Final Reflection Essay:
Diversity in the Classroom
Robin
Crim
Texas
Woman’s University
Author
Note
Robin
Crim, EDUC 5173, online course, Texas Woman’s University
This
research was made possible by the love and understanding of the Crim family.
Abstract
In this essay I will reflect on how I have
grown or changed due to the course and course work provided or assigned in EDUC
5173 Diversity in the Classroom. I will
show how I plan to create a culturally inclusive classroom by explaining how I
will prompt my students to value and respect each other, how the physical
classroom is arranged, how I and others communicate while in the classroom and
finally how my curriculum and student assessment will look and be administered
to students in my class.
Diversity in the Classroom
I
have had the privilege of
growing up in a home where diversity was celebrated and cultures where meant to be explored. In the school district
that I grew up in, my middle and high schools had students bused in to reach
"quota". There were students in my high school whose families owned multiple homes
and went on exotic vacations as well as students who were recipients of our school's food drives and who
were not sure of where and when their next meal would come.
There were a large number of minority groups and I witnessed all of these
groups melding and teachers working to include and expand our cultural
knowledge
I am currently working in the Lewisville Independent School District (LISD) in
a Title 1, Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities, No Child Left
Behind early childhood center. I believe that LISD has gone to great lengths to
encourage its students and its teachers to educate themselves and build
relationships with each other in a non-threatening and open way. As a
preschool teacher I have gone to workshops on teaching to other cultures as
well as English Language Learner workshops. Our counselor and staff have made great strides in
reaching out to various communities that are included in our school and
either have created events to include them or have helped to advertise and
support them with their festivals.
Growing up in an accepting
environment, spending my youth as well as my adult life in diverse education
setting has absolutely helped to
prepare me for a diverse population in the classroom. I am not the only
one who is teaching in a diverse classroom, I am learning from my students who
are of different backgrounds, religions, learning
abilities and family dynamics. I am blessed to be a part of the reality
of diversity and change. What I have
learned in EDUC 5173 Diversity in the Classroom is how to take my ideas and
thoughts and put them into action. I
have enjoyed learning new ways to open the doors to cooperation and acceptance. EDUC 5173 Diversity in the Classroom has
honed my upbringing and has allowed me to make a better impact on my future
classroom by making it a safe environment that is open to all ideas and
cultures. I feel that I am now better
equipped to instill tolerance as a lifelong trait in my future students.
In order to create a culturally inclusive learning
community in my future classroom I will teach my students to value and respect
each other’s ideas and cultures. I will
prepare and create a classroom whose arrangement will accommodate all learners. I will communicate with students, caregivers,
staff and their communities in a non-threatening, all inclusive way. And I will create lesson plans that
incorporate a diverse curriculum and plan ways of assessing that curriculum in
an all-inclusive manor.
To teach respect, one must first
give respect. I plan to model respect
and show that I value my students in my every day actions. The
State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) states that “[t]he Texas educator, in accepting a
position of public trust, shall measure success by the progress of each student
toward realization of his or her potential as an effective citizen” (Tex. Admin. Code, 2010). In order to reach this goal as a classroom
teacher, it is my plan to show due diligence towards my students. I plan on achieving this by way of timely and
fair classroom assessments that are centered on my state and school boards
demands, as well, as the demands that are stated plainly and set forth by
myself and co-created by the students at the beginning of each semester. I plan
to have students help make the rules in the classroom and by becoming a part of
the process they will take value in the rules that they helped to create. In this way, students are made aware of what
is required and expected of them while in my classroom, as well as, in the
school district and the state in which we reside. As it is my goal to express to students that
all people in my classroom will be treated fairly and respectfully, I will have
a classroom that is open to discussion and differences of opinions as long as
those opinions are stated in respectful ways and voiced without the fear of
negative or harmful reprisal. We can
agree to disagree.
The physical
arrangement of my future classroom will allow all learners a safe and
distraction free place to learn. I have
created a classroom set up for an Early Childhood classroom:
Figure
1. Classroom arrangement. This figure illustrates how to effectively
arrange and use the space in a preschool classroom.
I
have chosen to arrange my classroom in this way in order to optimize the space
for moving bodies, center stations, table top work and small groups. Wong states in his book, “The First Days of
School” (2009, p.88) that the effective teacher has a well-managed, consistent
classroom where students are on task and there is little confusion or wasted
time. With that in mind, I have made a
central space through the middle of the room in order to make space for lining
up. I have placed the tables where
students can either work together at table tops or with a teacher during small
groups or one on one teaching times.
