Confucius said:? Know only the top and be stupid. ? There are different levels of intelligence. Only by teaching students in accordance with their aptitude according to their intelligence level and hobbies can educators truly realize the efficiency of education. Everyone knows in theory, but in the specific teaching implementation process, how to teach students in accordance with their aptitude, the majority of teachers in our country have not mastered the effective operation mode. In contrast, the rich content of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude embodied in American primary and secondary education deserves our deep consideration.
First, mixed teaching and hierarchical teaching
When they first came to school in the United States, children encountered a very realistic problem when choosing classes: should they repeat the fourth grade or be promoted to the fifth grade? My daughter's birthday is small, but she went to school early in China. She should be in the fifth grade when she went to the United States. Before I went to the United States, I always thought that the United States is a country that pays attention to individual needs, and it is impossible to get into trouble on such issues as the last few grades. I didn't expect the headmaster to see her date of birth and let her go to the fourth grade. I argued for a long time, and the headmaster finally agreed to pass the English exam. If the English level meets the requirements of fifth-grade students in the United States, attend the fifth grade, otherwise attend the fourth grade. As a primary school student whose mother tongue is not English, the result can be imagined.
With frustration and helplessness, the child entered Professor Edmund's class. We were happy as soon as we arrived in the class, which was a mixed class of grade four and grade five. I didn't know until I asked about it that the school implemented mixed teaching in order to save teachers' manpower and provide students with development space. Kindergartens (equivalent to preschool classes and kindergarten classes in China) are mixed with grade one, grade two or three and grade four or five. My daughter has entered a mixed class of grade four and grade five.
I'm curious, how to teach such a class? It is taken for granted that American teachers, like rural areas in remote areas of China, should also implement dual teaching. To this end, I went to school to listen to the teacher. The results show that, except mathematics, there are two grades of students in other subjects, such as social studies, science, Chinese, physical education, music and so on. On the surface, what teachers teach is the same, but in fact, there are still differences. For example, in the language art class, teachers teach almost the same content to all students, but they have different requirements for individuals. As far as my daughter is concerned, although her English is not bad, there is still a considerable gap compared with her native American classmates in the same grade. To this end, the teacher lends my daughter books that meet her actual level every week to help her learn English. I looked through the books read by other students and found that the books read by my daughter are far behind the local students in this class in terms of thickness, vocabulary, subject breadth and content depth. The same is true of composition teaching. Although my daughter and classmates are in class together, for a long time, the teacher didn't let my child write a composition. In the second semester, the teacher began to ask her daughter to write a composition. While other children are writing novels and stories, the teacher asked my children to write them? A Letter to the Librarian How did you come to America? What do you think of building a house? Wait a minute. By the middle of the second semester, with the improvement of children's language ability, the daughter was asked to write the same composition topic as her classmates. Not only is there a gap between my daughter's reading and writing level and her classmates', but there is also a big gap between other classmates' reading and writing level, and their grades are mixed. Good students can write 8 or 9 pages of A4 paper in a composition, poor students can only write 1 or 2 pages, and even worse, they can only write a few lines. Good students are already reading classic books 2 or 3 inches thick, while poor students are still reading children's books with color pictures, with only a few lines on a page and limited words. In order to improve children's English level, the school also provides special ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers for my daughter and students whose mother tongue is not English and whose English level is not up to the average level of children of the same age, and spends a certain amount of time teaching and training children in English every day.
Mathematics is mainly taught in classes according to grades and students' actual level. For example, there are six classes in grade four and five in this school, and the students in the two adjacent classes are basically taught by grade. As far as my daughter's class is concerned, including the fourth-grade students in the next class, their math classes are taught by Mr. Edmund alone; The math class of the fifth-grade students in two classes is undertaken by Mr. Hatch. But even in the same grade, teachers will implement hierarchical teaching. For example, in my daughter's math class, students are divided into three levels: high school and low school, and the teaching content and exercises of each group are different. The students in the highest level group learn more than the fourth grade, and some have reached the level of the fifth and sixth grades; Middle-level students learn the content of this grade, but it is extended; The lowest level group will learn the content below this grade level. During the class, I paid special attention to the teaching contents of the three groups and the children's homework, and found that the children's math level was quite different.
