TOO FAST – TOO SLOW(MIXED ABILITIES)

RATIONALEEveryone faces this problemBelieve that everyone is not the same – cater to different learning needs

The problem facedHow do we cater to the students on

extreme ends: too fast vs too slow

SCHOOL BACKGROUNDSK SRI DAMAI, PJ

POPULATION: 253 Students 20 Teachers

CLASS : Kindergarten– Year 6 even have class for the special needs students

1 class for every level

Average students: 28 – 38 students

Include inclusive students (Autistic students) Every class have at least 2 – 3 students (a teacher aid is

provided to them)

MIXED ABILITIES?Case study: Year 2ANumber of students: 35 + 3 (autism students)23 boys and 15 girls

Language level10 (very good)

They can do and finish their work without having much difficulty – early finishers

14 (average) Can still do it with a little bit of help

14 (very weak) Need extra help in understanding the task given

– need more time to complete task

WHY IS IT A PROBLEMCouldn’t focus on all of them at one go

If we focus on one group (the weak ones), others would go haywire

If we try to cater to either one, the class would still go haywire

RESULT: CHAOTIC

E.g. spelling

WHAT THE SCHOOL DOESRemedial class for Bahasa Melayu and mathematicsFocus on Year 2 & 3For slow learners who are slow in reading and countingEnglish, the English teachers have extra class with them (Yr 6)

HOW WE SOLVE ITDifferentiation different task sheets for different level

Early finishers enrichment activities e.g. word puzzle, find-the-word etc

During practice stage call the slow learner to teacher’s table for extra help

Cooperative learning the good ones help the weak ones

EFFECTIVENESSDifferentiation Yes (pitched to right level)

Early finishers Yes but they tend to finish their work even faster to do the extra task

During practice stage Yes to a certain extent

(must have good classroom control)

Cooperative learning Yes to a certain extent (too many weak students to be handled

noisy)

CONCLUSIONAs teachers we should be aware of our students’ background and abilities

Thus, we need to cater to their needs by pitching the lesson to the right level

As teachers we should be willing to do extra work; prepare different task sheets

We should always have extra enrichment activities ready in case of early finishers

THANK YOU