Monitoring and Remediation Plan with an Eye on Differentiation and Grouping Strategies
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Monitoring the student project and providing feedback throughout the project-based unit
The students document their learning progress and reflection throughout the PBL using project portfolios - from the first step of inquiring and analyzing, developing ideas, creating the solution, to evaluating, the last step. The portfolio invites students to explain and demonstrate their understanding of the material studied in their own words. The teacher can monitor the students' activities and progress to ensure students are on the right track and involved. The teacher also provides actionable and growth mindset feedback so that students can improve on their product and/or process before moving on to the next stage of the project. This feedback can be left as comments on the portfolio, check-ins during the classes or more formalized one-on-one meetings to offer guidance.
Because in a PBL unit, the teacher spends less time in direct instruction and guided practice, she is freed up to have richer feedback conversations with students. The conversations last just a few minutes and are very specific. For example, the teacher can ask the student to show up with a series of questions based on the area where the student is struggling. This empowers students to ask for advice and embrace the idea that mistakes are a part of the learning process.
During the group activities, students receive peer feedback throughout the process. This is usually in the form of two stars and one wish. During the developing ideas stage, peer feedback is given via a feedback carousel in which students offer comments on the product. However, other peer feedback systems can be used as well, such as the 3-2-1 in which students provide three strengths, two areas of improvement and one question that they have. Other peer feedback is received via presentation to the school community and during class discussions. Peer assessment is an opportunity for students to get fresh ideas and new perspectives on their work.
During class discussions, when information is shared, the teacher pauses to allow students time to think about it and then asks strategic, open-ended questions, pausing again to give them time to formulate a response. If the class seems stuck, the teacher can provide prompts and fills in gaps, as needed. Or, the teacher can provide opportunities for students to discuss in pairs/small groups.
Furthermore, students have access to the rubric throughout the project. The rubric acts as a checklist to ensure students are clear on the expectations. Rubrics provide detailed descriptions for each criterion, allowing students to know exactly what they need to do. They are able to gain an accurate view of how on track they are, while also having a clear picture of where they need to be. Additionally, they also help students conceptualize the project.
The data students collected such as interviews, kahoots, and testing methods throughout the PBL from initial inquiry to evaluation, provides the teacher with actionable data about the level of understanding of each student on targeted content and skills.
Anytime actionable and growth mindset feedback is given - in relation to the portfolios, during observation or one-on-one, the teacher directly links her comments to the expectations set in the rubric. In this way, the feedback is objective rather than subjective. The teacher also ensures her feedback is prioritized, focusing her comments on two to three areas of strength and two to three areas for growth that will have the most significant impact for the student moving forward.
An analysis of what is necessary to reteach and review before moving onto the next unit
After objectively grading the student's work using the rubric, the teacher can identify the criteria that scored the lowest (below standard and approaching standard). These criteria can then be the best areas in which to reteach and review, as they provide the greatest opportunity for improvement for the student. In the same vein, the teacher can identify the criteria in which students scored the highest (exceeding standard). Prioritizing this information, allows the teacher to plan for remediation and extension work, before moving on to the next unit.
The ultimate goal with reteaching and review is that it will lead to a measurable improvement in students' performance. So, it is important that the teacher provides students with an opportunity to revise their work. By gathering specific data for each student on each criteria (inquiring and analyzing, developing ideas, creating the solution, and evaluation), the teacher can assess whether a student or a group of students is struggling primarily in one of the criteria or across the board. She adjusts her teaching accordingly, perhaps she reviews with the whole class or she groups students accordingly.
All students are engaged in remediation or extension activities, as listed below. When all students are working in groups, getting the right support for their needs, there’s nothing out of the ordinary about a small group of students working with the teacher on a specific skill/content. Students who struggle don’t feel singled out or embarrassed. The teacher can also observe groups, ask probing questions to learn how they’re engaging in the task. This can further lead to better remediation and extension planning and instruction.
Having said all this, ideally, teachers would engage in reteaching and review regularly throughout the project, before additional skills are taught or moving on to next steps, in hope of preventing the majority of students from requiring more targeted, intensive interventions later on.
Providing remediation and extension once the project is completed
At a basic level, remediation means “teaching again” content that students previously failed to learn. The teacher provides activities that focus on the missing, below-grade level material. In order for remediation to be impactful, teachers must use a different method than the one initially used—one that builds on previous learning and focuses on the specific gaps in student thinking experienced the first time around. The purpose is to move students forward, closer to on-grade success. The following ideas can be completed independently or in small groups (more info on grouping below):
Graphic organizers, pictures, and charts can serve as scaffolding tools that helps guide and shape students' thinking. Graphic organizers are very specific in that they help kids visually represent their ideas, organize information, and grasp concepts or challenging information. This can be used for those struggling with the inquiring and analyzing or developing ideas criteria.
