Teaching mixed ability classes

STARTALK, 2013NHLRC, UCLA

Review: The United States of Mexico

• Centers• Agendas• Templates• Visual checks for understanding• Exit cards

Mixed classes

• For more specific information see posted guide

The big idea• Same principles:

think in terms of general needs and strengths;attend to individual needs;

• In addition…think of seating arrangements at fancy dinner

parties

Paired interactions between HL and L2 (Bowles, 2011, 2012)

• HL and L2 learners were matched for proficiency and worked together on a task.

• In the first study learners benefited more from the activity than HL learners.

• In the second study, both types of learners benefited equally from the activity.

What made the difference?

• Material + taskHL learners are better at tasks that tap into

intuitive use of language, L2 learners, on the other hand, do better at tasks that require meta-linguistic knowledge;

HL learners are more familiar with home vocabulary; L2 learners, on the other hand, are more familiar with academic vocabulary

Take home lesson about HL + L2 pairings

• Take advantage of complimentary strengths of HL and L2 learners

• Match HL-L2 learners for proficiency• Mix tasks that require intuitive knowledge

(hard for L2Ls), and tasks that require meta-linguistic knowledge (hard for HLLs;

• Hold both students accountable for contributing to the task (assign the harder task to each type of learner)

• Handout p. 15

Cloze activity: HL-L2 learner groupingsThat's the way he _____ (to do) it. And the story goes she never _______ (to forgive) him. She __________ (to look) out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she _________ (to make) the best with what she__________ (to get) or was she sorry because she couldn't be all the things she _______ (to want) to be.

Say it Write it

Cloze activity: HL-L2 learner groupingsDice la historia que ella jamás lo _________(perdonar). Toda su vida _______ (mirar) por la ventana hacia afuera, del mismo modo en que muchas mujeres apoyan su tristeza en su codo. Yo me pregunto si ella ________ (hacer) lo mejor que ________ (poder) con lo que le ________ (tocar), o si __________ (estar) arrepentida porque no _________ (ser) todas las cosas que __________ (querer) ser. Esperanza. _________ (heredar) su nombre, pero no quiero heredar su lugar junto a la ventana.

Say it Write it

“Mi nombre” in mixed classes(HL + L2 learners)

• Cloze activity• Real time dictation• Long distance dictation

For outliers

• The contract: A negotiated agreement

What about differentiating content?

Review

• Content • Process (how you gain mastery of the material)• Product (how you demonstrate mastery of the

material)• PacingAccording to students’• Readiness, strengths/weaknesses• Interests, affective needs, goals• Learning profile

To differentiate content(Wiggings and McTighe, 2001)

Worth being familiar with

Enduringunderstanding

Enduring understanding

• The large ideas or principles in an instructional unit that should be remembered after the details have been forgotten;

• Information that is at the heart of the discipline and offers potential for engaging students;

• Can transfer to other fields as well as adult life;• “Unpack” areas of the curriculum where students

may struggle to gain understanding or demonstrate misunderstandings and misconceptions.

Sample questions that relate to Enduring Understandings for HLLS

• What are my needs vis-à-vis my HC and HL?• What do I need to do with my HL and how can

I achieve my goals?• How do I become an autonomous life-long

learner?• How have other individuals such as myself

resolved the challenges of straddling two worlds?

Enduring Understandings for mixed classes

• What are my needs vis-à-vis my HC and HL?

• What do I need to do with my HL and how can I achieve my goals?

• How do I become an autonomous life-long learner?

• How have other individuals such as myself resolved the challenges of straddling two worlds?

Enduring Understandings: The big idea

The content can vary between HLLs and L2s. You can also vary the process (how you gain mastery of the material), pacing and product.

Worth knowing

Important to know and do(Wiggings and McTighe, 2001)

Worth being familiar with

Enduringunderstanding

Important to know and do

• Concepts, facts, and skills without which learning would be incomplete;

• Specific prerequisite knowledge (facts, concepts, and principles) and skills (processes, strategies, and methods) needed for student success;

Important to know and do

• Concepts, facts, and skills without which learning would be incomplete;

• Specific prerequisite knowledge (facts, concepts, and principles) and skills (processes, strategies, and methods) needed for student success;

• Knowledge and skills needed to succeed at the next level of instruction;

Examples of important skills

• Content knowledge (culture and grammar);• Vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies;• Principles of orthography;• Principles of word formation;• Conjugation of verb forms;• Reading strategies;• Writing strategies;

Important to know and do

Fixed content

Differentiate process and pace of acquisition.

Worth knowing

Worth knowing

• Information that students should be exposed to during the course of instruction, though they may not need to retain or demonstrate mastery of.

• With available time this information is worth just being familiar with or possibly can be eliminated when we are confronted with time constraints.

Worth knowing

Differentiate content, process and product;

Give students a choice about what they want to learn – e.g. professional vocabulary, country-specific information, etc.

Worth knowing

QUESTIONS?

SUMMARY