Teaching inManaging Multilevel Classrooms

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Teaching in/Managing Multi-level Classrooms
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What are Multi-level Classrooms?

• Most teachers teach multi-level classes in some
  form, whether it be due to class size or other
  factors. The actual classroom may be a
  combination of two or more different types.
• Combined classes of different year levels
• Classes of mixed proficiency levels
• Native-speakers or learners with an extensive
  background in the target language along with
  learners of an immersion program
• Classes of mixed motivation levels

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Reasons for Establishing Multi-level classrooms

• Pedagogical philosophies in favor of multi-level
  classrooms i.e. a continuum of learning across
  a two year span
• Low student populations
• Availability of space/facultyi.e. no
  space/faculty available for special programs
• Regardless of pedagogical or demographic reasons,
  multi-level classrooms can provide quality
  learning.

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Advantages of Multi-level Classrooms

• Students are able to learn at their own pace
  (within reason)
• Students learn to work well in groups
• Students become independent learners, modeling
  future occupational work environments
• Students become partners in learning
• Students become partners in learning

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Disadvantages of Multi-level Classrooms

• Finding appropriate resources and teaching
  materials
• Organizing appropriate groupings within the
  class, especially when personalities clash
• Building and effective self-access center in
  class
• Determining the individual needs of each student
• Ensuring that all students remain challenged and
  interested

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Advantages and Challenges of Multi-level
Classrooms for the teacher The PROs

• A more rewarding teaching experience as you
  really get to practice your craft
• Learn more about the way a student learns whether
  that is auditory, visual, or kinesthetic learning

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Advantages and Challenges of Multi-level
Classrooms for the teacher The CONs

• More preparation time
• Not knowing where to begin as the year starts
• More demanding in-class activity for the teacher

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Types of Multi-level classrooms

• Multiple Grade Levels
• Multiple curricula
• As much as a 3 year difference in age
• Potential for a very wide stretch of material
  needed to be offered for remedial/accelerated
  students in both grades

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Types of Multi-level classrooms

• Multiple Proficiencies in Class
• Even in classes as small as 7 or 8 students, it
  would be highly unusual to have a class that is
  completely homogenous in ability
• Be prepared for differences and be proactive
  about finding solutions that best fit a childs
  educational needs

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Multiple Proficiencies Multi-level classrooms

• Identifying late developers, grade-level
  developers, accelerated developers, and gifted
  developers.
• In lieu of full-time remedial or TAG/GATE
  programs, each class has to be a self-contained
  learning environment accommodating all learners.

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The Standard Normal Distribution Curve (Bell
Curve)
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Standard Normal Distribution Curve Sample IQ
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Reading Percentiles

• A percentile number denotes what of the test
  population scored lower than that particular
  student on a particular test.
• For example, a student who scores in the 90th
  percentile on a math test scored higher than 90
  of the students who took that same test and
  scored lower than 10 of the population who took
  the same test. The percentile tells you NOTHING
  about the raw score.

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Sample Percentile Scores
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Multiple Proficiencies Multi-level classrooms

• Techniques for identifying both late developing
  and gifted students
• There are multiple age-appropriate tools, usually
  segmented into Pre-K (for 4 year olds), K-2nd,
  3rd-8th, 9th and up (almost exclusively for
  non-native language speakers

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Multiple Proficiencies Multi-level classrooms
techniques for identifying gifted students

• It is easier to identify an older gifted student
  since there are records of academic achievements
  although they may not tell the entire story
• There are both intellectual and emotional clues
  that may, but not definitely confirm, a gifted
  student.
• Intellectual signs has a high verbal ability
  relative to age, reads earlier than average,
  often remembers large volumes of information or
  specific details, has a longer attention span at
  an earlier age, learns concepts and tasks
  quickly, ask plenty of what if questions, makes
  unusual connections at an early age, enjoys
  intellectual activities/games, can problem solve.
  

