Factors for the Success of Catering for Students’ Learning Needs – From Rationales to Practice

Franky Poon

Vice Principal

HKRSS Tai Po Secondary School

10 January 2012

一個令人有讀寫困難的校名

香港紅卍字會大埔卍慈中學

讀音困難

書寫困難

容易混淆：1.「卍」 與 「萬」2.「卍」 與3.香港紅卍字會 與 香港紅十字會4.「卍」 與 佛教

Setting the scene

catering for learner diversity has become a necessity.

Getting to know my school

My school is a place where….

Our MissionOur name card

Our Policy

Our Assumptions (1)3-tier intervention model for catering to learner diversity

With special educational needs

With persistent social/learning difficulties

Average

Types of StudentsEfforts that teachers have to make

Our Assumption (2)Catering for diversity is a shift from selection to in

clusion

IITT

EEEE

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Our Achievements Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence

Our School Ethos: 卓越關愛校園大獎 2010

Our Support to others:Resource school on Whole School Approach

Our critical friends Norway, Holland, Scotland, Britain, Australia, US, Thailand and Malaysia…

Hawkins, M. (Ed.). Social justice language teacher education. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters, p. 124-161

Our Publication

Our belief on School Change Catering for learner diversity is a

capacity building process

What is “Capacity building” ？

“ Capacity building is defined as any strategy that increases the collective effectiveness of a group to raise the bar and close the gap of student learning.”

Levin & Fullan (2008)

How to build capacity ？

“ Behaviour often changes before beliefs. So everything must be driven by a bias for action and learning rather than a traditional approach to endless planning before acting.”

Levin & Fullan (2008)

The Prerequisites of School Improvement:Shared vision and Ownership

“Shared vision and ownership are the outcomes of a quality process rather than a precondition.”

Levin & Fullan (2008)

From Abstract Inclusive Values to

Concrete Inclusive Practices: Our Journey

Case Study

3-year School Development Plan

Subject/Committee Annual Program Plan

Awareness raising: Class-based Action Research

Awareness Action: Filming of LD strategies

Action Sharing: Staff development activity

Practice Evaluation: Lesson observation

2006

/07

2008

/09

3-year School Development Plan

To develop a WSA to catering for individual differences

Area of concerns Expected outcomes strategies

Subject/Committee Annual Program Plan

Awareness raising ： Class based action research project

Streaming of students

Group

Class no.

Description of each group

No less than 3 ability groups should be identified

Awareness raising ： Class based action research project

Group targets strategies Success criteria

Evaluation methods

Resource needed

From awareness to Action: Filming of LD strategies

Strategies include:

Heterogeneous grouping, ability grouping, cooperative learning, peer assessment, questioning techniques, graded worksheets, computer-assisted learning, individual instruction….

From Action to Sharing: Staff development activity

10 teachers were invited to share their practices (illustrated with a short video ) with other teachers

From Practice to Evaluation: Lesson observation

Criteria for assessment

1) Learning objectives are clearly stated

2) Classroom routines are well-established

3) Diversified learning / teaching activities are provided

4) Different learning styles are addressed

5) Students with different abilities are catered for

6) Timely and effective feedbacks are provided

Enhancing teaching effectiveness Conceptual framework of the development of differentiated

curriculum and teaching strategies

Goal Setting (specific, measurable, time-targeted objectives)

Awareness raising (context, relevance)

Experimentation (low-stake, celebration of success)

Implementation (well-defined needs, procedures and outcomes)

Evaluation (focus, feedback)

Strategies to cater for learner diversity in HKRSS

HKDSE & Differentiated Curriculum

The Opportunities for Curriculum Differentiation brought forth by HKDSE

From norm-referencedTo Standards-referenced

Clearer Indicators for different standards

Teachers can help students to set their own personal goals on each subject

Different attainment levels of HKDSE

standards-referenced reporting

In the HKDSE, standards-referenced reporting will be adopted to report

candidates' assessment results. For each of the five levels, a set of writt

en descriptors will be developed that describe what the typical candidat

e performing at this level is able to do. The principle behind these descri

ptors is that they describe what typical candidates can do, not what they

cannot do. In other words, they describe performance in positive rather t

han negative terms. 。

Source: HKEAA, 2009

What does each level mean ？

Learning paces and attainments

NSS Geography

Using level descriptors to differentiate the curriculum, learning tasks and expected outcomes

