Follow-up Dr. Katie Welch on Differentiating Instruction in a Mixed Ability Class

Hello colleagues, We had a great event with Dr. Katie Welch today July 10 focused on addressing the many needs in a multilevel classroom.  We all know that any adult ESOL class is multilevel. Some are just a lot more so than others! Meeting the needs of all the learners can be a tremendous challenge for teachers. Katie shared many practical ideas to make meeting those needs more manageable for teachers.  THANK YOU, KATIE!

Katie grounded her presentation in the work of Professor Carol Ann Tomlinson who explained differentiation in these words: "Differentiation is simply a teacher attending to the learning needs of a particular student or small groups of students rather than teaching a class as though all individuals were basically alike."

Tomlinson’s 2001 text describes three types of differentiation:

• Content—Input, what students learn;
• Process—How students go about making sense of ideas and information; and 
• Product—Output, how students demonstrate what they have learned.

(Here’s a link to some key ideas in Tomlinson’s work shared by Marcia who attended the live event with Katie.)

Katie elaborated on some valuable parameters for meeting the needs of all learners in a class:

1.DON'T DO IT ALONE.

• The learning is not all dependent on you as the teacher! 
• Leverage the resources in your classroom, including other students

2.  USE FLEXIBLE GROUPS

• A defining feature of differentiated instruction
• Students are part of many different groups –access to a wide variety of working arrangements
• Grouping configuration based on the activity, or on students’ readiness, interest, or level
• Can be purposely or randomly assigned

Here are some of the tools Katie shared for forming groups:

Grouping Planning Tool 

• https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/use-flexible-grouping-classroom/

Kagan Structures 

• https://www.kaganonline.com/free_articles/research_and_rationale/330/The-Essential-5-A-Starting-Point-for-Kagan-Cooperative-Learning
• https://www.sfdr-cisd.org/media/rtlpyyrm/kagan-structures.pdf

Cooperative Groups Role Cards 

• https://www.readwritethink.org/sites/default/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson277/cooperative.pdf

Clock Partners 

• https://www.talesfromoutsidetheclassroom.com/clock-partners/

3. DIFFERENTIATE ACTIVITIES

• Use the same activity, but simplify for lower level learners and expand the difficulty for higher level

NewsInLevels.com free pre-leveled materials 

Katie uses Flip Grid for students to create videos in her class. 

4. GET STUDENT BUY-IN

• With leveled materials, offer a choice
  • Adult learners are very self-aware (they are likely to choose well!)
  • Helps to “save face” for students who may feel embarrassed
  • Student agency is key 
• Explain the “why” behind different materials
• Use self-assessment to make adjustments 

To request a copy of Katie's slides, please contact her at katie@welcheducation.com

Everyone is invited to share additional ideas and resources for addressing the diverse needs of the English learners in your classes.  Questions are always welcome, too!

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, English Language Acquisition Group