Phân loại học sinh và phương pháp dạy học sinh ở lớp học có học sinh khác nhau về kiểu trí thông minh – một nghiên cứu thực nghiệm tại một trường tiểu học ở hà nội

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOIUNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LƯU THỊ MAI THANH DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS OF DIFFEREN

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

LƯU THỊ MAI THANH

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS

OF DIFFERENT INTELLIGENCES – AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

AT A PRIMARY SCHOOL IN HANOI

(Phương pháp dạy học phân loại học sinh theo những kiểu

trí thông minh khác nhau – một nghiên cứu thực nghiệm tại một

trường tiểu học ở Hà Nội.)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

HANOI, 2018

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

LƯU THỊ MAI THANH

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS

OF DIFFERENT INTELLIGENCES – AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

AT A PRIMARY SCHOOL IN HANOI

(Phương pháp dạy học phân loại học sinh theo những kiểu

trí thông minh khác nhau – một nghiên cứu thực nghiệm tại một

trường tiểu học ở Hà Nội.)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Dr Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Quỳnh

HANOI, 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT ii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES iv

PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Objectives 4

3 Subjects 4

4 Research questions 5

5 Methodology 5

6 Organization of the thesis 6

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT 7

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

1.1 Intelligence 7

1.1.1 Different views of intelligence 7

1.1.2 The theory of Multiple Intelligences 9

1.1.3 Critiques of Multiple Intelligence Theory 14

1.2 Differentiated instruction 15

1.2.1 Mixed ability classrooms 15

1.2.2 Differentiated instruction 16

1.3 Experimental research 17

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19

2.1 The setting of the study 19

2.1.1.A description of the students and their learning program: 19

2.1.2 A description of the teachers 19

2.2 Research methodology 20

2.2.1 Participants 20

2.2.2 The instruments 21

2.3 Procedures 25

2.4 Statistics 26

2.5 Data Analysis 27

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 28

3.1 Scores of multiple intelligence survey 28

3.2 The results of pre-test and post –test 30

3.3 The result of interviews 33

3.4 Implications 34

PART III: CONCLUSION 36

1 Recapitulation 36

2 Limitations of the study 37

3 Recommendation for further research 38

REFERENCES 40 APPENDIX I

First and foremost, I would like to send my deepest gratitude to mysupervisor, Dr Nguyen Thi Ngoc Quynh for her helpful suggestions,comments and continuous support of my study I am also grateful to her forreading my manuscript and helping me make necessary changes

I would also like to all of the members in Post-graduate Department ofUniversity of Languages and International Studies (Hanoi) for designing avery useful syllabus of my Master program

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents and myhusband for their continuous support and encouragement throughout mystudy time

Hanoi, December 2018

Luu Thi Mai Thanh

According to Ellis (1985) second language learners are different inspeed and results So the purpose of this study was to find the best way forteachers to cater much better for every single student The researchinvestigated Gardner’s “Theory of multiple intelligences” in a sample of fortyeight students and they were all in grade four at a primary school in Hanoi.This research is an experimental study with the target group The instrumentsincluded multiple intelligence survey form; typical activities for differentmultiple intelligence types; one pre-test and one post-test; interviews andobservations The one experiment group design was used with subject.Meanwhile, percentage and index were used to analyze the collected data.There is a variety of learning activities created to develop students in allaspects

Keywords: intelligence, multiple intelligences, differentiated instruction

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

MI: Multiple intelligence(s)

SPSS: Statistical Package for Social Science

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Figure 1 Multiple intelligence domains by McKenzie (2002, p 156) 14

Table 1 Reliability Statistics of Multiple Intelligence survey 22

Figure 2 Distributions of Multiple Intelligences 28

Figure 3 Mean scores of MI preferences 29

Figure 4 Mean scores and Standard deviation of MI frequencies 29

Figure 5: Paired samples statistics of Class 1 31

Figure 6 A score comparison between pre-test and post-test of Class 1 31

Figure 7 Paired samples statistics of Class 2 31

Figure 8 A score comparison between pre-test and post-test of Class 2 32

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

This chapter introduces the research area and outlines the backgroundand rationale for the present study It also provides a chapter by chapteroverview of the thesis

