Catering for learner diversity through assessment literacy and multimodal input
Background
The teachers in Fung Kai No. 1 Secondary School expressed genuine concerns regarding students' proficiency in reading and writing. With a clear objective to improve students' reading skills and cultivate their proficiency in writing, the teachers were committed to trying out various learning, teaching, and assessment strategies, as well as instructional approaches. Furthermore, they observed a remarkable spectrum of learner diversity in S4 students, and hence they were committed to accommodating students' diverse learning needs using different means, such as multimodal input. In addition to all this, the school's overarching mission of fostering positive character development was addressed by integrating values education into the curriculum design.
Level
S4
Strategies used
Term 1 (Reading skills)
Implementation of differentiated instruction
According to Tomlinson (1999), teachers should adjust their teaching content and instructional strategies so as to accommodate the diverse needs of learners. An extensive analysis of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) reading skills was conducted, and the following strategies were employed to cater for students' needs:A two-stage teaching approach was adopted so that the needs of different students were addressed, ensuring a gradual progression in learning. Less able classes focused on Stage 1 learning, while teachers of more able classes covered both stages comprehensively. In less able classes, teachers only briefly introduced Stage 2 content to align with students' needs and abilities. Conversely, teachers of the more able classes covered both Stage 1 and Stage 2, addressing both the basic and advanced skills in tackling summary cloze comprehensively.
Additionally, the use of colour-coded texts was employed to link related words, synonyms or antonyms in the reading texts and questions. This approach aimed to enhance students' comprehension and facilitate students' learning, particularly benefitting the less able students.
Analysis of the HKDSE summary cloze questions (Years 2017-2021)
The analysis focused on investigating assessment of reading skills through the use of summary cloze tasks in the HKDSE Reading Paper (i.e. Paper 1). In order to thoroughly understand the design of the summary cloze tasks, the teachers carried out an extensive examination of the main questions in public assessments. It was found that some questions did not require students to change the word form, while in some questions, a single change in word form was sufficient. At a more advanced level, students were challenged to modify the word form two or even three times in the same item.This analysis has important implications for identifying suitable learning and teaching approaches. Specifically, it emphasises the significance of developing skills related to modifying the desired word form and effectively paraphrasing the target sentences.
An example of a cloze question taught in Stage 1, in which students only needed to look for the right word (i.e. "locally") from the passage.
An example of a cloze question taught in Stage 2, in which students had to change the word form more than once (i.e. "teenagers") using various skills and knowledge in order to arrive at the correct answer.
Enhancing teachers' assessment literacy
In order to enhance students' reading skills, teachers should enhance their assessment literacy as it reflects their proficiency in designing, implementing and using assessment strategies (Mellati & Khademi, 2018). Assessment for learning also involves how teachers improve their teaching using the analysed student data. Therefore, the following actions were taken to enhance teachers' assessment literacy:Pre- and post-tests in the format of summary cloze were conducted to evaluate students' strengths and weaknesses, as well as to monitor their progress.
Teachers' abilities to analyse and create skill-focused summary cloze questions were strengthened through developing learning and teaching materials.
Term 2 (Writing skills)
Using multimodal input to accommodate students' multiple intelligences
According to Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1999), everybody possesses multiple intelligences, namely verbal-linguistic, visual-spatial, musical rhythmic, logical-mathematical, bodily kinesthetic, naturalistic, intrapersonal, interpersonal and existential intelligence. Based on this theory, a variety of activities with multimodal input were designed to enhance students' diverse intellectual abilities:Intelligences
Learning activities
i. Verbal-linguistic
Reading core and supplementary reading materials
Using scaffolding writing activities
ii. Musical rhythmic
Using music and songs as pedagogical tools in teaching
iii. Visual-spatial
Using concept maps for students to visualise their understanding of a text – “Peel the fruit” visible thinking routine
Using colour-coded texts
iv. Interpersonal
Group discussion
Enriching the variety of learning content to cater for students' diverse interests
According to Curriculum Development Council and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (2021), curriculum optimisation measures should be taken to create space and facilitate flexible use of time. One of the measures adopted by the school was to fully integrate the previous elective module "Learning English through Poems and Songs" into the Compulsory Part. This integration purposefully included a wide variety of language arts elements in the Compulsory Part to accommodate the diverse interests of students.
