Optimizing mixed ability teaching with the GSE Teacher Toolkit

GSE Teacher Toolkit: Teaching mixed ability classes

Sara Davila Nisan 15, 2025

A teacher sat at a table with students helping them work

Okuma zaman谋: 4 minutes

One of the biggest challenges for language teachers is teaching a mixed ability class. Students with different levels and abilities will always be present in our classrooms. So, how can we use the to improve mixed ability teaching? Let鈥檚 find out.听

How to teach mixed-ability classes

Differentiated instruction is the best way to address the challenges of mixed ability classrooms. This is a method that helps teachers adjust aspects of the curriculum to match the different levels of听students.*听This practice ensures that all learners are meeting course outcomes, even though their learning experience may be varied and听different.

In order to differentiate instruction and support students with different needs, teachers can change:听

the content being taught听听
the process used to teach听听
the product students create听听
the environment where learning takes place

Adjusting the content tends to be the most obvious way to support learners. So, teachers who want to engage with differentiated instruction in mixed ability classrooms often find themselves producing a lot of content. This is great听as a way to听support learners. However, creating new content or leveling existing content is time-consuming, and it can become a real challenge for teachers.听听

Content vs process

Instead of adjusting your content, you can use the GSE Teacher Toolkit to adjust your process. When you鈥檙e not creating lots of new content, you鈥檝e got more time to consider how to teach new language to your students and how they can show what they鈥檝e learned.听The GSE Teacher Toolkit helps teachers to focus on the process and language production of learners, rather than the content you are teaching.听

This means less work for you, and more engagement from your students, no matter what their level is. And the GSE Teacher Toolkit can help you understand the skills we can expect students to demonstrate. So how does this work in practice? Let鈥檚听take a look.听

Differentiated instruction in practice

Let's apply differentiated instruction, using the , to a complicated grammar lesson for a mixed classroom where some students are still A2, most are A2+ and a few are emerging B1.

Once you have the content for your students, it鈥檚 time to think about how to differentiate the lesson.听

One option would be to create two new worksheets, at an A2 level and an A2+ level - but as noted above, it鈥檚 a lot of work. Additionally, creating leveled worksheets means that you may听actually be听preventing your students from making progress by not adding enough challenge.听

To differentiate appropriately, it鈥檚 best to focus on the process that students will use, in this case, editing. In the GSE Teacher Toolkit, this kind of editing is an A2+ level skill. So, the A2+ and B1 students should be able to complete this worksheet.听

However, it might be a bit challenging for the A2 students. Therefore, you can look in the GSE Teacher Toolkit to find what writing skills you can expect from your A2 students. There are two skills that can be used to process this grammar point:听

A snippet of the gse toolkits writing points

Now that you understand the difference in process for students at different levels, it鈥檚 time to plan your lesson.听

How to differentiate process听

By the end of the lesson all students will be able to identify and correct errors in simple sentences to demonstrate the ability to use 'all of', 'none of', 'most of', 'a lot of', and 'a little of' correctly in writing.听

You can adjust the process to support students at all levels of ability.听

Lesson procedure for the worksheet	How the process is differentiated to support all learners
1. Ask all students to read the crossed-out errors in the worksheet and underline specific mistakes.	This supports A2 students the most. However, it's useful for all students.
2. Ask students in groups to discuss the mistakes. A2+ and B1 students will guide a discussion to create a series of "rules" to correct the mistakes in highlights.	This will be the most useful to A2+/B1 students while challenging your A2 students. Using groupwork allows more skilled students to support their peers.
3. All students will submit their grammar rules as group work.	This allows A2+/B1 students to help A2 students express grammar rules in their own words, to help improve understanding and use.
4. When finished all students complete the worksheet.	All students from A2/B1 can now complete the worksheet.
5. After completing the worksheet, all students will be asked to highlight the correction in the new sentences.	Completing the worksheet may have been easier for your A2+/B1 students.
6. Finally, all students will write a new sentence using the target language. Each student chooses one student to collaborate with.	Adding this extra step ensures that all students make progress by asking them to transfer their knowledge and demonstrate learning by creating something new.
7. Partners review each other鈥檚 sentences and underline any errors in the use of quantifiers. Partners can point out the rules that need to be applied and do a final review once changes have been made.	Applying the grammar rules that learners created to the new sentences helps to fully internalize the language of the lesson for all of your students at every level.
8. Students review peer corrections and create final sentences to submit to the teacher. Students submit all work, including original worksheet, sentences submitted to peers, peer-reviewed sentences with underlines and rule guidance and final correct sentences.	Now, all students from A2/B1 have had an opportunity to understand the rules, clarify and demonstrate knowledge of the grammar point.

