In this guide
Cambridge Veritas · Original TESOL self-study resources
Understand the idea
Differentiate support and extension while keeping a shared purpose where possible. Record what helps the group and what remains difficult for the next teacher. Useful handover notes describe evidence, not fixed judgements about ability.
What you will practise
- Explain the key idea in “Mixed-level differentiation and teacher handover” using a concrete example.
- Choose a teaching response that fits the learner and the purpose.
- Identify evidence you could collect to evaluate that response.
A closer look at the teaching
Differentiation can vary prompts, planning time or extension while preserving a shared goal. Do not give a fixed easier identity to the same learner. Useful handover notes describe the activity, response and effective support so another teacher can investigate further. They should remain provisional rather than become permanent labels.
Proficiency labels are useful starting points but do not describe every demand a learner can handle. Topic knowledge, task familiarity and available support also matter. Define what success would look like for this group and select a manageable language scope. Differentiation can then vary prompts, time or response complexity while retaining a common purpose. Describe observed performance precisely rather than infer a complete level from one activity.
In the classroom
One learner needs a frame while another needs greater challenge in the same reporting task.
Before choosing an activity, identify what the learner needs to understand or communicate. Separate the language demand from other demands such as reading instructions, managing equipment or speaking to a large group.
A teaching sequence you can adapt
Use these stages as a starting point for this topic. Keep the language goal visible, and change the support when learner responses show a different need.
- 01
Define a practical can-do outcome and identify the support that will be available.
- 02
Check a short performance sample and distinguish language difficulty from unfamiliar content or procedure.
- 03
Vary prompts or challenge while keeping the intended communicative purpose visible.
- 04
Record what learners achieve and what further support or extension the next task should provide.
Compare what each learner can do with the support and which next demand would provide useful challenge.
A common mistake to avoid
Do not confuse different completion speeds with a complete ranking of learner ability.
When reviewing the activity, distinguish what you observed from what you inferred. Use the task outcome and a fresh example to decide whether another explanation, a different scaffold or more independent practice is needed.
Adapt it for your learners
Make the task accessible.
Offer a clear model, planning time and a simple record that reduces unnecessary processing demands.
Extend the thinking.
Require precision, justification, adaptation to audience or a response to a counterargument rather than only rarer vocabulary.
Keep the intended outcome consistent when comparing responses. Record which support was available so you do not confuse a supported performance with the same task completed independently.
Try it, then compare.
Take a moment to make your own decision. Compare your reasoning with the example, then adapt it for a teaching context you know.
Try it in a teaching context
Plan support, extension and a handover note.
Your questions, answered.
What is a common mistake with Mixed-level differentiation and teacher handover?
Do not confuse different completion speeds with a complete ranking of learner ability.
How can I check whether the teaching worked?
Compare what each learner can do with the support and which next demand would provide useful challenge.
How can I support learners who find the task difficult?
Offer a clear model, planning time and a simple record that reduces unnecessary processing demands.
How can I add a useful extra challenge?
Require precision, justification, adaptation to audience or a response to a counterargument rather than only rarer vocabulary.
Quick revision
- The key idea: Differentiate support and extension while keeping a shared purpose where possible.
- The context to remember: One learner needs a frame while another needs greater challenge in the same reporting task.
- A useful next step: Plan support, extension and a handover note.
For your teaching portfolio: keep a brief plan, a note of what learners actually did and one change you would make next time. Use anonymous examples.
Take the module self-checkSources and authorship
This module maps to the supplied syllabus PDF, Teaching at different levels (7 pages). The study notes, examples, application tasks and self-checks on these pages are original Cambridge Veritas resources.
View the supplied PDF ↗ · Publication reference: source chapter
Written by Cambridge Veritas. Updated .
Use these resources for preparation and reflection. Browser self-check results are for personal study and do not award a qualification or replace observed teaching practice.