Publication Date

Fall 11-1-2012

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

First Advisor

Bonnie Mennell

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive understanding of multilevel classes. It examines the pedagogical challenges that teachers often face in this teaching context, but it also considers the implications for what multilevel classes indicate about access to education in the EFL teaching field. The author has opted to examine two distinct cases of multilevel classes in the Middle East that she taught from 2010-2011 and in 2012. The first was a remedial 7th grade English class called 7F in an international school in Erbil, the capital city of the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The second was an ESP course in Banking, which was part of a Continuing Education program at the university where the author presently teaches in Saudi Arabia. In both cases, the author examines both the pedagogical as well as administrative factors that come into play in a multilevel learning environment. As a result of reflecting upon both contexts, the author attempts to provide a richer and more complex understanding of her teaching experiences. This analysis results in the framework “Connect, Network and Empower” which offers a way to transform a traditional, teacher centered classroom into a student centered classroom and communal learning environment.

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Educational Methods | International and Comparative Education

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