Effective Use of Learning and Teaching Resources to Cater for Learner Diversity in the Learning of English at Primary Level

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Collaborative Research & Development (“Seed”) Project for 2012/2013

Effective Use of Learning and Teaching Resources to Cater for Learner Diversity in the Learning of English

at Primary Level

Effective Use of Learning and Teaching Resources to Cater for Learner Diversity in the Learning of English

at Primary Level

English Language Education Section Curriculum Development Institute

Education Bureau

(2)

2:00 – 2:10 PM Registration

2:10 – 2:30 PM Introduction to the Seed Project – objectives and strategies used

2:30 – 3:30 PM Sharing on the 1

^st

tryout experience

3:30 – 3:45 PM Break

3:45 – 4:30 PM Sharing on the 2

^nd

and 3

^rd

tryout experience

4:30 – 5:00 PM Way forward

Q & A

Rundown of Today’s Programme

(3)

Objectives of the project (I) Objectives of the project (I)



Adopting the framework of differentiated instructions in planni ng the curriculum and designing learning tasks for KS2 students



Incorporating effective learning and teaching strategies to cater for students’ diverse learning needs and styles



Integrating textbook materials with e-learning and authentic res ources to enrich the school-based English Language curriculum



Using effective strategies to provide appropriate scaffolding and

challenges to students of different interests and abilities in learn

ing English

(4)

Objectives of the project (II) Objectives of the project (II)



Developing strategies in giving constructive feedback and designi ng self-assessment tools



Promoting a collaborative culture and enhancing professional de velopment through co-planning, sharing of tryout experiences a nd peer lesson observations



Raising students’ motivation and confidence in reading and writi ng a variety of text types



Enhancing students’ creativity and critical thinking skills through integrated learning tasks



Developing students’ information and reference skills for learnin

g English

(5)

The framework in planning the curriculum and designing learning tasks

Differentiated Instructions

Content Process Product

 Use of different texts at a reading level appropriate for each student

 All students are working towards the same

standards and objectives

 Differentiating

instructions based on students’ learning styles

 Providing scaffolding for the average and less able students

 Giving more flexibility and challenges for the more able students

 The student product which demonstrates the mastery of the content:

tests, evaluations,

projects, reports or other activities, e.g. writing, presentation, role-play

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Visual

Learn best by seeing

Kinesthetic

Learn best by doing

Auditory

Learn best by hearing

Catering for students’ diverse learning needs and styles

(7)

Integrating e-learning resources into the unit plan Integrating e-learning resources into the unit plan

Giving

immediate

feedback Facilitating

understanding

Promoting learner autonomy Catering for

ability Catering for learners’

interest

Motivating

resources

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For teacher’s reference

• Identifying learners’ strengths and weaknesses in order to enhance learning and teaching For teacher’s reference

• Identifying learners’ strengths and weaknesses in order to enhance learning and teaching

For students’ reflection

• Providing opportunities for students to reflect on their learning e.g. 3-2-1 Summariser, self/peer assessment

For students’ reflection

• Providing opportunities for students to reflect on their learning e.g. 3-2-1 Summariser, self/peer assessment

Why

assessing?

Assessment for Learning

Assessment for Learning Assessment as LearningAssessment as Learning

Mainly learners and teachers

Mainly learners and teachers Mainly learnersMainly learners Whom to

inform?

Providing quality feedback for learners, which entails timely support and enrichment, and helping teachers review the learning objectives, lesson plans and teaching strategies

• Developing students’

metacognitive strategies

• Providing opportunities for students to take charge of their own learning

• Developing students’

metacognitive strategies

• Providing opportunities for students to take charge of their own learning

What to focus?

8

Promoting Assessment for / as learning to help students reflect on their learning

Promoting Assessment for / as learning to help

students reflect on their learning

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Timeline and Workflow of the tryouts Timeline and Workflow of the tryouts

Questionnaires:

Completed on 5/10

To find out the students’:

1. learning styles 2. e-learning experience 3. learning strategies

E-teaching tryout:

Tryout period:

26/10

To prepare both teachers and students for the use of IT in learning and teaching.