This differentiated process primarily supports the students whose level is slightly lower. However, all students will benefit from the change in process, which gives them a chance to deepen their understanding of the grammar rules.听

And, as you can see, students write rules, create new sentences, and conduct a peer review.听All of听this work is created and completed by the students.

As the teacher, you don鈥檛 need to create a new worksheet to teach a differentiated class. The GSE Teacher Toolkit can help you to find a solution that creates more work for students and less work for the teacher.听

Learn more听

If you are interested in differentiated instruction,听t听I recommend is thoroughly researched and detailed by听.听

For more uses of the , there is a whole听section听dedicated to GSE听on our听blog where you鈥檒l find articles on how to use the toolkit. If you need to teach听grammar听and听vocabulary, the GSE Teacher Toolkit is there to support you.听

Read our posts 'Grammar lesson planning with the GSE Teacher Toolkit' and 'Assessing listening skills with the GSE'.

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陌lkokul 枚臒rencileri i莽in 5 akademik beceri
By Carol Higho
S眉rekli de臒i艧en bir i艧 piyasas谋nda, hepimizin kullanmas谋 gereken beceriler aritmetik ve okuryazarl谋臒谋n 枚tesine ge莽mi艧tir - ve 枚臒retmen olarak i艧imizin bir par莽as谋 da 枚臒rencilere gelecekteki kariyerlerinde ihtiya莽 duyacaklar谋 becerileri kazand谋rmakt谋r.

陌lkokul ortaokula (ve ard谋ndan 眉niversiteye) gitmeye haz谋rlanan 枚臒rencilerin de akademik becerilere ihtiyac谋 olacakt谋r. Bu becerileri daha b眉y眉k 枚臒rencilere 枚臒retmeyi teklif eden bir莽ok kurs olsa da, gen莽枚臒rencilerimize s谋n谋fta bir ba艧lang谋莽 yapabiliriz.

Akademik becerilerin d枚k眉m眉

脰臒rencilerin hayatlar谋n谋n bir莽ok farkl谋 alan谋na ta艧谋nabilecek bir dizi 枚nemli akademik beceri vard谋r. Bunlar 艧unlar谋 i莽erir:
- Zaman y枚netimi
- 脰苍肠别濒颈办濒别苍诲颈谤尘别
- 陌艧birlikli 脰臒renme ve Delegasyon
- 补谤补艧迟谋谤尘补
- analiz.
Her beceri, 枚臒rencilerin i艧 y眉klerini y枚netmelerine ve ister bir ofiste 莽al谋艧谋yor, ister bir derece i莽in 莽al谋艧谋yor veya serbest meslek sahibi olsunlar, etkili ve verimli bir 艧ekilde 莽al谋艧malar谋na yard谋mc谋 olacakt谋r.

Akademik beceriler konusunda fark谋ndal谋k geli艧tirmeye y枚nelik faaliyetler

脰臒rencilerin bu becerilere ili艧kin fark谋ndal谋klar谋n谋 ve anlay谋艧lar谋n谋 geli艧tirmek i莽in her ya艧tan 枚臒renciyle kullan谋labilecek birka莽 fikir.

Zaman y枚netimi

Okul g眉n眉n眉n b眉y眉k bir b枚l眉m眉nde 莽ocuklara nerede olmalar谋 ve ne yapmalar谋 gerekti臒i s枚ylenir. Ancak, zaman谋 nas谋l s枚yleyece臒inizi bilmek, zaman谋 y枚netmekle ayn谋艧ey de臒ildir.

