Transcript Responder to Diversity

Responder to Diversity
Becoming responsive to diverse
populations in your classroom
“Diversity” Defined
• The condition of
being different
• The composition of
distinct or unlike
elements or
qualities (Merriam-Webster)
“Responder” Defined
• To react in
response
• To show favorable
reaction
• To be answerable
(Merriam-Webster)
How can teachers respond to
differences in the classroom?
• Positively – I’ll embrace this challenge!
• Negatively – I’ll resist this. (No one can force
me!)
• Indifferently – Whatever! No skin off my
nose either way… I treat everyone the same.
• Proactively –
I need to learn about this
before I encounter it firsthand.
• Reactively –
Uh oh! What should I do?
Anne Frank:
“We all live with
the objective of
being happy;
our lives are all
different and
yet the same.”
As classroom teachers, we recognize students’ unique
differences while recognizing what they have in common:
the human condition – this “objective of being happy”.
Great Expectations…
Stetson’s TEP:
• Recognize Diversity
• Accommodate
Diversity
• Value Diversity
Florida DOE:
• Florida Educator
Accomplished
Practice #5
(Diversity)
DOE AP#5 Diversity
Preprofessional:
• The preprofessional teacher establishes a comfortable
environment which accepts and fosters diversity. The
teacher must demonstrate knowledge and awareness of
varied cultures and linguistic backgrounds. The teacher
creates a climate of openness, inquiry, and support by
practicing strategies such as acceptance, tolerance,
resolution, and mediation. (Florida Dept. of Education)
Sample Key Indicators:
Accepts and values
students from diverse
cultures and linguistic
backgrounds and treats all
students equitably.
Fosters a learning
environment in which all
students are treated
equitably.
Recognizes the cultural,
linguistic, and experiential
diversity of students.
Recognizes students’
learning styles and cultural
and linguistic diversity and
provides for a range of
activities.
Has a repertoire of
teaching techniques and
strategies to effectively
instruct all students.
Selects appropriate
culturally and linguistically
sensitive materials for use in
the learning process.
Analyzes and uses school,
family, and community
resources in instructional
activities.
Employs techniques
useful in creating a climate
of openness, mutual respect,
support and inquiry.
Selects and introduces
materials and resources that
are multicultural.
Acknowledges the
importance of family and
family structure to the
individual learner.
Promotes student
responsibility, appropriate
social behavior, integrity,
valuing of diversity, and
honesty through learning
activities.
Provides learning
situations which will
encourage the student to
practice skills and gain
knowledge needed in a
diverse society.
Develops short term personal and professional goals relating to diversity.
Cultural Competence
requires that educators:
•
have a defined set of values and principles, and demonstrate
behaviors, attitudes, policies and structures that enable them to
teach effectively cross-culturally.
•
have the capacity to (1) value diversity, (2) conduct selfassessment, (3) manage the dynamics of difference, (4) acquire
and institutionalize cultural knowledge and (5) adapt to diversity
and the cultural contexts of the communities they serve.
•
incorporate the above in all aspects of policy making,
administration, practice, service delivery and involve systematically
consumers, key stakeholders and communities.
~National Center for Cultural Competence
Types of Diversity
•
•
•
•
Gender
Ethnicity
Linguistic
Academic
Ability/Disability
(Gifted, LD, etc.)
• Physical
Ability/Disability
•
•
•
•
Sexual Orientation
Socioeconomic
Religion
Culture (Big “C” vs.
Little “c”)
• Personal
Backgrounds and
Experiences
From one end of
the spectrum…
•
•
•
•
•
Poverty (Students do not have basic
school supplies, may experience
malnutrition, have limited to no travel
experiences)
Disability (Physical or academic –
challenges and limitations will be a
factor in the classroom.)
Abuse & Neglect (Negative
personal experiences can have negative
effects on learning.)
English as a Second Language
(Immigrant and refugee children face
challenges beyond language learning.)
Facing Prejudice (Whatever the
“differences” they may be negatively
perceived by others.)
…to the other!
•
•
•
•
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Affluence (Students travel, own
books, computers, supplies, their own
study area, etc.)
Ability (Gifted and high ability
students require additional challenge
just as athletically gifted students
seek outlets for their talents.)
Nurturing Home Life (Students
are encouraged, praised, read to, etc.
in their homes.)
Multicultural (Students who have
had positive, cultural experiences have
greater insight and understanding.)
Fostering Acceptance (Teachers
must move beyond “tolerance” to
“acceptance” in modeling attitudes.)
Stetson’s responder to
diversity will…
• Recognize diversity
by identifying types of diversity
and distinguishing degrees of variance within each type.
