Inclusive Teaching- THE MIDDLE MAN.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Aimee Whatson on January 9, 2013 at 12:59pm

Hi Ellie,

I think people have the view that students in the middle seem to get neglected. However, this could sometimes be down to the personality of the student, so it is down to the teacher to promote inclusivity. Thats why a teacher is supposed to build in differentiation and different assessment methods such as q & a so some questions can be asked to the quieter students and everyone is included. Having said this, my personal view is that the majority of the 'middle ability' do get neglected, as Gina said the lesson capable get support and the more able get the praise!

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Permalink Reply by Ellie Nelson on January 9, 2013 at 2:28pm

Yes I totally agree Aimee that it is a teachers task to ensure that all learners are actively involved and engaged during sessions. Students who are unwilling to participate can be holding themselves back and if this is due to shyness it is necessary for teachers to promote a safe environment for all learners.

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Permalink Reply by Ellie Nelson on January 9, 2013 at 2:25pm

Definitely Emma. ILPS are extremely influential in promoting inclusion for all students, particularly when the learner themselves take consideration into their own strengths and weaknesses, as you mentioned. This could push students from the middle of a group to the top end, by taking ownership of their learning. However, this can only be achieved if the teacher focuses enough time on these students.

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Permalink Reply by Ellie Nelson on January 9, 2013 at 2:37pm

Thanks Lucy and Tracy, group work is certainly an excellent way of ensuring learners at different levels are being given the chance to learn from their peers. It is extremely tricky Andrea, like you said for students to ask for help, particularly when they are achieving what they need to and so it would appear they do not need any support.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa Jade Totman on January 14, 2013 at 12:01pm

Definitely! When I was at school they were mainly only interested if you were gifted. Even if you were poor at a subject, you were mainly patronised or written off as just not being very good. I definitely think the kids who are in the middle suffer quite a lot, they don't get the encouragement as some teachers just assume they're generally okay and end up settling for grades that could have been even higher. Tasks need to be catered to everyone and this is why individual learning plans and tutorials are essential to make sure individuals can teach their potentials.

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Permalink Reply by Aimee Whatson on January 14, 2013 at 1:36pm

Seeing your commented Mel and you writing the word gifted reminded me of two things that happened at my secondary school. A scheme was ran called 'gifted and talented'. This meant that if your teacher saw you as bright you would get to go on special trips out of school, to the theatre for example. Trips were also arranged for the less bright students as it would apparently help improve their learning, but what about those students in the middle, surely this s unfair for them?

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Permalink Reply by Laura Withers on January 14, 2013 at 1:47pm

Hi All!

I also believe the students achieving acceptable good grades often get overlooked with regards to teachers striving to further excel their understanding and thought processes in order to achieve that bit extra which makes all the difference.  Surely Aimee's comment above, regarding trips out for the bright or the under achieving student, does not provide equal opportunities and inclusivity to all students?  Is this not, what educational authorities frequentely quote in policies, procedures and mission statements?  

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Permalink Reply by Laura Withers on January 15, 2013 at 3:37pm

I agree Lucy! Also, the education systems are driven by the saying "bums on seats", as this ultimately results in funding. In my experience recently I have discovered some students have realised this resulting in negative attitude. This is due to the college providing umpteen resist opportunities to enable the students to obtain a pass, all to keep their achievement tables looking healthy! Obviously students grades are capped to a pass only even if the quality of the work is of better standard however, surely neither attitudes towards learning from the college or the student are acceptable? Moving back towards the "middle man", such students should also be striving to better themselves, maybe a small number of these satisfactory grades are a result of this?

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Permalink Reply by Roland Baggott on January 15, 2013 at 6:11pm

Hi Laura,

During my teacher training I was involved in a group discussion about this subject. Consensus opinion amongst fellow teacher/trainees whereby it was easier to set-up for middleman .. then have material to support lower levels and challenge extended learners.

The only other plausible option was to run completely separate lesson plans/aims for each level which although nice on paper, would prove very hard to do day-to-day.

Roland Baggott

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Permalink Reply by David Antrobus on January 17, 2013 at 12:52pm

Hi Ellie, this sounds like that classic school report of students in the middle that reads "doing fine but could do better" and then left there in this category until school finishes. I think students react differently to different ways of teaching some need more one on one while others are quite happy to follow a broader guiding hand. It might just be a case of motivating students to get involved in the learning.  It is something I've started to become more aware of in my PGCE as we get further in and trying to come up with strategies to cope with these different levels of learning. Sometimes I think i am just  reacting to how students have been taught or treated at school before they come into FE.

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Permalink Reply by Laura Withers on January 17, 2013 at 3:48pm

Hi Roland

Your point is very valid about not being able to form lessons plans for every single type of learner within the class, all achieving at different rates and in different stages.  I feel it would be totally impractical to be able to do this from a teachers perspective.  However, is this not want differentiation is meant to achieve within lesson plans? For example, All students will be able to ... most students will be able to... some students will be able to ... ? by the end of the lesson, to check the lesson aims and objectives were achieved?

 

Laura

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