Differentiation and The Split Classroom

I have the unfortunate task of teaching two classes two completely separate subjects at the same time.  The size of our school and the ESL population we serve means that my Grade 9 and 10 English courses are each split into an Academic (higher understanding) stream and an Applied (lower understanding) stream.  In an elementary classroom, split classes are difficult (I can imagine anyway).  In high school class it can be very challenging.

Marina Mall - Kuwait

The only sane way that I can cope with this situation is to construct units that contain very similar core components.  For instance, we are studying non-fiction in Grade 9 right now and much of the day-to-day lessons are very similar.  I focus on a question of inquiry during my units, and everything we do relates back to that question.  The daily lessons are built around getting the students to work for their understanding, but the activities (and the other ways they get to this understanding) are separated for stream.

Managing two classes in one room can be a bit of a nightmare, but I often try and stagger their activities or assignments so that I can introduce a concept or activity to one stream while the other is finishing something else up.  This doesn't always work the way I want it to, and occasionally I have some students staring wide-eyed at me waiting for instructions.  This is where Crafting comes into play.  Students that finish their stream's activity quickly can independently work on their own learning through my Crafting program.

Marina Mall - Kuwait

The staggering works reasonably well, and I always try to start my lessons (unless there is carry-over from the previous day) with whole class instruction and inquiry.  This lets kids in either stream work at answering questions or giving opinions on the topics being covered, and the whole class can work with and learn from each other.  The differentiation comes when they start on stream appropriate activities or tasks.  Due to a huge difference in abilities, I try to differentiate the task within a stream as well.

In practice, it has worked well with a few bumps along the way.  One of the biggest challenges is simply keeping all of the tasks straight in my head.  It is very easy to get some of the jumbled!  My marking sheets are a bit of a mess, but it is a mess that makes sense to me...so I guess that's what counts.

And...finally...the pictures above were taken at Marina Mall, here in Kuwait.  It is one of the few nice outdoor areas here.

It`s All About Choice

I have read a fair bit into project based learning and other sorts of assessment alternatives in the last year or so, and I decided to implement my own program last semester. We had a PD session today about some of the ways that we can motivate some of our students to complete major assessments with more regularity. They are usually pretty good about completing tests, because all that is required of them is that they sit and write when the teacher tells them too. The trouble comes in when they are asked to complete a project of some kind. Often I never get the project in at all from these sorts of students. It can be maddening.

This year I decided to give them more control over the method in which they demonstrated their understanding of the content. We have a significant EAL population at our school, which translates into a host of issues one wouldn't necessarily have to deal with in a non-EAL school. I'm not keen to get into the issues, since I think the approach I've taken for projects will work in any classroom.

I'll give an example. We studied a graphic novel version of Macbeth (again, EAL) last semester, and at the end of the story I presented my Grade 10s with their final assessment. Using the projector I walked them through the rationale behind the entire program, gave them the rubric I would use to assess their learning, and presented the with the different methods they could demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. They could write a persuasive essay, write an alternative ending, write a short sequel, create a visual essay (presentation with a thesis), or they could film and edit a short movie with one or more essential scenes from the play.

Initially, many of the students gravitated toward the movie assessment (which could be done with a group of up to 5 students). However, many of the quickly realized the need to depend significantly on each other in order to achieve the success they wanted and that tended to deter them. I thought most students would choose the presentation, but only a few did (they could do it alone or in pairs). I received a final submission from each type of assessment in the end.

This sort of demonstration of learning was incredibly impactful for my students, because it was the first time for many of them where they could show me their understanding in their own way. Obviously, some leeway had to be given in terms of some of the technical issues that can crop up in each of the assessments, but, for the most part, they did a great job. Two of the standout projects were completely different in type and scope (one was a short film of 3 scenes and the other was an excellently written alternative ending) but they were both very good demonstrations of understanding.

Another great effect of this process was the enthusiasm I saw in many of my students. They were EXCITED to show me what they new about Macbeth. The process of showing me what they knew was as much a learning experience for them as was actually reading the play/graphic novel. It was great to see, and I know that I am going to try and implement this assessment model as often as I feasibly can.

Class awards

I've decided to start the second semester with a change-up in class rewards. I decided to create two separate awards for my 3 English classes (8, 9, and 10). I have incorporated Class Dojo into a few of my classroom items (mainly washroom passes), so I decided to use the funny little Class Dojo characters for my awards too. I made an academic award (Task Master) and a good behaviour award (Dojo Champ).



I like the idea of having two separate awards, because I have some students that are great students but they struggle to always achieve success. The Dojo Champ award gives them another opportunity to get recognition. The Task Master award isn't necessarily for the highest mark, though. I want to award it to students that can demonstrate their understanding of a particular activity/task/topic. For instance, for the first Task Master award in Grade 10, I gave it to a student who has consistently demonstrated his understanding of critical media literacy this past week. He demonstrated his understanding through the activities we did in class and not through a summative assessment. Having said that, I am confident he would do well there too.