INQUIRY QUESTION
How do I cater for the diversity of learning needs of my students?
1. Context and content for student learning
1A- The students and school context
Wellington Secondary College, is a public school, servicing a wide radius of local suburbs. The school has been actively working towards creating a reputation that is highly respected within the local communities. Wellington Secondary College currently stands to educate 1603 pupils, with 82% of students from backgrounds other than English. With the local population continuing to grow, the future for Wellington Secondary College does also. With the increasing numbers of students occurring at a rapid rate, so does the learning needs of each individual student at Wellington Secondary College.
To support the growing needs of some of our students, Wellington Secondary College provides three different Mathematics groups at each year level from 7-10. These groups are
- Accelerated Mathematics: students who excel and are highly accomplished
- Core Mathematics: catering for the vast majority of students
- Recovery Mathematics: students whose numeracy skills are weak and require further assistance than what can be provided within a core class.
Students
The students I have chosen are those from my year 7 core Mathematics class (7B). The rationale behind choosing these students is that I have witnessed a greater difference in learning diversity within this class. Despite the students all being in year 7, their learning needs differ significantly. Whilst teaching these students mathematics it is important that each of the students learning needs is catered to in order for each individual to learn and achieve to their full potential, ensuring they are engaged and continually progressing.
Within my class, I have students with a variety of strengths, weaknesses and abilities. I have many students who are getting 80%+ on their tests, those who are completing their tasks to a satisfactory standard and then roughly five-six students who are currently working at a very low standard in comparison to the other students. Whilst my focus is on catering for diverse learning needs, the students who are working at a lower standard are of high importance to me.
1B- Context of Students Learning
Range of learning levels
For the purpose of this task, I have chosen three students, in particular, to record their results to show how they have either progressed, not changed or have not improved much at all.
Factors affecting learning
Within my class, many students find it difficult to stay focused when they are learning content that either they don’t enjoy or don’t understand. This was the deciding factor for me to chose this as my focus for my inquiry question. This is standard for the majority of students. I have found that most of my students' learning is affected when they don’t understand the content that is being taught. This can sometimes be due to the diverse learning needs required amongst 20 students. When trying to cater to one standard it is sometimes difficult as a graduate teacher to cater for all abilities. It is, therefore, my responsibility as a graduate teacher to learn a range of strategies in order to be able to meet the needs of all students within the class.
Some students simply feel they are just ‘no good’ at Maths and give up well before they even open their books. As these students have recently come from primary school I have witnessed some difficulties in their adjustment to secondary school. I feel that it has taken a great deal of adjusting which has further impacted their learning. In the primary school setting, the students may have been in classes that were generalised with other students of a variety of abilities. Within my class, I have placed the students into three ability groups for the purpose of differentiation. The groups are categorised as high, medium and low. Often in primary schools, the classroom teacher is not a maths specialist, therefore potentially making it difficult for the classroom teacher to differentiate learning activities and content. Within the primary school setting, the students tend to have one classroom teacher for most of the day, however, when attending secondary school the students are required to adjust to a variety of teachers, teacher expectations, and teaching styles.
Initially, students had a lot of difficulties adjusting to having a more regular homework schedule, increased workload and achieving higher standards. The workload was increased gradually throughout the first term so that students were able to ease into secondary school and be able to meet expectations. The students had adjusted well to my expectations and were able to continue to meet secondary school expectations throughout the year.
In particular, one of my focus students is currently operating at a low level did not have the required equipment from the beginning of the year. This student did not have the textbook and was unable to not complete the homework tasks. Juinor school and parents were notified and within a short timeframe, the student was provided with a textbook.
1C- Content for the program of learning
What to teach during the program
The learning program for the unit of Decimals and Percentages has a clear direction for the students to be able to be competent in the following:
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Apply basic mathematical skills when using decimals including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
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Be able to convert between measurements by applying strategies using decimals
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Complete a Common Assessment Task requiring them to apply real life situations to their assessments
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Develop skills requiring students to use percentages in a number of scenarios
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Understand how decimals can be manipulated to suit certain equations
1D- Prior learning of students based on evidence
Students were given a pretest prior to the commencement of the topic. The pretest was designed to assess the students prior knowledge on the topic of Decimals and Percentages. The test also allowed students to formulate questions on concepts that they found difficult whilst also providing me with some direction for my future teaching. The results for the pretest are provided below:
Graph: Number of students in each percentage catergory for the decimals pre-test
The above results indicate that the vast majority of students have very minimal to no understanding on the topic of Decimals and Percentages. Half of the class received results of 39% or below. This may be due to a number of factors, such as having never been taught decimals before or they may have forgotten some of the content they were taught in primary school. Nonetheless, the pre-test was a solid foundation for future teaching. The students also made comments at the conclusion of the pre-test that they were aware of some gaps in their knowledge. Students were provided with an opportunity to make mention of what they found difficult to ensure they were competent at the conclusion of the topic.
