The U.S. Department of the Interior, describes the term "diversity" is used broadly to refer to many demographic variables, including, but not limited to, race, religion, color, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, education, geographic origin, and skill characteristics. America's diversity has given this country its unique strength, resilience and richness. (doi.gov)
Diversity comes in many different aspects. Achievement gaps have been identified with respect to race and ethnicity, but also regarding gender, socioeconomic status, learning differences, disability, and limited English language ability. The key to remember is that teachers should believe that all students can learn, and they must also “promote excellence and innovation in science teaching for all.” (NSTA)
Teachers and all stakeholders in the students’ academic career must believe that all students can learn equally. The climate of our classroom and the teaching strategies we employ must provide an equitable opportunity for all students. In doing so, we must “value and respect the experiences that students bring from their background, articulate students’ background knowledge with disciplinary knowledge, and offer sufficient school resources to support student learning.
In order to do so, we must shed light on diversity. In the effort to do so, we must be aware that a disconnection can occur between a students’ home and school life. “Effective teachers understand how disconnections may vary among different student groups, as well as how to capitalize on connections. These teachers bridge diverse students’ background knowledge and experiences to scientific knowledge and practices.” (NSTA)
To articulate a students’ background exper...
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...to attain such careers. Unless teachers create fair learning experiences, students will be excluded from learning science. Eventually those students would lose the chance to pursue careers in science.
References
doi.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2013, from U.S Department of Interior Web site: http://www.doi.gov/pmb/eeo/what-is-diversity.cfm
National Science Teacher Association (NSTA). (2006 a). About The NSTA.
NRC. (2011). A framework for k-12 science education: Practices, crosscuttingthems, and core ideas. Nantional Research Council. Washington: D.C: National Academies Press.
NSTA. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2014, from National Science Teacher Association: www.nsta.org
Strategies for Teaching Culturally Diverse Students. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2014, 2014, from Teachervision.com: https://www.teachervision.com/teaching-methods/resource/6039.html
Spring, Joel H. "Chapter 6: Student Diversity." American Education. Sixth ed. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 143. Print.
Diversity is an important concept for students to learn about because our world is growing into a more diverse planet every day. This is an opportunity for students to realize that we are all different, no matter our race, culture, or even social class. First, I introduce the book The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane DeRolf. Teachers should then ask students to predict what the story may be about. After reading the story, ask the students what they learned from it. Encourage students to focus on being different from others, learning to accept others, and that we all have unique abilities and qualities. Then, ask each student to say one positive ability or quality about themselves. Re-read the last few lines of the book, “We are a box of crayons, each one of us unique. But when we get together, the picture is complete” (DeRolf,
This source will equip the argument for utilizing diversity as an educational apparatus that supports student development and learning. The showcase of impact of diversity student engagement will definitely be useful for providing a strong reasoning for showcasing how the experience of students in the US schooling system shapes the educational experiences of diversified student group.
Educators need to ensure that they create a learning environment in the classroom that questions segregation and challenges social injustice, as this will develop the students’ skills to embrace equality. The classroom learning environment also needs to value, celebrate and respond to diversity. Furthermore educators should evaluate the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment they are using in the classroom, as this will provide evidence the interests, skills, knowledge and experiences of the diverse groups of students are central features and are catered for in the learning environment.
Diversity among students including differences in culture, language and socioeconomic stance is not a new trend. The difference, however, is that today, the school system realizes that all students, including those who differ in some way from the "average" student, or those “at-risk” must be provided with an equal, opportune education (Morris, 1991).
Diversity has broad ranges of spectrums. Students from all across the continent; students from political refugees, indigenous Americans, and immigrants bring their culture and linguistic skills to American classrooms. Students do not only bring their cultures and linguistic skills, but they bring their ethnics, talents, and skills. In addition, their age and gender are two other spectrums that are part of diversity. As the years go by, diversity becomes a controversial topic. The more students that are accepted into American schools from different countries, the more diverse and rich classrooms become.
