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Show lessons, Fail 2006 page 23 Advanced students with previous language experience may take an approved language proficiency exam to demonstrate their language ability. In addition, instructors send students back and forth to different classes during the first two weeks of the semester. "We do our best before the class even starts to normalize the median in the room," Jones said. "Generally, we do a good job of separating the students that will be too intimidating. One of the real concerns is that the stronger students are going to overshadow the rest of the class. We are successful in managing it in the language classes [lower-division classes], but it remains a big problem in the upper-level writing and literature culture classes." In the upper-level classes, students with a language background are much more comfortable at discussion; however, they all have similar problems with writing, said Jones. Therefore, that can level the playing field a little. Despite the programs in place, instructors must still deal with the challenges of teaching both advanced and undergraduate students together. In some cases, having advanced students in a classroom hinders the learning of others. In other instances, it can be a valuable tool. "The question of varying levels is something that a teacher always has to deal with." said Toscano, whose classes vary between 10 and 50 students depending on the semester. "Obviously, in certain classes, it's more of a problem. You always have students with various levels of background, knowledge, sophistication or basic ability." For the latter reason, instructors must manage such an environment in a way that will stimulate the students' learning. "Raising the bar that is acceptable to the class, teach to that level and help bring students to that level," Jones said. "For me, that is the right ethic to create in a classroom. You don't actually teach to the middle. You try to create the appropriate middle, but you teach above it to bring (the students up to that level)." Toscano uses various techniques to help her create that learning environment, she said, including student mentorship. In addition, she gives out assignments that are more complicated to her more sophisticated students by giving them additional readings, longer papers and complicated questions, so they will not get bored. For example, Toscano has a student, who is taking a second-year Latin class and is a doctorate student in literature. His Latin ability is of the same level as the lower-level students. However, when discussing various literary elements of a topic, Toscano enlists the graduate student to help the other students understand various concepts. By doing this, Toscano may facilitate a higher level of discussion, she said. It makes the discussions more interesting. It helps the students engage with and teach each other. While stimulating the advanced student, instructors must also balance the needs and learning of the less than advanced students. "As a teacher. I have to try to create an atmosphere where the students that are at a lower level will not resent the other students or feel that this is just so unfair to them because they can't be expected to know as much as the other student," Toscano said. Sometimes, Toscano would communicate to her students about the different levels of students in her classes, she said. She will tell her students that everyone has a chance to succeed in her classes. Toscano encourages other teachers across disciplines to approach every class in a different way. She challenges teachers to think about the individual situation in the different classrooms, be aware that there might be a problem, assess the sophistication level of the students and be creative in advancing the knowledge of every student regardless of their sophistication level, |