Find out the techniques you can use to handle mixed ability children in your class.

In human society, we have a different kind of people leaving together. In our class too which is a small community and you the teacher being the manager of the class, you will have your students who have different abilities in understanding your lesson and this article has outlined some techniques in dealing with these learners in your class.

Spend time to know your students well. As a teacher, you need to get closer to your students and know them well, try to know each student and his or her learning ability. Know them whether there are a fast learner or slow learners, a class can be having fast learners, slow learners, and those that will even have to take about two or three hours before they learn a single thing. So, getting to know your students and their learning ability as teachers helps you to know how to plan your lesson, how to arrange it, and even the method you will use to teach.

Makes sure to get used to your aims and objectives. After you get to know your students well, you plan your aims and objectives that are achievable. Your objectives should be able to satisfy both the slow and fast learners in your class. Don’t let your objectives be for a specific group of students it should be unbiased. You must personalize or familiarize yourself with your objectives so that it is effectively and efficiently implemented.

Make use of students (L1) or first language. Most students understand better when concepts are explained in their local languages. So as teachers it is good to employ local languages when we are delivering our lesson to explain concepts that might not be properly understood by your students in their second language which is the English language so as to improve learners’ understanding of concepts. This will help bridge the gap between fast and slow learners.

Tasks should be varied between individuals and groups. When you identify that there are mixed ability students in your class, you have to make sure that you arrange your class in such a way that both the fast and slow learners are mixed together but not putting fast learners to sit at one side and slow learners at the other side, when it happens like that some of the learners normally the slow learners usually feel inferior because the tasks given them will be poorly performed by them as compared to their colleagues which are the brilliant students in the class.