Last semester, my children felt that the most painful class was social studies, but in fact it was American history and geography. This course is attended by students of two grades. Because of ignorance of American history and lack of vocabulary (teachers always send some materials to students to read every class), my daughter really felt very hard at first. In this regard, her teacher takes a little time every day to give her personal counseling. Her ESL teacher also took the time to try to explain the basic content to her in simple words and other ways. Soon, the child passed the most difficult period. Similarly, teachers or parents volunteers will also use their spare time to give free counseling to children with weak subjects in other classes. As far as I can see, almost all teachers will put forward different requirements and guidance for students of different levels, so that students can improve on the original level.
There are grades for evaluation and examination. Wisconsin implements a unified state examination for students in grades 4 and 5 every year to evaluate students' academic performance and teachers' teaching quality. This kind of exam is graded. In addition, teachers will give their own tests according to the teaching needs. On the surface, the contents of the two grades are exactly the same, but there are still differences in grading.
In this environment, the students of the two grades get natural development in a wider space according to their respective degrees. My daughter lives a leisurely life as an international student in such an environment. In addition to mathematics, teachers usually provide content that students of two grades can accept together (from the perspective of actual ability development level, there is no difference between students of two grades in the same class). The excellent children among the fourth-grade students have achieved rapid development because teachers have provided questions and contents suitable for the fifth-grade students in teaching; The children with slow development among the fifth-grade students will not have too much study pressure, because teachers should take care of the fourth-grade students in teaching.
Another advantage of this class teaching is the normal development of students' emotions. Because they are educated in the same classroom as the fifth-grade students, most of them are senior students. Even though there are several excellent students in the lower grades, they are not particularly excellent compared with the senior students, so it is difficult to produce excessive pride and arrogance. Because of long-term communication with students who are more knowledgeable and capable than themselves, junior students can easily get greater development in knowledge, ability and thinking. Generally speaking, senior three students gain more confidence because of their age and knowledge and ability. Among them, those with weak ability will receive education that matches their own ability in the teaching of junior students, and their self-confidence will not be hurt (teachers never emphasize who is higher or lower in teaching). Moreover, the identity of the so-called junior and senior students changes every year. Both students with strong ability and students with weak ability can develop naturally according to their own ability level and learning progress in such an environment. All students' comprehensive quality has been improved, and their self-esteem and self-confidence have also been cared for.
In middle school, this situation has a new form of expression. Schools usually do not have the concept of class, but implement hierarchical teaching according to students' ability level. Each school is equipped with several consulting teachers who are responsible for guiding students to choose courses. Take a high school in Madison, Wisconsin as an example. If students want to graduate from high school, they must take English, social studies, mathematics, science, physical education, health and other subjects and complete 22 credits. Although the progress of students' classes is roughly the same, not all students have to study at the same speed. For example, as compulsory math and science, except? Comprehensive science? And then what? Algebra 1 must be completed in the ninth grade. Geometry? It must be completed in the tenth grade, and other mathematical contents can be completed within 2 years. Therefore, in the teaching arrangement of mathematics class, teachers set different teaching contents in the same grade and set the same contents in different grades. For example, ninth grade students have three math classes and one basic class? Algebra 1 Are the other two optional courses? Algebra 1 honor? And then what? Geometric honor? . ? Algebra 1 It is a basic required course, involving multiple representations of straight lines, quadratic equations, polynomials and exponential functions. [1] Only students with a good foundation in mathematics can take the last two courses. Like what? Algebra 1 honor? The conditions of course selection must meet one of the following three requirements: (1) Grade 8 math scores must reach A or B; (2)? Algebra 1 gets a or b; (3) get the teacher's recommendation. In other words, students only need to study in junior high school? Algebra 1 and get good grades, or get the teacher's recommendation, you can take such a course. There are compulsory courses? Compared with algebra 1, what does this course cover? Algebra 1 deepens and perfects all the topics in the book, and adds other mathematical contents at the same time. Its content scope and degree are obviously higher than the basic compulsory courses. ? Geometric honor? This course is offered in Grade 9 and Grade 10, while Algebra 2 and Triangle are offered in Grades 10,10 and 12. In this way, students in the same grade will learn different contents because of the differences in learning ability and mastery. In other words, the concept of grade difference in middle school classes is not strong.
