Luận văn the effects of teacher’s differentiated instructions based on students’ learning styles on their motivation

THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER'S DIEEEREN TTATED INSTRUCTIONS BASED ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING STYLES ON THEIR MOTIVATION Ảnh hưởng của việc đa dạng hóa phương pháp giảng dạy dựa trên phong cách học

THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER'S DIEEEREN TTATED

INSTRUCTIONS BASED ON STUDENTS’

LEARNING STYLES ON THEIR MOTIVATION

Ảnh hưởng của việc đa dạng hóa phương pháp giảng dạy dựa trên phong cách học cá nhân dối với động lực học

của sinh viên

M.A.Combined Program Thesis

Major: English Tcaching Mcthodology

Code: 60.140.111

HANOI - 2013

THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER'S DIEEEREN TTATED

INSTRUCTIONS BASED ON STUDENTS’

LEARNING STYLES ON THEIR MOTIVATION

Ảnh hưởng của việc đa dạng hóa phương pháp giảng dạy dựa trên phong cách học cá nhân dối với động lực học

của sinh viên

M.A.Combined Program Thesis

Major: English Tcaching Mcthodology Code: 60.140.111

Supervisor: Dr Lé Van Canh

HANOI - 2013

DECLARATION

T hereby certify thal this rosoarch cntiled “The effects of teacher's differentiated instractions based on students’ learning styles on their motivation” was conducted and then submitted m partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (M.A) This paper was original and has iol been submitfed

for any degrees at any other universities or institutions

Hanoi, October the 11 2013

Signature

Nguyen Thi Thinh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firat of all, T would like lo express my deepest appreciation lo Dr Le Vari Canh for his expert guidance and priceless encouragement during my completion of this MA thesis Reviewing the first manuscript in spite of his hectic schedule, he made some important suggestions which greally contribuled to the final

improvements

Special thanks should also be sent to my students at University of Languages and International Studies, without whom the data procedures could not have ever been completed

Finally, I take this opportunity to record my sincere gratitude to my family,

for their patience, support and encowagemenL T am also profoundly indebted to my

fiancé, Dang Tuan Thanh, for his remarkable tolerance and unshakeable faith which

motivated me enough to accomplish this paper on schedule

ABSTRACT

Motivaliom which has a profound impact on students’ academe avhicvernent

at university is determined by a lot of factors Among them, students’ learning style

is one of the most important one The correlation between motivation and learning

styles has been documented ima lot of research

This paper reports an action research undertaken in a reading course for second-year English majors in a university in Hanoi, Vitam Involving a group of twenty-six sophomores from the same class, this study aims to 1) identify the piven

class’s leaming styles and current level of academic motivation, 2) project and

implement some instructional differentiations upon the students’ different learning modalities aiming to improve their academic motivation; and 3) evaluate the impact

of the psycho-pedagogical intervention on the students’ motivation level Using two

questionnaires, inlerviews with students, and rescarcher’s scH-observation and reflection as the main research instruments, the study shows that these students had

low current level of motivation which was probably caused by different learning

preferences Basing on the insight into the students’ leaming styles, difforentiated

instructions were employed in hope to raise their motivation

ii

LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS

List of tables

'Table 2 Dunn and Dunn?s leaming style theory (VAKTT) 15 Table 3 Two oul of six Ibarning styles in Reid’s inodel 1 Table 4 Three classroom elements for differentiation a List of figur

Figure 1 Kolb’s model of learnung styles -s 2 ¬— - dD Figure 2 Learning cycle and decision factors used in planning and implementing

differentiated instruction TH nh ng HH re 20

Figure 3 The flow of instnichon in a differentiated classroom - 33

Figure 5 Components of foreign language learning motivation tects DD

Figure 6 The rationale behind differentiated classes 35

Figure 7 Range of activiles ina differentiated classroom a9 igure 8 ‘The proportions of the students by their study record in the first year 45

Figure 9 Equivalent seales of 12 mini.AMTH items Xerseeorou.ST

Figure 11, The research first Cyl .oasessesessersineesenseetnnen 56 Figure 12, Students’ perceptual learning style preforenoes eo co 59

iv

Figure 13 The participants’ level of motivation before the intervention ố2

Figure 14, Motivational intensity over a six-week period (Sept to Oct 2012) .70

“3 a Figure 15 English teacher evaluation over a six-week period (Sept to Oct 2012)

sa a Figure 16 Desire to learning English over a six-week period (Sept to Oct 2012)

List of abbreviations

AMTB: Attitude motivation battery test

PLSPQ; Perceptual learning style preference questionnaire

LS: Learning style(s)

