research project

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Grouping Students to Differentiate Their Instruction in an EFL Classroom

Silvia Cárdenas

EDCI 760: Action Research in Education, Section B

April 10th, 2014

GROUPING STUDENTS TO DIFFERENTIATE INSTRUCTION

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Grouping Students to Differentiate Their Instruction in an EFL Classroom

Introduction

English teaching in Ecuador has improved over the years. The government has developed

a project to reinforce the English Language Curriculum aligned with standards like the Common

European Framework of Reference (Ecuador, Ministerio de Educacion del, 2012). The

educational system is based on standards in order to achieve the goals of education (Ecuador,

Ministerio de Educacion del, 2012). Because of the focus on standards, it has been challenging to

incorporate progressive instruction in our system.

According to the Ecuadorian In-Service English Teacher Standards about teaching and

learning, (Ecuador, Ministerio de Educacion del, 2012) , “Teachers know, understand, and apply

concepts, research, and best practices to plan classroom instruction in a supportive learning

environment for students” (Ecuador, Ministerio de Educación del, 2011). The standard states that

teachers should “plan differentiated learning experiences based on assessment of students’

English proficiency, learning styles, and prior formal educational experiences and knowledge”

(Ecuador, Ministerio de Educación del, 2011). Based on this, it is necessary to understand

differentiated instruction to accomplish one of the goals of our Education system. Continuing

research in this topic will help inform Ecuadorian educational practice.

“Differentiated instruction is the practice of teaching each student in a manner that will

accommodate how he/she learns best” (Breaux & Boutte, 2010, p. 4). Each person is different

and students learn in different ways (Breaux & Boutte, 2010). It is difficult to manage classes in

Ecuador because teachers do not understand individual differences, learning styles, and students’

backgrounds, in order to provide the opportunity to each student to learn and develop his/her

abilities. Classroom management is very important when teachers want to differentiated


3 instruction. Teachers planning does not usually incorporate classroom management techniques.

Teachers believe that their knowledge base is important, but may not intentionally plan for

practices that can be successful in classes, like grouping activities. According to Breaux and

Boutte (2010) group work is an opportunity to recognize strengths and weakness. The groups can

be divided according to: abilities, interests, readiness levels, multiple intelligences and learning

styles. This is important in our English class because we can differentiate abilities and readiness

by grouping students to help them to achieve their goals in each level.

Ecuador is multicultural and the mixture of languages, cultures, religion, etc., is an

important factor to consider in education. The place where I reside is as diverse as the rest of the

country. The schools have diverse students since we have people who come from the “Shuar”

ethnic group, mestizo, and students that have been in the United States who are now studying in

those schools. In the school where I work there is at least one student who speaks English at a

higher level. Working in groups has been an issue that English teachers have faced in classes

since there is a big difference between those who can speak English at a high level and those

who speak native languages than Spanish, in this case “Shuar.” Teachers have made a huge

effort in order to teach these two groups without much success. Most of the teachers do not like

to group students because they do not know how to use strategies to work in cooperative

learning. Sometimes teachers try to do pair work, but without considering learning differences,

the work is not productive.

Implementing group work could support students achieving their goals. However, some

research articles on group work and differentiated instruction discuss very important issues to

consider. It is necessary to consider the Zone of Proximal Development and how people interact

(Herazo, 2002). To work in a class based on ability grouping needs a lot of training, planned


4 materials, and can affect students’ attitudes and emotions (Kim, 2012 ). The purpose of this

qualitative study is to investigate how using group work affects self-esteem and motivation of

EFL students.

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to investigate how grouping students

according their language abilities affects English language acquisition and explore other

alternative ways of working in groups.

Research questions

In what ways does differentiated instruction by grouping students according their language

abilities affect English language acquisition?

In what ways does grouping students affect self-esteem and motivation of EFL learners?

How can group work help students with a high level of English?

How can I differentiate my instruction using group work?

Literature Review

Differentiated Instruction

Before attempting to know more about grouping students according to their abilities, it is

important to discuss approaches for differentiated instruction and the learning process. Also, it is

necessary to analyze how Ecuadorian English curriculum is designed to know the importance of

using differentiated instruction.

Teaching English in Ecuador is based on standards. These standards are aligned with the

Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and consider the communicative

language components and the four skills of the language (Ecuador, Ministerio de Educacion del,

2012). Voltz, Sims and Nelson (2010), argue that some teachers have called this issue

“standards-based reform” because all students have to achieve their goals despite their

conditions. This situation has challenged teachers to look for new strategies and be more


5 responsible in order to help all students reach these standards, regardless of their backgrounds or

disabilities.

Herrera and Murry (2011) state that “the effective educator demonstrates logic-, theory-,

and research-based reasons for the selection and sequence of actions that he or she chooses to

incorporate classroom instruction” (p. 188). Teachers usually use the following terms: approach,

methods, strategies and techniques in their professional development. However they get

confused when applying in their instructional plan or trying to communicate their ideas to others.