For those outstanding students, the school also offers AP courses, which are advanced courses at the university level. Students with spare capacity can take these courses. If students pass the national entrance examination before the beginning of May each year, they can be exempted from these courses after entering the university. AP courses include biology, chemistry, environmental science, physics, calculation, statistics, computer science, English, microeconomics, psychology, modern European history, world history, Chinese, English literature, French and Spanish.
It can be seen that the teaching and curriculum arrangement in primary and secondary schools in the United States is not a fixed and unified pace, but we should consider and respect the differences of students as much as possible.
Second, teach students in accordance with their aptitude and pay attention to gifted education.
Another notable feature of American basic education is that it attaches importance to the education of individuals and gifted children. Teachers and schools will discover children's strengths in time, and give them timely diagnosis and special education, which also reflects the American-style teaching in accordance with their aptitude.
When I first came to America, I felt that my children were too relaxed and had no homework. I went home to play all day. The knowledge taught in school education seems to be not much different from that in China in terms of subject names. It is nothing more than language arts (including reading and writing), mathematics, science, society (American history last semester, American geography next semester), sports, music, art and so on. Especially math, according to my daughter, is much easier than what I learned in China. This just confirms my old impression. But after a while, I found that this was not the case.
Because there is a gap between the English level and the children in the fifth grade in the same class, and they think that China people are unwilling to return to China after coming to the United States, in order to lay a solid knowledge foundation for their children's future study, the school insists on letting my daughter study in the fourth grade from the perspective of their long-term development. Considering the difference in teaching difficulty between China and the United States, the teacher promised me to provide children with teaching in grades four to seven. Although I have a distrust attitude of 100%, considering my children's actual English level and the established purpose of coming to American schools to concentrate on learning languages, I agree that my children should go to school in the fourth grade. One day about two months after school started, I went to school to pick up my children. The head teacher asked me if I agreed to give the child a math test. It turns out that after a period of study, the teacher found that my daughter's math is very good and has been reported to the school district. In recent days, the school district is going to send an expert to test my children's math ability to judge their actual level and potential, but this needs the approval of parents (they think that extra tests will increase their burden). A few days later, the child said that a teacher who was not in their school called her to the principal's office to take a math test alone. After a while, the teacher told me that the child's exam results came out, which was very good. She and some similar children should be specially trained. Later, the child came back and said that the class was divided into three math groups: low, middle and high. She was assigned to the highest group. The teacher in this group is the parent of a classmate in the class. She used to be the coach of the Olympic Mathematics Competition and taught here as a volunteer. A few days later, the child reported that this parent taught better than her teacher, even better than the previous math teacher in China, and some contents were more difficult than the fifth grade in China. Through the communication with this parent, I know that she thinks that mathematics teaching in the United States is insufficient, so the content she teaches is based on the mathematics textbooks in Singapore and Japan, and the content is rearranged according to the actual level of the children she teaches. I'm beginning to believe in hierarchical teaching in America. After the teacher discovers the child's math strengths, she often lets my daughter act as a little teacher, helping to check other students' homework and make up lessons for students who don't understand. This process not only enhances the child's self-confidence, but also exercises her language and communication skills.
After a while, the teacher still felt that her daughter's math performance was outstanding among her classmates. After another test, she and a boy in the same grade entered the class with the highest level in the fifth grade. At this time, I was relieved: I finally took classes in the right grade. Because there is no unified textbook in the United States, the teaching content of this group is still organized by the teachers themselves. Although there are main reference materials, teachers will increase or decrease the teaching content according to the actual level of children. I saw in a lecture that when the teacher was teaching the concept and area of circle, two children had mastered this content, so the teacher provided them with other contents for their self-study and came to guide them from time to time (American teachers hardly gave a complete explanation). Usually, I only talk about 10 minutes, and the rest of the time I tour to understand the students' learning situation and conduct individual teaching. Afterwards, I asked the teacher why only these two children learned different things. The teacher said that the two children have mastered this part and need to improve their learning difficulty and width.