LSI: Learning style inventory

SL: English as a second language

EFL: English as a foreign language

1 Statement of the problem - 2-2222 222cc Treo

3 Aims, objectives and research questions of the research 3

4 8øope oŸ the research s22 earie.Ð

CHLLAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEWS

1 Key concepts qH HH H011 1.01100100001110 g11eecee ¬—— 1.1 Learning stylo "¬

1.3 Learning metivatien in ESL„TIEL context - - 38

2 Related siuidles ch Herererrec Kaemriiiriio.22 2.1 Evidence of effeclivencss of dilferertiated instruction - 32

2.2 Differentiated instruction and learning style - - 36

vị

2.3 Differcnttatcd mstruction and BSIL/EEL rnotivaHon ceaee.39

5 Procedure of data collection coiceeeneiceee —

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

1 Sưmmary of the major findings of the research —

3 Thứ teacher-resosrcher°s rollecHơn on Ihe project, timilations and suggestions for

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

This chaptcr comlaiming the rationale, genoral objectives (guided by rescarch 5 Bt

questions) and organization of the study is expected to provide readers background materials and a map of the research paper

1 Statement of the problem

As a lecturer in an Hnglish-major university, the researcher of this study has

‘been teaching several courses of Dnglish skills (listening, reading, speaking and

writing) so far Therefore, she has had to deal with different teaching situations as

well as various kinds of English major students ‘Through her continuous classroom

self-observation, informal interviews with students and evaluation of students’

lesson jourmals (4 learning dairy which students were persomally asked to keep

writing from the beginning of each course to reflect their perspectives and foclings

of the lessons and teachers), the researcher has recently identified some

questionable problems in lier reading class: 1) the students were not molivaled

enough to actively join in class activities, 2) some students were somehow more

involved in certain activities while sometimes the others even showed no interest in

these ones at all Different aclivilics may evoke different reactions and feelings

from different students These concerned the researcher so seriously that she decided to investigate the situation to look for the answers in a structured mamer,

rather than in an informal one like before

Reviewing the body of knowledge which is expected to probably result in the

current, problem, the re

cher has found some factors having a considerable influence on students’ motivation such as their beliefs, affective state, aptitude, personality, age, and learning styles (To and Nguyen, 2009) Although these clements all affect students, and thereby worth studying, the researcher intend to keep focus only on learning style factor in relation to motivation due to her interest and the obvious disadvantages of researching many conditions at the same time

Owing to the development of brain and psychology rescarch into individual differences, the field of leaming style theory has drawn much attention from educational researchers since the 1970s However, iL was nol until de 1980s with the decline of behaviorism (stimulus’ response model), the concept of individual learning preferences was taken into serious consideration in some studies as a basic influential factor to students’ Iearning Some studies al that time could be mentioned, for example, Cafferty’s study of the match in teacher's and student's cognitive style (1980), Dunn’s work on students’ identifying their own learning style (1983), or leaning strategies developed from learning styles differences (Willing, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1988) ‘These studies have come to some important findings 1) learners have different preferred learning styles which determine their reactions and attiludes towards particular lypes of in-class activilies and 2) teachers’ accommodation to different learning styles can have impact on students’ motivation (Hum, 1979, quoted in Willing, 1988, 1988, p.57)

Because leaming style is an influential factor on motivation, teacher's

accommodalion to students’ different learning mode appears to probably raise the

level of motivation Many researchers have been arguing about matching/mismatching theories which suggest teachers should either try to match

their teaching styles to students’ leaning styles or try to expand their comfort zone

by forcing them to study with different leaming styles Acknowledging almost all the existing theories, differentiated instruction approach recently has gained much

attention in educational settings According to Tomlinson (2001), the goal of the

approach is to encourage teachers to proactively prepare and offer a wide range of activities which can cater for students’ differences (including learning styles)

Despite a lack of numerous empirical studies over the effectiveness of differentiated

instructions, positive focdbacks from teachers during the application of the approach ina variety of school settings have been reported worldwide.

For the aforcmentioned reasons, the researcher decided to start an action research project named “The effects of tencher’s differentiated instructions hased on sludents’ learning styles on their motivation: Au action research” to find the solutions to the classroom problem Though solutions suggested by other researchers’ studies may have been proved to be effective, they may never work for her generally unique circumstance Action research has boon employed for is practical goal of solving problem, rather than other kind of research for theory construction or testing This study, after finished, is supposed to contribute to a relatively neglected area of research in Vietnam or may be implemented by other

practitioners for their shared classroom problem

2 Aims, objectives and research questions of the research

a Aims and objectives of the research

‘This study is supposed to examine the relationship among three concepts learning styles, differentiated istructions and academic motivation in higher

education classroom setting This action research project was conducted to aim at

solving the problem of low motivation level which possibly caused students’ low

3) To evalualc the impact of the psycho-pedagogical intervention on the

students’ motivation level.

