Differentiation in your classroom

[Tryingteacher]

I'm just about to start an ESL teaching job with a newly set up company. The boss had already committed to 'one of her teachers' giving a 3 hour workshop on 'how to teach children at different levels in your classroom'. She has 'chosen' me to give it and I don't really have a scooby but try as I might I cant escape. There will be 30-40 teachers taking part and English is not their first language. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I need this job...

Will the others be actual (trained) teachers? CBS if so, and if you're not, to be honest I'd be really wary of doing it, unless you can do the kind of workshop where you set the agenda but hand the work over to them in groups.

You really need to learn how to differentiate!
its a vital skill of teaching. How have you become qualified without knowing this?

CBS = because! damn you autocorrect...

I don't understand what you are asking, is it that you know how to differentiate but are unsure how to explain the reasoning and the methods to others?
If your audience is EAL, then you will need visual prompts, print outs so they can read and study at their leisure and some knowledge of where most of these teachers are in their knowledge of lesson planning. You also give no clue as to the ages of the children, or are you going to cover 4-16 and all subjects? What about G&T, SN? EAL in class?

You may need a job, but how confident are you that you can do this one?

I'm trained to teach ESL. Yes, they are 'trained' teachers but not to anywhere near the same standards as Western teacher training. I have been told they really need this training and whilst I am not the preferred choice it looks like I am the only option. I also get the feeling that if I don't do it then I'm not creating a good impression for my new boss. I'm not so concerned about presenting the materials as getting appropriate materials and giving them the right information. Help?

But this won't be my job. I can do 'my' job I've just been landed with this one too and I can't get out of it.

this is impossible to teach via the www. I have done 20 years in the classroom and still find it nigh on impossible to do do really well.

Firstly you need to find out what levels of ability you have in the classroom - how will that happen.

then most simply you can split into tables acc to ability.
you will then tailor information, questioning and activities by ability.

www.amazon.co.uk/Differentiation-Pocketbook-Peter-Anstee/dp/1906610312/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382789447&sr=1-1&keywords=differentiation

If they are not western-trained, and I have worked with many who weren't, then your first hurdle may well be getting them to understand why differentiation is necessary, effective and produces better results than undifferentiated teaching.

Yes, Silver Apples that's it. It will be for Primary Teachers and I am hoping English rather than all subjects. I might be able to get hold of some lesson plans but the teachers will be from a broad spectrum of schools from charity to government. Obviously, I'm out of my depth and I do know that but I'm here, I have to do it and any pointers on where I can find useful information would be greatly received.

Gods, you have my sympathy.
I found it hard enough working with teachers from the sub-continent who were either in my team or ones that I was mentoring, the baseline was so very different to UK reasoning and methodology.

SilverApples, It's either going to go really well or be a total disaster. I'm petrified.

Schools here are now being inspected. They are under enormous pressure to get their standards up and are being measured against Western schools that have higher budgets, resources and well paid teaching staff. Whilst I agree that these things need to happen it's very difficult for them. Which is why they get numpties like me in rather than someone who knows what they are talking about.

I will do my best and hopefully get the message over without confusing anyone. I do have contacts in a few local primary schools and have asked them for some sample differentiated lesson plans which I'm sure would be really informative for my workshoppers to see. I would also like to set up a pilot exchange program with some local schools and the English curriculum schools and am formulating a plan to go and see how receptive my old headteacher would be to that. That would be huge though and right now I have 11 days to write this workshop ulp!

Thank you Lord Palmerston, I have ordered that from Amazon and will hopefully get it this week.

My approach would be to differentiate the lesson - show rather than tell - however that would ideally require some knowledge of the teachers' starting points. For example ones who are not familiar at all would get a step by step guide (e.g. print out, surely one must exist already) to differentiating in EFL, discuss it in a small group then present their learning back to you at the end of the lesson; ones who have a bit of a clue would work on suggestions to differentiate a specific topic and ones who know what they're doing could do that and also create or suggest some resources (possibly using laptops or computers if you have access). Failing that try brightly coloured post-its and good biscuits - it seems to work for all conference organisers! English biscuits, obviously.

Hmm, maybe use flipchart to collect some example of undifferentiated learning they themselves have experienced e.g. in sport, the arts or at school - what more could they have achieved if learning was more personalised? etc.

Biscuits are a given but they might be Scottish . Thanks Phineyj, I do want to incorporate a differentiated grouping with them at some point. I have to think of a topic that will interest them yet show differentiation well without being culturally wrong. My boss should be able to help me with that.