Tamara's and Leigh's Teaching Toolkit
Ability
How to Make the Most of a MIxed Ability Classroom - Using the Wrong Information
Kampo, K. (2014). How to make the most of a mixed ability classroom-using the wrong information. Oxford University Press ELT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DtlO8bdXgY
This video talks about how to teach a class with mixed abilities. The woman in the video gives an example on how to include students of various abilities in a classroom activity that is focused explicitly on information. But the students are also practicing grammar because as they are correcting the sentences, they are implicitly making sure that the sentence makes grammatical sense. The woman uses an example that has been used and succeeded. The woman reads a piece of text slowly and purposely changes random words. Some students point out her mistake and correct her. She continues this process with her students until she feels they are ready to try on their own. She then tells them to change words in the text. Some of the students who really grasp the concept would change a lot of words of make subtle changes while other students would change less words or just one word. She explains that this method allows all the students be able to participate, despite the levels of ability. This resource is a tool that teachers can use in their classroom to not only teach students who have all different ability levels but also to make students comfortable to learn and participate. The aspect about this video i would change is her emphasis on the lesson not being about grammar because as the students are correcting the sentence they should be also checking to make sure that the sentences are making sense. The fact that the teacher herself is making the mistakes herself in the beginning is a way that she is implying that it is acceptable to make mistakes and it is also acceptable for her students to correct her. This is a great activity to use on elementary level students when conducting a language arts class.
Classroom Management: Teaching Mixed Ability Classes
Brown, T. Classroom management: teaching mixed ability classes
This response to a teacher’s question on classroom management was answered with multiple ways to include students with different ability levels in English class. The suggestions incorporate all the students and mainly focuses on the students working together and bringing out the students strengths with the various ability levels of the individual students.This resource puts an emphasis on group work in the classroom. By having groups of students who have a variety of abilities helps the students collectively as well as individually. The students who are at a higher ability are able to help other students but it is also enriching their learning of task at hand and of the concepts they are learning. And the students who are not at that level are engaging in the experience of having their peers explain the concepts and help them understand better.
Inclusive Teaching Strategies
(2012). Inclusive teaching strategies. Cornell University: Center for Teaching Excellence.
This website page consists of numerous suggestions of strategies that teachers can use in an inclusive classroom. This a good resource for teachers because not only does it provide suggesttions for teaching an abillity diverse classroom but also for students who come from different backgrounds and have different learning styles. One of the suggestions talk about asking for feedback from the students on how comfortable they feel in the classroom. This is a very valuable suggestion because it is asking the students about how the feel in the classroom that is diverse as well as asking the students on ways to improve the classroom climate to ensure that they are comfortable within the educational space.
Inclusive Classrooms – Research-based Strategies
Hammel, A. M. (2008). Inclusive classroom - research-based strategies. Music and Students With Special Needs.
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/special/intro/inclusion.htm.
This article provides teachers with strategies that have been successful in inclusive classrooms. Nothing to be changed to the strategies. Examples of some of the strategies includes letting the set educational goals and accomplish them which minimizes learned helplessness and builds a self-directed environment for the students who have multiple abilities in the classroom.