3 Signiftcance of the rescarch

Once having been finished, this action rescarch is expected to find the solutions to the problem of the researcher’s own class; otherwise, its findings would shed light on necessary further studics in order to solve the issue of students’ lack of

motivation in learning English as a foreign language In case the intervention of differentiated instructions works for this class, it may suggest a good potential treatment to the problem of students’ low motivation Tt doss not only help the researcher herself to overcome the difficulty in teaching but it can also be regarded

as a possible suggestion to other teachers who encounter classes of demotivated

students In addiuon, this research with its horough literalure review and reliable research instruments could function as a basic reference on the subject matter

Therefore, it may benefit other researchers or teacher practitioners on their way to

gain a deep insight into the issuc of learming styles, differentiated instuctions and

anotivation

Besides, another simullancous consequence of Ibis achon tesearch is to raise

students’ awareness of their learning style differences Many students hardly

understand their learning styles In fact, students are likely to admire advanced classmates, so they tend to imitate their learning styles or methods in the hope that they can improve their study resulls This impulsive thought might then resull in the students’ failure because of the incompatibility of applied learning styles and their major ones Consequently, this unsuccessful attempt usually leads to their lack of confidence and motivation Tn this study, aller loarning slyle and inotivation surveys

were administered and analyzed, the results would be delivered to the students for their own sake Furthermore, if the researcher’s hypothesis about differentiated

instructions by learning styles was right, students’ motivation would be increased

significantly

Last, bul not least, duc to the limitation of a smgle aclion rescarel: of the

generalization to the whole population, this paper might not add much value to the body of the existing literature as well as not persnasive enough for policy makers and school administrators Lo clunge the methodology or syllabus However, if more action research like this one was conducted and the findings were confirmed,

everything would change for good

4 Scope of the research

Action research can be done by a leacher Irying to solve a single problem in

his/her classroom Individual action research may search for solutions to the

problems of “classroom management, instructional stralegies, use of materials, or

student learning” (Ferrance, 2000, p 3) Besides, as few as two or a group of teachers can work collaboratively on the same subject matter that is shared among classrooms, without or with the support from principals or cducalional authorilies

In addition, to increase the scope of possible impacts, the other two are school-wide

and disirict-wide action research All four types are likely to be differentiated in

terns of focus, possible support, potential impact and side effects

According to Elliott (1991, cited in Water-Adams, 2006), the “best” (the most emancipatory) action research is collaborative in the nature of practice, involving a fow practitioners “exploring and challenging the consbainls of their professional lives” Meanwhile, individual one is usually criticized for lacking validity,

generalization and replication

However, Merrance in her booklet of the Brown university series "Lhemes in Education” claimed that each type of action research has its own possible impacts and side effects In order to avoid disagreements on process which may cause the delay or even failure of the research and due to the piloting nature of this study, the researcher of this study decided to carry out an individual action research to deal

shers who

wilh the problems of her own classroom belore suggesting i to other

share the same problem (collaborative) and then proposing it to the faculty administrators (school-wide)

In addition, because this is an individual action research and the researcher also would like to undertake a rigorous and thorough study, she only invited her own reading class of second-year students to participate in the study As a result, the data collection and analysis could be done, and considered more carefully and thereby producing more accurate findings

5 Organization of the rescarch

The study and findings are intended to be shown and discussed in the following chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction, which provides a broad view of the whole research by

presenting the current problem, mentioning aims and objectives of the paper, and indicating the significance as well as the scope of the siudy Chapter 2: Literature Review, which is supposed ta provide theoretical background

on the issus of foreign language lcarning slyles and motivation, discuss

the key concepts, identify the rescarch gap and review the related studies

in the history both in Vietnam and in the world

Chapter 3: Methodology, which infonns readers of the participants, the chosen

instruments, procedures of data collection and analysis

Chapter 4: Results and Discussion, which presents the description an interpretation

of the collected data in light of research questions

Chapter 5: Conclusion which summarizes the major findings discovered by the

research and written up in the previous chapter (chap 4) Moreover, it

suggests some pedagogical implication for wachers who share the same problem as the researcher ‘The limitations and suggestions for future studies are also discussed in this last chapter.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapler was the review of the existing Ieralure relevanl to Ihe subjecl maller

which wos under the researcher’s investigation In this chapter, some key concepts would be explained clearly and thoroughly In addition, related research works in bolh informational and Vietnam context would be analyzed and synthesized to

supply readers with a broad view of the topie in the scholarly world,

1 Key Concepts

1.1 Learning styles

a, Definition of learning styles

Individual difference is not a new field of study Before the 1970s, this term was considered somehow synonymous with ability difference measured by standard intelligence Lests However, owing lo the achievements in psychology in the 1970s, researchers soon realized the narrowness of this assumption ‘Therefore, the concept

of individual difference henceforth was changed imo the differences in many

aspecls such as learning styles, interests, motivations, genders or ages Among

them, “learning styles” may have been one of the most popular parts which have been studied since it was first used in the 1970s The studies an leaming styles have been continuing for roughly five decades

Although it would be not conclusive enough to prove the emergence, recent

years wilnossod (he dramatically increasing records of the resoarchor rnmnbers working in this area Apart from psychological field, research into leaming styles

has also been conducted in a vasl variety of domains, including management, vovational training and especially education in different scttings and levels