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Multiple Proficiencies Multi-level classrooms
techniques for identifying gifted students

• Emotional qualities responds well to the
  company of older people, is compassionate at an
  early age and displays many fears, has an unusual
  sensitivity to the feelings and expectations of
  others, is a perfectionist, expects early success
  and gets frustrated by failure, can spot
  inconsistencies, has a highly developed sense of
  humor at a young age.

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Multiple Proficiencies Multi-level classrooms
techniques for identifying gifted students

• There are many different definitions of gifted
  students, but most programs and educational
  organizations consider students who score 3
  standard deviations away from the mean on
  cognitive, aptitude or skills tests to be gifted.
  
• Most TAG or GATE programs accept students who
  score in the 90th tiles on reading and math
  tests.
• We currently have 16 different students who would
  qualify for one or more TAG or GATE program

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Multiple Proficiencies Multi-level classrooms
techniques for identifying gifted students

• Remember, there are multiple intelligences
  visual/spatial, verbal/linguistic,
  logical/mathematical, interpersonal, and
  intrapersonal. Its difficult to create a
  program for all of these types of intelligences.
  
• Being identified as gifted does NOT necessarily
  produce results. The Potential is identified, not
  the actual production.
• Harvard School of Education experiment you,
  you, you, you, and you.

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Multiple Proficiencies Multi-level classrooms
techniques for identifying late developing
students (especially younger students)

• Intellectual signs has a low verbal ability
  relative to age and finds it hard to articulate
  thoughts, reads later than average, finds it
  difficult to recall facts and information, has a
  shorter attention span at an earlier age, learns
  concepts and tasks arduously and through many
  repetitions if at all, finds it difficult to make
  connections between concepts, learns the alphabet
  later than average, finds it difficult to
  correctly write the alphabet in both cases after
  much repetition and time, finds it difficult to
  order numbers, finds it difficult to conceptual
  size and amount.

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Multiple Proficiencies Multi-level classrooms
techniques for identifying gifted and late
developing young students

• Tools for identifying ability in younger students
  i.e. grades K-2
• 10 recommend tests as per Washington, Oregon,
  Texas, and other departments of education
• The Auditory Analysis test, Decoding Skills
  tests, Degree of Reading Power test, the
  Observation Survey, Qualitative Reading
  Inventory, the Roswell-Chall diagnostic reading
  test, Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT), the Test
  of Phonological Awareness, The Texas (or
  California) Primary Reading Inventory, The
  Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation

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Multiple Proficiencies Multi-level classrooms
techniques for identifying gifted and late
developing older students

• Identifying raw ability in older students i.e.
  grades 3 and up is much the same as it is with
  younger students, but it is easier to measure
  actual performance due to a body of work the
  student has produced i.e. writing samples, tests,
  standardized tests, etc.

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Sample Reading Test Evaluation with Corresponding
RIT scores
Likely to meet standards Likely to exceed
standards
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RIT interpretation
http//www.nwea.org/support/details.aspx?content5
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Multi-level Classrooms with a mix of native and
non-native English speakers

• Although there are a many differences, our
  classes have taken the approach that this is a
  variable of the multi-proficiency multi-level
  classroom.
• Since there is no official ESL program at the
  school, currently non-native speakers go through
  a de facto immersion program

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Strategies for the multi-level classroom

• The very first thing that a teacher of a
  multi-level classroom should do is assess the
  students ability as soon as possible.
• For older students, past records,
  achievement/standardized test scores, writing
  samples should be checked to see where the
  student excels, where they need help.
• The teacher should ask the questions Is the
  student late in developing? Is the student
  accelerated? Is the student truly gifted?
• For younger students who have no records, teacher
  observations should be cross-referenced with age
  appropriate milestones. If the teacher observes
  unusually slow development or unusually high
  ability, one or more of the available tests
  should be administered to get a better idea of
  what will best stimulate the childs learning

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Strategies for the multi-level classroom
selection of texts and materials

• Selecting a core text is of vital importance.
  Most texts offer challenge problems/activities/pas
  sages for the accelerated learner and remedial
  support for the late developing learner,
• Multiple texts can and should be used when
  feasible. For a language class, multiple level
  books can be used to create reading groups to let
  students learn at their own pace.
• Math classes can use application texts along
  with concept texts. Concept texts challenge
  the student to think logically and not just
  copy/follow the examples shown.

