We're All Different :-)

I teach French at the high school level. It is not a core course, but, rather, a faux-core course. A student needs not a foreign language to graduate. However, since most students follow the state recommended plan, they must pass two years of the same foreign language as part of the requirements. That means the majority of students in my classes want only to get through the two years, and that’s not a problem. Here’s the problem. How does a teacher deliver the curriculum in a manner that accommodates the various learning styles and motivational levels? After all, it’s neither good teaching nor good learning when everyone is force-fed the same curriculum through the same strategies given the same amount of time.


I don’t profess to have the answer to that, but I do work a plan. I use common empirical data combined with competency-based evaluations to identify and differentiate student ability. I then categorize students by grade as struggling (<70), core (70 – 89), or expanded (≥90). Historically, the population falls as 10% expanded, 70% core, and 20% struggling.

Once categorized, My objectives and strategies are differentiated by group. For example, the curriculum may call for verb study. The core students may work on an activity of filling in the blanks with the correctly conjugated form of a verb. Those of the expanded group, which often includes Gifted-Talented students, may develop their own sentences using the same list of verbs. The struggling students may have to circle the correct verb form from two verb offerings for each sentence. Through these strategical differences I try to avoid the frustration for individual learners of a too slow or too fast pace and to increase the level of learning outcomes.

I monitor categorization of students with a feedback loop that requires a review every three weeks. At the end of the six-week grading period, I evaluate the population shift. If it moves positively with a shift of struggling students to the core group and of core students to the expanded group, it is a success. When an individual learner’s grade moves upwards, or that student moves to a higher group, I deem it successful. When I see any negative movement as a group, then I review the strategies for that group. When I see a negative movement by individual learner, then I look at that student from a personal perspectve, often confering with the counselor.

Is this the answer, probably not. Does this plan work, yes. Is this a lot of work for me, yes again. But when a student moves up in the ranks, it is worth the extra time.