What happened
Term 1 (Reading skills)
Unit |
Unit 2 “Successful People and Amazing Deeds” |
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Target skill |
Summary cloze |
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Pre-test overview |
To align with the topic of this unit, teachers created a summary cloze based on an authentic text adapted from a celebrity interview featuring Ms Olivia Cheng, an alumna of this school who is considered to have a successful career. |
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Pre-test design |
Various methods and skills were employed in order to design a cloze exercise catering for the needs of most students. A part of the test design is shown below:  Paragraph 2 of the passage 
Paragraph 3 of the passage 
Paragraph 1 of the cloze 
Paragraph 2 of the cloze The table below shows the skills and knowledge required to tackle each question.
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Pre-test analysis |
Based on the pre-test results, the strengths and weaknesses of each class were identified, which allowed teachers to tailor their teaching materials to address the specific needs of their students. For instance, the more able classes could handle integrative testing questions, but required improvement in parts of speech awareness; while the less able classes could mostly handle discrete-point testing questions, but struggled with areas such as parts of speech, tenses and spelling. |
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While teaching |
To better cater for learner diversity, a two-stage teaching approach was implemented. In Stage 1, students only needed to tackle discrete-point testing questions where they made a single grammatical change in each response, e.g. tenses, parts of speech, synonym, plurality, inferences. In Stage 2, more able students, who had mastered the skills targeted in Stage 1, were challenged with integrative testing questions that required making multiple changes to arrive at the correct answer, for example, parts of speech, plurals and inferencing. The less able students would only be briefly introduced to Stage 2 to align with their needs and abilities. The teaching of relevant values such as perseverance and diligence was embedded in the lessons and learning tasks. For example, students identified how the character in the article persevered in her career despite various challenges faced. |
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Within-school peer lesson observation |
A sequence of peer lesson observations was conducted in S4 classes. Teachers were given opportunities to create a summary cloze tailored to the specific needs and abilities of their students. |
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Inter-school lesson observation |
An inter-school lesson observation was carried out in the Reading Network. Teachers from different schools gathered to observe the lessons and provided their feedback on the instructional strategies in those lessons. |
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Post-test design |
The post-test was designed by one of the S4 English teachers. The target skills were tested. |
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Post-test analysis |
A post-test analysis was conducted. It was found that:
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Term 2 (Writing skills)
Unit |
Unit 5 “Sport” |
Writing topic |
Writing a letter to the Principal to explain the reasons why students are unhappy about the existing Physical Education (PE) lessons and suggest new activities to be introduced in the PE lessons. |
Stages of writing |
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Stage 1 Song appreciation
Language arts elements from the previous elective module "Learning English through Poems and Songs" were incorporated into the Compulsory Part to cater for the diverse interests of students, as illustrated by the examples below:
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Songs |
Literary devices |
Values |
Messages |
More able students |
Hand in hand (1988 Seoul Olympic Theme Song) |
1. Rhymes |
1. Unity |
Teamwork is important. When everyone works as a team, it increases team performance in sports. |
Fireworks |
1. Rhymes |
1. Perseverance
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Despite the hardships in our lives, one should never stop trying. We should not undermine ourselves and our abilities to shine. |
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Less able students |
The cup of life |
1. Rhymes |
1. Diligence |
Living life to the fullest and seizing the moment. We should pursue our dreams and enjoy every moment of life. |
To increase students' understanding of the use of literary devices, a range of scaffolding writing activities was conducted:
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a. Vocabulary matching activity |
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b. Information gaps |
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c. Understanding literary devices |
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d. Identifying literary devices |
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Stage 2 Pre-writing - Task 1 (Exploring ideas)
As writing input, students read two texts on Physical Education and used the thinking routine, "Peel the Fruit", to navigate the texts.
Core reading text for all students |
“7 PE lessons ideas for teachers” |
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Supplementary reading text for more able students |
“How to improve Physical Education in schools” |
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A tool to visualise students’ understanding |
Peel the Fruit (Peel the Fruit, n.d.) – a thinking routine that tracks and guides understanding.
