Strategies for a mixed-ability classroom

Port Louis there is no recipe for differentiation. Teachers construct differentiated classrooms in varying ways depending on their own personalities, the nature of the subject and grade level they teach, and the learning profiles of their students. These teachers have at least two things in common, however: a conviction that students differ in their learning profiles, and a belief that classrooms in which students are active learners, decision makers, and problem solvers are more natural and effective than those in which students are passive recipients of information. Although there is no formula for differentiation, here are some more strategies that we can use in a differentiated classroom:Have a “home base” for students. Beginning and ending a class or lesson from a “home base” or seating chart enables teachers to organize students and materials more effectively. Be sure students have a plan for getting help when we are busy with another student or group. We can help students to learn to work collegially by suggesting that they ask a peer for clarification when they get “stuck”. Or students may try to get them “unstuck” by “thinking on paper” in their learning log or copybook. Make sure that they also know when they can come to us for help. For the successful management of a differentiated classroom, students must know that it’s never OK for them to just sit and wait or to disrupt someone else. Give students as much responsibility for learning as possible. Not only does fostering student responsibility make classroom management far more effective, it also helps learners become independent - an important learning goal on its own. Students can pass out folders and other materials, critique one another’s work, move furniture for group work, keep records of their own work, chart their progress by using established goals, help design some of their own tasks, and make suggestions for smoother classroom operation. We often underestimate the capacity of students to be self-sufficient. Engage students in talking about classroom procedures and group processes. Metacognition or thinking aloud about our thinking helps students understand our expectations as well as rationales for those expectations. It also helps them develop ownership in their classrooms. Use flexible grouping. In a differentiated classroom, we often design tasks for students based on our best judgment of their readiness for and interest in those tasks. At such times, we most likely want to assign students to the appropriate task. At other times, we might want students to quickly discuss an idea with a nearby or pre-assigned thinking partner. Hence, using a wide variety of grouping strategies enables us to match students and tasks when necessary and to observe and assess students in a variety of groupings and task conditions. This flexibility also keeps students from feeling that they are “pegged” into a given classroom niche. Ends