Since a vast quantity of research and practitioner-based studies have deliberately targeted at /earning style, there are now a wide range of definitions, theoretical positions, models, interpretations and measures of the construct in the

8

area (Cassidy, 2004), On the one hand, this can be convincing proof of the prevalence of this theory in education and it provides the interested investigators with useful extensive literature (or gaining thorough understanding of the issue On the other hand, this fact also causes the researchers such a lot of trouble when it

comes to the matter of ambiguity, conflicting outcomes or measuring instrument

selection

For those who are novices at the subject matter, it is quite confusing when they encounter the terms “learning styles”, “cognitive styles” and “learning strategies” ‘I'o some extent, these concepts are usually used interchangeably in the

learning style-related research with little difference in meaning However, in some

cases (for some special purposes), these lerms need lo be clearly distinguished

According to Allport (1937, in Cassidy, 2004) and Riding & Cheema (1991, in

Cassidy, 2004), an individual’s learning style is the application of his cognitive

style inlo learming silualion In other words, in cducalion cognitive slyle is an important component of leaming style Meanwhile, “leaming strategy” and

‘fearing style” share a Jol in common, except thal the latter is adapted more automatically to handle different lcarning tasks,

When it comes to the idea of learning styles, people must bear in mind a simple but reasonable assumption put forward by Dunn and Dunn (1983) “everyone has strengths, but different people have very different strengths”

Since the term “learning style” was furst in use in the 1970s, there have been tireless efforts among scholars and researchers to define it Therefore, it is not a

grcal surprise lo find numerous definitions of learning styles

Among these countless trees, there is one oak which should not and cannot

be ignored The definition by Keefe (1979) has becn mentioned in lots of leaning, style research (Reid, 1987; Willing, 1988; Coffield, 2004).

Leaming styles arc characteristic cognitive, affective, and physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how leamers perceive, interact wilh, and respond lo (he learning environment learning style is a consistent way of functioning, that reflects the underlying causes of learning behaviors (p 40)

Three components of leaming styles referred to in the definition could be presented as follows

Primary importance in shaping the way information is sought,

and the way iL is processed (Swassing, 1979)

Physiology Determine the stale of the entire organism, the senses and the

nervous system (Dunn and Dunn, 1979a)

Alfeclive factors (.c anxicly) inflacucig the person’s level of

Affective

achievement (Naunan et al 1975)

(Willing, 1988, pp 52-35)

‘The Keefe’s idea of these components were shared by Dunn, Dunn and Price (1978, acknowledged in Willing, 1988, p $6) and even specified more into 18 identified leaming style elements

For the consislency of the study, whenever the term learming slyle is

mentioned, it refers to the notion by Keefe (1979) Moreover, it is worth noting clearly at this point that this study just focus on sensory channels or perceptual

learning preferences as a primary part of learning slyle differcrices

10

h, Learning style theories, models and measures

As mentioned carlicr, this study field of learning style has drawn much atiention from plenty of researchers around the world, Consequently, this following review of leaming style models and instruments would be impossible ta be all-

inclusive Rather, it is going to refer to the most reviewed constructs in significant

review papers and excludes the minor models that are only the adaptation of the critical models to small-scale samples or just the new labels of the existing constructs

In the review entitled “Learning Styles and Pedagogy in Post-16 learning” by

Coflield et al (2004), 71 Icarmmg models which had been developed for the last 40-

50 years were listed Among them, the reviewers identified 13 major models mostly basing on their popularity

‘Therefore, in this paper the researcher would not mention these minor ones Out of the 13 leading models, David Kolh’s Leaming Style Inventory (LSI) and Dunn, Dunn and Price’s LSI are the most well-known and widely used in the UK and US respectively Moreover, Joy Reid’s (1987) model was also reviewed on this

part because of the researcher's later use of his self-report questionnaire

David Kolb’s lcarning styles model

David Kolb (1984) defined leaming style as “individual orientations ual gave differential emphasis to the four basic leaning theory: Conorete Experience (Cl), Reflective Observation (RO), Abstract Conceptualization (AC) and Active Fxperimentalion (AR)? These four were grouped into lwo calegories: cxporienec- grasping approach with CH and AC; and experience-transforming approach with

RO and AL Depending on the dominance of one experience-grasping and one cxperience-transforming among four factors inside an individual, there were four basic types of learning styles as follows:

11

Learning style Dominant factors Characteristic features

AC (thinking) and Al! Practical applications of ideas

Imaginative and good at

CH (feeling) and RO coming up with ideas Diverger

(watching) Seeing things from different

Actively engaging with the

CE (feeling) and Az

Accommodator

(doing)

reading about or studying them

Tuble 1 Koth's model af learning styles

12

Figure 1 Kolb's model of learning styles

Dunn and Dunn’s VAK/ VAKT models

Rita Dunn and Kenneth Dunn have spent more than 35 years devoting on the

studies concerning the learning styles (identification, instruments and assessment of

learning styles, etc.)