Baz谋枚臒renciler bir aktivitenin ne kadar s眉rece臒ini hafife al谋rlar ve 莽al谋艧malar谋 daha uzun s眉rd眉臒眉nde (枚zellikle h谋zl谋 bitirenler) kendilerini aldat谋lm谋艧 veya 'geride kalm谋艧' hissederler. Di臒erleri gereken s眉reyi abart谋r, bunalm谋艧 hisseder ve ba艧lamadan 枚nce pes etmek ister.

Her 枚臒rencinin her bir aktivitenin neleri i莽erdi臒ini anlamalar谋na yard谋mc谋 olmak, zamanlar谋n谋 planlamalar谋na ve y枚netmelerine yard谋mc谋 olacakt谋r. Ayr谋ca, herkesin farkl谋 yeteneklere sahip oldu臒unu ve farkl谋 bir h谋zda 莽al谋艧t谋臒谋n谋 fark etmelerini te艧vik edecektir.

Her 枚臒renciye 10 dakikal谋k zaman bloklar谋n谋 temsil eden yap谋艧kan notlar verin (dersleriniz 1 saatlik b枚l眉mler halindeyse 6 par莽a).

Bir aktiviteyi a莽谋klay谋n:
- Bir hikaye okuyacaks谋n谋z ve 枚nemli bilgileri dinlemeleri ve not almalar谋 gerekecek.
- Bundan sonra, bir Venn 艧emas谋 olu艧turmak i莽in gruplar halinde 莽al谋艧acaklar.
Ard谋ndan, 枚臒rencilerin yap谋艧kan notlar kullanarak dersin her bir b枚l眉m眉n眉n ne kadar zaman alaca臒谋n谋 d眉艧眉nmelerini sa臒lay谋n. Diyagram谋 yapman谋n 20 dakika s眉rece臒ini d眉艧眉n眉yorlarsa, 眉st 眉ste iki yap谋艧kan not koymal谋lar.

脰臒rencilerin, dersinizin ne kadar s眉rd眉臒眉n眉 g枚z 枚n眉nde bulundurarak zaman ay谋rman谋n ne olmas谋 gerekti臒ini d眉艧眉nd眉klerini payla艧malar谋n谋 sa臒lay谋n. Herhangi bir 'zaman t眉kendi' mi ya da 'zaman' kald谋 m谋?

Etkinlikten sonra, 枚臒rencilere tahminlerinin ne kadar do臒ru oldu臒unu ve zaman kayb谋 olup olmad谋臒谋n谋 sorun.

脰臒rencilerin hafta boyunca farkl谋 etkinlikler i莽in bu t眉r g枚rev analizlerini kullanarak pratik yapmalar谋na izin verin, b枚ylece hangi etkinliklerde h谋zl谋莽al谋艧t谋klar谋n谋 ve hangilerini daha fazla zaman al谋c谋 bulduklar谋n谋 g枚rmeye ba艧larlar. Bu, 枚臒rencilerin zamanlar谋n谋 daha iyi planlamalar谋na ve y枚netmelerine yard谋mc谋 olacakt谋r.

Ayr谋ca, s谋n谋fta yap谋lanlar谋 payla艧arak ebeveynleri de dahil edin. 脰臒rencilerin zaman tahsisini y枚netmelerini sa臒lay谋n:
- uyanmaktan okula gitmeye kadar (y谋kanmak ve giyinmek, kahvalt谋 yapmak, okula yolculuk),
- eve gelmekten yata臒a gitmeye kadar (ev 枚devi, ak艧am yeme臒i, herhangi bir 莽ekirdek, TV izleme veya oyun oynama zaman谋, yatmaya haz谋rlanma).
Hafta sonlar谋/tatillerde zaman y枚netimleri nas谋l de臒i艧iyor?