1 Rationale

Differentiation seems to have become a very familiar term that many

teachers have heard However, it can be difficult to define The conceptcomes from the idea that there are a large number of children with mixedabilities in classes, and those activities are needed to be varied based onstudent’s levels of understanding, readiness to learn, learning needs, orinterest

According to BBC active (2010), differentiation is defined by theTraining and Development Agency (TDA) for schools as “the process bywhich differences between learners are accommodated so that all students in agroup have the best possible chance of learning” In recent decades, it hasbeen considered as a key skill for any teacher, especially those with mixedability classes

However, according to Stradling and Saunders (1993), differentiation is

a pedagogical, rather than an organizational approach Differentiation shapes

an approach to teaching in which teachers proactively modify curricula,teaching methods, resources, learning activities, and student products This isdone to address the diverse needs of individual students and small groups ofstudents, and to maximize the learning opportunity for each student in aclassroom (Berne, 1999; Tomlinson, 1999)

When teachers follow differentiated instruction, they becomeinstructors, not speakers in the class Therefore, they give their students ahigher chance of practicing and sharing their ideas in every lesson Thus,

there is a close relationship between the differentiation approach and thelearner – centred class theory

Jean Jacque Rousseau (1712-1778), a Swiss born French theorist confirmedthat teachers should begin an instruction by considering what the learner iscapable of learning, and what he is interested in learning The learner-centredapproach is therefore strongly advocated, based on the conviction that all arecapable of learning and enhancing self-development to their highest potential

There exists a very popular saying: “Everybody is a genius But if you

judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing

that it is stupid.” This saying is frequently misquoted as Albert Einstein,

however, I believe it is a great quote In fact, there are a lot of teachers whohave been using the same activities for different students in a class andevaluate them with the same criteria The research which I have focused onhas since made me reflect on my own teaching in my classroom Thus, I havebeen asking myself: “Have I considered my students’ needs before teaching?Have I given them equal evaluations and opportunities?”

Mixed ability classes are widespread among schools, even thoughstudents in Vietnam are tested, and organised and grouped on academicability However, this is based on their first language, rather than in English.Therefore, a wide range of abilities is a common occurrence in manyclassrooms, and one that many teachers are struggling with in our ownstaffroom This has enhanced my own reflections: “How do I meet the needs

of all my students?” Teachers are aware, more than ever, that a all lesson plan will not meet the needs of all their learners

In the paper named “Teaching English in Primary Schools in Vietnam”(2007), Dr Nguyen Mai Hoa introduced Moon’s (2005) finding of theteaching methodology Moon (2005) pointed out that in many primaryschools the teaching methods are “adult-oriented” In my experience, one of

the most dominant features of teaching methodology used in ESL isrepetition This is done through drills and whole class choralling This ismeant to help children to learn vocabulary and grammar word perfectly Andthis context is not fair to all of students In fact, students come with variedbackgrounds, home life, experiences, motivation and abilities, not to mentiondifferent learning styles While teachers are aware of this phenomenon, theyare often unsure how to deal with it (Tobin & McInnes, 2008) If educationalpractice is to progress teachers need to find a way to deal with diversity andthe needs of individuals, while teaching a group of students (Visser, 1998).

In my personal experience, the greatest satisfaction that an instructorcan have each time students come out of their class is that they gain anunderstanding of the lesson and an appreciation of their teacher However, in

a classroom with many students of different levels of knowledge, skill andattitude, this is quite difficult How do we ensure that we are applying asuitable teaching strategy and a proper assessment method to detect learning?

