Multilevel Teaching
The same activity with different complexity levels so that everyone participates from where they are.
What is it?
Multilevel teaching proposes that a single well-designed lesson can reach all students in the class without needing to separate groups or create completely different activities. The key is planning the same activity with different levels of complexity, different ways to participate, and different ways to demonstrate learning.
Jean Collicott developed this approach based on an inclusive premise: if we have to take students out of the classroom for them to learn, the problem is in the lesson, not in the student. Multilevel instruction keeps everyone in the same space, working on the same topic, but each one from their own level.
Multilevel design draws on Bloom's taxonomy: within the same activity, some students work at knowledge and comprehension levels, others at application and analysis, and others at evaluation and creation. The underlying concept is the same; the depth varies.
If we have to take students out of the classroom for them to learn, the problem is not in the students. It is in the lesson.
— Jean CollicottWhat does it look like in class?
In a class on ecosystems, all students research the same ecosystem. Some identify the living things present (basic level), others explain the feeding relationships among them (intermediate level), and others analyze what would happen if a key species disappeared (advanced level).
In math, the teacher presents a real problem: organizing a school fair. Some students calculate quantities and prices (basic operations), others calculate profits and costs (percentages), and others design a budget with variables and projections.
For expression, the teacher offers options within the same activity: answering questions orally, in writing, with drawings, with a diagram, or with a model. Assessment adjusts to the level and format chosen.
The teacher prepares tiered materials: a guide with more scaffolding (definitions, clues, structure), a standard guide, and an extension guide with open questions. Students access the guide they need without this being perceived as separation.
Signs it works
- All students work on the same activity at the same time — no one is doing something completely different
- Students with more difficulties participate actively, they don't copy or wait
- Advanced students are genuinely challenged, they don't finish quickly and get bored
- There is no perceived division between 'capable' and 'less capable' students — variations are natural
- The teacher circulates helping everyone, not permanently with just one group
Common mistakes
Running three different parallel lessons instead of one lesson with levels — that is not multilevel, it is triple the work
Reducing the level by lowering expectations instead of offering more scaffolding — everyone must learn, not just participate
Not assessing whether students at basic levels are progressing toward more complex levels
Using fixed levels all year — a student may be at basic level in one topic and advanced in another
Key thinkers
Creator of the multilevel instruction model. Her pioneering work showed that a single lesson can include all students.
Catalan pedagogue expert in cooperative learning and inclusion. His approach to inclusive classrooms integrates multilevel teaching with cooperative work.
Spanish teacher and trainer. Disseminator of multilevel teaching and the inclusive transformation of schools.
Dive deeper
BookInclusive Classrooms — Susan and William StainbackReference book on how to design an inclusive curriculum that works for everyone. Includes multilevel and cooperative strategies.
ESWebsiteMultilevel Teaching — Jose Blas GarciaComplete and practical article by Jose Blas Garcia on multilevel teaching with concrete classroom examples.
ESWebsiteMultilevel Curriculum NetworkBlog specialized in multilevel teaching with readings, resources, and experiences in Spanish. Includes Collicott's translated text.
ESPDFMultilevel Instruction — Jean CollicottJean Collicott's original chapter translated into Spanish. Fundamental text with step-by-step strategies.
ToolChoice Board
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ToolAgreement Scale
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