Multi-level classes and scaffolding

I have taught multilevel classes most of my adult ESL teaching time. As much as scaffolding is important it is not easy to  be effective. The best practice I have figured out is to have differentiated activities for every lesson. Differentiation  of activities present for both  reading and writing giving consideration to students' goals seems to be far more effective  in my experience.

Hello all, Here are some ideas that I have found important when teaching multilevel classes. Do any of these techniques resonate for you? Which have you found to be most helpful? What would you add to this list?

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

1) Establish a comfortable environment and a sense of community in the classroom.

Everyone learns best when they feel comfortable and safe. Learners must feel comfortable in order to take the risks that are required to learn. Teachers must be aware of learners’ literacy strengths and weaknesses so that instruction can be tailored at appropriate levels, i.e., not too difficult and not too easy.  Teachers can create a sense of community in the classroom by structuring activities so that learners become acquainted with one another. A respectful atmosphere is essential for engaged learning. When there is a sense of community in the classroom, learners are more likely to learn from one another. 

2) Structure blocks of time around meaningful instructional routines.

Teachers should talk explicitly about the class schedule with their students. Learners can also contribute to planning as well as adjusting the schedule when changes are necessary. Talking to students about the schedule helps everyone to have a shared understanding of how blocks of time in class will be used.  Learners understand that they will be working on their own and in small groups at certain times and that the teacher will be working with different groups at various times. Having blocks of time scheduled in this way can help make the teacher’s planning more manageable and has the added advantage of helping learners to plan their busy lives, as well. Daily classroom routines, such as getting started and closing routines, should be more than just meaningless fillers. Routines should reflect activities that are purposeful and meaningful to learners.

3) Use a thematic approach.

Using a thematic approach in a multilevel class allows the teacher to structure related activities for different levels of learners.  In other words, instead of having different topics for students at different levels to work on, everyone is reading, writing, and talking about the same topic, although the actual activities for learners at different levels will vary in difficulty.  Through a thematic approach to instruction, all learners can share their unique knowledge and experiences on the related theme. Moreover, learners greatly benefit from engaging in common discussions in class where important vocabulary and content knowledge are presented and naturally recycled.  Importantly, teachers should involve learners in deciding which topics will be addressed in class.

4) Differentiate instruction by using different tasks and materials and by varying the level of support provided to learners.

This key addresses three different aspects of instruction:  using different tasks, using different materials, and varying the level of support.  It is vital that teachers provide materials to learners at the right instructional level.  When we ask learners to work with material that is too difficult, this often results in frustration. Similarly tasks that are too easy are also inappropriate.  Teachers can vary the difficulty of tasks, for example by decreasing or increasing the amount of text and by creating tasks that assume more or less knowledge and ability.  For instance, a cloze activity can be designed for learners at various levels by deleting more words for advanced learners and deleting fewer words for learners at lower levels. Adding a word bank also makes the task easier. Teachers can support learning in various ways, for example, by having learners work with a partner, providing a graphic organizer of key ideas, providing bilingual or picture dictionaries, providing audio tapes of texts, using computers, etc.

5) Group learners purposefully.

Teachers sometimes group learners with similar abilities together.  Other times they may group a higher student with a lower student.  For English learners, teachers often group students from different language backgrounds so the learners will rely on using English. Other times, it is helpful to group learners who speak the same language together so they can support one another.  Each of these various means for grouping learners is an example of purposeful grouping strategies. The way teachers group learners is often dependent on the particular task teachers are asking learners to do.  It is important that grouping strategies are fluid so that learners are working in different kinds of groups from day to day and that teachers consider learners’ common experiences and interests when making grouping decisions.  Allowing learners some choice in grouping is certainly appropriate at times, too.

6) Use cooperative and collaborative learning strategies.

In cooperative learning activities learners work together to complete predetermined activities that are designed by the teacher.  In cooperative learning, learners must rely on one another in order to complete the tasks, and there is typically a particular outcome that is expected.  In collaborative learning, on the other hand, the outcome is more open-ended and more learner-centered because learners participate in determining the direction of the learning activities. While learners will still be engaging with one another and relying on one another in collaborative learning, the teacher has not predetermined the activities or the outcome. Both cooperative and collaborative learning are needed in multilevel classrooms, so that teachers can draw upon the strengths of every learner as well as provide peer support as needed.

Hi Ellen, Just to clarify a bit ... there are several ways to do a cloze activity. I tend to use a listening cloze most often. For those who may not be familiar, a cloze features a text with one or more words missing. Students listen to the teacher or a peer dictate the sentences. In other words, they listen and write the missing word(s). The directions can be the same or almost the same for each group. The first time you use a listening cloze activity, the teacher can fairly quickly explain the process to the class, and then have the lower level students sit close by to provide extra support. Students who are even more advanced might be able to write the entire story.

Once the students have done the activity a time or two, they understand the directions well.

You might choose to have the higher level students dictate to each other, while the teacher dictates to the lower level group. See an example below of a text written by a student that we used for a cloze activity. In this case, the student dictated the story to the whole class, which is another option.

Complete Text from a Student's Story

1. I lived in Malaysia for four years.

2. I worked in a restaurant.

3. I took orders and served food.

4. The restaurant was very busy with many customers.

5. I was tired after work.

6. I was happy to have a little money to buy food.

Easy: Listen and circle the right word. Write the word on the line.

1. I lived in Malaysia for   five   /   four   years.               ________________________________

2. I   worked  /  work    in a restaurant.                           ________________________________

3. I took orders and served   fruit   /   food.                     ________________________________

4. The restaurant   was   /   is    very busy with many customers. ________________________________

5. I was tired after   work   /    week.                              ________________________________

6. I was happy to have a little   money   /   marry    to buy food. ________________________________

Medium: Listen for the word in the box and write the word on the line.

took           four        restaurant

1. I lived in Malaysia for ________________ years.

2. I worked in a ________________________________.

3. I ____________________________ orders and served food.

food            busy        tired

4. The restaurant was very _______________________ with many customers.

5. I was ______________________________ after work.

6. I was happy to have a little money to buy _____________________.

Higher: Listen for the word and write the word on the line.

1. I lived in __________________________________ for ________________ years.

2. I ______________________________  in a _______________________________.

3. I ___________________________  orders and ___________________________ food.

4. The restaurant was very __________________ with many ___________________________.

5. I was __________________________ after __________________________________.

6. I was _________________________ to have a little money to buy _____________________.

Please let me know if you have questions or further suggestions.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, English Language Acquisition CoP

It sounds like your main question is not so much how to scaffold but how to determine who needs which level.  This is a great question!  One approach I might try is to have some kind of quick "question of the day" or journal or similar activity which you do before any activity which you might be scaffolding.  If it is written, you can circulate and assess students' writing skills on the fly and put whichever paper you determine is best for them face down on their desks.  If your assessment needs to be oral it's a little trickier but maybe you could have people fill out an entry slip as they come in the door with their name on it, and swipe their slip with a highlighter during a preceding speaking activity (could still be question of the day), using one color for lower and one for higher?  Or some management system like that; not sure what would work in your context.  Good luck, and let us know what you come up with!

Lee Haller

Thanks for this great idea, Jana. I love that you are using informational text, too. I'll definitely be borrowing this one!

Cheers, Susan