To answer this question, we should build an ideal learning environment wherestudents are eager to learn and express their ideas confidently

I have taught English to primary students at a big school in Hanoi fornine years This is a private school where students have seven English classesper week During this time, I worked very hard and tried my best to updateuseful teaching methods I have noticed a tremendous difference in ability ineach of groups of students This diversity, added to the amount of exposure toEnglish via multimedia outlets, interests, and learning styles, all play a role inthe vast ability gap in English among students I quickly came to realize that it

is better to have a variety of text levels available, as well as assignments

As a way to differentiated instruction, a teacher may implement thetheory of multiple intelligences (MI) The theory was developed by HowardGardner in the early 1980s and states that each person has several distinct

intelligences correlating with a specific part of the brain Utilizing the MItheory, teachers can organize learning activities to be relevant each of theintelligences in their classrooms This means that students will have targetedlearning experiences, resulting in higher levels of achievement The theory of

MI recommended that teaching strategies for a group of children may not besuitable for another group

2 Objectives

This research presents the effect of a new teaching strategy

“Differentiated instruction for students of different intelligences” with the

hope of caring for every student in a class So it will help teachers to organizeclass activities in a more effective way and improve the present situation byunleashing students’ sleeping potentials This experimental study also gives ameaningful answer to the question “How do I meet the needs of all mystudents?” The objective totally matches one of the purposes of teachingEnglish as an elective subject in primary schools: “Building positive attitudes

to English, and better understanding and love for Vietnamese throughlearning English Furthermore, students’ intelligence, personality, andlearning method will have also been gradually formed” (Ministry ofEducation and Training, 2003)

The research aims to build up motivations for the students in theirlearning progress So that a variety of activities designed for different groupswill be organized in every lesson

All of the students who took part in the study can be informed aboutwhat their dominant intelligence(s) are so that they can adjust their learningstrategies to get improvement Hence, this research one more time confirms

the statement: “Everybody is a genius.”

3 Subjects

The research was conducted on two Grade 4 classes in a primary school in

Ha Noi The participants were an English teacher who had more than nine

years of teaching experience and twenty four students from Class 1, twentyfour students from Class 2 “Everybody up 4” (second edition) published byOxford University Press (2016) was used as the textbook

The teacher first had the students do a multiple intelligence survey toidentify their intelligence types, and then designed lesson plans whichincluded different activities for different groups of students to cater their

needs effectively A pre-test and post-test will also be given to compare the

students’ performances of these two classes

4 Research questions

In order to find out the impact of multiple intelligence theory onstudent’s achievement, this study was designed to answer two questions:

a What are students’ types of intelligences?

b To what extent does the differentiated lessons based on the application ofthe MI theory lead to better learning by the students?

5 Methodology

The study consists of three phases The first phase focuses on MI surveyand answers Research question 1 The second phase mainly carries outdifferentiated lessons And in the third phase, the research aims to judgestudents’ achievement and analyze data This is an experimental study withthe use of the following instruments:

 A multiple intelligence survey for students

 A pre-test and post-test

 Interviews for students

 Differentiated activities based on the theory of multiple intelligences

A printed MI survey created by Laura Candler (2011) was used in thestudy because most other MI surveys are too long or complex for kids It wasthen translated into Vietnamese so that students could read and answer easily.The teacher delivered the survey during the teaching time and had the

students finish it in one period The next day, gathered data were analyzedwith the software named Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) toensure the validity and reliability

In this case, Class 1 was the experimental group, and Class 2 was thecontrol group A list of varied activities was designed in every lesson toenhance the potential of each child After analyzing data, interviewingstudents and observing lessons, the researcher made any adjustments to theinstruments and the method of teaching if needed A pre-test and post-testwere also conducted to find out how the students in each of the group hadmade improvements in English subject

6 Organization of the thesis

This study covers three main parts as follows:

Chapter 3 shows the analyzed findings and answers for two researchquestions

Part 3: Conclusion

This part is considered as a brief summary of the main content including

in the study It is also a recapitulation of findings, and it discusses on somelimitations of the study as well as gives out suggestions for further study

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter aims to establish the significance of the general field ofthe study, then identify a place where a new contribution of MI could bemade The bulk of the chapter was on critically evaluating the different views

of “intelligence” so as to identify the appropriate approach to investigate theresearch questions

1.1 Intelligence

1.1.1 Different views of intelligence

The term “intelligence” has many definitions, taking into account itscomplexity The notion of general intelligence (Spearman, 1927) had longbeen widely accepted by psychologists Historically, for a long time,intelligence quotient (IQ) test had been used as an effective instrument toidentify the intellectual ability of someone The abbreviation “IQ” wasinvented by the psychologist William Stern in 1912 Many different kinds of