Excellent teachers base their instruction in a clear approach and understand the meaning of each

term (Herrera & Murry, 2011). This means that grouping students is a technique that results from

cooperative learning strategy, shelter instruction method and is based on communicative and

cognitive approaches. These concepts are well-explained in their book. (Herrera & Murry, 2011,

pág. 190)

Levy (2008) emphasizes that teachers have to be more conscious and flexible with the

activities developed in classes. They should be more systematic in the class and students could

reach their goals. There are some strategies and assessment tools that could help teachers to

apply in the learning process and teachers must use differentiated instruction when applying each

process. The learning process involves teaching, practicing, and implementing. Teach means the

content, where all the students have to be taught the same curriculum, however, teachers can

differentiate instruction by doing variations in content. It is necessary to conduct preassessment

in order to know students strengths and weakness. Practice is the process where the teacher

provides activities based on students’ abilities, learning styles and interests. Formative

assessment is a tool that helps teachers to accommodate instruction and implement is the product

where students can show what they have learned. In other words is the summative assessment


6 that could be the standardized test (Levy, 2008). In general, differentiated instruction is a

process where teachers have to look for strategies for the learning process to help all the students

to reach their goals.

Differentiation requires a well-organized class. Teachers have to plan each class to

differentiate instruction. If there is no organization, differentiation will be unsuccessful. When

teachers are organized, the learning environment is more comfortable for teachers and students.

It is important that teachers explain the procedures in order to allow students to know what the

expectations of the class are. Teachers have to review the learning process of teach, practice, and

implement to help students feel motivated in the class. (Breaux & Boutte, 2010, pp. 40-42).

According to Breaux and Boutte (2010), differentiated instruction means the way

teachers teach students based on students’ previous knowledge, learning styles and needs or

abilities. Teachers must understand that each student is different and they have to change

instruction for the purpose of producing meaningful learning (Breaux & Boutte, 2010, p. 4-7).

Furthermore, Buteau and True (2009) state that “differentiating instruction in a classroom has

become even more critical with the increasing population of students with diverse cultural and

linguistic background” (p. 23) and present some strategies to improve teaching and the learning

process. One of the strategies is creating meaningful partnerships where students work together

but teachers have to be careful when pairing students considering their differences (Buteau &

True, 2009). Moreover, Beacher (2012) states that differentiation “provides the opportunity to

become more focused on language development activities within the content lesson.” He also

agrees with Beteau and True (2009) about the necessity of differentiated instruction to know the

students’ needs when they are culturally and linguistically diverse.


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According to Baecher, Artigliere, Patteson, and Spatzer (2012), differentiation requires

teachers to accommodate their lessons plans and there are some principles that could help

teachers to apply this approach. First, teachers have to apply a diagnostic assessment in the four

skills of the language to know students’ strengths and weaknesses. Second, it is important to set

the content objective and then determine the language objectives. Third, differentiation does not

mean different individual activities. Rather, it means to establish changes based on a single

activity. Fourth, if differentiated materials are not according to students’ needs, teacher should

adapt those materials in order to have a more meaningful lesson. Fifth, teachers should look for a

base activity but with the same learning goal. Sixth, higher-level students should not have to

work with lower-level students since the lower-level students could not effectively develop their

skills and the higher- level students attempt to work according to their proficiency. Seventh,

teachers have to be wise when differentiating because students could feel segregated and may be

unmotivated if they are in the same group for each class. Eighth, students can choose their

activity according their level of challenge. Ninth, it is important to know the cognitive

complexity of each student. Teachers should use planning tools like Bloom’s Taxonomy. Finally,

the activities must be done in the same amount of time by each student or group. This could help

teachers with class management.

It is important to review Bloom’s Taxonomy when planning differentiated instruction

because it is a tool that can help teachers to modify the lesson. According to Roberts and Inman

(2009), planning can help students to make progress and teachers have to know strategies to use

in classroom. These authors suggest some strategies to supply students’ needs, however Bloom’s

Taxonomy seems to be the most appropriate strategy for differentiation. Using this strategy,

teachers allow each student to have the same learning experience but using different process. The


8 bloom chart can help teachers to select the correct options for instruction based on the

differences of each student. Additionally, not all students will be able to complete the learning

experience stated in the Bloom chart. Teacher should bear in mind that students have to work at

least with two levels. It is better if the student work with one from the higher and one from the

lower level. But, students have to face challenges in each learning experience. Thousand, Villa,

and Nevin (2007) also agree with Roberts and Inman (2009) and present the levels of Bloom’s

Taxonomy and the different process. See appendix A.