As mentioned before, Dunn, Dunn and Price (1978, cited in Willing, 1988)

included perceptual strengths in the 18 distinguishable learning style elements The

perceptual strength element consisted of three types of learning preferences in receiving the knowledge inputs: visual (prefer viewing pictures, maps, diagrams, etc.), auditory (favor listening to tapes, lectures or music), and kinesthetic (involve more in doing, touching and moving) Thus, the Duns” learning style model is frequently used in American school system known as VAK or sometimes VAKT

with tactile (prefer hands-on involvement, note taking, model building, etc.) included (Coffield et al., 2004).

According to the Dunns’ theory, cach individual have one or two dominant

styles (among those basics) which will role as the filter to favorably receive the

information delivered in the individual's best way of learning,

Dominant

Description/ characteristics learning style

= Mind sometimes strays during verbal activities

- Observes, rather than talks or acts; may be quiet by nature

- Organized in approach to tasks

- Likes lo read

- Usually a good speller

- Memorizes by creating mental images

- Thinks in pictures Lasily put off by visual distractions

- May focus on the ‘big picture’ and use advanced planning

+ Finds verbal instructions difficull,

- Remember faces

- Strong on first impressions

- May have good handwriting

- Enjoys using color

- Notices details + Often a quick thinker

- May be particular about the exact choice of words

- Memorizes by steps in a sequence

14

K:

kinesthetic

Very aware of thythm

Easily distracted by noises May have difficulty with written instructions

Remember names

May assess people by the sound of their voice Lnjoys music and the sounds of words

Finjoys lilking and listening

Can remember and offen mimic speech by picking up rhythm

of the sentence

May need time to think (i.¢ discuss it with myself)

‘May assess a situation on ‘how it sounds’ to them

In motion most of the time/ fidgety Outgoing by nature: expresses emotions by physical means

Reading is not a priority

May find spelling difficult

Likes to solve problems by physically working through them

Very good body control, good timing and reflexes May need time to think (i.e process the actions involved) Will try new things — likes lo get involved

Like physical rewards

Remembers what they have done rather than seen/ heard

May assess people and situation by what “feels right”

Enjoys doing activities

Plays games, simulations and role-playing

- Makes diagrams, mind maps, webs

- Taps poncil or fool/ fiddles with objects while studying

and

Table 2 Dunn and Dunn's learning style theory (VAKT)

(Source: Authors; Adapted from Coffield et al., 2004; Dunn & Griggs, 2003; Dunn,

2001; Dunn, 2003, cited im Penger & Tekavcic, 2009, p 6)

doy Reid’s VAK'T model

Joy Reid was one of the well-known researchers who had spent quite a lal of

timo and effort studying caning styles, especially perceptual strengths

Once realizing that no research hed been published on the perceptual

leaming styles of non-native speakers (NNSs) of English before and then claiming

that faile may rest not only on material but teachers’ unawareness of learning

styles as well, Reid (1987) on TESOL Quarterly reported his study which provided

the insights into NNSs” perceptual modalities in their classroom,

Take Dunn and Dunn, Reid ako followed VAK/VAKT model which was

added two more components named group and individual learning styles Hence,

Reid's consisted of 6 learning styles instead of 3 or 4 constructs as usual

Referring back to Dunn and Dunn’s definition of leaming style, these two

constructs could samchow be found in the sociological clement (working alone, in

pair, with peers, in team, with adults, or varied), Meanwhile, they were included in

16

percoptual channels by Reid (1987) This was the different point betweon Dunn and

Dumn’s and Reid’s VAKT model

The typical characteristics of 4 learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile) coincided with those detailed in Dunn and Dunn’s For the two added learning styles, the author had also given the explanation for those who had these

preterences

- Leam more easily with at least one another student

- Be more successful completing work well when working with others

- Value group interaction and class work with other students

- Team and understand new information betier with the

stimulation from group work

— Learn best when working alone Individual _ Think better alone

learning Remember information one learns by oneself

style - Understand new material best when leaming it alone

- Make better progress in learning by oneself

able 3 Two out of six learning styles in Reid's model

Six leaming preferences were grouped into three ranges: major, minor and

negative leaming style preferences It was advisable that students learnt in their

major learning slyles in which they could function well and lear best Minor preferences contained those leaming styles in which students could still ñmetion -well whereas students’ negative one showed the difficulty leaming in these ways

David Kolb’s and Dunn and Dunn’s Icarning style inventory were thought to

be one of the leading models in the field from which many other models have been developed or adapted (Collicld, 2004) However, Sinith (2001) has figured out 6 weaknesses of David Kolb’s LSI: 1) the process of reflection is mostly ignored (Boud et al., 1983) 2) four constructs in the model do not apply to every situation (arvis, 1987, Tenmanl, 1997) 3) il shows the lack of allertion {o cultural differences (Anderson, 1988) 4) the idea of stages or steps does not reflect the reality of thinking 5) the empirical weakness cannot back the theory and 6) the problematic relationship of knowledge and learning (Jarvis, 1987) As a resull of these problems, the application of Kolb’s model needs a great caution though this model is appreciated to provide “an excellent framework” to plan teaching and learning

