As an experience Multigrade teacher, I would inform the new teacher how to arrange the classroom in order to create a classroom that is conducive to all learners. The teacher will be guided to organize the classroom so that it allows free movement and can be used for different activities by individual students, individual grades, small groups, and the whole group. I would help the teacher to understand that the traditional seating arrangement with a teacher facing all students in rows with a chalkboard on the wall does not work in a Multigrade classroom where several activities are happening at the same time. Therefore, the teacher will be inform to think about how her classroom can be divided into different areas while bearing in mind the key word in this process is “flexibility” – the ability to move students and desks around in the classroom to create the kind of learning spaces she desire. The Teacher will be informed on the different areas that should present in the mutigrade class to accommodate several simultaneous activities such as: 1. The language arts centre- which will allow student to developed language skills, which are fundamental to all learning. This centre would contain books, magazines, stories and compositions written by learners.
2. A time-out area- teacher has to have some way of disciplining the learners. The timeout area is meant mainly for discipline, as it separates the learner from other members of the class.
3. Class shop- The three important reasons for the class shop are that it will develop learners’ social skills, develop learners’ mathematical skills and develop learners’ language skills.
Leadership Styles
The teacher will be informed that, as a multigrade teacher, she will be the leader i...
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...each child linked to his or her age, maturity, interests, capacities, and capabilities. The teacher will be given suggestions to divided her students into mixed-ability groups for some activities, or she can group students by age or grade for skill subjects (such as reading and writing, arithmetic, and science). This will encourage students of different backgrounds to include each other in their work. However she must note that for grouping to be effective, materials and teaching must be varied and made challenging to accommodate the learning needs of students with different levels of ability. She will also be informed to develop a variety of worksheets to be used with diverse groups in multigrade classroom situations; these could include teacher-guided activity sheets, group learning worksheets, individual practice worksheets, and peer directed instruction sheets.
Cloran (n.d.) suggest teachers need to have a broad understanding of giftedness and learning disabilities, a variety of identification measures and the ability to modify the curriculum and implement differentiated teaching strategies to meet the unique needs of all students. A graduate teacher recognises that students learn in their own way and should understand and be able to identify a number of teaching strategies to differentiate and meet the learning needs of all students. They may create groups based on previous assessment results and set clear or modified instructions for each group based on ability or learning styles. To address the specific learning needs of all student abilities, multi-sensory strategies using charts, diagrams, outside lessons and videos, as well as posters around the room or information on the desk could be used. Tomlinson (1999) suggests that differentiated instruction aims to build on student’s strengths and maximize their learning by adjusting instructional tasks to suit their individual needs. Ensuring teaching and instructions are clear, revising and prompting students during lessons and providing templates and assisting student in breaking down tasks into achievable, systematic chunks are some additional examples. Lucas, (2008) suggests highlighting key vocabulary within the text to focus students on the central concepts within the text. Quick finishing students should be provided with the opportunity to extend themselves with extension tasks that have a specific purpose and
The importance of having a curriculum that accommodates diverse learners, it allows the child to learn at their own level or ability. A child with emotional and intellectual challenges may not have the verbal or comprehension skills or the ability to control their body as their peers. With this in mind, classes with diverse learners can excel with an adjusted curriculum. An activity for example, using large Legos to teach the entire class their colors or numbers can help the intellectual challenge by asking to build a building by using on certain colors or amounts. By doing this activity the students can have fun and learn at the same time with using very little words. Also in a group activity the emoti...
Creating such an environment entails arranging a practical physical layout that allows me to move about the classroom and interact with students, as well respond quickly and unobtrusively to student behavior that interrupts a classroom. A practical arrangement ensures that students move comfortably to the areas in the classroom where they can obtain materials and work respecting personal space. (Rule 3, 4) Also, arrangement should support the type of academic
Hopkins, G. (2003). Is ability grouping the way to go---or should it go away? Retrieved April 10, 2004, from http://www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin009.shtml
The issue of ability grouping has caused controversy in the education community. Some education scholars say that ability grouping. A study by Dallas Independent School District found that ability grouping not only helped the top groups of students, but the entire spectrum of students learned more than mixed-ability classrooms (Garelick 2). This is not a practice that benefits only the white, rich, or intelligent, but a practice that helps the entire student body. Joann DiGennaro reminded us that mixed ability groups hurt almost everyone involved because the top students are bored and unchallenged and the bottom students are left behind (DiGennaro 2). Ability grouping insures that every student in every school is challenged yet prepared, and prevents anyone from being left behind or ahead. It is the duty of the education to meet the needs of every student, and ability grouping is a medium to insure that the goal is met.
...ualized plan due to time constraints, it is reasonable to treat each student as they do have an individualized education. Teachers should know their students well enough to individualize the classroom activities so all students have strengths in each lesson. Through collaborative efforts, teachers can gain knowledge about the students and new ways to teach according to different learning styles. Working together, each student can receive an individualized education where their full potential is used.