IQ tests included varied items Some test items are visual, while some areverbal In 1904, Charles Spearman made the first formal factor analysiscorrelations among the tests He named “g” for “general factor”, and it was animportant tool of an IQ test However, Howard Gardner noted in his book

“Frame of mind” that the IQ tests had predictive power for success inschooling but little predictive power when it came outside the school context.Because of the important role in language learning, a lot of researchers havegiven different definitions for intelligence

According to Wagner and Sternberg (1985), there were threeconceptions of intelligence These views were reviewed by Chastain in a book

written in 1988 Firstly, from the psychometric view, intelligence is defined

as mental capacity, and prepared tests can be used carefully to measure thatmental ability After measuring, the test results can help in ranking learnersaccording to their ability Secondly, from the Piagetian view, he believes thatintelligence is composed of stages of development based on maturity,experiences in the physical environment, and it is the product of individualself-regulator processes Thirdly, the information processing view points outthat intelligence comes from the way the brain represents and processesinformation

In Moaafian’s point of view (2008, cited in Hernandez et al., 2010),intelligence is a person’s ability to reason, plan, solve problems, understandcomplex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience In short, intelligence

in this view is considered as a very general mental capacity, it is like some ofpersonal competences in both schooling and non-schooling environments.Ellis (2008) confirmed that there was a close link among intelligence,working memory and language aptitude With this view, Ellis also mentionedcognitive capacities and the difference between their conceptualizations andterms (p.649)

Howard Gardner (2011, p.63) appreciated that his review of earlierstudies of intelligence suggested him the existence of different intellectualstrengths/competences Gardner (1983,p.81) defined “intelligence as theability to solve problem or to create fashion products that are valued withinone or more cultural settings” This definition showed the difference betweenhis idea and the traditional psychology view of intelligence Furthermore,

Gardner (1993) described intelligence as a bio-psychological potential thatcould be changed by motivational, experience and culture factors And in thebook entitled “Multiple intelligences around the world” (p.323), he pointedout that intelligence was “a set of skills of problem-solving” helping a persondeal with his/ her problems or difficulties Also, intelligence was “thepotential for finding or creating problems – thereby laying the groundwork forthe acquisition of new knowledge”

Looking back at the above definitions of intelligence, I find thatSpearman, Piaget, Moaafian and Ellis just limited intelligence in one or some

of the aspects and “intelligence” is uncountable Meanwhile, Gardner madethe term “intelligence” become a countable noun, and he has professed to bequite willing to refer to his eight intelligences as talents or abilities Heclaimed that there was no hierarchy of ability, and Linguistic and Logical/Mathematical abilities are not more important than any of the other

“intelligences” in real-life

1.1.2 The theory of Multiple Intelligences

1.1.2.1 Types of multiple intelligences

The theory of multiple intelligences was coined by Howard Gardner in hisbook named “Frames of mind” (1983) Gardner uses the term MI to explainthe different ways in which people are intelligent He proposes that learnershave seven types of intelligences Each of us has these intelligences, but thereare some intelligences that are much more dominant than others This view onintelligence differs from the before views which based on only twointelligences: Linguistic and Mathematical intelligence The theory helpsteachers comprehend better how individual strengths can be understood

Gardner (1983) identified seven categories of skills and abilities which he

considered as individual intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical,spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal Later headded two more types: naturalistic intelligence (1995) and existentialintelligence (1999) Educational researchers has made further studies on thehypothesis of existential intelligence for years, so that the teacher did not putthis type in practice Gardner (1993) claims that all intelligences are needed insociety, and seven types of intelligences could be used together in a learningenvironment I totally appreciates this idea and plans to give students chances

of using their preferred intelligences in their classroom

The theory of MI had been proposed, discussed and developed in fourbooks: “Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences” (1983),