Cooperative learning

There are different ways to differentiate instruction. Cooperative learning is a strategy to

consider since teachers all the time work with groups of students with different needs, abilities

and backgrounds. According to Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1998), cooperative learning is “the

instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each

other’s learning” (p. 1:14). They also states that in the new paradigm of teaching there are a lot

of facts that teachers have to know and one of these is that learning is social in which students

need to interact with others in order to learn. This interaction is important since students are able

to solve difficult tasks in cooperation with others rather than alone. Miller (2002) agrees that

“cooperative learning is an instructional arrangement whereby small groups of students with

mixed abilities work together toward shared academic goals rather than competing against one

another or working individually” (p. 246). Additionally, Herazo (2002) analyzed the group work

since the perspective of communicative, cognitive and social affective and stated that people

learn when there is interaction. For this reason, in the learning process students need to interact

with other people to learn. This process is based on Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal

Development where learning occurs with other people’s guidance. So, it is necessary to be in a


9 group and receiving the collaboration of the others to acquire knowledge. In an English class,

teachers should consider working with cooperative learning groups in which the effort of each

person will allow them to achieve their goals (Herazo, 2002) .

Interaction in a cooperative learning helps students to acquire the language. According to

Wink and Putney (2002) based on a Vygotskian perspective “development begins as an

interpersonal process of meaning making and then becomes an individualized process of making

sense.” (p. 91). The Zone of Proximal Development means that learners interact with other

people who can help them to acquire the new knowledge. These people must assist learners and

they can internalize learning to produce a concept and communicate it again.

Group work

Levy (2008) suggests that, “grouping should be based on different criteria regarding the

needs of the students and the short-term goals of the teacher in an effort to meet the desired

standard” (p.5). According to Frey, Fisher, and Everlove (2009), teachers can group students

according their ability levels, learning styles or interests. Before explaining the different ways of

grouping students, it is important to analyze some details to bear in mind about working in

groups. Group work does not mean just putting together students. It is important to consider

some facts in order to success in a group work. Based on Johnson and Johnson principles of

group work, Frey, Fisher, and Everlove (2009) explain the characteristics of a productive group

work. A group must have positive interdependence. Each member has to collaborate to reach the

group’s goal. It promotes interaction to develop rapport among participations. Individual

accountability is when each students have to be conscious that their contribution is important for

the group. Interpersonal and small-groups skills means to know how to act in a group in order to


10 give ideas and respect other’s opinions and group processing to reflect on their own work to

improve and scope the goals (Frey, Fisher, & Everlove, 2009).

To differentiate instruction in an English class, teachers should use different group work.

Levy (2008) states that grouping by ability means that teacher can divide the class according

students’ needs. Some students may need more instruction, while students who already know the

topic could work in activities more challenging for them. When teachers decide to work with this

type of group work, they have to rely on formative assessment and bear in mind that students

cannot work in the same group each class. They need to change group members according their

necessities. According to Kim (2012) ability grouping is defined as “a practice that places

students into classrooms or small groups based on an initial assessment of their readiness or

ability.” (p. 289). After reading some information about group work, it could be possible to

group students in an English class based on their needs and learning style. Using assessment

methods the students could be divided according their English level in high, middle and low.

There are some research related to ability grouping in an English class with some concerns that

future research should take in account. Kim (2012) carried out a qualitative study in Korean

middle schools with 55 English teachers and 754 students about teachers and students’

perceptions, benefits and problems found in ability groups. The students were divided in high,

middle and low levels. The results showed that high level learners did not perceive much

difference, while mid and low group students felt that ability grouping caused unequal leaning

opportunities, labeling effect and an impact on learners’ self-esteem. Teachers also perceived

that they had behavior and motivational problems with low level students. The researcher states

that it is necessary teacher training, materials development and assessment should be based on

ability grouping. Also, according to the results of this study, English teachers in Korea have


11 problems looking for additional materials to different level learners. The author suggests that

grouping students in smaller classes would be better to get more attention from teachers, reward

students’ ongoing process, and give more attention to ability groups as necessary to help students

to reach their goals (Kim, 2012 ). On the other hand, in another study conducted in Iran with

undergraduates students, the results showed that grouping students by their abilities improved

their achievement, but this study was conducted in a different way. The students with low level

had 4 hours in a week. Middle level students had 3 hours and high level students received 2

hours of English classes. The mean of the whole group final test was better than the mean of the

diagnostic assessment. This study suggests an appropriate teaching plan, improve methodology

when using cooperative learning and use appropriate textbook for English classes

(Khazaeenezhad, Barati, & Jafarzade, 2012) .

Levy (2008) states that grouping for learning styles means to bear in mind the learning

styles. Teacher could form group with one student of each learning style in a group or students

with the same learning style in a group. Teacher can group students according their interests.

Not all the students have the same interests, so teachers should investigate before students’

interest to apply in this kind of group work.