Comments from the students
" Now that you've gone over how to do it, I kind of remember a bit more"
" I always get confused which way the decimal moves for dividing and timesing"
" I don't get how to round the decimals properly"
After listening to the students comments and marking their pre-tests, it gave me a better idea on what I needed to emphasise on throughout the topic and areas to spend more time on.
1E- Learning outcomes for the program of learning
By the end of the topic, the students will be able to successfully apply knowledge of decimals and percentages to real-life situations. There will be a number of occasions (shopping, wages, taxes) where students apply basic mathematical concepts to the topic allowing them to apply already taught concepts to the new topic.
What will be done for:
- Students who need developing beyond the learning outcomes
For those students are are developing beyond the learning outcomes they are provided with extension tasks from both the year 7 and year 8 curriculum. Also within the subject of Mathematics, students are required to answer questions from each topic. The students who are working beyond the learning outcomes are to answer the questions from the deeper level and higher order thinking column. These students are also required to undertake some peer teaching throughout the topic. This is aimed to assist them with their learning, requiring them to apply a deeper understanding and use a variety of techniques to teach their classmate the concepts.
Students 1 and 2 have demonstrated throughout the year, that are are able to complete topic tests and common assessment tasks to a high standard.
- Students who need support to meet the learning outcomes
Although each individual within my class has needed support, it has been identified that there are roughly five students who require a little more support than others. This has been identified through a number of methods such as tests, classroom discussions, question time or common assessment tasks.
Student 3 has been identified as having some difficulties with a number of topics and was unable to demonstrate a satisfactory ability in topic tests and common assessment tasks.
For these individuals, I have provided them with modified tasks to ensure they are gaining some understanding and being able to apply what they have been taught. My students are provided with the same activities however suited to different abilities. Students from the same class will receive a similar activity however, one may be easier than the other. To ensure students are not aware of which the difficulty of their activity, I have devised a strategy to cater for this. I would place the more difficult activity sheets on top of the pile and when handing out the students don't notice where the sheets are coming from.
I provide a lot of one-on-one with work with the weaker students and also provide each student opportunities to have revision lessons at lunch time. This has provided them with some extra assistance and more time to ask questions.
2. The inquiry question
2A- The inquiry question
The question I have formulated for this task is 'How do I cater for the diversity of learning needs of my students'. The rationale behind formulating this question is due to the wide degree of abilities within my Year 7 Core Mathematics class. It was evident very early on students had a wide range of abilities. I had students who were excelling at the mathematical concepts at the beginning of the year and then there were some who were struggling to understand the basics of maths.
Choosing this question was aimed at the attempt to improve not only the weaker students but also to cater for those who were of a higher ability. The aim was to provide activities that met each individual students requirements, whilst providing them with equal opportunities to learn.
Differentiation is a process through which teachers enhance learning by matching student skill levels to instruction, content and assessment. Differentiation allows all students to access the same classroom curriculum by providing entry points, learning tasks, and outcomes that are tailored to students' needs.
As a beginning teacher, learning how to differentiate to cater to these individual needs, needs to be the foundation to each lesson. Being aware and having an understanding these differences will help to develop lessons, form assessments and ensure that each of my students is being catered for.
Topic: Decimals and percentages
The topic being addressed throughout this task is 'Decimals and percentages'. The students were asked at the beginning of the year to comment on a topic that they felt they needed most assistance with. Although a lot of students felt Algebra was a difficult topic it was decided upon that decimals and percentages had a greater relevance to life and this would also help to engage the students.