There is a white board along one wall to aid the teacher while she is
working at the round table during small groups.
The storage cabinets within the room act as a “boundary” for the center
stations that they surround and they are low enough for a teacher to see over
wherever she is within the space. There
is a restroom and a wash space in the classroom for quick restroom breaks and for
“messy” learning. There is a central
area in the room for large group or circle time. This area has a smart board and white board
and has an area rug for students to sit on while listening to instruction. The teacher’s desk, while accessible, it is
not central or the focus of the room. I have
added a wall with windows for natural light and a large storage closet for
storing nap mats, supplies and materials.
There is plenty of wall space to exhibit and display student work and
achievements. I have placed lockers
along one wall; they would have doors and cubbies. I do believe that by separating the lockers
from the “learning” area with the storage cabinets I have effectively divided
the space in a way that will keep students focused on the tasks within the
room. I believe that this room
arrangement is well organized and allows for unimpaired accessibility. Both teacher and students have the capability
to look around and see their surroundings without distractions or visual “black
outs”. The room is accessible for all
students who would be attending this preschool and allows for maximum
engagement while in the space.
“The individual skilled
in intercultural encounters learns to suspend judgement and seek alternative
explanations of unexpected behavior rather than to simply interpret such
behavior according to his or her own cultural framework” (Cushner, McClelland,
and Safford, 2015). It is the teacher’s
responsibility to understand the cultures of her students so that she is able
to communicate respectfully and precisely to students, families and the
community in which she teaches.
Teachers
with a crosscultural understanding of personalismo frequently
engage in social, small
talk (e.g., about home, family, friends, interests)
with CLD [culturally and linguistically diverse] students. In
turn, these
students, with whom the teacher has targeted personalismo, are then more
likely to ask for assistance or
posit questions about academic
constructs
that are difficult or foreign to their biographical range of
experiences
(Murray, 2012).
“Personalismo is a value associated with the Hispanic culture,
and it is based on building and maintaining significant interpersonal
relationships” (Gillette, 2013). It is
important that the rules of the classroom are discussed and taught in the early
days of the school year so that all students will understand what the desired
actions, behaviors and responses are within the school day. It is also the teacher’s responsibility to
explain in simple, straight forward terms what the consequences and the rewards
are for unwanted or exemplary behavior.
Consequences and rewards should be given in a timely manner as to make
the rule and learning of the rule more effective. As the teacher, it is also important to
understand the background and cultures of your students in the event that a
rule or consequence is not being followed due to familial or cultural reasons. It is the teacher’s responsibility to contact
the principal, student’s parents or community leaders when reinforcement,
encouragement or praise is required.
As seen in my Text Book
Analysis, my district, LISD, has incorporated diversity in their curriculum and
text books. The second grade text book
“Social Studies: People and Places” by Scott Foresman used by LISD incorporated
different races, genders, ages, jobs and overall success. Also, in history assignments, students were
asked to write biographies on numerous individuals that helped make America
great. This list of people included: Abigail Adams, Amelia Earhart, George
Washington Carver, W. E. B. DuBois, Navajo Code Talkers and World War II Women
Airforce Pilots. Dr. Nelson Laird (2014)
explains in his article on diverse curriculum that classes that” include
subjects that are ignored in traditional courses” or curriculum “content [that] reflects the experiences of multiple
cultural groups from their own as well as other perspectives” is considered to be
diverse. In my future classroom, it is
my goal to respect my students’ cultures.
I plan to incorporate their identities into my curriculum as much as
possible either by way of research and reports or through foods and
customs. By including all my students, I
hope to create an atmosphere of acceptance in my classroom but most of all I
hope to encourage lifelong practices of toleration and acceptance of others
ideas and cultures.
In the
journal, “Classroom Assessment: Minute by Minute, Day by Day”, I have been
introduced to a new way of thinking about classroom knowledge assessment. Leahy, Lyon, Thompson and William have laid
out several different options to assess student learning while instructing a
particular lesson rather than waiting until the end of a unit and assessing
what might have been learned in several lessons. In this way, the writers of the article
believe that teachers will be able to identify any deficits in student learning
before they move on to a new topic or build on a topic that is
misunderstood. It is the writers’ belief
that if a teacher is actively monitoring students during a lesson then they
will be able to detect sooner if they should reteach, set up peer tutors,
regroup or continue on with the lesson as planned. Leahy, Lyon, Thompson and William call this:
assessment FOR learning, rather than assessment OF learning.