• Accommodate diversity
by creating a classroom
environment that allows every student to achieve his or her
personal best within the realm of each person’s individualism.
• Value diversity
by moving from tolerance to acceptance,
modeling and fostering accepting attitudes in the classroom,
and embracing diversity as an integral component to our
society as a whole.
For example…
Responding to ESOL
Recognize
Accommodate
Value
(Disposition)
“I have students who cannot
speak English.”
“I will use ESOL strategies
in my lesson plans.”
“I will ask my ESOL students
to share their culture
with the class.”
(Knowledge)
(Skills)
And another example…
Responding to Low
Socioeconomic Status
(SES)
Recognize
(Knowledge)
“I have students who cannot
afford field trips,
classroom supplies, etc.”
Accommodate
Value
(Skills)
(Disposition)
“I will locate alternative
resources through the PTA
or other fundraising sources.”
“I will never allow students
to tease poor classmates. I will
compliment legitimate
contributions made by
all of my students.”
Four arenas where
diversity is addressed:
1. Curriculum
2. Field
experiences
3. Clinical
practice
4. Professional
practice
Curriculum..
• Teaching to diversity…
Lesson plans are adapted for diversity.
Strategies for ESOL and ESE are identified
and implemented. Learning styles are
addressed. Accommodations are made for
disabilities. Boys and girls are held to the
same expectations. Religious beliefs are
respected. Materials are provided for
students who cannot afford them. Challenge
levels are appropriate for all, even the
gifted. Sensitivity to differences is evident
in planning and implementation. Text and
other materials show diversity in a positive
light. Reflections address specific challenges
regarding diversity.
…Curriculum
• Teaching about diversity…
Curriculum is designed and implemented to
teach about cultures and customs
different from those of the students.
Sensitivity and respect are emphasized
as important concepts. Materials are
selected for their honest depiction of
people, places, and events. Curriculum
promotes student responsibility,
appropriate social behavior, integrity,
valuing of diversity, and honesty through
learning activities. Curriculum reflects
diverse points of view.
Field Experiences…
• Interaction with
Diverse Faculty
Field experiences will be
supervised by Stetson
faculty and cooperating
teachers from diverse
backgrounds. Every
attempt is made to
place candidates in with
teachers who are
trained in diversity and
represent diversity.
…Field Experiences
• Interaction with
Diverse Students
From earliest observations
to senior internship,
every attempt is made to
place candidates in
classrooms comprised of
diverse learners. Volusia
County is especially
diverse in nature.
Volusia County
K-12 Students
• Approximately 50% of elementary
students receive free or reduced
lunch
• Approximately 2,700 students are
learning English as a second language
• Approximately 13,000 students are
served in ESE
Clinical
Practice
The student teaching internship is
intensive in its response to diversity.
Opportunities are expanded to include
parent/teacher conferences, PTA
meetings, interpretation of cumulative
folders, and hands-on application in
meeting the needs of diverse learners.
Interns learn firsthand the distinction
between equity and equality. To
respond to diversity, teachers must
remember that equal treatment is not
necessarily fair treatment.
Professional Practice
• Graduates of
Stetson’s TEP are
successful in diverse
settings. They tend to
seek positions in
classrooms that are
diverse because of
their training, ability,
and confidence.
What knowledge, skills,
and dispositions
must teachers possess
to impact
student learning?
KNOWLEDGE…
• There are many types of diversity.
Cultural differences and learning styles
are a good place to begin…
SKILLS…
• Select materials that reflect diversity
honestly and respectfully.
• Select and implement curriculum for the
readiness level of each child.
DISPOSITIONS…
• Demonstrate high expectations for ALL.
• Model acceptance of those who are
different.
Impact on Student
Learning
• Achievement - All
students are held to
the Sunshine State
Standards (FCAT).
• Attitudes – All
students feel
accepted and valued
and aspire to succeed.
80
60
Math
40
Science
20
0
Reading
1st
3rd
Qtr
Qtr
Responders to Diversity
know that…
…talent comes in all
shapes and sizes…
… and it also comes in all
different containers!
Not only can’t we judge a book
by its cover, we must
recognize that some books
have had their covers torn
off, some are written in a
foreign language, and some
might contain ideas with which
we don’t agree.
Recognize, accommodate, and
value ALL of your students
for what they represent and
what they have to offer. Be
positive and proactive in this
endeavor.
Effective Classroom Teacher
(AKA: Responder to Diversity)
“If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his
office at one time, all of whom had different
needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there
and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer,
or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them
all with professional excellence for nine months,
then he might have some conception of the
classroom teacher's job.”
~Donald D. Quinn
Civilizations should be measured by
"the degree of diversity attained
and the degree of unity retained."
— W.H. Auden, English poet (1907-1973)