Also, heterogeneous grouping can be possible. In this type of group work, teach and

process are worked with the whole class but when students need to present the product, teacher

can divide in groups according their needs or learning styles (Levy, 2008).

Furthermore, some authors establish others form of grouping students like Nina Brown

(2000) that identifies five types of learning groups. The first one is work group in which students

work alone but they help partners and the grade is individual. The second one is grouping

students as teams. The groups have a leader and each member has an activity to accomplish. The


12 responsibility is for each individual and the whole group. Another way is learning groups where

students work together, while they are learning and improving skills. The next one is problem-

solving groups in which students work together to solve a situation and give a solution. Finally,

other groups that include special groups who work on specific activities to investigate something

and self-management group who conduct a work showing results (Nina W. Brown, 2000, p. 3-4).

In conclusion, grouping students according their abilities is challenging work for

teachers. Teachers have to consider different facts in order to apply this technique. Some

researchers suggest that grouping students by abilities is excellent because the result showed

improvement, but other studies suggest that there could be negative effects when using this

techniques. Teacher have to be prepared to group students. Many books give us ideas to use in

classes with group work and teachers and principals must help to have success in grouping

students. This study is focused on using ability group work in an EFL setting to determine how

this technique affects the motivation and self-esteem of EFL learners and what can be done to

help the high level learners who may not benefit from this particular type of grouping.

Methodology

Differentiated instruction in an EFL classroom in Ecuador is not applied most of the time

because teachers argue that it is impossible to work according to the needs of each students.

Students’ tables are in the same position all the time and group work is not a strategy used by

teachers in the classrooms. Though, grouping students is a technique that some teachers rely on

but it does not mean that they are differentiating instruction. They just group students and assign

a work regardless their needs, skills, learning styles, or other factors that are important when

grouping students. This proposal seeks to use a case study action research project to understand

how grouping students according their language needs, learning styles, and multiple intelligence


13 theory affect their English language acquisition. Also, this study is attempting to know how

differentiated instruction affects self-esteem and motivation of EFL learners.

Setting of the study

Ecuadorian education is divided in General Basic Education and Bachillerato. General Basic

Education is mandatory and it is considered from the 1st year of education to the 10th year.

Students in the GBE are 5 to 13 or 14 years old. While, students from 14 to 17 or 18 years old

are considered in the bachillerato section. Students who have finished the General Basic

Education must continue the studies in the bachillerato for three years to get a diploma. After

that they can go to the university or look for another alternative to be productive. Some schools

have a curriculum that is designed to help students to be productive if they do not want to go to

the university. This schools are called “Technician schools.” Moreover, Ecuador has private,

public and “fiscomisional” schools. The word “fiscomisional” means that they receive a

government subsidy, but students have to pay tuition to study in these kind of schools. In most

cases these schools belong to religious missions. They are considered semi-private institutions.

This study is going to be carried out in a fiscomisional school. It is located in the Amazon

Region, in an urban area. There are 950 students. Its academic purpose is to offer students who

want to study the 8th, 9th and 10th year of basic education and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year of bachillerato

in an alternative setting to the general public education. The curriculum is designed according

the Ecuadorian Law of Education (LOEI), as is the public curriculum, however it is generally

believed that fiscomisional schools offer better education. It is mandatory to take five hours of a

foreign language each week. In this case, English is the subject that is held up in this school. The

length hour is 40 minutes. There is an average of 30 students in each classroom. Moreover, in

each classroom there is at least one student who has been in an English speaking country like


14 The United States. Other students also have a good level of English since they like it. On the

other hand, some students struggle with English because they have not received instruction

before or they do not like it at all. In Ecuador, there is not a system in which students can take a

test to know their level of English and be placed according to their knowledge. All the students

have to attend to the same English class regardless their level. This is the reason that

differentiated instruction by grouping students according to their English level, language skills,

abilities, and learning styles would help low achievers to improve their language acquisition and

middle and high level students might excel in English skills.

The sampling is going to be one class chosen among the five sections of first bachillerato

(B1). Which is similar to the freshmen/sophomore years of high school. It is necessary to ask for

permission to the principal and parents because they have to be informed about the study. If they

know the purpose of the study, I can get access to records and interviews without

misinterpretation. Parents’ permission could be got by having a meeting and writing down an act

with all the parents’ signatures. A letter to the principal will be necessary to inform the activities

that are going to be accomplished.

Participants

The participants will be students from the 1st year of bachillerato. I will choose one class

of 30 participants since in this school there are 5 sections in 1st bachillerato and it will be difficult

to work with all the 5 sections. However, according to Gay, Mills, and Airasian (2012) a

purposive sample is a good choice to select the sample for this study. The class will be selected

based on students with high level of English, native people, and students who have got bad

grades in English in the last year of school.

Role of the researcher


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I will be an active participant observer since I am going to teach and observe my students

development and improvement. I will record data to analyze and try to respond my research

questions.