“Multiple intelligences” (1993), “Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligencesfor the 21st century” (1999) and “Multiple intelligences around the world”(2009) Parviz Maftoon exploited these ideas in the series and made very cleardescriptions for all intelligences in an article named “The Realization ofGardner’s Multiple Intelligences (MI) Theory in Second LanguageAcquisition (SLA)” (pp 1235-1236) Furthermore, his review turned to bevery helpful for language instructors since it provided some suggestedactivities which were suitable for students of specific types of intelligences.What follows is a brief introduction of intelligence types shorten fromMaftoon’s article

a Verbal/ Linguistic Intelligence

A person who owns this intelligence has the ability of applying linguisticrules effectively He or she is very sensitive to language and able to deal withproblems by using language Gardner (1993) pointed out that poets, linguists,language teachers, lawyers are the one who possess verbal/ linguisticintelligence A student who has this type of intelligence might be eager to do

the following activities:

- Visiting libraries or bookstores

- Writing diaries

- Playing word games

- Memorizing songs, poems or stories

b Logical/ Mathematical intelligence

According to Gardner (1993), students with logical/mathematicalintelligence are keen on the processes of categorization, classification,inference, generalization, calculation and hypothesis testing They are good atdoing comprehension/ written language tests Suggested activities for thesestudents might be:

- Watching videos about science

- Finding out information about famous scientists’ inventions

- Visiting science museums

- Arranging things into story line or time line

c Visual/ Spatial intelligence

This type of intelligence refers to the sensitivity to colors, shapes, lines,forms and space A person who has spatial intelligence is good at visualizingmodels in detail He or she is interested in the following things while learning

a language:

- Working on puzzles with words

- Making a collage by cutting out images from newspapers/ magazines

have this type of intelligence, they seem to focus on doing the followingactivities:

- Burning a CD of their favorite songs

- Singing songs

- Going to concerts or listening to music

e Bodily/ Kinesthetic intelligence:

Bodily/ Kinesthetic intelligence is the ability of using body forexpression It also refers to the use of body in dealing with problems ormaking products People having this type of intelligence might choose jobssuch as athletes, dancers, mechanics, and physical education teachers Astudent with bodily intelligences likes doing the following activities:

- Involving in sports

- Signing up for drama or dancing class

- Miming or acting out a story

- Gardening, cooking, learning car mechanics

f Interpersonal intelligence

This type of intelligence expresses the ability to getting on well withhuman relationships People that possess interpersonal intelligence areteachers, salesperson, or politicians In Teele’s (2000) view, interpersonalintelligence individuals are very friendly and eager to participate in socialactivities They prefer doing the following activities:

- Interacting with other people

- Being a people watcher and looking for chances of practicing English

- Taking part in some clubs, parties and talking to people that they donot know well

g Intrapersonal intelligence:

Intrapersonal intelligence makes a person independent, appreciate time

alone and be self-reflective He or she can define interests, fears and abilities.Self-monitoring becomes the most dominant characteristics of theseindividuals Students who own this type of intelligence may like doing thefollowing activities:

- Thinking their goals and their hopes for the future

- Using a diary to write about their thoughts and feelings

- Making a list of strengths and weaknesses of their language learning

h Naturalistic intelligence:

Gardner added this intelligence as the eighth one after the first publication

of the model in 1995 Gardner (1999) pointed out that a naturalist is the one who

is good at identifying and classifying objects People who own this type ofintelligence always focus on “observing, classifying and understanding the parts

of the physical environment as well as showing understanding of naturalphenomena” (Parviz Maftoon, p.1236) A student who has naturalisticintelligence is usually concerned with the following activities:

- Discovering environment, animals, nature and plants

- Talking about favourite pets or natural places to classmates, friends,parents

With the hope of cater for all of students’ needs, it is important whenlooking at how students possess different kinds of minds, and therefore learn,remember, perform, and understand in different ways Gardner argued thatstudents would be better served if teachers could teach in a number of waysand learning could be assessed through a variety of means In term ofteaching, this theory makes wonderful changes for teachers’ method Ateacher-centred class really shifted to a learner-centred class by variousactivities in the lessons The researcher highly appreciates lists of suggested

activities for students given by Howard Gardner The theory of Multiple

Intelligences (MI) brings a magic door for differentiated instruction, and it is

also the reason why this paper mentioned the term MI

1.1.2.2 Three domains of multiple intelligences

McKenzie (2002) categorized three domains of multiple intelligences:the analytical, introspective and interactive domains (Figure 1)