The writers express five tools or
“broad strategies” that all teachers can use in any content area or grade level
to assess for learning:
·
Clarifying and sharing learning intentions
and criteria for success.
·
Engineering effective classroom
discussions, questions, and learning tasks.
·
Providing feedback that moves learners
forward.
·
Activating students as the owners of their
own learning.
·
Activating students as instructional
resources for one another
(Leahy,
Lyon, Thompson and William, 2005, p. 20)
Most
of these tools are best teaching practices and when they are not utilized,
teachers “tend to rehearse existing knowledge rather than create new knowledge
for students” but when used throughout the daily lesson, students are engaged,
focused, and more likely to speak up when they do not understand a particular
topic (Leahy, Lyon, Thompson and William, 2005, 21-22). I think that this journal article was a good
reminder of how all teachers should present material no matter what content, grade
level, culture or group. If the overall
goal for a teacher is to make sure that students are engaged and learning, then
assessing student knowledge as they go and making it meaningful to them seems
to be the only sensible way to approach teaching and assessment within the
classroom. As with my lesson plan on
“Traditional Tales”, I have created a check and recheck system to continually
assess the students’ knowledge and comprehension of the traditional tale “The
Little Red Hen”. Throughout the lesson I
have written in time to use several forms of assessment, both formally and
informally. This is accomplished by way
of monitoring and observing students while they are in center time learning,
asking students to retell the story through and with multiple materials (oral
recitation, dramatic play, felt boards, journaling), using thinking maps and through
technology. By using a wide variety of
assessments the student is able to excel in their given learning style as well
as continuing to reinforce knowledge through all learning styles.
Overall, I believe that I am a
diverse individual who enjoys and encourages others in the pursuit of and education
in their own cultures. It has been asked
of me, what more can I do, where can I grow?
Teaching in general is a profession of continuing education. I do not believe that my learning stops just
because I will be officially certified as an educator. In fact, I believe that once a teacher is
certified it is crucial to stay abreast of new theories and techniques in order
to be the best resource and mentor for your students. How does that affect me and my diversity training? While I know that I am an accepting person, I
do not know about all the cultures within my district. My district focuses mostly on the
Hispanic/Latin culture even though it is expanding its cultural identity
yearly. I would think that workshops, online
classes, or book reviews on the background of our student body would be pertinent
and well received. I have taken it upon
myself to get educated on the Chin culture and I believe that I will continue
to seek information on other cultures that I come in contact with.
References
Cushner,
K. H., McClelland, A., Safford, P. (2015). Human
diversity in education: An intercultural approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Foresman, S. (2003) Social studies: People and places, Texas
edition. New York: Pearson Education, Inc.
Gillette, H. (2013). What
is personalismo and why is it important in health care? Voxxi. Retrieved
from http://voxxi.com/2013/09/18/hispanic-personalismo-health-care/
Kaplan Classroom
Floorplanner. (2014). Figure I: Classroom
arrangement. Retrieved from https://www.kaplanco.com/resources/floorplanner.asp
Leahy,
S., Lyon, C., Thompson, M., and William, D. (2005). Classroom assessment: minute by minute, day
by day. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: Educational
Leadership, 63(3), 19-24. Retrieved
online from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov05/vol63/num03/Classroom-Assessment@-Minute-by-Minute,-Day-by-Day.aspx
Murray, K. G. (2012). Cognitive
development, global learning, and academic progress: Promoting teacher
readiness for CLD students and families. Journal of Curriculum and
Instruction, 6(1), 15 &
16. Retrieved online from http://www.joci.ecu.edu/index.php/JoCI/article/view/183/pdf
Nelson Laird, T. F. (2014). Reconsidering the
inclusion of diversity in the curriculum. Diversity
and Democracy,
17(4). Retrieved online from https://www.aacu.org/diversitydemocracy/2014/fall/nelson-laird
Tex.
Admin. Code ch. 247 § 1.7(b). Educator’s
Code of Ethics. Texas Code 7. 10
December 2010.
Wong, H. K, Wong, R. T. (2009). The first days of school: How to
be an effective teacher. Singapore: CS Graphics Pte. Ltd.