Dunn and Dunn’s model also had to cope with many critiques which strongly

criticized the model as invalidate, unreliable and lacking an underlying theory The

reality and validity of Dunn and Dunn’s LSI have been criticized by some other

reviewers However, the Dunn and Dunn's LSI was one of the most widely used in

the American schools owmg to ils advantages such as positively claiming the

potential leaning ability of all students, respecting individual differences and showing its good effects in many practitioners’ adaptation to their samples of

students

In this research, the Dunns’ leaming style inventory would be used thoronghly and consistently ax the reference of learning slyle models However, criticized to be difficult for students and faculties to assimilate all, the instruments with too many principles (18) would be narrowed the foous on perceptual strengths/

preferences only, namely VAK or VAKT model

Tuming to this point, Reid’s VAKT model with 6 components was taken into consideration of the researcher because of the convertienl use of Perceptual Learning-style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) by Reid (1987) as the style- identifying instrument (see Chapter 3 Methodology) Moreover, Reid's VAKT was

18

basically similar to that of Dunn and Dunn with more than two styles These two,

group and individual were also very important in student’s process of gaining and

retaining knowledge Hence, from the researcher’s viewpoint, Reid’s model was

more complete to some extent As a result, in the scope of this research, Reid's

model will be used thoroughly

1.2 Differentiated instruction (Teaching style/ teaching approach)

a Definition of differentiated instruction approach

Instruction differentiation theory was established on the basis of student

differences which require a variety of suitably-adapted instructional approaches

Students with diverse needs should be provided not just one but multiple options to

lear materials and ultimately achieve success equally in the classroom The

necessity of differentiated instructions was confirmed by the significant findings in

brain research which many experienced teachers have always assumed:

+ No two children are alike

+ No two children learn in the identical way

+ Inthe classroom we should teach children to think for themselves

According to an expert in this field Tomlinson (2000), there is not just one

way to define instruction differentiation In the most fundamental way,

differentiation can be understood as a teacher's act of “tailoring” his/her instruction

to meet individual needs If a teacher tries to differentiate her instruction in the classroom, she varies her teaching in content, process, products, or the learning

environment to proactively respond to individual variance to create the best learning experience possible and therefore, keep all students engaged The model of

19

differentiated instruction was aimed at maximizing learning-teaching flexibility,

material access and possibilities of success for all students in diverse classroom

Basically, it offers students multiple options to absorb information, make sense of

ideas and express what they learn (Tomlinson, 2001)

Differentiating instruction means teachers’ “adjusting the curriculum and

presentation of information to leamers rather than expecting students to modify themselves for the curriculum” (Hall, Strangman & Meyer, 2003)

To differentiate instruction is to recognize students’ varving background knowledge,

readiness, language, preferences in learning and interests; and to react responsively, Differentiated instruction is a process to teaching and learning for students of differing

abilities in the same class The intent of differentiating instruction is to maximize each student's growth and individual success by meeting each student where he or she is and

assisting in the learning process:

(Hall, Strangman & Meyer, 2003)

Student

Readiness! Ability How teacher:

Interest Talents lans instruction Learning Profile * Whole class Prior Knowledge * Groups Pains

{adlapted from Qukatord, 1 & Jones, L., 2001)

Figure 2 Learning Cycle and Decision Factors Used in Planning and

Implementing Differentiated Instruction

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b Components of differentiated instruction

Tomlinson (2000) clearly drew up a differentiation guideline indicating that

there were three elements in the curriculum which could be differentiated to benefit students in diverse classroom

Teachers can differentiate at least three classroom elements based on student readiness, interest, or leaning profile:

Content

~— what the student needs to

leam or how the student

will get access to the

information

Several elements and materials

(acts, concepts, generalizations or

principles, attitudes, and skills)

are used to support instructional

content

Tasks and olyectives to

learning goals need aligning

Instruction is concept-focused and principle-driven and should

be adjusted in complexity level to

suit diverse learners

Process

— activities in which the

student engages in order to

make sense of or master

the content

Flexible grouping is consistently used

benefits students and teachers

Products

ask the student to rehearse,

apply, and extend what he

or she has learned in a unit Initial and on-going

assessment of student readiness and growth are essential

Students are active and

responsible explorers

Expectations and requirements

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e, Features of đifTerentiated instruclion

Tomlinson (2001) showed 7 key features of differentiated instruction as

follows

Differentiated instruction should be proactively planned by a teacher before

a class This teacher assumes the differences among his learnors, thereby preparing,

a range of ways to “get at” and express leaming This preparation in advance will

help the teacher nol lo passively reacling 1o some of (he learners as other teachers in

undifferentiated class usually do

“Diftrenlialed instruction is more qualitative than quantitalive” Some

people suppose that differentiating instructions means mere work for advanced students and less for struggling ones in a given olass [lowever, Tomlinson (2001) claimed that adjusting the number of the work does not effectively influence students’ Icarning process, but changing the nature of the assignments docs

