This presentation elaborates the importance of Understanding the Learner Diversity which is a slight adaptation of John Hattie's Visible Learning. The presentation not only gives an idea about learner diversity but also explains about Precision Teaching Probes etc.

1. UNDERSTANDING
THE LEARNER
DIVERSITY
Dr. GEETHA JANET VITUS
Hon. Director
Center for Learning Disabilities and
Difficulties,[CLDD]
Department of Education, University of
Kerala

2. What does it mean by Understanding for learner
diversity?

3. Introduction
So many students are physically present and psychologically absent. About
40 percent of students go through the motions, neither trying hard nor
paying attention. So many cut class and are truant, so many admit to
cheating to get through, so many lose interest because they cannot keep up,
and so many are bored by the lack of appropriate challenge. So many do not
learn that ability is not enough and effort is crucial. About half of students
who drop out say their classes were not interesting, and about two-thirds
say not one teacher cared about their success in learning at school. Not all
is rosy with teachers, teaching, and school.
Adapted slightly from John Hattie, Visible Learning

5. 5
A is quiet in
class
while
B is talkative.
How are students different
from one another?
A complains
about his group
members
while
B leads a group
discussion.
A works hard
because she
enjoys English
activities while
B works hard
for high marks.
A can pronounce
a word quickly
by chunking the
syllables while
B can finish
reading a passage
quickly.
In acquiring new
words, A learns
through songs
whereas
B learns through
doing crossword
puzzles.
A has got
problems with
spelling
while B has
difficulty
pronouncing /l/
and /r/ sounds.
A likes
animals
while
B likes car
racing.
Learner Diversity
In face of
a problem,
A frets about
the problem
while B tries
to solve it.
3. Personality
6. Intellectual
&
Emotional
Development
7. Attitudinal
&
Social
Maturity
4. Motivation
5. Ability 1. Learning
Style
2. (Learning)
needs
8. Interests

6. 6
How should we cater for Learner Diversity?
Even out
abilities and
performances
Stretch the
potential of all
students
X 

7. 7
What have you done to
cater for learner diversity?
 Re-teaching part of a lesson? Giving extended
tasks?
 Teaching students how to do assignments?
 Assigning supplementary/additional exercises
to provide more practice (e.g. self-designed,
adapted/ taken from resources available on
the market)?
 Drilling for tests and examinations?
 Providing individual help/ coaching?
 Conferencing with students?
Are they effective?

8.  Teaching is not limited to the curriculum. There are many other
aspects which can help us to make it easier to cater for learner
diversity.
 A diverse classroom is a challenge but there are techniques to face
this challenge. It is good for our society as a whole.
 Every child will have an equal opportunity to achieve to the fullest.
 I believe every single child should have equal opportunities to be
educated despite their limitations.
 When we talk about Learner Diversity we should also think of Special
Needs, Culture, Socio-Economic Status, Gender, Language, Learning
Disabilities, Behaviour and Learning Communities.

9. 9
Catering for
Learner Diversity
Why?
We believe there
is a need to
stretch the
potentials of
every student.
How?
What?
Learning Targets and
Objectives:
• Language forms
and functions
• Skills and
strategies
• Attitudes
Curriculum
Framework

10. Catering for Learner Diversity
HOW?
Curriculum adaptation
Learning and Teaching Materials
Learning and Teaching Strategies
Assessment for Learning

11. Dealing with diversity in our classroom.
 Differentiate, Categorize and Segregate
 a teacher needs to create a classroom in which students feel accepted and
respected and where diversity is celebrated.
 In the classroom, "diversity" applies to learning styles, background ,
educational backgrounds, language, and support at home.
 Student diversity has many dimensions, including significant individual and
group differences in culture, gender, previous educational experiences,
optimal modes of learning, and groups of students with unique sorts of
challenges, including the socio-economically disadvantaged, English language
learners, and students with disabilities.

13.  The picture represents the different hands that will touch our
life and classroom. Each student is unique and has a parent that
feels they are the most important person. I want this poster to
guide me in creating lessons in which students are comfortable
to discuss who they are, where they are from, and what they
strive for.
 I am using this picture to drive everyone of you to provide each
of our students the education they deserve so that they can
become successful.
 Are you an effective teacher? An effective teacher not only passes
information but also teach students how to learn.

