Teaching in a

Multilevel Classroom
challenges and opportunities

Mixed abilities can be a challenge for teachers- why?

Contents
i. Objectives for multilevel teachers
ii. Learning styles
iii. Blooms taxonomy
iv. Content and language integration
v. Learning skills
vi. Scaffolding
vii. Quiz!

Objectives for teachers

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Observe and plan

Provide choices
Challenge students
Be flexible
Teach skills

What is your learning style?

Learning styles

Visual
Auditory
Kinaesthetic
Tactile

Left-brain
Right-brain

If you vary the activities that you use in your lessons, you are sure to
cater for learners with different learning styles at least some of the time.

Blooms (revised) taxonomy

A framework for learning objectives

Emphasis on learning skills
Revised by Anderson (2000)
Arranged in hierarchical structure:
Lower-order thinking
Higher-order thinking

Lower-order thinking:
Remembering
Recalling information
Understanding
Explaining ideas or
concepts

Applying
Using information in
another familiar
situation

Higher-order thinking:
Analyzing
Breaking information
into parts to explore
understandings and
relationships

Evaluating
Justifying a decision
or course of action
Creating
Generating new ideas,
products, or ways of
viewing things

Content and Language

Integrated Learning (CLIL)
A course in which content is learned
through a second (foreign) language
Four aims:

CLIL in the European Union

Legislation exists to promote innovative
methods for second (and third!) language
acquisition within member states
A resource center focused solely on CLIL
is funded by the EUs Lifelong Learning
Programme

Why is CLIL so popular?

Students acquire:
- Basic language skills
- Communication
skills
- Cognitive skills
- Learning skills

Students benefit from:

- Access to new ideas
across broader
subjects
- Self-confidence
- More challenging
materials

Further reading and resources:

British Council Teaching English CLIL
One Stop English members website
Council of Europe project website

What are some advantages of teaching

learning skills (or study habits) in the
classroom?

Will students also benefit outside of the

classroom?

Examples of learning skills:

Organization of work
Making drafts
Note-taking
Reviewing
Analytical and creative thinking
Editing and proofreading

Examples of learning skills:

Summarizing
Processing and using knowledge
Guessing from context
Recording results
Investigating
Scanning
Skimming

Scaffolding for differentiation

helps students in
their efforts to
complete tasks and
solve problems

Examples
- Share a visual aid before the lesson starts
- Demonstrate use of language resources
- Provide graphic organizers
- Write up language frames on the board
- Break complex tasks down into smaller steps
- Give constructive feedback

And now a quiz!

1. Which two learning styles prefer verbal
instructions for tasks?

2. What are the three lower-order thinking

skills in Blooms taxonomy?

3. Open-ended question: provide some

constructive feedback for a student who
knows most of the right answers but feels
too shy to speak up in class.

Thanks for your attention!

Sophia Kleinsasser, Bulgarian Fulbright
English Teaching Assistant 2010-2012