What strategies could educators use in helping children who are at opposite ends of the learning spectrum?

Answer 1

Partner work and group work is sometimes helpful. Pair kids of different levels and have them work together. The higher level kids learn how to explain things and help the lower level kids. This helps the higher level kids to get a firm grasp on the material. You always understand it better once you explain it to someone.
You can walk around and check in with the kids and help when it is needed. You can also listen and get a good idea of how well the kids understand or if something needs to be explained again.
I have found that sometimes the A+ student does not always explain things as well as the B student. The B students sometimes have to work harder to grasp it and therefore can explain it better then the kids who just get it without trying. So you can pair A and B kids, and B kids with lower levels. Some kids just cannot explain or help and so I tend to pair them together. I pair the lazy ones too, so that way they both have to work instead of letting the smart industrious kid do all of the work.

Answer 2

Have you heard of the techniques and strategies that are used in Multiple Intelligence? These techniques usually cater to the different learning competencies of different individuals and so with about two or three teaching approaches, lessons are better understood. Somehow, at least one approach would appeal to an individual. . . .

For learning to be meaningful, there should be more activities where the students would have an active participation. . .

Maybe this adage would help:

I HEAR and I forget; I SEE and I remember; I DO and I understand!

Answer 3

The education system in this country is usually one of the first things that get their budgets cut lower and lower each year. For one thing, the ratio of teacher-children is way too high. Teachers have too many kids in a class to give each child the individual attention they deserve and need like teachers did back when I was in school. Used to, teachers were willing to stay after school and work with kids that needed a little extra help, whether it be a child that was ahead of the class and needs MORE work to keep them from being bored or the child that is a little slow and needs the extra help. Because both parents have to work just to keep their heads above water, children don't get the help at home I used to get from my parents when I was in school. Parents that really give a hoot about what their kids are learning in school need to band together and get different kinds of programs going. Smarter kids could get some type of reward for helping teachers stay ahead by staying 1 hr. after school and working with a less fortunate child. I agree with you that something needs to be done and I am a firm believer in where there is a will, there is a way. Cut out all of the freebies like foodstamps to people that are cheating tax payers out of millions of dollars each year. Prescription fraud, doctor hopping by people that are on Medicaid or Medicare that don't have a thing wrong with them is taking our tax dollars away form education programs. Educating our children should be our first priority. God forbid, but just imagine who will be President and running our country 20 yrs. from now? Scary when you think of education in that perspective, 'ain't' it? Ha, ha, just had to use that word!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

Differentiated instruction. Carol Tomlinson has written extensively on the subject- look for any of her books (in all honesty, reading one or two will give you enough information). If you don't want to pay for them, look for them in the library at your local university. The basic principal of differentiated instruction is that teachers can and should differentiate content, process and product according to students' readiness, interests and learning profiles. In a differentiated classroom there is no room for a teacher to be sitting at his or her desk while the students are filling out worksheets- the teacher acts as a guide to facilitate student learning when they reach a roadblock, need reassurance or need help. Learning is student-centered and usually done in constantly-changing groups. Check out the books, they'll help you a lot.

Answer 5

speaking from experience it is very difficult. you need to address the needs of both groups without making any child feel left out. however, the more advanced students are usually happy to work by themselves, so have some extra work they can do, but try and make it fun, they dont want to feel punished, so that you can spend time with students who need more of your time

also any teaching activities you can come up with that can be split up into difficulties and tus handed out to groups of different capacities is good too.

Answer 6

In the short term use videos!! I have used it pretty successfully.Make videos of the teaching availiable for details on the content design testing etc Im me I am bored anyway