Talking to colleagues
Teachers involved:
- Peter Clarke
- Cheryl Beale
- Malini Ravintharan
What was discussed:
Peter Clarke: Peter and I had many a discussions in regards to ICT use in Maths and also ICT programs. In Maths, on-demand tests were conducted quarterly to assist in gauging students' progress. Throughout my discussions with Peter, we approached the subject of reliability of the on-demand test results and what the results indicated in regards to the students AusVELS levels and their abilities. We discussed the program and analysed its effectiveness as to how well they were an indicator of the students' knowledge. We discussed and flaws and faults within the program and identified some further improvements that could be made to better the accuracy of the results.
ICT use within Maths is relatively low. As we are adapting to the trends of this day and age, Peter and I engaged in conversation about how to best incorporate ICT into Maths classes. As Peter is IT savvy I found this to be a good opportunity to learn some new strategies to use a wide variety of technologies and programs within my Maths class. I was then able to set up MangaHigh topic by topic according to AusVELS, allowing to students to complete the tasks at their own pace.
Peter and I also had a discussion as to how I may be able to best modify the statistics task for individual needs. As this task required students to use computers, more specifically Excel, the task needed to be modified to ensure all students could complete the task to the best of their ability. We had discussed many options on how to do this and evaluated their effectiveness in relation to the learning outcome. All students were able to produce the graph, then those students who are more able then had the opportunity to demonstrate their IT skills by adjusting the scales, axis labels and colours.
Cheryl Beale: Cheryl and I have worked closely throughout this year, more so on developing strategies to use to best teach our students. Differentiation teaching strategies have come up regularly as this has been a strong focus for both of us this year. I met with Cheryl on a regular basis to devise how to best implement what was currently being taught and worked through how to scaffold the work for each of the ability groups. Throughout our discussions, Cheryl and I had collaborated on how we incorporate strategies and activities to cater for each of our students. We discussed any improvements that could be made and worked together to come up with resources that we felt would benefit our students.We worked regularly on the activities I was planning on using in class and modify any activity that needed some adjustments.
Initially, I was having trouble coming up with enough differentiation activities. As Cheryl teaches year 8 recovery and accelerated maths I developed some higher order thinking worksheets, whilst Cheryl developed lower order thinking worksheets. We were then able to swap worksheets to reduce the workload and increase differentiation.
Malini Ravintharan : As Malini and I teach the same class for different subjects, I felt it to be essential to have a conversation with Malini about the dynamics of the class. We discussed how the dynamics affected the class and if there was any impact on the students' learning. In both of our classes, it didn't matter who they sat with as they worked well with all members of the class. No matter who they were sitting with they would assist one another regardless of whether or not they were friends.
Malini and I discussed how the students performed in her Science class and was she able to suggest any changes or improvements I could make in order to enhance my students learning. Malini suggested that pairing weaker students with stronger students worked well for both of the students. Following our conversation, I adopted this strategy. I found that the weaker students were comfortable with asking the stronger students for help and the stronger students consolidated their understanding.
What did you learn:
Peter Clarke: From my discussions with Peter I have learnt a wide variety of techniques, strategies and activities to incorporate within my Maths classes, I now regularly allow students onto MangaHigh during class as well as check their progress at home. Peter gave me an insight into some errors that can be faced from using on-demand tests and provided me with other options to use to either support or disapprove the provided results. In regards to the use of ICT within my lessons, I had aimed to try and incorporate as many strategies and activities that we had discussed. From this discussion my students had the option to try many online, interactive activities that required them to be engaged in their learning whilst using up to date technology.
Peter has guided me on how to better teach ICT use to all of my students and provide instructions that are easy to understand. Rather than giving the students a worksheet with instructions, I projected and demonstrated the activity on the whiteboard on how to produce a graph on Excel.
Cheryl Beale: I have learnt a great deal from Cheryl in regards to teaching Maths however from our discussions about decimals and differentiation, I have learnt how to better use AusVELS to find the right material to support my students. Cheryl helped to guide me in the right direction for appropriate activities to use and how to use them within my lessons. Cheryl has helped to devise activities that cater for all of my students needs and requirements. Cheryl has supplied me with a number of websites that allows me to develop activities ranging from easy to difficult (www.maths-drill.com).
Having professional conversations with Cheryl has helped me to focus not only on the weaker students, however, ensure students of all abilities in Maths are being challenged equally.
Malini Ravintharan: Through my discussion with Malini I have learnt how she manages the students that we share within our individual subjects. Malini has provided me with an insight into some strategies she has used and applied within her class, the most effective being a seating plan according to abilities. Malini has helped me to gain a deeper understanding on the individuals needs and we have worked together to see if their needs are subject based or may be all rounded.