Intervention or Subject of Study

Teaching English in Ecuador is based on constructivism and group work as cooperative

learning is one of the forms to apply this theory. However, English teachers sometimes use group

work as a strategy but without planning. I am planning to conduct this study based on this

technique using differentiated instruction to understand if language acquisition improves and

students feel more motivated. Students are going to be grouped in different ways. Ability group

will be carried out when the lesson plan is about listening, speaking exercise. Low, middle and

high level students will be grouped when a grammar topics will be explained. If the activity is

about writing and reading skills, students will be grouped by the multiple intelligence inventory

or learning styles. Each lesson plan will be according to the Bloom’s Taxonomy since it is an

effective strategy to engage all students in the learning process. This strategy could be applied in

an English class to provide meaningful learning and develop thinking skills. This strategy seems

to be the most effective when differentiating instruction because all students reach their goals

according their level.

Data collection

To accomplish this study is necessary to use some resources that are going to help me to

develop the research and present the results. The first resources that I am going to use is an

inventory. According to Breaux and Boutte (2012), teachers can know their students using

inventories. They provide inventories to know students’ learning styles and multiple

intelligences. (p. 12-29-30-34-37) See appendix B.


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Additionally, Herrera, Morales, and Murry (2013), informal assessment is good to help

teachers to measure students’ skills. They provide examples of inventories like the cognitive

academic language proficiency (CALP) and the basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS)

(p. 152-153). For this study is necessary to use tools that can help teacher identify students

strengths and weakness to know how to differentiated instruction and group students.

Unit tests

The tests will help me to obtain information about my students’ progress. At the

beginning students will take a diagnostic test to know students level of English. At the end of

each unit, the English books have standardized tests that could be used to obtain data about

students’ improvement. These tests are on the Teacher’s book and they are designed to test

reading, writing, listening, vocabulary, grammar, and communication skills. However, these tests

can be adapted according to the students’ needs. Therefore, it will be necessary to design the

tests according the students’ needs. It could be done by changing the complexity of the

questions.

Students’ interviews

Interviews will help to know the effects on motivation and self-esteem of the students

when they are grouped according their needs, skills, learning styles or multiple intelligence.

Using interviews is a strategy that is going to help researcher to obtain information direct from

the participants (Gay, Mills, & Airasian, 2012). These interviews will be carried out with one

student from the low, middle and high level of English. The chosen students will help me to

know their feelings, points of view, and self-reflection. There will be 8 questions to each student.

See appendix C

Observational field notes


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Observation will be a technique to collect important data of students’ behavior. The

whole class will be observed once per week. This activity will be carry out during three months

from March to May because in this period students are in the second quimestre and they will

finish the academic year in June. I will manage field notes in order to organize information

accurately. See appendix D

Surveys

There will be some surveys that are going to be applied at the end of each group work

activity using differentiated instruction. All the students from the class will answer it. There will

be questions on Likert scale format. These surveys’ statements will be focus on students’

feelings, emotion and criteria of group work development. Students will not write their names

because they are anonymous. However, these surveys will be printed in different color of papers

since it is important to differentiate the members of each group. There will be surveys focus on

the different group works. One of these surveys will be based on ability group, another according

their learning styles, other related with their English level and multiple intelligences. See

appendix E

Data analysis

The data collected from the anecdotal records will be analyzed according the frequency

of attitudes and actions that students will carry out during the group work activities. It will be

necessary to use a summary sheet in order to collect and analyze what, how, when, and why they

do each activity. With this method I could see the repetitions of feelings, gestures, reasons,

activities, and length of each situation inside the group. This method will be used in each class

except when I will apply the observational method.


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The diagnostic test will be applied at the beginning of the study. Other tests will be

applied at the end of each unit and there will be a final test. These tests will evaluate writing,

listening, reading, grammar, and vocabulary skills. Speaking skills improvement will be

evaluated according the SOLOM instrument because the standardized tests of our English book

do not consider this language skill. After applying the test, it will be necessary to use a chart in

order to know the average of each skill and obtain the mean of low, middle, and high level

students according to the differentiated made at the beginning of the study. This analysis will

help to understand if grouping students based on differentiated instruction has helped students to

improve their language acquisition. See appendix F

Students’ interviews will be carried out on the last week of May. The data collected from

these interviews will be analyzed using a summary sheet of each interviewed student.

Observational field notes will be carried out once in a week. These notes will be coded

according the recurring activities, movements, number of participation of each student,

vocabulary, and quality of work.

Surveys will be coded according to the number of responses of each option. The survey is

designed using the Likert scale. It will be necessary the use of a bar chart to graph the answers.

There will be a survey after each lesson plan that could take 5 minutes to answer it.