 Different layers of understanding of the issue were covered |
Stage 2 Pre-writing - Task 2 (Generating ideas)
In order to help students generate more ideas for their writing, a series of learning activities was carried out:
1. Thinker’s Keys (The Alphabet) |
2. Consider all factors |
 Students were encouraged to generate an array of sport activities (from A to Z), enabling them to propose a wider range of new activities for PE lessons. |
 The more able students engaged in the process of identifying the underlying causes for students’ dissatisfaction with the current PE lessons, taking various factors into account. |
Stage 3 While-writing (Developing and organising ideas)
The paragraph writing strategy, TREES, was employed and students were taught to develop and elaborate their ideas by including the following: Topic sentence, Reasons, Examples/Evidence, Explanation/Effects, and Summary/Suggestions. |
 Students gave suggestions using TREES. Ideas were better developed and structured. |
Stage 4 Post-writing (Polishing the language)
In the final stage, students were taught how to paraphrase their sentences by varying parts of speech, and using synonyms and figurative language.
Students first identified the synonyms of certain phrases from the reading text. |
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Then they applied the paraphrasing skills in their writing by using: a) synonyms: b) figurative language: |
   Students’ unedited work |
Impact
Student level
Learner diversity was effectively accommodated and students' needs were addressed through the implementation of appropriate tasks aligned with their abilities. On top of the core learning elements in both reading and writing, students in higher proficiency classes were presented with integrated testing questions to foster cognitive challenges in Term 1. They were also taught to identify more advanced literary devices and read a supplementary text in Term 2.
Teacher level
Teachers' assessment literacy was enhanced through the teaching preparation and activities of Term 1. They acquired the ability to identify students' needs through data analysis, thereby gaining insight into strategies for accommodating learner diversity.
Moreover, teachers' professional knowledge was enhanced through active participation in the preparation of teaching materials. They developed the skills to evaluate the appropriateness of a summary cloze provided in textbooks and independently formulate relevant questions that target specific skills to be assessed in their respective classes.
Additionally, the cultivation of a collaborative culture was fostered through the shared responsibility of tasks and the practice of peer lesson observation.
Curriculum level
The value of analysis of HKDSE assessment items was maximised, yielding valuable insights for the curriculum design in senior levels.
Furthermore, essential elements of the previous elective module "Learning English through Poems and Songs" were integrated into the Compulsory Part, enriching the curriculum with language arts elements.
School level
A sharing culture across schools was promoted. The teachers participated in the Reading Network organised by the Language Learning Support Section and conducted an inter-school lesson observation. A positive school image was built and a culture of collaboration and knowledge-sharing among schools was fostered.
Conclusion
The strategies employed in the project, including the implementation of differentiated instruction, analysis of the HKDSE summary cloze questions, enhancement of teachers' assessment literacy, use of multimodal input to accommodate students' multiple intelligences, and enrichment of the variety of learning content to cater for students' diverse interests, were found to be effective in catering for learner diversity and led to the positive impact at different levels mentioned in the previous section. In addition to these strategies, the following facilitating factors have been identified.
Prioritising the needs of their students, S4 teachers displayed a willingness to explore and employ various pedagogical tools and methods in their teaching practices.
S4 teachers’ open-mindedness facilitated the successful implementation of a wide range of learning and teaching tasks, as well as professional development activities.
The dedicated teachers in S4, including both the experienced former panel head, the existing panel head, and novice teachers, showed immense support for the curriculum development projects.
It is hoped that teachers will maintain a student-centered approach and differentiate their instructional practices to accommodate the diverse learning needs of their students. It is anticipated that the valuable learning experiences gained this year could be shared with the novice teachers in this school in subsequent school years.
Bibliography
Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation. (n.d.). Consider All Factors. Retrieved from: https://www.edutoolbox.org/rasp/2115?route=node/102
Curriculum Development Council and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. (2021). English Language Education Key Learning Areas Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4-6). Hong Kong: Author.
Education Bureau. (2021). Measures to Optimise the Four Senior Secondary Core Subjects [Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 39/2021]. Retrieved from: https://applications.edb.gov.hk/circular/upload/EDBCM/EDBCM21039E.pdf
Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st century. New York: Basic Books.
Harvard Graduate School of Education. (n.d.). Peel the fruit. Project Zero. Retrieved from: https://pz.harvard.edu/resources/peel-the-fruit
Mellati, M., & Khademi, M. (2018, June). Exploring teachers' assessment literacy: Impact on learners' writing achievements and implications for teacher development. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(6), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n6.1
Ryan, T. (1990). Thinker's Keys for Kids. Retrieved from: https://www.talenteducation.eu/cs/toolkitforteachers/challengingyoungchildren/assets/Uploads/Document/4afa03a493/Thinkers_Keys-Tony-Ryan.pdf
Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD.
Fung Kai No. 1 Secondary School
Rachel LI (Language Support Officer)