given students choices (e.g. additional practice, level of challenge,

modes of expression)? asked questions of various challenge levels? presented information in a variety of media (e.g. diagrams,

colour-coding)? arranged multi-sensory activities? provided learning scaffolds for your students? used flexible grouping techniques? 8

What effective strategies have you or your colleagues adopted to cater for learner diversity?

Learner differences

Set realistic expectations

Vary teaching materials

Vary teaching process

Stretch the potentials of all students

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Addressing LD at the classroom level

Vary teaching process

Vary teaching materials

• Readiness• Interest

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The Equalizer(Carol Ann Tomlinson “How to Differentiate Instruction for Mixed Ability Classrooms”)

Foundational Transformational

More structured More open

Simple Complex

Fewer facets More facets

Smaller leaps Greater leaps

Concrete Abstract

Slower Quicker

Less independent More independent11

Ss read a story taken from The New Pandora’s Box – The

Accidental Time-Travellers • Fewer words

• Simpler sentence structures

• Familiar vocabulary

• Fewer ideas and events

• Without many details

A • More words

• Complex sentence structures

• Unfamiliar vocabulary

• Multiple ideas and events

• With more details

B

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Set 1

Simple Complex

A

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More able

B

Less able

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Less able More able

No. of words • Fewer • 32 words

• More • 119 words

Sentence structures

• Simpler• ‘He whispered to Jolly…’

• More complex• ‘One morning before the

assembly, he whispered to Jolly in the classroom, …’

Vocabulary • Whispered• Complained

+ Monsters from ancient Greece+ Special personalities+ Assembly+ Upset

Ideas and events

• Fewer• Without background

information• One monster: Laziness

• Multiple• Two paragraphs giving the

background• Two monsters: Laziness &

NaughtinessDetails • Without many

• Laziness never did his homework by himself.

• Jolly complained to Ms Cheung.

• With more• Laziness never did his homework

by himself. He slept and ate all day.

• Jolly went to the staff room and complained to Ms Cheung.

Reporting verbs to write dialogues, e.g. ‘whispered’, ‘shouted’, ‘complained’

Modal verbs, e.g. ‘can’, ‘should’

Reflexive pronouns: yourself

Content differentiated BUT inclusion of all the target language items

A C

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B

Write about the TV programmes that you like and don’t like in at least

80 words

• Definite pre-determined patterns, format or steps

• Fewer options

A• Making decisions about the

process and the product

• More options

B

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Set 2

A

Writing is divided into 4 paragraphs What to write in each paragraph is governed by the words/phrases given

Introduction: Who & What

Body: Programmes I like- How many (2)- What they are (names)- Why I like them (reasons)- What I think (opinion)

Body: Programmes I don’t like- How many (2)- What they are (names)- Why I don’t like them

(reasons)- What I think (opinion)

A conclusion to end the presentation

• Definite pre-determined patterns, format or steps • Fewer options

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B

Students can decide:

- How many paragraphs to write

- What to write

- How to write

Not necessarily in the order of:

- name of the programme

- reasons

- what they think

No prompts are provided

• Making decisions about the process and the product

• More options

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AB

Structured Open

C

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Allow students to work on a topic/concept more slowly

Include fewer concepts

A

Read the story about Lucy and

answer the questions

B Move students quickly through familiar or minimally challenging material

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Set 3

Version 1:7 MC Qs

A B

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Same: Time allowed for A and B: 10 mins No. of questions: 7

Different: A: 7 MC Qs B: 5 MCs = 2 long Qs

Deal with key information about a topic/an area of study, more specific events, or tangible ideas

Represent ideas in a way that students can learn through the senses

A B Focus more on the meanings, implications, principles or interrelationships of the information/ideas/events

Tell what the different characters in the story “Jack & the Beanstalk” did in the story

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Set 4

A

Pictures are provided to help Ss visualize what the lines say

B

5 pictures from the

story

Ss’ comprehension of the points based purely on understanding of the words

Focus more on the meanings of the information

Tangible ideas Ss can learn through

the sense of seeing

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Give more teacher assistance e.g. modelling

A B Give little teacher help

Describe the characters in a story (name, picture, one or two sentences to describe each character)

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Set 5

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A

Picture of Penny

B

Picture of Penny

Ask Ss to go straight into writing the sentences

Give more T assistance by providing practice in relevant sentence patterns

Material or Worksheet Design

+

+

+

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Writing Task:“Fight the Virus” Ss have to read an episode of a phone-in radio

programme: a worried mom rang to ask Dr Wong what she should do to help her son stay strongYou have to tell your son to exercise regularly. Moreover, he should eat more fruit and vegetables so that he can get more vitamins and minerals. Then he’ll get stronger.

Ss have to invent a machine to help fight the virus Exercise Eating choice

Ss study the topic they are interested in

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Example 1

Students’ Inventions

Exercise

Machine

on rock

climbing

Healthy Food Machine:1. The machine can turn snacks into healthy food. 2. If you pour water in it, it will turn (it) to energy and (start the machine.)

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Group writing: Choose the group’s favourite food for the school picnic and introduce it

Think of: what you want to eat at the

school picnic how much the food costs why you want to buy the

food

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Example 2

Choose the group’s favourite food for the school picnic and introduce it

Then finish the shopping list Write notes about your choice Present your ideas to your

classmates

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Task: Making a pictionary on “Food”

P1 students worked in groups and members of each group chose food they like to eat.

Members contributed to areas they are good at (drawing, sentence writing)

choice

interest

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Example 3a

Task: Making a class dictionary

Ss can select the words they want to learn more about

• Words/phrases• Parts of speech• Meanings• Sentences from:

Textbook/ Dictionary32

Example 3b