An Inquiry Project to Differentiated Teaching

WANG Hai-yan CHENG Hui

（Beijing Polytechnic，Beijing 100176，China）

School is not a factory actually in which the sources are the same and the product in line are the same.In fact,students are all different.They have differences and diversities in their individual preferences,backgrounds and needs.The socioeconomics and family background,readiness,gender,culture and ethnics are all affected factors for students’ diversity (Heacox,2002).Often I asked myself this question——how to make a differentiated teaching?A long but exciting journey was started and will be going on and on.

I implemented several steps for this inquiry project:

1 Identify the students’level

Identify the level at which the students are studying is the first step

here are three levels thoroughly according to academic knowledge when they finished a test.Also I make a questionnaire to survey what they like and dislike,what are their hobbies,what kind of teachers they like,…..to know them and find diversified suitable methods for them.

2 Make a proper plan of curriculum content and teaching methods and assessment.

Here is an example.(The following material is from the speaking part of Lesson 7 in their English textbooks.)

Cathy:Hello,Myra,we’ll be on holiday next week.What about traveling together?

Myra:That’s a great idea,Cathy.Where shall we go?

Cathy:How about visiting a big city?We can go shopping!

Myra:Oh,big cities are too tiring.Let’s go to the countryside.We’ll enjoy the singing of birds and the beautiful views.

Cathy:That’s a wonderful idea.I really like the countryside too.Myra:What do we need to take with us?

Cathy:Cash,umbrella,comfortable shoes,food for animals...And a camera.We’ll take lots of photos.

Myra:Sure.Where shall we stay?Shall we book a hotel?

Cathy:No,let’s stay in a tent.I have a very good tent.

Myra:That’s cool!

Targets for this material:

For level-C :words and expressions (visit,holiday,travel,countryside,comfortable,enjoy doing sth,go shopping,take with,book a hotel)

sentence structures(what/How about…?)

dialogue(read the dialogue out fluently)

For level-B:content of Level-C and

words and expressions (umbrella,comfortable shoes,food for animals,camera)

sentence structures(where shall we stay?Shall we book a hotel?)dialogue(recite the dialogue)

For level-A:content of Level-B,C and

words and expressions (cash,credit card,passport,tent and other things should be taken with in a travelling journey)

Auxiliary verbs and mode verbs grammar review as:shall,need

dialogue(make a present dialogue about one’s vocational plan)

Exercises for different levels with different height:

·Listen and answer the question:

What are Cathy and Myra talking about?

They are talking about___________.

A.A dinner B.go shopping C.travelling

·Listen again and tick the items to bring.

( )camera ( )exercise book

( )bathing suit ( )comfortable shoes

( )umbrella ( )life ring

( )food ( )tent

( )cash

表1 Listen the third time and complete the chart.

Grammar points in the textbook of this unit is adverbial clause,I also designed exercises for different level students.

3 Implement the plan in classes,evaluate the outcomes

I used different methods to the students in each class.The strategy I want to emphasize here is the “flexible grouping “.Flexible instructional grouping is a critical management strategy in a differentiated classroom(Heacox,2002,p.85).When they are grouped,they are cooperated,even top students get another kind of the passion and achievement from whom they help.In group’s division process,we should consider both the students’ own desire of peer members and teacher’s suggestion.

4 Judge if the inquiry explore is workable and valuable

5 Make a reflection and think it over and feed back

In the end,we had a new test from which we can see the reflective result.

表2

Meanwhile there was a questionnaire about students feeling of the English subject and the classes’activities.It was marvelous to find out more and more students liked English and were willing to take part in English classes’activities.

Obviously,differentiated instruction is workable and practical in the EFL classes.The teachers should state different acquirements,choose different strategies and methods,arrange different exercises,set different teaching main points according to different cognitive and meta-cognitive levels of students to stir up their interests,maximize their learning potentialities.

［1］Dana,N.F&Yendol-Silva,D. (2003).The reflective educator’s guide to classroom research.Learning to teach and teaching to learn through practitioner inquiry[M].Thousand Oaks,CA:Corwin Press.

［2］Heacox,D.(2002).Differentiating instruction in the regular classroom:How to reach and teach all learners,grade 3-12[M].Minneapolis,MN:Free Spirit.

［3］Mason,J.(2002).Research your own practice.The discipline of noticing[M].London,UK:Routledge Falmer.Chapter 1.PP 7-25.

［4］Moon,J.(1999).Learning journals:A handbook for academics,students and professional development[M].New Your NY:Routledge Falmer.PP39-47.