Planning:

1. To identify the learning target

2. To select / design core and extended teaching content

3. To design an overall plan

Implementation:

Evaluation:

Post tryout interview / questionnaires with teachers and students

Sept, 2012

Aug, 2013 1^st Tryout

19 Nov 1^st Tryout

19 Nov

2^nd Tryout 25 Feb 2^nd Tryout

25 Feb

3^rd Tryout 13 Jun 3^rd Tryout

13 Jun

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Themes and Tasks of the Tryouts Themes and Tasks of the Tryouts

Sept, 2012

Aug, 2013 1^st Tryout

19 Nov 1^st Tryout

19 Nov

2^nd Tryout 25 Feb 2^nd Tryout

25 Feb

3^rd Tryout 13 Jun 3^rd Tryout

13 Jun

Theme

Language focus

Tasks

A surprise party Travel advice Helping others - Present perfect tense

- asking and

answering questions

- ‘If’ conditional sentence

- giving advice

- Past continuous tense - ‘when’ and ‘while’

Writing about a

surprise party Blog writing Presentation, Storytelling

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1

^st

Tryout: A Surprise Party 1

^st

Tryout: A Surprise Party

Differentiated Instructions

Learning and Teaching Materials

Content

Unit plan

Unit plan Learning and Teaching Strategies

1.Teaching the structure of different text types

explicitly

2.Catering for different learning styles

3.Appropriate scaffolding and greater flexibility for students

4.Assessment for/as learning Learning and Teaching

Strategies

explicitly

4.Assessment for/as learning

Process

Open-ended writing task Open-ended

writing task

Product

(12)

Problems identified in the main writing task:

 Not related to the

context of the other activities

 Not meaningful task

 Not authentic

 Too mechanical

Adaptations

• Keep the theme of the unit, i.e. a surprise

party

• Create a new writing task

Unit Plan Unit Plan

Adaptations

 adapt course book materials

 integrate selected learning

and teaching resources

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A starting point A starting point

Choice of materials:

Context: A birthday party for Dad

Having an element of surprise

Motivating

Appropriate level of difficulty

Suitable language forms and functions

Unit Plan

(Coherence making throughout the learning activities) Unit Plan

(Coherence making throughout the learning activities)

Choice of materials:

 Context: A birthday party for a pet

 Motivating

 Appropriate level of difficulty

 Recycling of the language

forms and functions

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Integrating e-learning resources into the unit plan Integrating e-learning resources into the unit plan

Self-directed learning

- e-dictionary - Practices - Games

Teaching - e-book - Websites (e.g. WLTS,

PEERS, One-stop portal)

- Movie clip

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Scrambled sentence (L1)

• forms and functions Surprise (L3)

•forms and functions

•main idea

E-book (L3)

•forms and functions

•main idea

Motivating resources

Catering for learners’

interest

Giving

immediate feedback Promoting

learner autonomy Facilitating

understanding

Integrating e-learning resources into the unit plan Integrating e-learning resources into the unit plan

Learning and teaching (Inside the classroom)

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Grammar practice (L2, 4, 5, 7, 8)

• forms and functions

Typing practice (L4)

• typing

conventions

E-dictionary (L5)

• spelling

• pronunciation Scrambled

sentence (L1)

• forms and functions

Motivating resources Catering for

ability

Promoting learner autonomy Giving

immediate feedback

Self-directed learning activities (Outside the classroom)

Integrating e-learning resources into the unit plan

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Longman Express 5A Unit 5

Learning and Teaching Strategy:

1. Teaching the structure of different text types explicitly Learning and Teaching Strategy:

1. Teaching the structure of different text types explicitly

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1

^st

tryout: A surprise party Reading  Writing

1

^st

tryout: A surprise party Reading  Writing

Direct

explanation

Modelling

Group writing

Independent writing

Explaining the storyline

to students

Demonstrating how to write a story using the creative story map

Guiding students on working in groups

Students worked independently

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Learning and Teaching Strategy:

2. Catering for different learning styles Learning and Teaching Strategy:

2. Catering for different learning styles

Visual

Using graphic organiser Using pictures / visual aids Watching video clip

Kinaesthetic

Group Activity

Auditory

Group Discussion Presentation

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Enhancing students’ participation through kinesthetic learning activities

Whole class activity:

Matching game

Individual work:

Graphic organiser

Group work:

Pelmanism game

Making use of graphic organisers Making use of graphic organisers

Vocabulary learning Understanding the setting

of a story

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Open-ended Task: Creative story writing about a special party

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◊ Greater learner autonomy

For more able students

Product

◊ All students achieved the learning objectives /

targets

◊ The products varied in breath and depth

For less able students

◊ Break into steps

◊ Provide prompts

Provide scaffoldi ng

Support to students:

Learning and Teaching Strategy:

3. Appropriate scaffolding and greater flexibility for students Learning and Teaching Strategy:

3. Appropriate scaffolding and greater flexibility for students

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Students are able to…

write with an appropriate sto ry structure that comprises s etting, characters, problems, events and solution

use dialogues in writing

use the present perfect tense appropriately

use reporting words

use words to link the events use adjectives to describe fee lings

show changes and surprises i n the story

An example of students’ work from 5C

It was Icy’s birthday, Corina, Tony, Andy and Angel wanted to give her a nice surprise. In the afternoon, we had a party at home.

‘Have you cooked the food yet, Tony?’

asked Andy and Corina. Tony

answered, ‘I have baked a vanilla cake, made sandwiches and fruit punch.

And I also made some snacks for everyone.’ ‘Has everything already been prepared?’ asked Angel. ‘Yes, we have already prepared everything.’

We waited for a long time, but Icy did not return home in the afternoon. We were worried. Finally, Angel called her.

When she arrived at eleven o’clock,

she was touched because she had a

surprise party. They had a great time.

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Students are able to…

present main and

supporting ideas and wherever appropriate

Elaborate own ideas with more detailed

descriptions

write with creative ideas use cohesive devices

use different language patterns

An example of students’ work from 5A

It was Martin’s birthday. My friends and I wanted to celebrate with him at my home. But Martin had something to do, so he wouldn’t arrive early.

Then, we decorated the house. ‘ Have you put up the balloons yet, Anson?’ I

asked. ‘Yes,’ said Anson. ‘What have you done for the party, Addison?’ I asked. ‘I have baked a cake and bought some snacks,’ replied Addison. We finished all the things and waited for Martin patiently.

Suddenly, my phone rang. We went to the hospital quickly because Martin was in the hospital. He had a car accident. We were sad and worried about the party.

When we arrived there, we saw Martin was a just a little bit hurt. Our feelings

changed, we were happy. Then, we went home to celebrate with him. We played games and ate the cake.

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Formative assessment (after lesson 5)

Role of teacher: Role of students:

- Effective use of assessment data to evaluate students’

learning

- Making reflection on their own

learning, especially the target language structure

Learning and Teaching Strategy:

4. Assessment for/as learning Learning and Teaching Strategy:

4. Assessment for/as learning

Giving feedback / Peer assessment

(Lesson 10)

Give one suggestion:

Group work:

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Giving feedback / Peer assessment (Lesson 12)

Individual work:

Learning and Teaching Strategy:

4. Assessment for/as learning Learning and Teaching Strategy:

4. Assessment for/as learning

Role of teacher: Role of students:

- Identifying students’

strengths and weaknesses - Providing

constructive feedback

- Making reflection on their own learning, especially the

writing skills - Making

improvement based on feedback from teachers and peers

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Students’ Feedback

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Teachers’ Feedback Teachers’ Feedback

Unit Plan Learning and Teaching Effectiveness

• the lessons are coherent with a progressive development of language and writing skills

• the writing task can develop the students’ creativity

• through the story reading and group discussion, students can generate more ideas and have more confidence to finish their individual writing

Learning and Teaching Materials Areas for improvement

• it is worthwhile to use e-learning materials as students are more motivated

• the vocabulary building needs to be further developed and

consolidated

• peer assessment is worth doing, it

was quite demanding for students

to proof-read the whole authentic

text

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Differentiated Instructions

2

^nd

Tryout: Travel Advice 2

^nd

Tryout: Travel Advice

Content

Unit plan

explicitly

Strategies

explicitly

Process

Open-ended writing task Open-ended

writing task

Product

(30)

Unit Plan Unit Plan

Problems identified

 Reading text: unfamiliar context (a story about alien’s travel experience to the earth)

 Main writing task is too easy for Primary 5

students Adaptations

Reading text: Replaced by a poster on Taiwan Cycling tour

Integrate selected

learning and teaching resources with the

textbook materials

Main task: Blog writing

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Learning and Teaching Strategy:

1. Teaching the structure of different text types explicitly Learning and Teaching Strategy:

1. Teaching the structure of different text types explicitly

Theme: Travel advice

•Introducing the text type features of a poster

•Providing steps for students to read a poster, e.g. looking at the pictures and captions and reading the title to understand the gist, reading the, headings, and sub headings to find out the relevant information

Theme: Travel advice

•Introducing the text type features of a poster

•Providing steps for students to read a poster, e.g. looking at the pictures and captions and reading the title to understand the gist, reading the, headings, and sub headings to find out the relevant information

• Helping students to analyse the text type features of a blog writing

• Helping students to analyse the

text type features of a blog writing

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2

^nd

tryout: Travel advice Reading  Writing

2

^nd

tryout: Travel advice Reading  Writing

Unit Plan Unit Plan

Input

Modelling

Group writing

Independent writing

Using jigsaw reading to help students understand the cycling tour

Introducing the text type features of a blog

Guiding students to generate ideas and work in

groups

Students worked independently

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Learning and Strategy:

2. Catering for different learning styles Learning and Strategy:

2. Catering for different learning styles

Students are practicing the target language forms through playing the board games. Students work cooperatively and attentively. This activity traces them to the final task.

Designing open-ended task using the RAFT model Designing open-ended task using the RAFT model

Role A member of the cycling tour

Audience Parents or friends of the participants

Format A blog

Topic More able

broke … missed … lost …

bad weather…

Average lost…

broke…

Remedial

bad weather …

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Open-ended Task Open-ended Task

Look at the bike, The tyre broke

It was Day 7 of the cycling tour. I was so delighted to see the sun shining brightly in the morning. We had a long ride on the highway.

The scenery was beautiful. I can see a lot of mushrooms. Suddenly, Mandy cried, ‘My bike is broken! I cannot continue cycling.’

We were fortunately to find a bike shop. We changed a new tyre but it was very expensive.

We learnt the tyre changing skills. it was important to bring a spare tyre.

If we broke the tyre we should went to the bike shop.

Thank you for reading my Blog. I’ll tell you more about the tour tomorrow.

For less able students

◊ Provide prompts

◊ More support

◊ Fewer variety of topics

Day 5 of the Cycling Tour: All our suitcases were lost

Oh no! Where are the suitcases?

Today was the 5^th day of the journey. We rode the bike in the afternoon. Then we went to had eat something. When we went back to the hotel, everyone yelled, ‘Where are the suitcases?’ We ran to the ground floor and asked the

people in the hotel, ‘Where are out suitcases, ‘ we asked.

‘Oh! Let me call everyone to look for them, if we find them, we will call you. Please give us your phone number,’ they said. ‘Ok! We will wait,’ Miss Lau said. A few more hours later, a guy called us. In fact our suitcases were in the room near us, so we ran to the room and got them back. We were lucky,’ I said. Miss Lau said it was important to put the things tidily.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you like, you can leave me comments.

Day 5 of the Cycling Tour: All our suitcases were lost

Oh no! Where are the suitcases?

Today was the 5^th day of the journey. We rode the bike in the afternoon. Then we went to had eat something. When we went back to the hotel, everyone yelled, ‘Where are the suitcases?’ We ran to the ground floor and asked the

people in the hotel, ‘Where are out suitcases, ‘ we asked.

‘Oh! Let me call everyone to look for them, if we find them, we will call you. Please give us your phone number,’ they said. ‘Ok! We will wait,’ Miss Lau said. A few more hours later, a guy called us. In fact our suitcases were in the room near us, so we ran to the room and got them back. We were lucky,’ I said. Miss Lau said it was important to put the things tidily.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you like, you can leave me comments.

Group Work

Group Work Individual Work Individual Work

◊ Greater learner autonomy

◊ Less support

◊ More variety of topics

For more able students

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Extension activity: e-learning at Easter holiday Extension activity: e-learning at Easter holiday

Online reading and summarising the story

1. Assigning holiday homework through

the blog

1. Assigning holiday homework through

the blog

2. Sharing daily life experiences 2. Sharing daily life

experiences

•Providing a platform for teachers and

students to communicate in English outside the classroom.

•Providing an opportunity to read in an authentic situation and share their own experiences / feelings.

•Providing a platform for teachers and

students to communicate in English outside the classroom.

•Providing an opportunity to read in an authentic situation and share their own experiences / feelings.

3. Publishing students’ good work

3. Publishing

students’ good work A platform for sharing the class work and celebrating success.

A platform for sharing the class work and celebrating success.

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2.7 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.2

Mean score

1^st

2^nd

3^rd

Students’ Feedback Students’ Feedback

It is helpful to learn the features of different text types

The online resources and the

blog are interesting and

useful

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• Learning and teaching effectiveness: Students have a steady improvement in writing

• Peer assessment: Students are more familiar with the peer assessment which helps students evaluate their own

learning

• Suggestions:

1. Designing interesting speaking tasks

2. Introducing speaking strategies to improve students presentation skills

Teachers’ Feedback

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Differentiated Instructions

3

^rd

Tryout: Helping Others 3

^rd

Tryout: Helping Others

Content

Unit plan

explicitly

Strategies

explicitly

Process

Presentation Role play / Storytelling

Product

(39)

Unit Plan Unit Plan

3

^rd

tryout: Helping others Listening  Speaking

3

^rd

tryout: Helping others Listening  Speaking

Lead in

Modelling

Guided Practice

Group work

- Making use of mind map to generate ideas,

- Demonstrating and explaining what note-taking is

- Using connectors to organise a story Introducing the use

of online resources to help students generate ideas in a speaking task

Guiding students to use notes taken to retell the story

Students worked collaboratively to tell a story

(40)

• more motivated to learn English because of the interesting topics and resources, as well as the meaningful tasks

• more positive attitudes towards English writing and speaking activities

• making use of e-learning resources both inside and outside the classroom

• more motivated to learn English because of the interesting topics and resources, as well as the meaningful tasks

• more positive attitudes towards English writing and speaking activities

• making use of e-learning resources both inside and outside the classroom

Learning attitude Learning attitude

• using the target language forms and functions in writing and speaking tasks

• using the story map that comprises the 5 elements to write and present a story

• using the target language forms and functions in writing and speaking tasks

• using the story map that comprises the 5 elements to write and present a story

Learning outcome

• making use of graphic organisers in vocabulary learning and writing

• making use of framework/structures to generate and organise ideas

• Having greater awareness of using different

learning strategies, e.g. note-taking, high-lighting keywords

• making use of graphic organisers in vocabulary learning and writing

• making use of framework/structures to generate and organise ideas

• Having greater awareness of using different

learning strategies, e.g. note-taking, high-lighting keywords

Language development

strategies Language development

strategies

Impact on students

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• Helping the less able students achieve the learning objectives

• Stretching the ability of the more able students

• Designing task specific assessment rubrics

• Reinforcing peer assessment

through modelling and constructive feedback

• Integrating different resources into the lessons

• Making use of the e- resources and tools in the L&T process

• Making a clear connection

between pre-tasks and the main task

• Introducing learning strategies explicitly to students

Unit Plan

Unit Plan L&T resources

L&T resources

L&T

effectiveness

L&T

effectiveness

Assessment

for learning

Assessment

for learning

Impact on teachers

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Way forward Way forward

Teachers Teachers

Students Students

Curriculum Curriculum

• Forming teacher network to facilitate professional development

• Sharing teaching resources among schools of similar needs

• Helping students to reflect on their learning through self/peer assessment

• Helping students to develop metacognitive learning strategies

• Further enhancing the materials development at KS2

• Exploring strategies to cater for learner diversity at KS1

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