How does this help you address your inquiry question:
Peter Clarke: Working with Peter has assisted me in being able to incorporate ICT into my teaching practices and effectively doing this to cater for each individual. Peter has helped me to scaffold online tasks and modify technology related assessments to make them achievable although applicable. This has helped to address my inquiry questions by allowing students of a variety of abilities to attempt and complete the tasks. It has helped me to cater to diversity by modifying the task given to all students. Peter has helped me to use ICT within my Maths class which the majority of my students, despite their abilities respond well to. Student 3 had some difficulties in interpreting the graph, however, was able to demonstrate a high ability when using Excel. Students 1 and 2 both completed the activity being able to understand and interpret the graph. Student 1 was very confident with the additional options on the graph, whilst Student 2 had some difficulty. It was great to see that Student 3 was able to demonstrate a competency in an area they enjoy.
Cheryl Beale: Diversity of student abilities is evident in all subjects, however through my discussions with Cheryl she has helped to create activities and strategies that ensure each student is engaged and actively learning. As we had discussed my ability groups we were able to identify ways how to enhance the weaker students, whilst challenging the stronger. Engaging in this discussion helped to ensure my students needs were being met and their learning needs were adhered to. We discussed and devised activities that I could implement within the classroom for ability groups of low, medium and high. These activities challenged the students from each group as they were targeted towards their abilities. We created an introduction activity to decimals that gave each student an opportunity to participate as there were questions that catered to all abilities.
Malini Ravintharan: Firstly, through discussion with Malini I was able to identify any commonalities within the class. It was evident that the students abilities were consistent across most subject areas as this was also found through discussion with Catherine Malcolm. Malini was able to provide me with some information as to how she best deals with diverse needs and also how I may be able to build on her strategies. I adopted her strategy of pairing weaker students with stronger students, however I paired the students according to recent test results.
3. The Action Plan
2B- Professional Learning
Observing the practice of others
Date: 10 November 2015
Teacher involved: Catherine Malcolm, whose English class contains most of the students from my Year 7 Mathematics class. All three students who are the focus for this task are also in this English class.
What did you see/hear
Catherine has created a classroom that is supportive, happy and engaging. The students were sitting in a seat of their choice, next to someone that tat they work well with. When asked, Catherine mentioned that their seats had changed a number of times throughout the year, however, this was due to their own choice. Whilst observing the class, the students were working well from a PowerPoint that was displayed on the whiteboard.
It was discussed with Catherine whilst observing her classroom, were the different learning abilities quite evident in her English class?
What did you learn?
Through my observations with Catherine, I was able to witness a wholly contrasting learning environment. Within this lesson, the students took a lot of responsibility for their learning. Catherine facilitated the task however how they completed their work was up to them. In one class students were required to write a One particular task required the students toIn regards to differentiation and how this would impact each individual, I believe this task is great for students of all abilities. It allows each student to work at their own pace, not feel pressured to answer formula questions as seen in mathematics and provides them with an opportunity to work with Catherine one-on-one as each other student is busy completing their own task.
How does this help you address your inquiry question?
After many discussions and through observation of Catherine's class, it has provided me with an insight as to how other teachers' cater for diversity. Through this observation, it was highlighted that the ability groups I had placed my students in were consistent across all curriculum.
The weaker students within both of our classes were presenting and behaving very similar way. Both Catherine and I were receiving the same amount of effort from these students and also seeing similar results. With knowing this information, I began to approach my weaker students with a greater understanding of their capabilities. I still expected my students to achieve their personal best, however, scaffolded their work to make it achievable. I began creating activities that were tailor made for the weaker students and spent a lot of time working in groups and having the higher achieving students working to help the low achiving students.
Since observing Catherine's class and engaging in conversation, the weaker students were actively engaged within my Maths class. They began to gain confidence to ask questions and be involved in class discussions. Their test results improved slightly and I feel this to be due to having a great understanding of their overall abilities.
The action plan I have designed is based on the Evidence Based Professional Learning Cycle of teaching create by Helen Timperley. This cycle promotes:
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helps you to respond to your students’ needs based on evidence
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prompts and facilitate a continued inquiry into your teaching
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supports you to evaluate the impact of your professional learning on your students' learning.
