# What media or learning methods are recommended for students of varying ability levels?



## Beamer63 (Sep 10, 2021)

What media or learning methods are recommended for students of varying ability levels? especially since I teach in a rural area, the students come from a variety of family and environmental backgrounds. therefore I can not generalize.


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## Electra (Oct 24, 2014)

What subjects?


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## Ewok City (Sep 21, 2020)

Hmm.. I don't have a background in education, but I worked as private teacher for few years. I don't have much classroom teaching experience either, so I'm not sure if I'm qualified to answer. But let me just share my thoughts. 

The schools that I used to attend always group students based on grades, classroom participation level, etc. My tuition centre gave us IQ test and grouped students based on the results. And I'm thankful they did, because my high school didn't do that. The classroom was a huge pile of mess, and those who wanted to study couldn't even do so because the teachers weren't able to control the classroom at all. 

Personally, I think grouping students with varying ability is not ideal. But of course, as usual, everything depends on the situation. 

How many students are there in the class? Are they well behaved? How old? Which subject are you teaching? How long will you be teaching them for? 

Generally speaking, I think as long as the students are self-motivated, it shouldn't be a problem, if you pay more attention to those who are struggling with keeping up. Keep the engagement level with the students high, so that you know who needs more help. Read the atmosphere and know when to slow down. Be approachable, so that students are more willing to let you know about their problems. Encourage students to ask and answer questions. 

The problem is when the students are not well-behaved. Those who couldn't keep up with the lessons might be more prone to disruptive behaviours, especially if the class size is large. And unfortunately I don't think it's possible to get them to cooperate unless you specifically cater to them.


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## Joe Black (Apr 1, 2015)

The Elon Musk way of teaching (which happens to be my learning preference) is to just do/make it, attempt problem solving and ask the right questions along the way. So self directed learning with guidance.

My theory on why "experience" is a good teacher is that experience creates more salient memories and is perhaps more akin to how humans have had to learn evolutionarily speaking. i.e. using all your senses and thinking hard and making lots of neural connected than simply being told this is this or that is that and arbitrarily remember. 

I suppose its called kinethetic learning?

My ISTJ wife is the opposite. She requires formal lessons and step by step from basics and building upon a foundation etc. e.g I can self teach myself the violin through watching videos, but she can't.


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## ESFJMouse (Oct 13, 2020)

Study Gardners theory of intelligences, tailor to some and differentiate. Expressive speaking, break out groups. Incorporate videos and music. Inquiry based learning, ask questions!!!Frequent breaks. I'm in this field if you have any questions.


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## Electra (Oct 24, 2014)

I used to struggle in math. In college, one of my teachers was very kind to me, and made youtube tutorials where she explained every topic very slowly. She would hold me accountable and question me to see my progress, unlike some other teachers, and didn't just brush me off. My self esteem and courage increased gradually like this. I also had mentors that used to joke a lot and were very forgiving. That way I caught an interest in math that I haven't had since a child.


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