Transcript Engaging Every Student: Implications of Diversity for

Engaging Every Student:
Implications of Diversity for Teaching and
Learning in Higher Education
Dr Joy Mighty
Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning
Queen’s University
President, Society for Teaching and Learning in
Higher Education
Brenda’s Story
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Diversity in Brenda’s Day
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 Jamaica
 The Philippines
 Darfur
 London
 Sri Lanka
 Hong Kong
 Pakistan
 Paris
 Iraq
 Sydney
 Afghanistan
 Toronto
 Italy
 New York
 Africa
 India
 Mexico
 Egypt
 North Korea
 Nigeria
 Iran
 China
 Germany
 Japan
 Brazil
 Ireland
© Dr Joy Mighty
A GLOBAL VILLAGE:
If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of 100 people,
would you recognize it?
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52 villagers would be female;48 would be male
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33 would be children
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6 would be over the age of 65
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58 would be Asian
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70 would be persons of colour
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30 would be Christian
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6 would own half the village’s wealth; all 6 would be U.S. citizens
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9 would speak English
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10 would be lesbian, gay or bisexual
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50 would suffer from malnutrition
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80 would live in sub-standard housing
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66 would not have access to clean, safe drinking water
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1 would have a college education
Source: United Nations: Innovations & Networks for Development. The World Development Forum. N. Y.
April 15, 1990.
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Diversity refers to differences in
a range of human qualities
among individuals.
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Some Dimensions of Diversity
 gender
 marital status
 age/generation
 family make-up
 ethnicity
 physical/mental ability
 race
 immigrant status
 sexual orientation
 educational background
 class/SES
 political outlook
 religion
 discipline
 language
 roles/functions
 learning styles
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Some Factors Driving Diversity
 Globalization and internationalization
 Immigration
 Changing demographics
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Demographics from 2006 Census
 Over 200 ethnic origins in total population.
 41.4% of the population reported more than one ethnic origin.
 5,068,100 individuals or 16.2% of the total population belonged
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to a “visible minority”.
Between 2001 and 2006, the visible minority population increased
27.2%, 5 times faster than the 5.4% growth rate of the total
population.
South Asians were the largest visible minority group, followed by
Chinese and Blacks
52% of the Black visible minority group were from the Caribbean
20% of Canada’s population will be “visible minorities” by 2017,
totally 6.3 to 8.5 million people.
http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/rt-td/eth-eng.cfm
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Some Factors Driving Diversity
 Globalization and internationalization
 Immigration
 Changing demographics
 Legislative and political factors
 Trends towards liberalism
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The Educational Value of Diversity
 Broadens one’s horizon
 Develops critical thinking
 Enhances communication
with others
 Improves intergroup relations
and mutual understanding
among people from different
cultural groups
 Reduces prejudice
 Leads to self-discovery and
growth
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skills
Enhances decision-making
and problem-solving
Increases commitment to
social justice
Increases civic engagement
and community service
activity
Improves academic success
and cognitive development
… “the weight of empirical evidence
shows that the actual effects on
student development of emphasizing
diversity and of student participation in
diversity activities are overwhelmingly
positive” (Astin, 1993: 431).
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Diversity Revisited …
 “a mix of people in one social system who have
distinctly different, socially relevant group
affiliations.” (Cox, 1993:6)
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The Concept Of Social Identity
 We define ourselves, in part, in terms of our classification
in different social groups.
 This classification enables us to understand who we are,
based on our perception of belonging or not belonging to
particular social groups.
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 Our self-definition involves
accentuating similarities of people
belonging to the same social group
and differences of people belonging
to different groups.
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 We attach values to each group to
which we belong so that positive,
negative or ambivalent feelings are
aroused by the knowledge of each
group membership.
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 We perceive ourselves as
“psychologically intertwined with the
fate of the group” (Ashforth & Meal, 1989).
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 Our social identity influences how
others view us.
 All interpersonal relationships are
influenced by the social identities of the
persons interacting. (Cox, 1993).
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Who Am I?
 Place your name in the centre circle of the social identity
diagram.
 In each of the satellite circles, write a “socially relevant group
affiliation” that has influenced your concept of self and that
you feel is important in defining you (e.g. female, Italian,
Buddhist)
 Share your diagram with the person beside you, if you feel
comfortable doing so.

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Adapted from Gorski, P. (2000) Circles of my Multicultural Self.
http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/education/multi/activities/circlesofself.html
© Dr Joy Mighty
Dimensions of My Social Identity
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Dimensions of My Social Identity
 Share a story about a time when you were especially
proud to identify yourself with one of your descriptors.
 Share a story about a time when it was especially painful
to be identified with one of your descriptors.
 Name a stereotype associated with one of the groups
with which you identify that is not consistent with who
you are. Use the following sentence: “I am (a/an) ____,
but I am not (a/an) ____.”
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“ As a person ascends a spiral
staircase, she may stop and look down
at a spot below. When she reaches the
next level, she may look down and see
the same spot, but the vantage point
has changed.” (Tatum, 1992: 12).
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Model of Multiple Dimensions of Diversity
Source: Jones, S.R., & McEwen, M.K. (2000) A Conceptual Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity. Journal of College Student Development, 41(4), 405-414.
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Inequity in the Classroom
 The differential treatment of students on the basis of their
sex, race, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation,
language, age, disability or other characteristic of their social
identity, through unconscious or deliberate behaviour, the use
of biased language, the use of exclusive and biased curricular
materials, and the pervasiveness of stereotypical views about
their values, abilities, achievements, experiences and
perspectives.
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 “Alienation, lack of involvement, marginalization,
overt racism, insensitivity, sexual harassment, and
discrimination tend to characterize the campus
experience, the classroom, and the curriculum for
students who are different… In higher education,
the condition of diversity is all too often a
condition of alienation.”