脰苍肠别濒颈办濒别苍诲颈谤尘别

脰苍肠别濒颈办濒别苍诲颈谤尘别, zaman y枚netiminin bir di臒er b眉y眉k par莽as谋d谋r. G枚rev analizi, 枚臒rencilerin iyi bir not almak i莽in ne yapmalar谋 gerekti臒ini ve bunu nas谋l yapmalar谋 gerekti臒ini anlamalar谋na yard谋mc谋 olur. Ayr谋ca, bir aktivite hakk谋nda en 莽ok keyif alacaklar谋艧eyleri anlamalar谋na yard谋mc谋 olur.

脰苍肠别濒颈办濒别苍诲颈谤尘别yi 枚臒retmek i莽in, s谋n谋f谋n d眉zenli bir par莽as谋 haline gelmelidir. Her haftan谋n ba艧谋nda ula艧谋lmas谋 gereken (yakla艧谋k be艧) s谋n谋f hedeflerini listeleyin:
- Her 枚臒renciden bu hedefleri numaraland谋rmas谋n谋 isteyin - 1 en b眉y眉k 枚ncelikleri, 5 en d眉艧眉k 枚ncelikleri. Grupland谋rmaya yard谋mc谋 olmas谋 i莽in hangi 枚臒rencilerin ayn谋 g枚revlere ayn谋 s谋rayla 枚ncelik verdi臒ini not edin.
- Daha sonra, hedeflerden herhangi birinin planlanmas谋 veya haz谋rlanmas谋 gerekip gerekmedi臒ini sorun (枚rne臒in; bir bilim deneyi i莽in tere yeti艧tirmek) - ve e臒er 枚yleyse, bu hafta ba艧谋nda m谋 ba艧lamal谋?
- Her g眉n眉n sonunda, 枚臒rencilerin hedeflere ula艧mada ne durumda olduklar谋n谋 ve yeniden 枚nceliklendirmeleri gerekip gerekmedi臒ini g枚zden ge莽irin.
- Hafta ilerledik莽e, 枚ncelikli olmayan ek 枚臒eler ekleyin. 脰rne臒in, okul dolab谋n谋z谋 temizleyin / t眉m kalemleri ve di臒er yeni ger莽ek 枚ncelikleri keskinle艧tirin: Cuma g眉nk眉 s谋nav i莽in g枚zden ge莽irin. Bu, 枚臒rencilere 枚nceliklerin nas谋l de臒i艧ebilece臒ini anlamalar谋n谋 sa臒layacakt谋r.
陌艧birlik莽i 枚臒renme ve delegasyon

Delegasyon ve i艧birlik莽i 莽al谋艧ma hem temel akademik hem de ya艧am becerileridir. Neyse ki, 枚臒renciler i莽in zaten olduk莽a tan谋d谋k konular. 脰臒renciler genellikle g眉nl眉k oyunlar谋nda rolleri ve karakterleri devrederler - '脰r眉mcek Adam ol, seni kovalayaca臒谋m' vb.

Bu davran谋艧谋 s谋n谋fta da te艧vik etmek yararl谋d谋r. 脰臒rencilerin (her ya艧tan) farkl谋 becerileri nedeniyle i艧birli臒i ve delegasyon yoluyla neler ba艧arabileceklerini anlamalar谋na yard谋mc谋 olabilir.

Bir grup projesinin (枚rne臒in bir grup oyunu) 枚臒rencilerin bilgi payla艧mas谋n谋 ve birlikte 莽al谋艧mas谋n谋 gerektirece臒ini a莽谋klay谋n. Uyulmas谋 gereken kurallar oldu臒unu a莽谋k莽a belirtin:
- Herkes performansa kat谋lmal谋d谋r.
- Oyun en az bir dakika uzunlu臒unda olmal谋d谋r.
- Grubun bir senaryo yazmas谋 ve baz谋 aksesuarlar olu艧turmas谋 gerekiyor.
- Ekip olarak herkes birbirine (ve size) kar艧谋 sorumlu/sorumludur.
- Etkinlik, yaln谋zca herkesin kat谋lmas谋 durumunda ba艧ar谋l谋/ba艧ar谋l谋 olarak s谋n谋fland谋r谋lacakt谋r.
S谋n谋rl谋 bir hedef var 鈥� oyun 枚n眉m眉zdeki haftan谋n sonunda 2. s谋n谋f s谋n谋flar谋na oynanacak.