Figure 1 Multiple intelligence domains by McKenzie (2002, p 156)

McKenzie grouped logical, musical and naturalist intelligence into theanalytic domain because they include the processes of analyzing andincorporating data into existing schema The interactive domain consists oflinguistic, interpersonal and kinesthetic intelligence because the students whohave these types of intelligences typically invite and encourage interaction toachieve understanding Intrapersonal, existential and visual intelligencebelong to the introspective domain because they need a looking inwardlearners, an emotive connection to their own experiences and beliefs to makesense of new learning

These domains show the relationship among some types ofintelligences and teachers can depend on this classification to plan lessonsthat address all of the intelligences in a class The domain also might helpteachers to minimize the number of groups in a lesson

1.1.3 Critiques of Multiple Intelligence Theory

Gardner (2011, p.293) discussed on a critique of the MI theory byhimself He pointed out that there were still numerous areas of humanpsychology that the theory could not encompass Before that, some otherresearchers have concentrated on the problems with the theory

Carroll (1985) thought that Gardner might have neglected the area ofmemory as psychometric evidence which shows the important abilities in thisdomain

Many psychologists (for example, Klein, 1988, p.106) see thatdifferentiation of the concept of intelligence is not supported by well-foundedevidence However, many educationalists appreciate the practical value of thestrategies suggested by the theory

Steinberg (1988) argues that Gardner is not supporting the existingdefinitions of “intelligence”, and in fact he uses the word “intelligence” withthe same meaning of “ability” So that he calls MI theory as “a theory oftalents, not one of intelligences”

However, the theory is also received support from many researchersand educators MI theory is evaluated its results by its applications ineducational settings (Chen, 2004) For instance, Project Zero at HarvardUniversity studied forty-one schools that applied MI theory to theircurriculum for three school years The results showed improvements instudents’ test scores and discipline, parents’ involvement Haley (2004) alsoappreciated the effectiveness when applying MI theory to second languageand foreign language learning and teaching

1.2 Differentiated instruction

1.2.1 Mixed ability classrooms

Mixed ability classrooms are widespread among schools This is a

common factor that teachers have been struggling with, and asking the

question that triggered this study: “How do I meet the needs of all my students?” Teachers are aware, more than ever, that a one-size-fits-all lesson

plan will not meet the needs of all their learners Students come with variedbackgrounds, home life, experiences, motivation and abilities, not to mentiondifferent learning styles While teachers are aware of this phenomenon, theyare often unsure how to deal with it (Tobin & McInnes, 2008)

The greatest satisfaction that a lecturer can have is that each timestudents come out of class they strongly impress on their lesson andappreciate the lecturer as the best one they have got in their life However, in

a classroom with many students of different knowledge backgrounds, skillsand attitude, this value is quite difficult to get How do teachers ensure thatthey are applying suitable teaching strategies and a proper assessment method

to detect learning? To answer this question, educators should build an ideallearning environment where students are eager to learn and express their ideasconfidently

1.2.2 Differentiated instruction

Differentiated instruction and assessment (also known as differentiatedlearning or, in education, simply, differentiation) is a framework orphilosophy for effective teaching that involves providing different studentswith different avenues to learning (often in the same classroom) in terms ofacquiring content, processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas, anddeveloping teaching materials and assessment measures so that all studentswithin a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in ability(Tomlinson, Carol 2001)

Students vary in culture, socioeconomic status, language, gender,motivation, ability/ disability, personal interests and more, and teachers must be

aware of these varieties as they plan curriculum By considering varied learningneeds, teachers can develop personalized instruction so that all children in theclassroom can learn effectively (Tomlinson and Carol Ann, 1999)

Theisen (2002) also pointed out that our students come to us withvaried abilities, diverse languages and cultural backgrounds, differentinterests and learning profiles Students need to have variety, choices,challenges, and opportunities to demonstrate their capabilities and help themreach their highest potentials Differentiated instruction can play a vital role instudents’ achievement and students’ satisfaction in learning and offers apotential tool to dealing with a mixed ability classroom