Differentiated instruction should be employed along with continual

assessments Through informal chats with individuals, class discussion, students’

work, observation or a variety of other ways, teachers can assess their students’

progress which can indicate what works for cach learner to make the most of their

potential and talents

“Differentiated instruction provides multiple approaches to content, process and product”

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“Differentiated instruction is student-centered.” In a classroom, an effective

lesson should be “engaging, relevant and interesting” However, it would not reach

that goal if every student only had one avenue to find the lesson equally engaging, relevant and interesting Moreover, students do not have the same level of

understanding at the beginning on which later understandings will be built

Consequently, differentiated instructions which provide these students multiple paths to achieve lesson objectives really take these premises into consideration

“Differentiated instruction is a blend of whole-class, group and individual

instruction.”

“Differentiated instruction is organic.” In other words, this is a dynamic

process, When differentiating the instructions, teachers try to create the best

learning match to their students at that time Over time, students/learning match

may become less ideal and that’s when teachers need to make more adjustments to

maintain the effective matches

d Differentiated instruction strategies

Tn her tex “How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms” (Chapter 6), Carol ‘Tomlinson (2001), identifies 17 key strategies for teachers to successfully meet the challenge of designing and managing

differentiated instruction However, the author also claimed that there is no

particular recipe for differentiated instruction due to its nature and ultimate goal of fitting a wide range of student variance The differentiating depends on many

unique characicristies of a class such as leamncr’s learning styles, personalities or

learning profiles

Here are 17 “megastrategies” which can be used to successfully differentiate

instructions to make learting fit students better

« “Have a strong rationale for differentiating instruction based on student readiness, interest, and learning profile.” ‘he rationale will be used in

communication strategy aimed at students and their parents Just like the

teacher, these people need to understand the “new mules of the games”,

thereby not becoming resistant but contributing to the new leaming ways

« “Begin differentiating at a pace that is comfortable for you.” Moving ahead with differentiating instructions quickly or not should vigorously rely

on teacher’s readiness poinl, which is good for both students and teachers

thomselves Differentiating should start from the point where teachers enjoys most or feel the most comfortable and confident working with

» “Time differentiated activities to support student success.” Students’ time

spans of attention are different Advanced students have longer time span

than struggling ones One thing to bear in mind in differentiated class is to

make time allotment for class activities shorter than both advanced and

struggling students’ attention time spans

« “Use an “anchor activity” to free you up to focus your attention on your

students.” Advanced students are usually likely to finish the task sooner than the others, wlich causes dead time im class As a result, teachers ced

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to prepare some anchor activitics (suitable for students’ readiness and

interests), so that they can assign these activities in case some students

claim “I’m done” too soon im class These on-goirys achivilics can be done

without teachers’ assistant ‘herefore, teachers have more time to support those in need while the others are doing something meaningful

“Create and deliver instructions carefully.” Multiple directions are

needed, but delivering it ta the whole class at one time may cause confusion

or attention deficieney Some other options such as tape-recorded dircetions, task cards or assignments sheets could be employed to solve the problem of

instruction delivery

“Assign students into groups or seating arcas smoothly.”

“Have a “home base” for students.”

“Re sure students have a plan for getting help when you are husy with another student or group.” Advanced students can work as consultants for other sluderts with proofreading, finding answers or details, and so on

“Minimize noise.”

“Make a plan for students to turn in work.”

“Teach students to rcarrange the furniture.”

“Minimize “stray” movement”

“Promote on-task behavior.”

“Have a plan for quick finisher.”

“Make a plan for calling a halt.”

“Give your students as much responsibility as possible.”

Begin Slowly—ust Begin!

'Varied pacing with anchor options

Student-teacher goal setting

Varied supplementary materials

Options for varied modes of expression

Varying scaffolding on same organizer

Let's Make a Deal projects

Spelling by readiness Entry Points

Varying organizers Lectures coupled with graphic organizers

Community mentorships

Interest groups Tiered centers

Interest centers

Personal agendas Literature Circles Stations

Complex instruction Group investigation Tape-recorded materials Teams, Games, and Tournaments Choice Boards

Think-Tac-Toe Simulations Problem-Based Learning Graduated rubrics

Flexible reading formats Student-centered writing formats Figure 4: Low-prep vs high-prep differentiation

e Teacher’s role in u differentiated class

TL is self-evident that the role of teachers in differentiated class is different from that of teachers in traditional class in whieh the content is taught in the same way in the same time span for all students

The ability which these teachers need to develop:

« assess student readiness through a variety of means,

« “read” and interpret student clues about interests and Learning preferences

(learning styles)

«create a variety of ways students can gather information and ideas,

«develop varied ways students can explore and “awn” ideas,

« present varied channels through which students can express and expand understandings

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the middle students:

(adapted fram Willoughby published by Glencoe’ McGraw-Hill)