14. • All students must be taught the rigorous standards-based academic
content that will enable them to be proficient.
• Yet, the reality of learner diversity challenges schools to provide rigorous
programs that meet students where they are academically (which may be
substantially below the class level), maximize their growth as learners, and
accelerate their learning to close achievement gaps.
• It is not surprising that diverse students have differentiated needs.
• In low-achieving schools with many low achieving students, an action plan
to accelerate the learning of all students is necessary.
• But remember one size don’t fit for all

15. Designing for Diversity: What are some
options?
Preparation Semester
Course/Subject
Academic subjects
Parallel enabling courses or experiences
Learning Community
B. Supplemental-remedial
D. Integrated Inclusive
C. Complementary
A. Preparatory
Access

16. MASTERS-or LEGENDS

17. Some practices for transition
Mastery
A mastery approach:
a set of principles and beliefs. This includes a belief t
hat all pupils are capable of understanding and
doing mathematics, given sufficient time. Pupils are
neither ‘born with the maths gene’ nor ‘just no good
at maths’. With good teaching, appropriate
resources, effort and a ‘can do’ attitude all children
can achieve in and enjoy mathematics.

18. What is mastery?
A high level of performance for all
∗ Keeping the class working together whilst addressing the
needs for all pupils to master the curriculum and for some to
gain greater depth and proficiency
∗ A mind-set - All children can achieve with good teaching,
appropriate resources, effort and a ‘can-do’ attitude.
∗ The manner in which the curriculum is designed, focusing
on fewer topics in depth, repetition and application. All
pupils have access to the ideas and concepts.

19. Sequencing
 In looking at the curricula in other places, great attention was paid to the
sequencing of key concepts.
 We need a new curriculum that encourages the learning of fewer things in
greater depth.
 When compared to other curriculum across the globe we can see that, we
give greater attention to the acceleration of pupils through content, often
at the expense of developing deep understanding.
 We believe that each student can learn at the same phase while learning
the same curriculum.

20. The mind-set behind a mastery based curriculum
 Benjamin Bloom - Mastery learning is based on 3 assumptions:
 Almost every pupil can learn a topic to mastery.
 Some pupils need more time than others.
 Some pupils need more help than others.
 Therefore, most pupils can learn if given sufficient time and quality
teaching to do so.

21.  All/most learners, with effort, will meet expectations.
 Development of deep knowledge.
 Great teaching, based on formative assessment, particularly great
questioning, is key.
 Precise assessment with Pre- teaching/learning.
 Keeping the class working together: Quick intervention keep up, not catch
up.
 Longer time on key topics.

22.  Deep and sustainable learning – for all.
 Depth is the key to avoiding the need to repeat teaching.
 It doesn’t feel like we’re starting again each term.
 The ability to build on something that has already been sufficiently
mastered …
 for this stage of learning - Mastery is a continuum

23. How to achieve DEPTH?
 Do you agree? (true/false, etc.)
 Explicit use of misconceptions and mistakes
 Probing questions (show me, convince me, what's the same,
what's different?, etc.)
 The missing digit/number (empty box)
 Here's the answer, create the question

24. FOR THIS…….
 Development of deep understanding through lesson planning/ design –
 small steps –
 What is the key learning for the lesson?
 difficult point
 critical point
 Longer time on key topics,
 providing time to go deeper and embed learning –
 Long term planning

25. We have to experiment with…
 Memorisation – Rehearse and repeat
plays a crucial role
In learning If we memorise something we’ve understood learning far more
embedded and far more secure (Daniel Willingham – cognitive scientist)
Use of precise language and speaking in full sentences -----gives children the
language
in order to express and hang learning on.

26. A different approach to differentiation and
intervention •
 Emphasis on developing deep understanding not
pushing children on to new content.
Support for those struggling---
‘keep up’ not ‘catch up’

27. Intervention within and outside of lessons is likely to be
focused on ensuring pupils are helped to keep up by revisiting
concepts or essential ‘prior learning’, ‘plugging gaps’ or
providing ‘additional consolidation’.
Pre-teaching?
 Intervention – that day?
 Intervention – next day?
 Change to lesson structure? Start with support/ additional practice if
needed?

28. Pupil who grasp concepts should rapidly be challenged
through being offered rich and sophisticated problems
before any acceleration through new content.
Different view of ability
Rapid graspers for ‘that lesson’ demonstrate depth of
understanding – MASTERY WITH GREATER DEPTH

29. For Mastery in Maths…
 The ability to reason about a concept and make
connections.
 Cuts down on the amount I need to learn eg relating
concepts of division, fractions and ratio • Deepens
conceptual understanding.
 Conceptual and procedural fluency.
 Move maths from one context to another.
 Recognise concepts in unfamiliar situations.
 Know number facts and tables, have efficient procedures.

