Diversity
There is a great deal of diversity in our classrooms, in our community, and in our world. Diversity is important because it makes up who we are and how we respond to different scenarios. Some of the different types of diversity that need to be considered are: race, ethnicity, economic status, educational status, language, and mobility. When teaching, it is important to take diversity into account when choosing what lessons will be taught and how those lessons will be delivered. When student needs are addressed in different ways to insure that each of these diverse needs are being met, the students find learning activities more relevant and will perform better than when a lesson is taught that is addressed in a one-size-fits-all model.
There were a few classes I took during this program that had focuses on diversity, but the class that stood out the most to me was EDL 7305 which was the data course. Using student diversity to disaggregate data within data teams is one key example of how we can look at student differences to determine our next steps in making sure they are getting what they need. Demographic data include total student enrollment data and enrollment data disaggregated by grade levels, race/ethnicity, language, gender, economic status, mobility, and educational status.
Specific indications can be determined when using the data, for instance, if Data Teams discover that there is an increasing frequency of mobility among students and their families, they can begin to consider programs to help those students be successful. If they discover a disproportional percentage of African American boys in special education, a national pattern, they can begin to examine and change practices and prejudices that produced this inequity. Demographic data can also begin to answer questions about the faculty, such as “What is our racial/ethnic diversity? How reflective is the faculty’s race/ethnicity or our own student population?” Training faculty to use data to look more closely at student needs is something I feel very strongly about and plan to continue to work on with the teachers at my school.
Once teachers take the time to look more closely at themselves and their students through the eyes of diversity, changes can be made to improve the learning that happens in our classrooms and communities.
Some of the activities I have worked on during this program to account for diversity include, but are not limited to:
· Collecting and analyzing school data for the School Improvement Plan specifically for grades 3 and 5 with a focus in the differentiation categories of gender, ethnicity, and special education small groups
· Analyzing student answers for math benchmark tests in order to plan and improve teaching for the remainder of the quarter with a focus on gender, and early intervention program students
· Planning and creating a web quest for students using content standards and student learning styles within a science unit with a focus to make sure the site had a grade level readability, an audio component included for the overview for students who do better hearing than reading directions, and varied tasks for different learning styles
· Providing professional development for teachers to help teachers address the learning needs of different students through the use of technology by way of focusing on different learning styles: the kinesthetic learners that needs hands-on, the auditory learners, and the visual learners
· Communicating with parents and the community through a class blog to show the learning environment, activities, and participation of students within the classroom with a focus to reach all parents and students by way of text, pictures, and vidoes regardless of gender, age, economic status, ethnicity, or special needs
There were a few classes I took during this program that had focuses on diversity, but the class that stood out the most to me was EDL 7305 which was the data course. Using student diversity to disaggregate data within data teams is one key example of how we can look at student differences to determine our next steps in making sure they are getting what they need. Demographic data include total student enrollment data and enrollment data disaggregated by grade levels, race/ethnicity, language, gender, economic status, mobility, and educational status.
Specific indications can be determined when using the data, for instance, if Data Teams discover that there is an increasing frequency of mobility among students and their families, they can begin to consider programs to help those students be successful. If they discover a disproportional percentage of African American boys in special education, a national pattern, they can begin to examine and change practices and prejudices that produced this inequity. Demographic data can also begin to answer questions about the faculty, such as “What is our racial/ethnic diversity? How reflective is the faculty’s race/ethnicity or our own student population?” Training faculty to use data to look more closely at student needs is something I feel very strongly about and plan to continue to work on with the teachers at my school.
Once teachers take the time to look more closely at themselves and their students through the eyes of diversity, changes can be made to improve the learning that happens in our classrooms and communities.
Some of the activities I have worked on during this program to account for diversity include, but are not limited to:
· Collecting and analyzing school data for the School Improvement Plan specifically for grades 3 and 5 with a focus in the differentiation categories of gender, ethnicity, and special education small groups
· Analyzing student answers for math benchmark tests in order to plan and improve teaching for the remainder of the quarter with a focus on gender, and early intervention program students
· Planning and creating a web quest for students using content standards and student learning styles within a science unit with a focus to make sure the site had a grade level readability, an audio component included for the overview for students who do better hearing than reading directions, and varied tasks for different learning styles
· Providing professional development for teachers to help teachers address the learning needs of different students through the use of technology by way of focusing on different learning styles: the kinesthetic learners that needs hands-on, the auditory learners, and the visual learners
· Communicating with parents and the community through a class blog to show the learning environment, activities, and participation of students within the classroom with a focus to reach all parents and students by way of text, pictures, and vidoes regardless of gender, age, economic status, ethnicity, or special needs