If students were struggling with the evaluation criteria because it was too open-ended, student surveys provide a blend of the objective and the subjective. So, they might use a Likert scale, selecting specific words from a bank, or ranking items. This added structure helps students make sense out of something that can feel abstract.
The teacher can build schema through YouTube videos related to the PBL unit. Students are deeply interested in video, and if the teacher is able to find a current video that accurately explains a topic they get really into it. From there, encourage students to ask questions to build into their reteach.
If students have heard it from the teacher several times and they aren't understanding, the teacher can try peer coaching. The peer coach can be a student who has shown mastery of the content or the student who is approaching mastery. The latter makes the peer coaching rewarding for both the struggling student and the peer coach. In this way, students are able to hear the content in a different way, from a different person they trust. Peers can be a powerful motivator for other students.
Vocabulary can sometimes get in the way of learning and using 'photo quick writes' can get students more comfortable with the content and better grasp concepts. For example, the teacher can show students a photo as well as give them a word bank of vocabulary terms to use to write everything they know about the concept. In this way, their writing flushes out what vocabulary they truly know and what needs some more work.
Some students learn best by seeing something rather than hearing about it. So, modelling for students is an important scaffold. For example, the teacher can provide poster examples (those graded at and above standard) for the students to model. This shows them the expectations up front, and help them get started. The teacher can present the model side-by-side with the rubric and guide students through each step of the process. Showing students the outcome or product before they do it would be better but can work as remediation, for an opportunity to revise.
Ask students to share their own experiences, hunches, and ideas about the content or concept of study and have them relate and connect it to their own lives. Sometimes you may have to offer hints and suggestions, leading them to the connections a bit, but once they get there, they will grasp the content as their own. While it's a better idea to launch the learning from their prior knowledge at the beginning, it can still work as remediation.
During remediation, give students time to process your questions (verbal and written responses) as it can take students up to a minute to formulate an answer. If the teacher rushes them, they often disengage. In this same vein, structured discussions can work really well such as think-pair-share, turn-and-talk, triad teams. During this time, the teacher can observe and listen in to assess their knowledge.
Break down work into small and manageable segments. For example, cut worksheets up, highlight in different colours, cover with a blank sheet, break assignments into what needs to be done each week or each night. Adapt the task to be more achievable for the student’s needs . Better to do smaller successful tasks than nothing.
Offer activities with specific parameters rather than open-ended and too broad. For example, instead of "What elements make a quality poster?" the teacher can instead ask, "How does imagery (or lines or colour) contribute to a quality poster?"
In our efforts to support struggling students, it’s easy to not pay attention to those students who are excelling. In addition to offering remediation activities for gaps in learning, the teacher also offers challenges to students (who scored at or above standard) via extension activities. Here are some ideas that can be employed:
The teacher can have students create word wheels for the whole class to give other students practice with academic vocabulary they have learned during the unit.
An important one would be to let students choose their extension activity based on their interest. Because the PBL creates many avenues for extension activities, students can focus on something of interest. The extension menu can include a scientific investigation (i.e. is the air flow method sufficient) or the engineering aspect (i.e. develop a plan to introduce a smaller scale compost system to a primary class using water bottles) or creative aspect of the project as an extension project.
Use students that have mastered or approaching mastery as peer coaches. In this way, the mentor students build on their communication and empathy skills and develop leadership skills.
The teacher can be mindful of these students' weaknesses and challenge those skills instead. In this way, the activities will not leave the stronger students bored and unmotivated.
Use technology and send students on virtual field trips to learn more about the topic as it relates to science, maths, art, and engineering.
The teacher can offer choice by asking students to provide lessons for remediation. Drawing on students' expertise helps motivate them and engage their peers in ways the teacher was unable to. The lessons can be in addition to the teacher's review or students can record them using flipgrid or similar recording system to share later.
Students can create a plan to collaborate with the community beyond the school walls to enrich their composting efforts.
Grouping Strategies
The grading, using the rubric, informs the groupings. It provides teachers with the data to carefully plan and facilitate group work using the activities outlined above. Especially for reteaching, groupings allow teachers to take into consideration the struggling and gifted learners rather than teaching to the middle which leaves both groups out in the cold.
