tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post1138300438159698247..comments2023-10-15T10:29:12.991+01:00Comments on Karyn's erratic learning journey: SettingThe upsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06345558899662051670noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post-17190290770984963902008-03-19T09:04:00.000+00:002008-03-19T09:04:00.000+00:00@Dave I'm not sure that there is a prescribed size...@Dave I'm not sure that there is a prescribed size for each set. For example, in the bottom set for French, there are about 60 kids, but because you couldn't lump all those kids together into one class, there are two classes in that set.<BR/><BR/>I agree that it's a good thing that a child can be in different sets for different subjects - it doesn't really make sense to do anything else, when you think about it.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure of the extent to which movement from one set to another is accommodated. I will be discussing that with the form tutor today.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post-39122729994149673932008-03-18T20:01:00.000+00:002008-03-18T20:01:00.000+00:00I guess was thinking too much of my own experience...I guess was thinking too much of my own experience, about as useful here as Daniel Boone's. <BR/><BR/>At first I thought eight sets sounded like a lot, but then I recalled my son's high school class (i.e., year) of some 400, and my daughter's of 700. (We're ambiguous here; we say "my class" both for "the people I have the same homeroom as" and "all the other people who'll graduate the same year as me.")<BR/><BR/>How large are the various sets?<BR/><BR/>I recognize the "top set at all costs" frame of mind. Someone once said, "All I want is for my kid to live up to my potential." In some ways it's impossible for people not to take notice of which sets are on top (in terms of difficulty and thus in theory prestige) and which aren't.<BR/><BR/>But if a student can move freely (enough) between sets for a given subject, and can be in different sets for different subjects, maybe that becomes less important.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post-49289997008748380562008-03-18T08:49:00.000+00:002008-03-18T08:49:00.000+00:00@Dave Thanks for that, although I think there migh...@Dave Thanks for that, although I think there might be slight differences between setting and tracking. It seems as if, in a given track, the group follows a predetermined path for that track. Whereas, in a set, the teacher has slightly more freedom to do what will work for that set.<BR/><BR/>For example, in my son's school, there are eight Year 9 (read 9th grade) classes. Instead of staying with their own class groups for maths (for example), they will regroup in their sets for that lesson, so that each teacher is facing a group of around 30 kids who are roughly at the same level, making the extremes of differentiation required less.. well... extreme.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post-70248475724748797682008-03-17T17:31:00.000+00:002008-03-17T17:31:00.000+00:00Karyn, just FYI, what you call setting is known as...Karyn, just FYI, what you call <I>setting</I> is known as <I>tracking</I> in the U.S.<BR/><BR/>However, I'd never heard of having <I>eight</I> tracks for a given subject. Tracks here are often related to a given grade -- e.g., among high school freshmen, there might be three tracks.<BR/><BR/>Though it's been some time since I had kids in high school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com