Visser (1998) emphasizes the importance of teachers understanding thesignificance of differentiation since research confirms that differentiationallows all students to achieve at their maximum ability Therefore, if teachersunderstand the concept of differentiation they would have a simpler timeimplementing it into their lessons and be able to help students meet therequirements of the National Curriculum (Langley, 2015)

In fact, implementing differentiation can help teachers build up alearner-centred class However, there is little research related to differentiatedinstruction, so this is the reason why I chose this topic to focus on teachers’perceptions of differentiated instruction

Establish the conditions for the comparisons required by hypotheses of

the experiment research

Enables the experimenter through statistical analysis of the data tomake a meaningful interpretation of the results of the study

The two groups were given a pre-test on the dependent variable Aftertreatment, both groups were measured on the dependent variable

The average difference between the pre-test and post-test was found foreach group

This thesis follows the steps of an experimental study and also takes intoaccount its components Participations, instruments and method will beconducted to carry out their functions

In conclusion, the chapter provides the readers different views of

“intelligence”, but it emphasizes on the theory of MI and appreciates to build

a wonderful class with differentiated instruction to cater for all of students

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter explains the setting of the study and describes all of theinstruments used to explore and evaluate the effectiveness of the method Italso points out the process of the study

2.1 The setting of the study:

2.1.1 A description of the students and their learning program:

The study was conducted at a primary school in Hanoi The students ofthis school start learning English as one of the main subjects since they are inGrade 1 classes Before going to primary school, most of them know theEnglish alphabet and many of them can understand some common topics such

as weather, toys, numbers, colours However, many students just start

learning English when they are in grade one, and English is considered as astrange subject to them Besides, they also have one Maths and one Sciencelesson per week with the textbooks which are imported from OxfordUniversity Press It is the fact that if students are not interested in learningEnglish, this subject will be a stress for them because there are many newwords and structures requires them to remember and apply Students in oneclass are in different levels and interests, so a similar way of teaching orlearning seems to be not appropriate because it cannot motivate all of thestudents

2.1.2 A description of the teachers:

At this primary school, English teachers have chances of taking part inyearly training programs which focus on the methodology and knowledge All

of the teachers have their bachelor degrees and get the teaching experience atleast seven years There are six foreign teachers in English Staff, and twentyVietnamese teachers can communicate with them fluently and share the

teaching methods together The teachers have to teach English, Math andScience in English, and they prepare carefully to make meaningful lessons.Since most of them are enthusiastic teachers, they have been trying to findvarious ways to update new trends of teaching and learning in the world andmake those trends really proper in their classes

2.2 Research methodology:

The study was conducted into three phases In the first phase, the

students did a pre-test to place students’ level They had to take part in an MIsurvey to identify their most dominant intelligences Different activities weredesigned for students of different intelligence groups based on suggestedideas presented by Gardner (1993) This phase aimed to answer the firstresearch question as well as made a firm prerequisite to continue the next

phases and answered Research question two In the second phase, interviews

and observations were carried out to check if the students were in theirpreferred intelligences or not Additionally, these instruments helped theauthor tests the effectiveness of her method to make any changes if necessary

In the last phase, the researcher used a post-test, interviews, and then

analyzed the statistics collected during the three phases

2.2.1 Participants:

The participants were all in grade four of a primary school in Nam TuLiem District, Hanoi The study investigated multiple intelligences on twentyfour students of Class 1 (experimental group) Twenty four students of Class

2 were chosen as the control group The number of male and female studentswere equal These two classes were chosen as the participants of the studysince the students were in the same grade and the pre-test with differentscores shows that they are mixed ability classes

The MI survey consisted of twenty - four items (See Appendix 1) Eachtype of intelligences was evaluated from three descriptive statements To helpstudents give their correct responses, the author used Likert-scale rangingfrom zero (Not at all) to five (Very true) The highest possible score for acolumn was fifteen Scores above ten represented strengths The students had

to count total scores for every types of intelligences, then the teacher checkedthe results twice Appendix 2 shows the survey scores of 24 students in Class

1 I based on this table to identify the most and second dominant intelligencetypes of every students

The reliability of the survey was checked carefully before performingthe main study The teacher gave the students of Class one a multiple

intelligence survey and had them do the survey in the class After collectingthe students’ survey scores, Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS)softwear 20 was used to check the validity of the survey Table one belowpresents the result of the analysis.