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Strategies for the multi-level classroom
self-access materials

• Make sure everything is well labeled and
  organized.
• The materials should reflect the needs and
  interests of the students in your class.
  Self-Access materials can be intimidating for
  students if you just have a shelf full of
  textbooks.
• It is best to photocopy many copies of worksheets
  and exercises.
• You can provide a lot of these materials via the
  myteacher webpages. ?
• Have puzzles, intellectual games available for
  the student who routinely finishes early and
  needs stimulation. Get to know this students
  habits and see what works well in intellectually
  stimulating him/her.
• Crosswords, suduku, other puzzles

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Strategies for the multi-level classroom groups
and pairings

• Successful pairings and groupings are key to a
  successful multi-level classroom
• Sometimes the most obvious pairings or groupings
  i.e. by ability, reading level, etc. dont work
  due to clashing personalities or other issues
• Cross-ability pairings along with like-ability
  pairings should be rotated throughout the year to
  keep things fresh.
• Some students might also spend time by themselves
  depending upon their ability with a special
  assignment. It is up to the teacher to
  continually find projects to keep this type of
  student stimulated. The internet has hundreds of
  ideas. ?

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Strategies for the multi-level classroom groups
and pairings

• Start with a warm-up that involves the whole
  group.
• Break part of the class off into one type of
  grouping (i.e. pairs) and work with part of the
  class on a lesson, grammar point, or activity.
• Break off the class into another type of grouping
  (i.e. small groups) and have the other students
  use self-access materials.
• Bring the class back together for a whole group
  activity/game.

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Strategies for the multi-level classroom other
ideas

• Isolate students within the class who are
  interested in peer tutoring.
• This doesn't always have to be the student with
  the highest level of English/Math/Etc. Your
  students who fall somewhere in the middle may in
  fact be the most valuable to you, as they strive
  to attain a level of competency comparable to the
  most advanced students. Remind your students that
  the best way to practice and improve a new
  language/skill/concept is to teach it to someone
  else.
• Consider enlisting a volunteer
• Teaching a multi-level classroom will be
  exhausting for even the most energtic of teachers
  so getting a volunteer to help with some of the
  non-pedagogical task i.e. copying, collating,
  organizing, etc. may be helpful.

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Strategies for the Multi-level Classroom know
your limits

• It may be that you have tried everything in your
  power to help a student learn and they simply
  have not for one reason or another.
• If this is the case, simply continuing on with
  failed strategies (given that a reasonable amount
  of time and effort has been put in place) is not
  beneficial for anyone

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Conclusion

• Multi-level teaching is difficult and time
  consuming
• However, it leads to a rich curriculum for
  students
• In lieu of an official ESL, TAG, GATE, or
  remedial program, multi-level teaching is the
  ONLY way to ensure that each student gets an
  education that is intellectually stimulating.

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Conclusion

• Multi-level teaching is difficult and time
  consuming
• However, it leads to a rich curriculum for
  students
• In lieu of an official ESL, TAG, GATE, or
  remedial program, multi-level teaching is the
  ONLY way to ensure that each student gets an
  education that is intellectually stimulating.

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Conclusion

• The teacher if he is indeed wise does not teach
  you to enter the house of wisdom but leads you to
  the threshold of your own mind. - Kahlil Gilbran
• I have lived some thirty years on this planet,
  and I have yet to hear the first syllable of
  valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors.
  - Henry David Thoreau
• The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher
  explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The
  great teacher inspires - William Arthur Ward
• To know yet to think that one does not know is
  best Not to know yet to think that one knows
  will lead to difficulty. - Lao-Tzu