Running head: RESPONDING TO VARIANCE

Responding to Variance: Differentiation at Mount Pleasant High School

Mike Pacini
Central Michigan University

RESPONDING TO VARIANCE

Mixed ability management in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms is quickly

becoming one of the most important skills for a new educator to grasp, as it is becoming more
and more common to take English language learners of varying age and ability, and group them
together in single classrooms. Mount Pleasant High School (MPHS) in Michigan was an
example of one such spread of diversity. Within this classroom of eight students, the skill levels
ranged from an eighth grade student with close to no English writing or speaking ability, to a
high school junior that can write and speak with passable conversational aptitude. Between the
two, a mix of ages and abilities existed, which often fosters concern on the part of those entering
the ESL teaching profession.
Because of this diversity in ability, creating lessons that appeal to all students while still
meeting their individual needs was one of the more challenging tasks for TEACHER: the ESL
teacher at MPHS. To overcome this obstacle, several useful strategies that showed a clear
understanding of key mixed ability management principles were gradually and efficiently
implemented. However, as these smaller strategies took hold, curiosity developed regarding how
the issue would be addressed in a larger assignment. TEACHER responded to this curiosity
through her About Me biographical project.
The About Me project called for an essay and digital timeline to be created that
detailed the history of each students own life and family. On the surface, this seemed to be a
fun project for exploring new vocabulary words related to the self. However, exploring the
project from an in-class observational lens showcased a practiced perspective of Harmers (2007)
management strategies. The first strategy came from working with different content, as he
explained that Giving students different content is an ideal way to differentiate between them
(Harmer, 2007, p. 128). Through having students use their own experiences to shape their

RESPONDING TO VARIANCE

project, rather than pulling from a specific text, TEACHER created an assignment that uniquely
tailored itself to the motivations, and language levels, of each student. Additionally, the
assignment achieved this while avoiding Harmers (2007) warning that creating student-specific
content can create a workload too great for teachers to handle.
Beyond the student-specific nature of the assignments subject, TEACHERS project
also created differentiation in the actions of each student. The project fell under the category of
Task-based Learning methodology, and as such promoted the completion of a class-wide goal
independent to language learning, despite the existence of language improvement elements in its
process (Harmer, 2007). TEACHER used this methodology to her advantage in creating the
About Me project by modifying the steps needed to achieve the class goal in accordance to
each individual student. While the assignment called for each student to give a presentation
covering his or her writing and timeline, the level of detail, quality of writing, and depth of
exploration all varied depending on level. This strategy not only made a classroom assignment
applicable to the skills and abilities of the individual students, but also maintained the important
mixed ability management principle of inclusion to the fullest possible extent. Every student
participated in the same project, and was able to feel as included as every other student in the
class, fostering language, work ethic, and self-esteem.
TEACHERS project was an example of how managing a diverse selection of students
in a single room is not only possible, but a reality of the ESL career field. She balanced full
participation with individual skill sets, and did so in a manner that drew the interests and
personal relatability of her class. This project, and the subsequent work observed in her
classroom as a result of it, brought confidence to an area of the field often characterized by
indecision, and gave a clear path for success that can easily be applied to future tasks.

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References

Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching, 4th edition. Harlow, England:
Pearson Education.