Grubun bir araya gelmesini ve birlikte plan yapmas谋n谋枚nerin (okuma k枚艧esi, 枚臒le yeme臒i vb.). Haz谋rlan谋rken, kimin hangi g枚revleri neden yapt谋臒谋na dair g眉ncellemeler isteyin. Ayr谋ca grubu, i艧leri payla艧arak bir 艧eyin farkl谋/daha iyi yap谋l谋p yap谋lamayaca臒谋n谋 belirlemeye te艧vik edin.

陌tirazlar谋n nas谋l ele al谋nd谋臒谋n谋 g枚rmek i莽in dinleyin (bu tart谋艧man谋n bir k谋sm谋n谋n 枚臒rencilerin ana dilinde olabilece臒ini kabul edin).

Projenin sonunda, her 枚臒renciden en 莽ok neyi sevdiklerini ve neyi en zor bulduklar谋n谋 listelemelerini isteyin. Onlara bir sonraki proje i莽in hangi becerileri geli艧tirmek istediklerini sorun.

础谤补艧迟谋谤尘补 ve analiz

Bu, 陌lkokul 枚臒renciler i莽in g枚z korkutucu gelebilir, ancak akademik 补谤补艧迟谋谤尘补n谋n temellerini atmak d眉艧眉nd眉臒眉n眉zden daha kolayd谋r.

B眉y眉k sorular, 补谤补艧迟谋谤尘补 ve analiz becerilerini geli艧tirmeye a莽谋lan bir kap谋d谋r. 陌ki 枚rnek, 'D眉nyam谋zda bitkiler ve hayvanlar neden 枚nemlidir?' Veya '陌htiyac谋 olan insanlara yard谋m etmek i莽in ne yapabilirsiniz?'.

脰臒rencilere her t眉rl眉补谤补艧迟谋谤尘补daki 枚nemli ad谋mlar谋 hat谋rlamalar谋 i莽in bir yol sa臒lamak, bu t眉r etkinlikleri daha az g枚z korkutucu hale getirir.

'Eller A莽谋k', be艧 parmakla bir el 莽izilerek g枚sterilebilen be艧 noktal谋 bir k谋lavuzdur:
- Hipotez
- 础谤补艧迟谋谤尘补
- Veri toplay谋n
- Rapor olu艧turma
- Kan谋t sunun
- 础谤补艧迟谋谤尘补 ve analiz (avu莽 i莽ine yaz谋lm谋艧).
Be艧 maddelik k谋lavuzu takip ederek 枚臒renciler:
- Olas谋 cevaplar hakk谋nda d眉艧眉ncelerini ve fikirlerini verin (bir hipotez olu艧turun)
- Bilgi bulmak i莽in kitaplar谋, 莽evrelerindeki d眉nyay谋 ve interneti kullan谋n (补谤补艧迟谋谤尘补)
- Neyin ger莽ek neyin fikir oldu臒unu nas谋l anlayaca臒谋n谋z谋枚臒renin (veri toplay谋n)
- Verileri g枚zden ge莽irin ve ana noktalar谋枚zetleyin (bir rapor olu艧turun)
- Arg眉manlar谋n谋 desteklemek i莽in 补谤补艧迟谋谤尘补lar谋ndan 枚rnekler kullan谋n (kan谋t sunun).
Herhangi bir 补谤补艧迟谋谤尘补n谋n metodik olmas谋 gerekir; Yukar谋daki be艧 noktay谋 kullanmak, 枚臒rencilerin okulda ilerledik莽e daha ayr谋nt谋l谋 ve karma艧谋k hale gelebilecek net bir yap谋 olu艧turmalar谋na yard谋mc谋 olur.
Eyl眉l 14, 2022

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