We know that every class is multilevel, and there are a variety of ways teachers can support learners in their classes to help them reach their personal learning goals. Giving learners autonomy in choosing their level of challenge is a great way to facilitate learning activities that meet everyone where they are. Multilevel worksheets are an excellent way to accomplish this. While creating these worksheets may involve frontloading some of the work by the instructor, it is time well-spent when the instructor is able to step back from instruction and observe the student-led learning in such activities. Here are a few important steps to take when creating these worksheets. Check out the following tips and think about how you might be able to use these in your own teaching!
Assess the Needs: Consider the breadth of skills in your class and plan accordingly. Some classes may only need two options while another class may benefit from three or four.
Streamline Responses: To allow for maximum engagement across levels, create worksheets in which the tasks may be leveled but the responses to each question or task are the same.
Allow for Agency: Demonstrate the options to students and then step back to let them choose their own level. They may misjudge the difficulty of the activity or even their own skills, but resist the urge to direct students to one worksheet or another. Giving choice allows learners to make realizations about their own skills in a low-stakes situation. We also know that autonomy is important for student satisfaction and persistence in classes.
Mix Groups: Mixing groups is a great way to encourage student-directed learning and allows for learners to get more repetition with the content. Higher and lower proficiency learners can all learn from each other, so it's important to encourage opportunities for them to interact.
Below are examples of multilevel activities. These are from the Ventures series of textbooks from Cambridge Press. You can see that the responses to the activities are the same, so someone selecting Level 1 and someone selecting Level 3 could debrief their answers together, even though the activity to arrive at those answers differs slightly in each worksheet.
Incorporating multilevel worksheets into your teaching strategy not only accommodates the diverse skill levels in your classroom but also fosters an inclusive and engaging learning environment. By assessing the needs of your students, streamlining responses, allowing for student agency, and encouraging mixed groups, you can create a dynamic and supportive classroom atmosphere. Embrace the challenge of designing these worksheets, knowing that your initial investment of time will pay off as you witness the growth and independence of your learners. The ultimate goal is to empower students to take charge of their learning journey, building confidence and competence along the way.
For more ideas about teaching multilevel groups of learners, check out other blog posts like this one: https://www.eslcenter.org/post/teaching-tip-every-class-is-multilevel-grouping-pairing-strategies
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