We all know that one way of leaming may inlerest: some sluderts, bul

simultancously annoy or discourage the others Therefore, differentiating

instructions is teacher's inevitable task [lowever, differentiation just calls on

teachers to prepare a range of ready approaches to leaming much of the time which nos! sludems find learning a fit much of the Line

1.3 Learning Motivation in ESL/ EYL context

directly affecls academic achievement, whereas the other factors only have indirect

influence on leamers through motivation

Demryei (1994) referred to motivation as “one of the main determinants” in learning second/foreign language (L2) It is self-evident that those who are not motivaled enough are usually struggling with school work and hardly achieve academic success ‘The first studies over motivation were initiated by bvo Canadian psychologists, Robert Gardner and Wallace Lambert These researchers were also

bringing L2 motivation rescarch to matuity” However, Gardacr’s motivation construct was then challenged and degraded as being too “influential” or

“domimant” xo that others concepts were ignored or not fully considered Moreover, Demyei also pointed out that the Attitude/Motivation Lest Battery (AMI'B) by Gardner had quite large scope of the social environment, rather than specifically focusing on academic motivation (though il does have educational dimensions with

some question items asking about motivation in classroom)

Academic motivation is a sludent’s desire (as reflected im approach,

persistence, and level of interest) regarding academic subjects when the student’s

competence is judged against a standard of performance or excellence (DiPerna &

Elhiotl, 1999, McClelland, 1961 Wigfield & Eccles, 2002 in McGrew, 2004)

Academic motivation is a subtype of the general construct of effectance

motivation, which is defined as the “need” to be successful or effective in dealing

with one’s environment (Grosham, 1988 im McGrew, 2004)

In this study, the definition by Wlodwoski (1985, p 2 quoted by Root, 1999) will be used thoroughly Motivation is regarded as “the processes that can (a) arouse and instigate behavior, (b) give direction or purpose to behavior, (c) continue to allow behavior to persist and (4) lead to choosing or preferring a particular

behavior.”

Gardner and Lamber! (1972) mentioned the (allowing factors which are rather related to motivation that will attempt to relate the sccond language ability

to these two functions

1 Integrative motivation, defined as the desire to be a part of recognized

or important members of the community or that society that speak the secand language It is bascd on interest in learning the second language because of their need to leam about, associate or socialize with the people who use it

or because of purpose ot intention to participate or integrate in the second

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language using the same language in that community, but sometimes it involves

emotion or affective factors a great deal, (Saville-lroike, 2006, p 86)

2 Instrumental motivation involves the concepts of purely practical value in learning the second language in order ta increase learners’ careers or business

opportunities, giving them more prestige and power, accessing scientific and

technical information, or just passing a course of their study in school (Saville- Troike, 2006, p 86)

Furthermore, the motivation is further classified into two main categories as

As extrinsic motivation is based on external outcomes such as rewards and

punishment This motivation could bring a negative impact to the students,

because with extrinsic molivation, siudenis do not learn wilh their slrong mention

or will but they study it because they are pushed by the interest in the rewards or the punishment, When a student is learning because he is promised rewards or because

he wanis (he rewards, he will be highly motivated Lo come to classes and Jean and

achieve the goal that is set for him, But when these rewards are taken away, or sometimes even if they do not see any punishment, the student will not be

inlerested in coming to class and learn the language any longer

2) Intrinsic motivation refers to leaming itself having its own reward (Amold,

2000, p 14) Tirmeans the learners are willingly and voluntarily (nel compulsorily)

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try to loam what they think it is worth or important for them, When students have intrinsic motivation, they have the internal desire to learn and they do not have the need for exlermal oulcomes There are no negative impacts in having intrinsic

qmotivation In addition, intrinsic motivation pushes the student to learn without

rewards, because the need is innate or come from inside or depends on their own will Lightbown and Spada (1999, p 56-57) mentioned thal teachers do nol have many effects on students’ intrinsic motivation since the students are from different backgrounds and the only way to motivate students is by making the classroom a supportive environment

b Motivation mode] - Components of motivation

Motivation is a “dynamic”, “eclectic and multifaceted” concept; therefore, a

vesearcher who intends lo initiate a motivation construct easily turns oul to make 3L

too restricted or static The last decades have scen a lot of ciforts of rescarchers to establish motivation constructs lor example, Gardner’s motivation construct

kmown as the integrative-instrumental system is popular on account of its

“simplicity and intuitively convincing character” Nevertheless, this construct is

“too static and restricted” according to Démyei (1994) Consequently, some other studies tried ta expand the Gardner’s construct by “adding new components, such as

inttinsic/extrinsic motivation, intellectual curiosity, attribution about past

successes/faihwe, need for achievement, self-confidence, and classroom goal

structures, as well as various motives relaled to learning silualion-specific variables

such as classroom events and tasks, classroom climate and group cohesion, course

content and teaching materials, teacher feedback, and grades and rewards” Based

on Gardner’s construct and these studies, Dérnyei has integrated all the componcmils into one construct with three components specifically as follows

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