Timeline

This study will take place in the second quimestre of the academic year. The students’

conference, applying inventories, principal and parents’ permission will take place in January

since in that month, the first quimestre is ending and students have two weeks free. In these two

weeks, I can check the inventories and plan the participants for each group. When students go

back, I will apply the diagnostic assessment test to get information of students’ English level and


19 compare with the results of the unit and final tests. The surveys will be applied at the end of each

lesson plan. Each lesson will be developed using differentiated instruction. I will take 5 minutes

before finishing the lesson to allow my students to complete the survey. Each lesson will take

from two to three periods. It means that I will apply one or two survey for each week. There will

be one observation each week until May. The anecdotal records will be used every day, except

when I will be applying the observation technique. The interviews will be carried out at the end

of the quimestre because it is necessary at least one hour with each interviewed student and they

are more available in June. See appendix G

Describe reliability/validity or trustworthiness measures

Credibility of observation and anecdotal records strategies will be reflected because this

study will be carried out during 5 months and I will be engaged with my teaching practice and

my research project. However, I will be objective because my reflections and notes will be

checked according with the purpose of my study. Persistent observation is necessary to obtain

each detail and the use of field notes can help to measure the reliability of the information. Peer

review was done with surveys and interview’s questions. They were checked by my partners of

the master’s program. This helped to avoid leading questions, bias and misinterpretation.

Moreover, these questions will be checked by some school’s partners to be sure that it is

according to the environment of the school. Peer debriefing will be done with a colleague of

English language that is interested in this study too. It will be necessary to know my partners’

suggestions and reflection. Triangulation will be carried out by comparing the information of the

interviews, surveys and fields notes. The information will be reliable if there is consistency

among the three tools. Member checking will be important to avoid misinterpretation and lack of

information with the transcript of the interviews. Participants will review the data to add or


20 clarify information. The tests are designed according the CEF, however it will be necessary to do

adaptations. These adaptations will not change the objective of the tests because they are already

designed and the content will be the same. These tests will have stability because similar scores

among the low, middle and high level students will be reflected at the beginning and after

applying differentiated instructions. Item validity will also contain these tests because each item

will be based on the content objectives.

The methodology that I am planning to use is based on a case study research. This study

is going to be conducted in an English class. It will be necessary to use some instruments to

collect data. These data will allow me to understand and change if necessary my teaching

practice. There are some instruments like the learning styles inventory that are new for the

students and I have to be sure they understand how to complete them. I think that using all this

methods will help me collect data in a systematic way. How teachers plan is one of the most

important steps in an activity. Teachers plan every day and in this study I am the teacher and at

the same time the researcher. This methodology will guide me in each step to avoid problems or

disorganization in the study.

Possible challenges

This study my face some problems that could affect the development of the research.

Ecuadorian academic year is divided in two terms. Each term lasts five months and students have

to give a test at the end. It is called quimestre test. If I want to apply the study in the second term,

I could not have the opportunity to keep prolong engagement. Students finish the second

quimestre in five months but they have to accomplish some extra activities such as observation

trips, or final test that are included in these months. It would be better to apply the study at the


21 beginning of the academic year because there are not many interruptions in the academic

activities in the first term.

Another problem of conducting a research study in this school could be that other

teachers have no experience in developing research. If I want some help, it will be difficult to

find a support on another partner. It will be necessary to ask for support for other people outside

my area of study.

Furthermore, time is another factor to consider in this study. English teachers have to

work forty hours in the whole week. Thirty hours are used in instruction while the rest of hours

teachers have to review tests, do lesson plans, and other extra activities. The time that teachers

are working outside the classroom is not enough to finish with all the requirements for each day.

Most teachers carry out their job at home and this could be the solution to develop this study.

Organization and commitment will be the most important characteristics while carrying out this

study.

Finally, generalization of this finding may be limited because not all the schools have a

context like this school. It happens most in places where people have emigrated especially to the

United States and have gone back to Ecuador. However, the results from this study may be

adapted to other contexts in order to conduct another research.

Ideas for opportunities to share this research

Conducting this study may benefit students and English teachers. During the study

students will work in group works according to their English level, abilities, learning styles and

multiple intelligences. This strategy could help them to achieve their goals. On the other hand, it

could help me to improve my instruction and find activities that are going to allow my students

to develop social skills. This study may be shared in conferences that could be organized with all


22 the English teachers of my province. English teachers are always worried about their

professional development and we have training most of the time during the academic year.


23

References

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Breaux, E., & Boutte, M. (2010). How the Best Teachers Differentiate Instruction . New York:

Eye on Education.

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language learners. New England Reading Association Journal, 23-25. Retrieved from

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www.educacion.gob.ec: http://educacion.gob.ec/objetivos-2/

Ecuador, Ministerio de Educacion del. (2012). Ecuadorian In-Service, English teacher

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de inglés. Retrieved from www.educacion.gob.ec: http://educacion.gob.ec/wp-

content/uploads/downloads/2012/09/estandares_2012_ingles_opt.pdf

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Gay, L. R., Mills, G., & Airasian, P. (2012). Educational research. Competencies for analysis

and applications. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.