After two promotions, my children and I have a new understanding of American education: it will never suppress the development of any child-as long as you have potential, it will always try to turn it into practical talents. Later, I learned that these three groups are actually different groups at different levels. Children with low math level even struggle to add and subtract within 20, while children with high math level have already learned the seventh grade content, and even the so-called Olympic Mathematics content of China. For the students in the same class, the teacher does not have a certain degree of compulsory teaching.
As mentioned above, the hierarchical teaching in middle schools also covers the educational concept of paying attention to extraordinary children. In addition to what children in this grade must master, the school will also offer broader and deeper courses on the basis of similar courses. Excellent students can also study AP courses in middle schools and get university credits. As long as you have the ability, American education will provide you with a broader space for development.
The most typical example is the story of her daughter told to me by a parent of an international student in China. At the age of 7, the child came to the United States from Sichuan with his parents and entered the second grade of primary school. Soon, the teacher found that the child was born smart and studied hard. Although on the surface the child goes to school step by step with the grade, the teacher often provides her with special teaching suitable for her level. When China was a freshman, the teacher suggested that she go to the United States to take the college entrance examination. At the same time, the teacher recommended her to Yale University and Harvard University. Both schools send special professors to middle schools to inspect students' comprehensive level and ability. The survey results show that this child is really talented, responsible and compassionate, which is very suitable for special training. Results The child 15 years old entered the famous Harvard University, and the US government specially invested 500,000 US dollars to train children. Because of their young age, universities are worried that children leaving their parents prematurely will affect their physical and mental health. So, in the first year, Harvard teachers flew to Madison, the city where the child lived, to teach her. In order to ensure the healthy development of children's body and mind, Harvard also specially equipped her with a life teacher to teach children how to treat people and things and the principles of doing things. Because of individual teaching, children are smart, and as a result, they finish the courses that should be completed in two years in one year. The next year, the girl went to Harvard campus to attend classes. Later, she invested with the principal provided by the school (required by professional courses) and earned $654.38 +0 million. Because her parents are from Sichuan, she donated all the investment income to this area during the Wenchuan earthquake (the school stipulates that the income from course training cannot be used for private use, but it can be invested and donated). Her mother often said: American education will not bury talents.
Through the example of this child and my child, we can find that primary and secondary schools in the United States seem to be committed to discovering and cultivating outstanding talents. On the one hand, on the surface, the United States divides classes according to age, but because of different talents and efforts, children in the same class must be at different levels of development. Once a teacher discovers the advantages of a child, he will pay special attention to it and provide various conditions to develop his interest and potential. On the other hand, no matter what level of development you are at, schools and teachers will provide you with an environment to study and play with children of the same age. In such an environment, children and parents will not lose their minds, will not endlessly overweight themselves or their children, and their mental development will be relatively healthy; Children also get the space and fun that children of the same age should enjoy in the class group of children of the same age. Schools, students and families will not go to extremes. This often reminds me of places that provide special education for outstanding children, such as juvenile classes and experimental classes in key middle schools in China. Is this practice of concentrating gifted children in one place really for children or for the convenience of teachers?
Third, take advantage of various opportunities to cultivate children's interests and show their talents.
The dragon gave birth to nine children, each with its own differences. Some children are interested in liberal arts, while others are interested in science. Some people are not good at academic courses, but they are good at music, art and physical education. In the United States, teachers will never judge a child by his academic performance, nor will they completely deny him because of his poor academic performance. No matter where the child shines, the teacher will find and pay attention to it in time.
In America, every teacher seems to have a binary eye. In the last article, the math teacher found the children's strengths in teaching and reported them to the school and the school district in time, so that the children could get further training opportunities in school education. Teachers in other courses will do the same.
My child's performance in art class is considered very talented by the teacher. The teacher not only praised her works in class, but also posted them on the school wall for display. I'm not interested in listening to the children. I think American teachers always praise children? Great job. Great job? Wait, there are almost no negative comments about children from their mouths. In my opinion, praise from American teachers is very cheap. However, at the end of the first semester, what did the art teacher say to my children? A very talented young artist? . This kind of praise is written on the report card, which makes me feel sorry for my child? Talent? A little skeptical.