Classrooms of today are full of students with varying learning abilities and styles, therefore teachers are put in a position to involve each of their students equally so that everyone has the greatest chance of success in their learning. There are many different ways teachers are able to set up the learning environment in order to maximise teaching and learning and cater for the diverse needs of their students. I will attempt to discuss in detail some of these strategies and unpack the potential advantages and difficulties that follow.
When a school or teacher groups students “based on their ability or achievement,” the school is practicing between-class ability grouping (Santrock 125). In many cases, between-class ability grouping is used in a high school setting as a way to group students with similar goals and skills. On the surface, between-class ability grouping appears that it benefits all students because it allows teachers to better teach students in a more focused manner. However, researchers have determined that this form of grouping harms those that are in a lower ability group (125). Recently, when I was helping out at a lower achieving high school this form of grouping was clearly evident. Students were clearly divided into classrooms based on their abilities. Each classroom was going over the same material but each classroom teacher was teaching the material differently to meet the needs of that group of students. The history classroom that was deemed an advanced placement class worked a lot smoother and the students had a good understanding of the subject as well as appropriate behavior. However, the “average” history
In today’s educational environment, all students expect to receive the same level of instruction from schools and all students must meet the same set of standards. Expectations for students with learning disabilities are the same as students without any learning difficulties. It is now unacceptable for schools or teachers to expect less from one segment of students because they have physical disabilities, learning disabilities, discipline problems, or come from poor backgrounds. Standardize testing has resulted in making every student count as much as their peers and the most positive impact has been seen with the lowest ability students. Schools have developed new approaches to reach these previously underserved students while maintaining passing scores for the whole student body. To ensure academic success, teachers employ a multi-strategy approach to develop students of differing abilities and backgrounds. Every student is different in what skills and experiences they bring to the classroom; their personality, background, and interests are as varied as the ways in which teachers can choose to instruct them. Differentiated instruction has been an effective method in which teachers can engage students of various backgrounds and achieve whole-class success. When using differentiated instruction, teachers develop lesson strategies for each student or groups of students that provide different avenues of learning but all avenues arrive at the same learning goal.
time for student misbehavior. By meeting the basic needs of my students mutual respect will
Meeting the needs of academic diverse learners is the responsibility of their instructor. These diverse learners may include students who are one or more grade levels below classmates and the gifted student who is that much above. How can educators meet the needs of these students when their learning abilities are found at opposite ends of the instructional spectrum? The answer is planning successful lessons involving engaging activities, a variety of texts, technology implementation, and flexible grouping. The following is a lesson I implemented covering these key components.
Many of the arguments against ability grouping is the concern for the psychological and social well being of the children involved, especially children placed in the lower-achieving ability groups. At a young age, children become more and more aware of differentiating characteristics, especially those children who are labeled as the “slower” groups, while others are labeled as the “gifted” or “accelerated” groups. Being labeled can leave children feeling discouraged. For example, if teachers are focusing more of their time and energy on the “gifted students” or the “slower students” the groups will not be getting the guided instructions that is needed for learning the content. Burns and Mason (1998) suggest that ability grouping may inadvertently create unequal learning opportunities for students. Even at the elementary level, this practice may give some students opportunities for more effective teachers, class composition, and instruction; thus giving a better chance at higher achievement. Since, students are getting the appropriate amount of time with the instructor, it has the possibility of leading to feelings of segregation. This can be difficult for young students to manage, thus causing unnecessary arguments, or a negative self-esteem, for those who are considered the “non gifted” students. Another disadvantage of ability grouping is that some believe that students will be treated differently and the teacher’s expectations will decrease for those who are put in the lower groups. Teachers may find themselves being more positive, patient with and respectful to students in higher ability groups that they are able to teach with less effort. Even if teachers do so unconsciously, they may treat students in the different groups as superior of inferior based on their groupings, leading to the perception by the students
Research on the social and cognitive effects of grouping students in mixed-abilities versus same-abilities classrooms is gaining increasing interest among practitioners and researchers. In hopes of attaining higher scores, many schools have adopted homogeneous ability grouping. Unlike them, our school has adopted the policy of mixed ability classes where students of different academic abilities study together in the same class. Indeed, there is a lot of research in favor of heterogeneous ability grouping, but is this beneficial to us?
3. Adapting skills to each student group. The skills will not be the same for each group of children depending on their age and interests.
For teachers to be effective their classrooms should be open, encouraging and safe environments, where a strong student-teacher relationship can be achieved (Marsh, 2008). Students should be treated with respect in order to meet their need for belonging (Eggen&Kauchak, 2010). The layout of the room and resources need to be well considered allowing different areas for different activities (Bennett &Smilanich, P. 1994) keeping in mind space for easy movement and creative work. Seating arrangements, noise level and room temperature all need to be taken into account when planning the classroom to maximise productive lea...