Table 1 Reliability Statistics of Multiple Intelligences survey

In general, the Cronbach’s Alpha is of 0.60 or higher is an acceptablevalue (Black and Porter, 1996; Nunally, 1978) The table shows theCronbach’s Alpha of the MI survey is 0.657 So I could confirm that theinstrument used to identify students’ multiple intelligence is reliable enough

2.2.2.2 Pre-test and Post-test

After identifying students’ types of intelligences, the teacher had thestudents in two classes do pre-test which contained four parts: Reading –Listening – Speaking – Writing All of the items in the test were based on thetopics, the structures and vocabulary of Unit 1

A post-test was given to the students at the end of Semester one(December, 2017) Like the format of the pre-test, the post-test also includedReading- Writing – Listening and Speaking test But the topics, forms andvocabulary were much wider because the students needed to review thecontents of Unit 1 to Unit 4 In comparison with the pre-test, the post-test hadthe same form but it was upgraded in amount of words and structures Theteacher did not use specialized tests for students of different MI groups sincethe purposes of this study are to encourage students and improve students’learning scores

tables saved as Excel files Then, the function “Analyze” of SPSS was chosen

to run paired-sample T-tests of Class 1 and Class 2 The results of these testsshowed the teacher how effectively she helped her students improve theirachievements by applying the new method of teaching Appendix 3 providedthe test scores The instructor used this table to find out the students who hadthe highest and lowest improvements and interviewed them to get morefindings for the study

2.2.2.3 Designing and organizing learning activities

Distinct activities were designed for students of varied intelligencegroups The students in Class 1 were divided in groups of the same multipleintelligence types There were some troubles in organizing students’ groupwork because the number of students for each of the groups was not evenly.The process of categorizing students into their MI groups met two mainconstraints The first one came from the uneven number of students for each

of MI groups The second derived from the changes in students’ type ofintelligences By observations the teacher realized these changes In thiscircumstance, she had to see the table of survey scores to consider using thesecond dominant intelligence types in the step of grouping students

With Class 2 – the control group, the teacher used traditional method toapply in her real teaching The students had chances of discussing in groups,but they did the same activities for every part during a lesson

In Class 1, the teacher spent time making twelve differentiated lessonplans Activities that promoted the development of multiple intelligencetheory allows every student the opportunity to develop their own side andpromote talent or the ability to learn the identity of the self The differentiatedactivities were partially performed in Production part

There were seven English periods per week for Grade 4 students: one

for Maths in English, one for Science in English, and five for English lessonsthat followed the schedule of the text book “Everybody Up 4” To cover theteaching contents and objectives, the teacher decided to make onedifferentiated lesson plan for two continuous periods per week There was atotal of twelve lesson plans that applied the theory of multiple intelligences.Lists of specialized activities suggested by Howard Gardner and the teacher’steaching experience were considered as the main resources to design teachingplans In this study, Appendix 6 to 12 would show the readers typicalactivities applied for eight different intelligence groups The lesson contentswere taken out from the text book “Everybody Up 4”

2.2.2.4 Interviews

To make sure that the differentiation instruction depending on students’multiple intelligences was really meaningful, the researcher organized someinterviews with students Students were chosen randomly for all of theinterviews to ensure the subjectivity of the study They were informed thepurposes and content of the interviews The teachers took notes during andafter the conversations All of the questions were given with the followingpurposes:

 making sure that the class activities were really suitable forstudents

 checking if the students liked their groups

 and revising the teaching method if necessary

Basing on the interview findings, the teacher found the way toorganize the class activities more effectively At the end of Week 14, after thepost-test, the last interview was conducted deeply with students who gothighest and lowest improvements in Class 1 to make sure the effectiveness ofthe new teaching method Appendix 13 shows the interview form

2.2.2.5 The classroom observation: