Catering For Learner Diversity Essays

Catering For Learner Diversity Essays Catering For Learner Diversity Paper Catering For Learner Diversity Paper This article alms at sharing with readers how a group of 25 low achievers of English In a band three secondary school can be better motivated as a result of curriculum and assessment accommodation, multistory approach in teaching and change in teachers belief with relevant training in special education. School-based Hotel and Hospitality English curriculum When students are promoted to ANSI, it is very normal for them to follow a set INS English language curriculum targeted for the HEDGE examination. What If students were seriously denominated In English in the past and are far below the acceptable standard? Is that the set HEDGE curriculum could meet their need, in terms of content, standard and interest? To cater for the needs of my S. 4 group who scored between 1 and 23 marks in S. , I have been assigned to tailor-make a School-based Practical English Curriculum for them. According to McIntyre et al. 2005) and Reduce (2007), a powerful voice of students own feeling about their learning experience, both written and oral, Is a reflective conversation between teacher and students. After studying a survey result where their chosen electives, dream jobs and learning preference are included, it is found that about half of students are taking Tourism and Hospitality Studies and more than half are interested in Joining the catering industry. As for learning preference, more Han 80% of them want to learn how to serve customers in catering Industry. Owing to this, a Hotel and Hospitality English curriculum has been tailor-made for students of this group, as a starting point, with the belief that they can be benefited from learning authentic daily Workplace English, which may result in better learning motivation and career preparation. Multi-sensory approach in teaching with reasonably high expectation After the first week teaching In September 2013, it was found that the learner diversity of this group was obvious. Some are Intelligent but lazy and Inattentive resulting In very or academic performance while some failed to catch up with lessons because they are dyslexic, hyper active, speech and language impaired and intellectually disabled. As suggested by McKay (2012), teachers should teach all learners as if they are dyslexic (p. 105) and that multi-sensory approach Is preferred In classroom teaching to develop learners assonance, sell-esteem Ana Montreal Intelligence. Tater a year of teaching, I have confirmed that the multi-sensory approach works and is able to cater for learner differences in terms of different styles in learning. These include the SE of a bigger font size (at least 16) and a special font Comic Sans MS with different images in unit handouts; the use of magnetic letters, makes and breaks, word search game and dictation game on blackboard when teaching vocabulary items. When teaching grammar, songs and video clips are used. To make the classroom as interactive as possible, dialog teaching (Alexander, 1994) is normally used and students are asked, depending on the teaching focus, to do paired reading, peer tutoring, peer assessment, group discussions and role plays in front of the blackboard so that cooperative learning (DB 2010) can be experienced. While students of this group are already quite weak at English, three of them are even weaker than the rest. Thats why recordings for different reading units, frequent individualized teaching in class with differentiated materials like colorful dictation worksheets with blending and segmentation and individual consultation after class on progressive expectation, on ways to learn and do revision are given. For those who scored high and those who have shown good progression, public praises and colorful handouts were given as encouragement. During different casual chats with different students, they find these experiences useful, though tough in some sense, in enhancing their confidence and motivation in English, which is, in fact, reflected in their academic performance in different summarize assessments, where the overall percentage increase is about 300%-6600% when compared to their S. Results. No matter how, students of this group have to sit for the HEDGE (English Language) examination two years later. To prepare them well for the exam progressively, different testing items relevant to the HEDGE level are included in unit handouts, supplementary exercises and summarize assessments. Some are even extracted from past papers for HEDGE English exam or AS Use of English exam, with relevant accommodation. While students generally find these exercise challenging, their eagerness to overcome the difficulties is shown. With the sense of achievement in English, one-third of the class asked for a weekly after- school tutorial for the HEDGE exam, which I believe is good as far as integration and peer-tutoring are concerned as all 25 students studying this school-based Practical English course will be integrated with the normal HEDGE curriculum next year. Teachers Attitudes and Teacher Training According to Pyramids et al. (2000), the right of all children has to be valued equally, treated with respect and provided with equal opportunities with the mainstream system. However, many educators have serious reservations about supporting low- attaining groups and SEEN students in mainstream schools. To me, students no matter how weak they are academically and in discipline control are our future pillars and that we should treat every student as our child. With a firm character, love and patience, and of course reasonably high expectation on students, together with the deadness for change in nowadays education system, where curriculum accommodation and assessment accommodation to cater for students diverse learning needs are tattletale required, students snouts De addle to make progress as time goes particularly when they feel they are in the same language community because of less language anxiety, I believe, which is termed Community of Practice (Winger, 1998) The key is whether we are willing to accept inclusion and integration through whole-hearted changes in attitudes towards different groups of students, in the way to deliver lessons and in curriculum and assessment accommodation based n their needs and differences. In fact, continuous encouragement and reminders to students, particularly the less performed. Since my first touch in special education during my PAGE years between 2007 and 2009 through a module called Helping students with Special Education Needs, my interest in the field has grown instead of ceased. Thanks to my lovely students who urged me and thanks of course to the DB and my serving school who allowed to chive different trainings in special education, including relevant workshops in catering for learner diversity and more importantly, the three award-bearing programmed?professional Diploma Programmed for Teachers (Catering for Diverse Learning Needs)?Basic and Advanced Level offered by the Hong Kong Institute of Education and Thematic Course on Supporting Students with SEEN-Cognition and Learning Needs (Facilitating English Language Teaching) offered by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. These three programmed definitely urge me to do more for less performed students in terms of daily guidance and counseling and classroom caching. For those who believe teaching is your life-long career, you are strongly recommended to enroll these programmed one after another, which should be good not only to your students, but you, your family and even the society in the long run! Conclusion As an American prove goes when ten gold gets tough, ten tough get going. A teaching in a band three secondary school for eight years with the experience of teaching different kinds of students, where the learning difference in each class is wide, it is strongly believed that we, as teaching professionals, have to find ways to cater for learner diversity.