30. Teaching for Mastery –Ideas for Coherence-
variation and fluency
Access
Pattern
Making connections
Chains of reasoning
Making connections
Small connected
steps are easier to
take
Procedural
Conceptual
Making Connections
Number facts
Table facts
Making Connections

31. Key Propositions: What do we know from the literature?
 Departure is not destination: ‘Time on task’ is the key predictor of
academic success.
 Relationships are ‘protective’: Investing in community building pays
off.
 Success may be a revolving door: Student retention/attrition is an
over-determined phenomena and require multiple attempts.
 Students cannot live by support alone: ‘More support’ is not
necessarily ‘effective support’---both challenge and support are
required
 Those that need often don’t ask: Paradox of student help-seeking

32. Precision Teaching --- Fluency
The core of precision teaching is the unique focus on building
fluency….fluency or ‘true mastery’ is ‘the fluid combination of
accuracy plus speed that characterises competent performance’
Richard Kubina, Rebecca Morrison, David Lee (2002).
“Literally hundreds of thousands of charted instructional
projects have demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach”
Carl Binder, Cathy Watkins (1990)

33.  The actual tasks the child does are traditionally called ‘probes’.
 Probes are activities the child completes in one minute that
allow you to monitor progress towards learning the skill.
 ‘Probes’ have been used in many versions of precision teaching
for many years to learn in many different skill areas and can
take many forms from lists of words that the child is learning to
sound out, to number bonds that a child might need to know.

34. The core of precision teaching is the unique focus on
building fluency….fluency or ‘true mastery’ is ‘the fluid
combination of accuracy plus speed that characterises
competent performance’ Richard Kubina, Rebecca Morrison,
David Lee (2002) “Literally hundreds of thousands of
charted instructional projects have demonstrated the
effectiveness of this approach” Carl Binder, Cathy Watkins
(1990)

35.  Precision Teaching can help make reading enjoyable. (Kessissoglou &
Farrell 1995).
 It can help you set achievable targets for children’s learning. (Downs
& Morin 1990).
 The instant feedback children get can help them learn. (Byrnes,
Macfarlane, Young & West, 1990).
 Precision Teaching helps with self-concept. (Roberts and Norwich
2000)
 Precision Teaching can help with maths. (Cheisa & Robertson 2010)

36. The five basic components of precision teaching
 Specifying desired pupil performance in observable, measurable
terms:
 Recording the performance on a daily basis:
 Charting performance on a daily basis:
 Recording teacher behaviour or teaching approach in relation to
pupil performance:
 Analysis of the data to determine:

37.  Having decided on the area that you wish the child to start on a precise
target must be set which is both observable and measurable.
 This is done using the probes and recording the child’s responses. The
child should work on the probe for a short time at least once a day (ideally
three times a day), usually for exactly one minute. You can just grab a single
minute to practise the probe. You can also take the opportunity to build in
a short teaching session in the ’10 minute model’ where you would teach
for 8 min, complete the probe for 1 min and then record the results for 1
min.
 The teacher records the pupil’s correct and incorrect rate every time the
probe is used, and can then plot this data on a fluency chart. The fluency
chart has a ratio scale that shows the relative increase or decrease in a
child’s performance.

38.  This refers to the planned, systematic changes, which the
teacher might make. For example changes may be made in the
use of praise, or in the nature of the teaching programme. Task
analysis or task slicing may be used.
 Whether progress is satisfactory; (ii) Whether changes are
needed in teaching approach in order to maintain or accelerate
progress.

39. The Special Characteristics of probes.
 They are given (at least) daily, ideally at the same time in the
same place with the same materials.
 All items on the probe are written in the same way.
 Items are randomly organised so that the pupil does not just
learn the sequence.
 They are given for a very short timed period, usually one
minute.

42. References
 Precision Teaching can help make reading enjoyable. (Kessissoglou & Farrell 1995).
 It can help you set achievable targets for children’s learning. (Downs & Morin 1990).
 The instant feedback children get can help them learn. (Byrnes, Macfarlane, Young & West,
1990).
 Precision Teaching helps with self-concept. (Roberts and Norwich 2000)
 Precision Teaching can help with maths. (Cheisa & Robertson 2010)