Level descriptors and differentiated learning tasks

Standards-referenced ReportingLevel Level descriptors

5 making extensive use of geographical terminology

explain complex spatial and ecological relationships and processes

apply knowledge to unfamiliar geographical contexts

demonstrate evaluative, inferential and problem-solving skills

4

3

2

1 describe in a simple and straightforward manner

describe simple

Geographical

ideas and

concepts

Identify similar

places,

environments

and simple

processes

express simple ideas and arguments

Everyday language → geographical terminology

Identify simple concepts → explain complex processes

Identify familiar places → apply knowledge to unfamiliar contexts

express simple arguments → give critiques of geographical knowledge

Principles for designing assignments which cater for learner diversity

Sharing of a school-based project conducted in Feb, 2011

ChineseChineseChineseChinese

Differentiating input for writingHigh

Differentiating input for writing Average

Differentiating input for writing Low

Using hint boxes

Using graphic organizers

Inserting Q/A between paragraphs of long texts

Using visual stimuli

Using comic strips

Using structured writing space

Using mind-map to develop ideas

Using mind-map to develop ideas

Using animal icons to group materials under the same unit

EnglishEnglishEnglishEnglish

Multi media input

Vocabulary building through researching on the Internet

Using a mind map to organize ideas

Polishing a mind map

Use of Q/A to promote sentence writing

Turning sentences into a text (an oral presentation)

Peer assessment

Illustrating a text with graphics / drawings

Different levels of questioning

MathematicsMathematicsMathematicsMathematics

Visual Cues

Making use of everyday experience

Allowing choices

Individualizing and tracking learning progress

Designing revision booklet

Graded exercises

不同程度的題目

LLiberal iberal SStudiestudiesLLiberal iberal SStudiestudies

Extracting and reorganizing information from textbooks

Allowing different expectations

Low High

Step-by-step instructions:Re-organization Critique

Step-by-step instructions:Re-organization Critique

Providing stick-on questions

Differentiated materials and Chinese herbs cabinet

分流模式優點：• 鼓勵能力較佳的學生

培養自學精神• 騰出時間給低能力組

別作個別指導 • 同組學生較易達到預

期學習目標• 同組學生之間易於溝

通

缺點：• 標籤效應• 分流的準確度• 學生感覺不公

混合模式優點：• 學習能力稍高的學生

為成績稍遜的學生提供協助（小導師）

• 鼓勵朋輩互相學習• 減少標籤效應

缺點：• 老師未能兼顧各組內

能力稍遜的學生• 不同能力學生之間的

協作問題• 能力稍遜的學生養成

倚賴的習慣

課堂活動多元化• 以配合學生的各種興趣，使不同能力的學生也

能參與課堂學習– 討論– 寫作– 繪畫– 解決難題– 繪製概念圖– 使用圖書館– 視聽教材– 資訊科技

互動教學• 非單向式教學，增加學生課堂參與機會及

投入感• 口頭滙報• 發問時間• 角色扮演• 示範 / 實踐

評估調適策略

• 加時應考• 往特別室應考• 電腦輔助應考• 調適試卷

調適試卷

• “A” ：一般試卷（包含不同程度題目，以照顧不同能力的同學）

• “B” ：調適試卷（內容整體較淺）

調適試卷的程序1. 編製評估試卷調適工作指引2. 融合教育主任決定作答調適試卷之學生名單

– 特殊教育需要報告– 學生及家長意願 – 班主任及科任老師建議

3. 擬卷老師提交「試卷調適分析表」4. 試後，各科組檢討調適試卷的成效 5. 各科主任交流調適試卷分析結果6. 教師發展日 :分組討論調適試卷策略

試題之調適策略 1. 附加提示／解說 2. 字體放大 3. 試題及答題紙合一 4. 減少試題數目 5. 淺化題目／避免考核較抽象概念 6. 給予公式／例子 7. 更改提問方式 8. 更改題目類型／答題形式 9. 利用圖像代替文字 10.要求完成概念圖以協助答題11.採用較淺／簡短的閱讀篇章 12.撮寫（簡化）原文（如：閱讀理解）

中二數學科

（ A ）

中二數學科

（ B ）

調適策略：提示步驟

淺化題目

94

Our final words for thought

Poon, F. & Lin, A (2011) “Creating a School Program to Cater to Learner Diversity: A Dialogue between a School Administrator and an Academic”

Social Justice Language Teacher Education, Multilingual Matters.

Thank You