Gillies, R. M. (2007). Cooperative learning. Integrating theory and practice. Los Angeles: Sage

Publications, Inc.

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state.edu/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE|A115902208&v=2.1&u=ksu&it=r&p=IFM

E&sw=w&authCount=1


24 Herrera, S. G., & Murry, K. (2011). Mastering ESL and bilingual methods. Differentiated

instruction for culturally and linguistically divers (CDL) students. Boston: Allyn &

Bacon.

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classroom. Interaction Book Company.

Julia L. Roberts, E., & Inman, T. (2009). Strategies for differentiating instruction best practices

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Students. Language Teaching Research, Vol. 16(3) 289-315.

Levy, M. M. (2008). Meeting the needs of all students through differentiated instruction: helping

every child reach and exceed standards. Clearing House: A journal of educational

strategies, issues and ideas, Vol. 81(4) 161-164.

Mandel, S. M. (2003). Cooperative work groups. Preparing students for the real world.

California: Corwin Press, Inc.

Miller, S. P. (2002). Validated practices for teaching students with diverse needs and abilities.

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25 Rivera, J. D. (2012, November 3). GALE CENGAGE leraning. Retrieved from

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26

Appendices

Appendix A

The level of Bloom’s Taxonomy contains different process of learning to use when planning

differentiated instruction. (Thousand, Villa, & Nevin, 2007, p. 102)

Level of Bloom’s

Taxonomy

Different process to facilitate access to curriculum

Knowledge Define, draw, identify, list, label, locate, match, name, recite, select, state

Comprehension Demonstrate, describe, define in your own words, explain, generalize,

give examples, paraphrase, put in order, rewrite, show, summarize

Application Use a formula, debate, diagram, examine, interview, construct, translate, use to solve a problem, keep records, classify, discover

Analysis Classify, compare and contrast, deduce, determine, infer, uncover,

relate two or more learning outcomes

Synthesis Create, design, imagine, develop, prepare an original piece of work, synthesize, combine

Evaluation Argue, award, choose, criticize, critique, defend, judge, grade,

support, validate, rank, justify


27 Appendix B

It is important to use inventories to know students at the beginning of the teaching practice. The

following inventories can help teachers to identify students’ individual differences.

Interest inventory

Who am I?

What is your full name? __________________________________________________________________________

List your family members __________________________________________________________________________

Do you have a pet? If so, what kind? __________________________________________________________________________ What is favorite subject?

__________________________________________________________________________ What do you most enjoy doing?

__________________________________________________________________________ What are your favorite TV shows and movies? Can you explain why? __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________ What type(s) of music do you like?

__________________________________________________________________________ What is your favorite color, sport, food, and free time activity? __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________ What is the last book you read?

__________________________________________________________________________ Where did you go on your last vacation? __________________________________________________________________________

Where would you like to go on vacations? __________________________________________________________________________

Do you have a computer at home? If so, do you have access on internet? __________________________________________________________________________ What types of classroom activities do you like best?

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Tell about a special moment in your life. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Determine your multiple intelligence

Circle each statement that describes you the best. Total the number of circles in each part. Part 1 Naturalistic Intelligence

I like all animals and insects I know the names of different plants and

flowers

I like collecting rocks

I recycle every day at home Total _______

Part 2 Intrapersonal Intelligence


28 I like being alone

I get upset when someone is treated unfairly I get nervous around a lot of people

I want to know why when given an assignment Total _______ Part 3 Musical Intelligence

I can play a musical instrument I often tap to the beat without hearing music

I like singing I remember the words to different songs Total _______

Part 4 Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

I like math

I like to sort objects by color, size, or shape I like to figure out how to do something on my own

I like puzzles Total _______

Part 5 Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

I like to play outdoors I like sports

I like to dance

I like to build things Total _______

Part 6 Interpersonal Intelligence

I like to be the leader I like working in a group

I have a lot of friends I like to cheer up others who are sad

Total _______ Part 7 Spatial Intelligence

I like to draw

I like looking at pictures I doodle while doing other things

I can remember an object/person’s face after I see it one time Total _______

Part 8 Linguistic Intelligence

I like reading

I like writing/telling a story I sound out words that I do not know I like to teach others how to do a task

Multiple intelligence profile

Directions: Color in the totals from each part of the Determine Your Multiple Intelligences

inventory. The results will help you identify your personalized set of Multiple Intelligences

Multiple Intelligence Profile

Name______________________________________________

Part 1 Naturalist Intelligence

1 2 3 4

Part 2 Intrapersonal Intelligence

1 2 3 4

Part 3 Musical Intelligence

1 2 3 4

Part 4 Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

1 2 3 4

Part 5

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

1 2 3 4

Part 6 Interpersonal Intelligence

1 2 3 4

Part 7

Spatial Intelligence

1 2 3 4

Part 8 Linguistic Intelligence

1 2 3 4


29

Learning styles inventory

Underline the most appropriate word.