Smith, D. G. (1991). The challenge of diversity: Alienation in the academy and its implications for
faculty. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 2, 129-137.
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Alienation is associated with
 Ineffective learning and poor academic performance
 High turnover rates
 A poor institutional reputation
 Failure to serve an increasingly diverse society
 A reduced ability to achieve the goal of developing students
for participation in global society and engaging in the diverse
world.
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A Gay Student
 “This university focuses on tradition and spirit, such as
the emphasis on its one hundred and fifty-year-old
buildings and plaques and its own flag, almost as though
it were its own country. Such an emphasis on history,
which includes a history of marginalization, has meant
that, as a queer coming to Queen’s, I have felt silenced.
 …Teachers are not prepared to deal with gay issues …
In the absence of a process for addressing gay issues in
the university, I think that we have a system that
endorses hate.”
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A Female Aboriginal Student
 “I attended a course on race relations that purported to
incorporate equity concerns but had nothing on Aboriginal
peoples, apparently because Aboriginal people were not
considered a minority group.....
 …..When I received feedback from my professors on my
paper, I was told to address racial groups other than
Aboriginal peoples. I felt it was a devaluing of the Aboriginal
experience…”
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A Female International Graduate Student
 “People would look at me as if I was stupid when I had
language difficulties. Too often, no one would help me.
For example, I applied for a teaching assistantship but
was told I would have to have some prior teaching
experience in Ontario. Isn’t it the University’s
responsibility to open up ways for international students
to be involved in Canadian society?
 …Professors should not assume that international
students have only difficulties and problems. They are
human beings with successes and struggles.”
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A Male Student with a Learning Disability
 “Does being given extra time on tests marginalize some
students? A wheelchair ramp is an alternate mode of
access for the physically handicapped so that they may
access the same benefits as others. Similarly, being
allowed extra time gives the learning disabled extra time
to process what they know. My reading speed will
always be slow. But having extra time gives me the
chance to compete with others. Extra time is like being
provided with a wheelchair ramp….
 I would like to be treated equally for equal effort. I do
not need to have my hand held. I simply ask for equal
access to the experience of learning that others already
have.”
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 I have spent all of my life living in a dominant society
that never validated who I was as an Aboriginal person.
My formal education took place in a setting where my
truths and my world were never reflected in the learning
environment. Neither my ways of thinking nor my ways of
doing were validated, even though I believe they were
what got me through the system and afforded me
whatever success I have experienced. In order to learn
what I was being taught, I had to constantly deny the
basic tenets of who I am and what I believe.” (McLeod, 1996:
65)
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Folake’s Story
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Engaging Experiences
 Think about the courses you found most engaging during
your formal education. Why were you engaged? What made
them engaging?
 Discuss with your neighbour(s) the characteristics of these
courses that made them engaging for you.
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What is Student Engagement?
 Students’ sustained behavioral involvement, intense effort and
concentration in learning activities
 Students’ positive emotions during learning activities, including enthusiasm,
optimism, curiosity, and interest
 Students’ use of cognitive, meta-cognitive and self-regulatory strategies (e.g.
surface or deep processing) to monitor and guide their learning processes
 Institutions’ learning opportunities and services that induce students to take
part in and benefit from such activities.
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Five NSSE Benchmarks of Effective
Educational Practice
 Level of academic challenge
 Active and collaborative learning
 Student interactions with faculty members
 Enriching educational experiences
 Supportive campus environment
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Why is student engagement important?
 Positively associated with student success
 Directly impacts quality of learning and overall educational
experience
 Serves as a proxy for quality or “effective educational
practice”
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Paying attention to diversity can
increase student engagement and
enhance both student success and the
quality of teaching and learning in our
institutions.
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Teaching for Inclusion
 Weave diversity into the curriculum
 Expose students to diverse content
 Infuse readings and assignments with relevant multiple
perspectives and materials
 Draw on diverse pedagogical traditions
 Use a range of active and collaborative pedagogies
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Some Active Learning Pedagogies that
Promote Student Engagement
 Community Service Learning (CSL)
 Inquiry-based Learning
 Team-based Learning
 Case-based learning
 Problem-based Learning
 First-year seminars and capstone courses
 Learning communities
 Focused Discussion
 Internationalization
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© Dr Joy Mighty
Teaching for Inclusion
 Weave diversity into the curriculum
 Expose students to diverse content
 Infuse readings and assignments with relevant multiple perspectives and
materials
 Draw on diverse pedagogical traditions
 Use a range of active and collaborative pedagogies
 Create a culture that recognizes, respects, and responds to
individual student differences
 Help students identify their learning strengths and educational goals
 Acknowledge and use what they bring to the classroom
 Provide diversity related learning opportunities
 Foster a positive, safe, non-threatening learning environment
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Practical Suggestions
 Set boundaries and ground rules
 Learn and pronounce students’ names correctly.
 Use ice-breaking and other activities in class to help
students get to know each other well and help overcome
the tendency to form social identity cliques.
 Be aware of your own non-verbal behaviour in class. Do
you pay more attention to one social identity group than
to others? Do you consistently call on students with a
particular social identity more than you call on other
students?
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 Ensure accessibility for students with disabilities so that they can
participate equally and fully. Include a statement in your course
outline that lets students with special needs know that you are
willing to accommodate them
 If possible reconfigure your space/classroom from time to time
using circular/semi-circular layouts to promote participation.
 Use a variety of discussion formats e.g. whole class, small group,
triads and pairs. Smaller groups increase sense of safety.
 Discourage and challenge racist, homophobic or other bigoted
remarks against any social identity group. Insist on gender-neutral
language.
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Thank you and best wishes!
[email protected]
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