There has been a major change in the past thirty years regarding the amount of immigrants coming to the United States. The impact the immigrants have had on education and diversity is unbelievable. There are many factors which contribute to the element of diversity in education, such as each student 's culture, the different languages each student speaks, promoting gender equality amongst students, and working with students who have exceptionalities. As today 's educators, teachers must understand diversity from an omniscient perspective and the influence it has on students, making the process of getting an education as equal and pleasant as possible for all students.
Educators around the world employ a number of strategies to engage the diverse learners in their classrooms. In any given classroom, students may be gifted and talented, speak several different languages or come from different socioeconomic classes. Students may have different educational backgrounds and different levels of learning. As a teacher, our job is to educate students despite the many differences they present. Teacher Scott Houston reaches all his students in a Biology lesson on the structure of DNA (Laureate Education, Inc, 2008). Much of what Mr. Houston does in class exhibits best teaching practices. In this essay, I will analyze and evaluate Mr. Houston’s classroom practices and his ability to create a learning environment that meets the needs of his diverse students.
The concepts included in providing a more diverse, multicultural education are requiring teachers to review their own issues and prejudices while expanding their knowledge of the many cultures that make up the classroom. These efforts help the educator recognize the various individual and cultural differences of each student, as well as gain an understanding on how these differences impact the learning process. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon individual and cultural difference research and why diverse students struggle to succeed in school. Furthermore, I will share some instructional approaches I could implement in the classroom to accommodate diverse students. Finally, I will discuss the responsibility of educators in addressing the issue of how our o...
The feeling commonly described by students by the words “I hate science” is often the result of science frustrating them. One reason why students might feel this way is that there are two types of sciences. One is “school science”, which has in many cases become a listing of facts and definitions, and the other is “real science”, which is what scientists practice. Maybe the students spend too much time on “school science” and do not make the connection between what is learned in science class and the world around them. The teacher’s job is not only to make the science material manageable for the students to learn, but it is also to show the students how science applies to everyone and everything. Using the problem-based learning approach is a great way for a teacher to combine these two sciences (Uyeda et al. 24). It is the key that a teacher uses to open the door to the minds of students who need to know how what they are learning applies to the real world.
A strong understanding of diversity should be the foundation of all classrooms within a higher educational setting, like that of Columbia College Chicago. Diversity should not only be considered as the varying amount of racial/ethnic groups within a classroom, but also the varying experiences and histories of each person. The narrative freedom gained through diversity may allow for personal and historical connections that are often overlooked by textbooks and traditional education to be discovered. By examining the diverse nature of both students and teachers, education can be revolutionized. Common threads in history can be questioned, untold stories, told and empowerment through education, gained.
The world is currently undergoing a cultural change, and we live in an increasingly diverse society. This change is not only affect the people in the community but also affect the way education is viewed. Teaching diversity in the classroom and focusing multicultural activities in the programs can help improve positive social behavior in children. There is no question that the education must be prepared to embrace the diversity and to teach an increasingly diverse population of young children.
Over the past 25 years, multiple attempts and efforts have been made to reform and improve education, particularly in science, in the United States. (Singh et al....
...esult of the teaching strategies used in the secondary school. Baird’s et al., (1990) interview revealed that students’ expected secondary school science to be active, interesting and fun and they look forward to doing experiments, dissection, investigations and projects however their expectations were short lived. As these once motivated students experience the reality of secondary school science, many become disappointed and disenchanted in the science classroom. Baird et al., (1990) explained that secondary school students were given notes, observed demonstrations and were not given any real science work to do. The students expressed disappointment with the teaching strategies as they claimed that the teaching strategies lack hands –on activities; they had to write a lot of notes and the teachers lecture to them and the topics were most times irrelevant.
Although much research points to the urgency for school systems to include nature of science education (American Association for the Advancement of Science 1989, Department for Education, Welsh Office 1995, National Research Council [NRC] 1996), there still appears to be a need to provide teachers with the necessary tools, teaching resources, and pedagogies to more effectively teach NoS. As Collins et all. (2001)