Part 1

1. I prefer to read materials in a textbook than to listen to lectures

often sometimes seldom

2. I remember information when I put it on flashcards often sometimes seldom

3. I enjoy doing word puzzles and crossword puzzles often sometimes seldom

4. I prefer writing things down or taking notes when studying. often sometimes seldom

5. I can easily follow directions using a map often sometimes seldom

6. I prefer to obtain new information by reading often sometimes seldom

7. I like to picture something in my head when trying to

remember it


8. I enjoy making graphs and charts often sometimes seldom

Part 2

9. I often read aloud to understand information often sometimes seldom

10. I need someone to explain graphs and/or charts to me often sometimes seldom

11. I prefer listening to the news on the radio as opposed to

reading it in the newspaper


12. I can learn how to spell a word better by repeating the spelling versus writing it down


13. I prefer oral directions to written directions often sometimes seldom

14. I prefer to listen a book on tape than read it often sometimes seldom

15. I remember phone numbers by repeating the number several

times


16. I prefer academic classes than give information via lecture often sometimes seldom

Part 3

17. I enjoy doing hands-on activities often sometimes seldom

18. I play with the coins in my pocket or the keys in my hands often sometimes seldom

19. I learn best by doing often sometimes seldom

20. I find better with physical activity often sometimes seldom

21. I find myself chewing gum or snaking while studying often sometimes seldom

22. I am very comfortable with hugging or touching objects often sometimes seldom

23. I remember things best by writing them down multiple times often sometimes seldom

24. I learn more from a lab class setting versus a lecture often sometimes seldom

Scoring Directions: The following points apply to each.

Often = 5 points

Sometimes = 3 points

Seldom = 1 point


30 Part 1- Visual Learner ____

Part 2- Auditory Learner ____

Part 3- Tactile/Kinesthetic Learner ____

Know your students

This table can help teacher to have information of all the class instead of having each students’

inventory.

Name Interest Multiple

Intelligence

1st

(strongest)

Multiple

Intelligence

2nd

Multiple

Intelligence

8th (weakest)

Preferred

Learning

Style

1.

2.


31 Appendix C

Interview questionnaire

Date: _____________________ Level student: High/middle/low

a) How did you feel when you had to work in a group with partners of your same level of

English?

b) How were the relationships with the partners of your group?

c) What activity helped you to improve your grammar skills?

d) What activities do you think will be memorable for you?

e) Which grouping technique do you think was the most appropriate to improve your language

acquisition?

f) How could your teacher improve group work?

g) What strategy should be improved when working in a group work?

h) What strategy should be rejected when working in a group work?


32 Appendix D

Fields notes format

Time:…………………. Date:…………………… Length of observation:……………………

Students’

names

interaction Activities or

actions

Behavior or

attitude

Common

vocabulary

Personal

reflection

1.

2.


33 Appendix F

Survey

Read each statement carefully and write and X in the section according to your opinion.

1. The English language skills were developed in your group.

1 Strongly disagree 2 Disagree 3 Neither agree nor disagree 4 Agree 5 Strongly agree

Skill SD 1 D 2 N 3 A 4 SA 5

Writing

Speaking

Reading

Listening

Vocabulary

Grammar

Communication

2. The teacher’s role was…


Skill SD 1 D 2 N 3 A 4 SA 5

Helpful to improve your grammar skills

Helpful to improve your vocabulary skills

Helpful to improve your listening skills

Helpful to improve your writing skills

Helpful to improve your communication skills

Helpful to improve your reading skills

Helpful to improve your speaking skills

3. The group work…


SD 1 D 2 N 3 A 4 SA 5

Was helpful to make you understand and complete the activity

Was interesting

Was bored

Was less stressful

Improved my self-esteem

Was challenging

Was successful

Promoted interaction

Developed accountability

Did not allow all students to participate

Was motivational


34 Appendix G

Unit tests grades record

Date:………………… Type of group:……………………… Unit Topic:………….

Students

name

writing listening reading speaking grammar vocabulary

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Average


35 Appendix G

Timeline

Activities January February March April May June

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Permission from the

authority

x

Meeting

with parents and permission

x

Conference

with the students

x

Apply

inventories

x

Process informatio

n and preparing the group

works

x X

Use anecdotal

records

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Observation

x x x x

Term test x x x

Interviews x

Surveys x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Coding and

interpreting informatio

n

x

Writing the report

x

research project

Education

students ecuador

grouping students

diverse students

differentiated instruction

students backgrounds

classroom instruction

knowledge ecuador

goals of education ecuador