Students who are struggling overall
Provide peer coaching opportunities where the grouping is “below standard” student paired with “approaching standard” student coach. In this way the below standard student hears the same content from a different, trusted perspective.
Group students homogeneously according to skill because in mixed groupings, a student who is strong in an area will tend to take the lead. If the group is more equal in regard to a skill, they will need to work it out together. Also, the ‘weaker’ group can benefit from the teacher’s support, and also can’t rely on the stronger students for answers and to lead the project.
Smaller groups, 2 to 4 students, are usually more efficient than larger groups of 5 to 7 students in terms of teacher and student time, increased instructional time, increased peer interaction, and improved generalization of skills. This practice requires teachers to plan and organize groups and to adapt instruction, methods, and materials for small group use.
Students who are not engaged
The groups should be small, 2 to 4 students. In this way, there is less room to hide and nonparticipation is more difficult. Create small groups for students requiring high levels of support.
Assign different roles to group members so that they are all involved in the process (e.g., recorder, spokesperson, summarizer, checker, skeptic, organizer, observer, timekeeper, conflict resolver, liaison to other groups).
Groups should be homogeneous so that they are more motivated to learn, and have the time to process the information together, with the community of learners who are engaged in the same experience and journey.
Avoid grouping students with eager and engaged students who may have a tendency to take over. However, if heterogeneous groups are used, ensure specific roles are given out so that everyone participates.
Create teaching stations in small groups for students to revise, learn the content, practice the skill and performance. In this way, students can begin by choosing the station that most interests them, engaging them in the work.
Use cooperative grouping strategies to promote interdependence. In this way, students feel a sense of personal responsibiltiy, knowing that peers are relying on them and can be a powerful motivator to engage.
Jigsaw allows students to take ownership in their learning. As active learners, students are directly immersed in the information and material, which promotes a deeper understanding of that material.
Sage-N-Scribe allows students to voice their thinking, making them work on their metacognition and vocabulary.
While it is important to mix the students up in odd configurations they would not choose themselves or teach them how to make choices about who to work with, sometimes it’s okay to capitalize on the relationships in the classroom and allow students to work with their friends. In the case of disengaged students, it may motivate them, connecting them socially and emotionally with academic goals.
Students who are doing well in one area but not another
Assign different roles to group members so that they are all involved in the process (e.g., recorder, spokesperson, summarizer, checker, skeptic, organizer, observer, timekeeper, conflict resolver, liaison to other groups).
Create teaching stations in small groups for students to revise, learn the content, practice the skill and performance. Students, using effective self-assessment practices, can take ownership in determining where they need small group support. However, sometimes students don’t make the right choice, and those occasions can be teachable moments to help a student reflect on choosing the station that offers support in the area they need.
Use cooperative learning methods such as the sage and scribe, think-pair-share, turn-and-talk. In this way, each student in the group is responsible for the material that is discussed and has to relay that material to the rest of the group. Directly immersed in the information/material, the students will better understand it. This allows students to work both on areas they are doing well and not so well.
Students who need to be challenged
Students can become leaders of the group to support students who are struggling to help them to revise content and improve their skills. In this way the students approaching the standard enhance their knowledge through teaching the concept.
Use the jigsaw for review or higher level comprehension questions. Yes or no / fact based questions don’t provide any opportunity for further learning. Opinion based questions and text evidence questions work well too.
Depending on the assignment, the teacher may really want to consider ability grouping. Multi-level grouping of stronger and weaker students does not always have the effects we would hope for. If the assignment doesn’t offer different ability levels the chance to equally participate, then allowing stronger students to work together can push them further.
Assign small groups to emphasize collaborative learning. By surrounding them with other like minded students, they can bounce ideas and motivate one another.
Resources
Hunt, Kendall Hunt. “10 Ways to Challenge Gifted Students in the Classroom.” KendallHunt, 2019 Mar. 13, https://www.kendallhunt.com/blog/10-ways-challenge-gifted-students-classroom.
“Implementing Group Work in the Classroom.” Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo, 2021 Nov. 22, https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/alternatives-lecturing/group-work/implementing-group-work-classroom.
Pircon, Blair. “Use Rubrics to Give Better Feedback: 3 Strategies for Success.” The Graide Network, The Graide Network, 2018 Oct. 9, https://www.thegraidenetwork.com/blog-all/how-to-use-rubrics-to-guide-feedback.
“Super Seven Tips to Engage the Disengaged Child.” Sue Larkey, 2020 July 7, https://suelarkey.com.au/super-seven-tips-to-engage-the-disengaged-child/.
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