One day in the second semester, the child came home and proudly told me that the teacher praised her clay sculpture works in art class and asked the child to give her one as a souvenir. The teacher also said that the museum in Madison has an exhibition of works of art for students (from kindergarten to high school graduation). If a school chooses three pieces to participate, my daughter's works can be taken to the exhibition. From mid-March to mid-May, the works of my children and other school children were exhibited in Madison Museum. I made a special trip to the museum and found that the children's works were officially hung or placed in the conspicuous exhibition hall on the first floor of the museum. Each work is marked with its name, school and children; There are specialized staff in the exhibition area to provide services; There is also a special guest book in the exhibition area for people to express their feelings. The only difference from other exhibition areas is that this exhibition area can take photos freely. Many people left touching words on the guest book, such as? The outstanding works on display show that there are so many talented artists in our country? ,? The creativity and imagination of these children are amazing? , and so on. If the school exhibition and the teacher's evaluation didn't bring much feelings to my children's hearts, then I believe that this very formal exhibition and people's messages-such high comments from outsiders and strangers, so much encouragement and praise, will bring confidence and glory to the children's future growth.
It's an Egyptian girl who attended an art exhibition in the same school as her daughter. Her academic performance is really not so good. My daughter often says that this Egyptian classmate is not neat even if she adds and subtracts within 100, but she is considered by her teacher to be very talented in art. Her beautifully framed paintings are prominently hung on the walls of museums, which makes people who don't know art feel refreshed and impressed by the diversity and plasticity of people.
In China, I know that many children are versatile, but I have never heard that provincial museums can provide places for children to display their works for free. Although some related magazines will publish some children's works or hold children's art works competitions, the commercial atmosphere is mixed with all kinds of shady things, which makes us doubt the fairness of winning prizes and publishing works.
American schools also use various resources inside and outside the school to explore children's potential and cultivate children's interest. In fact, many times even parents and children don't know what their children are interested in and what their potential is. In order to tap children's potential, American schools will carry out various activities to let children show their talents. Children find their own interests in such exhibitions, and principals and teachers also look for excellent children in such exhibitions.
My daughter's school holds the annual Shorewood Primary School Variety Show every year 165438+ 10. There are many kinds of performances: some children perform stage plays and humorous plays, some play the piano, some play the violin, some tell stories, recite poems, dance and sing, but most of them are unprofessional. Children don't need to go through any selection procedures to perform on stage, and they can participate at any level as long as they want. I saw with my own eyes that a little boy may have just learned to play the piano and can only play very simple music with one hand, but he still plays seriously. There is also a little black girl performing a dance, just walking back and forth to the rhythm of the music. The daughter even disdained to say that this is also dancing, isn't it just walking? But in any case, the children are very serious, and parents, teachers and students who watch the performance will give warm applause to every performance.
My child won many hugs and praises from the headmaster for his excellent piano playing. Many teachers, parents and classmates also know her. In fact, children don't really play well. It's just that there are not many students in the United States who have been learning piano with professional teachers since she was five years old and have been practicing for many years.
This performance gave me and my children great inspiration. In fact, performance is really not the patent of any excellent person, and it is not so formal and utilitarian. You don't need beautiful faces, gorgeous clothes, and you don't need layers of selection. It's just a place to show children's interests and versatility. As long as you are enthusiastic and willing to participate, you can go on stage and get applause. Therefore, the organizers of this activity are parents, children are responsible for stage layout and guidance, and children are the people who announce the curtain call. Parents and individual teachers only play a supporting role. After all, primary school students are still children. After the activity, the children enjoyed the talents of themselves and their classmates happily. No one can deny that some children will become interested in an activity because of warm applause and begin to cling to an art, so teachers and parents may focus on cultivating him.
When I told my friends in China about this activity, they all expressed their feelings. His children have studied piano in China for five years, and there is really no chance to show their talents except to take part in a rare competition for further study. Children have been studying alone. The so-called competition, apart from tension and competition, is really nothing interesting. From this, I often wonder why foreign children don't play. In fact, it is because American children have many opportunities to perform from childhood to adulthood, and they do not regard opportunities as major events, as usual. Think about it, a child's participation in various activities with a normal heart is good for her life's growth. Children's hobbies are gradually cultivated through such activities.
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