Personalised learning and minorities

last updated:September 2010

How could you personalise learning for minority ethnic pupils?

Research evidence

Pupils have different learning needs and benefit from having these identified and specifically addressed in their teaching and learning. Pupils from ethnic minorities who are struggling with class work respond especially well to this kind of personalised learning which might include language support, mentoring, homework and revision clubs.

Your evidence

You might like to work with small groups of pupils (2-3), to explore the things they like and enjoy about certain activities or piece of work and those which they find difficult and don’t enjoy. Using open questions will allow pupils the freedom to give their opinions, such as "Can you tell me about the things that you like doing best at school?" and "Can you tell me about the things which you don't like doing?” Once pupils have relaxed into the discussion you could probe more deeply into the barriers pupils experience to their learning.

Recording pupil responses should enable you to identify the kind of work pupils enjoy and feel confident about and what they see as their weaker areas and the things they identify as barriers.

Next steps

How could you use the information you have gained from the group discussion? Have you considered creating personalised learning plans for your pupils addressing the areas where they disengage from teaching and learning?