Thursday, December 15, 2022

Honouring students' diversity in a classroom

Topic: Honouring student diversity in classroom.

1. Knowing the Learner

Teachers must make every effort to know learners in order to meet their diverse needs. Just as clothing designers must know about the many fabrics and styles to create a garment to suit the wearer, so in classrooms we teachers must know about our learners so that we may “design” learning to meet their needs.

How do you get to know your students?

• What kinds of things do you seek to learn about? 

• What methods do you use? 

• How might you use this information?

¶ Steps to know a child in your classroom

Think of ONE student in your classroom.

How would you describe him/her?

On what base would you describe?

Where would you get data of the child from and what mode/tool you used to describe him/her?

Now.. 

3 Things you learned

• Source to collect data
• Tool to analyse dats
• Describing/Knowing the child

Knowing the students:

Source:

• Learning Styles
• Thinking Styles
• Multiple Intelligences

Tools used:  Using ASSESSMENT
as a means for describing and to inform.

Every time I talk to the children I am learning about them. I like the words learning about much more than I like assessing. I learn about my children, I get to know them. I want to know what they know. I want to know how they know. 

Isn’t that what assessment is all about – learning what children know? 

Why wait until the end of the receiving complete data to assess, when listening, observing, and asking questions along the way will give us so much more information about them and to inform our instructions. 

We need to establish routines that afford us opportunities to assess in the context of authentic experiences of our own.  If we watch and learn from our students while they are in the process of learning and living in the classroom, we can use that information to plan instruction more effectively.

Our description should include the environment he/she lives and loves, emotional bonds with peer groups/teachers/classmates/schoolmates, academic performances and social differentiation that will be in place to meet the needs of content area in which the candidate is the sample.
[The above source is to assess his/her  learning style and thinking style]

Independent Study – Using an internet resource, text, comprehension, preparing memory map/mind map, develpoping creative questions or a periodical, brain-based learning, mind games....can be used as a source to assess multiple intelligence.

From here begins the differentiation. How to address individual differences? What are those differences and how will honour these diversities in students?

Diversities are in:
[Teacher's Role is to know..]

1. INDIVIDUAL STYLES OF LEARNING AND THINKING

2. GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS
• Identifying gifted and talented
• Knowing their qualities
• Supporting them

3. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE CLASSROOM
• Physical differences in gender roles
• Social differences in gender roles
• Academic and cognitive differences in gender
• Attention paid
• Public talk versus private talk
• Distributing praise and criticism

4. DIFFERENCES IN CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS AND STYLES
• Bilingualism: language differences in the classroom
• Balanced or fluent bilingualism
• Unbalanced bilingualism
• Language loss
• Cultural differences in language use
• Cultural differences in attitudes and beliefs

5. TAKING A LOOK AT THE OPPORTUNITY GAP
6. ACCOMMODATING DIVERSITY IN PRACTICE

Conclusion:

1. Students differ in a multitude of ways, both individually and as groups. Individually, for example, students have a preferred learning style as well as preferred cognitive or thinking styles. They also have unique profiles or intelligence or competence that affect how and what they learn most successfully.

2. In addition to individual diversity, students tend to differ according to their gender, although there are numerous individual exceptions. 

Motor abilities as well as motivation and experience with athletics gradually differentiate boys and girls, especially when they reach and begin high school. 

Socially, boys tend to adopt relationships that are more active and wide-ranging than do girls. 

Academically, girls tend to be a bit more motivated to receive slightly higher marks in school. 

Teachers sometimes contribute to gender role differences— perhaps without intending—by paying attention to boys more frequently and more publicly in class, and by distributing praise and criticism in ways differentiated by sex.

3. Students also differ according to cultures, language, and ethnic groups of their families. 

Many students are bilingual, with educational consequences that depend on their fluency in each of their two languages. 

If they have more difficulty with English, then programs that add their first language together with English have proved to be helpful. 

If they have more difficulty with their first language, they are risk for language loss, and the consequences are also negative even if more hidden from teachers’ views.

Other diversities like health, economy, and family set up...in students' life are immaterial in a classroom setup because these are welknown in public and not sensitive as other diversities stated above. Also we can have material proofs for these issues like court order, medical report , autopsy....

And these issues ofcourse cause damages to individulas and not as whole.

தமிழ்

Steps to know a child in your classroom

• Sonal Kathuria - UN Educationist

This year we made a form that was given to the parents and they had to fill. The form included questions like favourite pass time, favourite activity, food, allergy, sport a lot more. 
The teachers collected the form on the first day of school and with the information shared by the parent it was so helpful and easy to take care of our young learners. This also made the parent feel that we are concerned about small small things about the child and it really helps.

We also share a medical detail form for all sort of medical Information needed. 

A list of documents to know the date of birth, place etc.

உங்கள் வகுப்பறையில் ஒரு குழந்தையை அறிவதற்கான படிகள்

 • சோனல் கதுரியா - ஐ.நா கல்வியாளர்

இந்த ஆண்டு பெற்றோருக்கு வழங்கப்பட்ட படிவத்தை நாங்கள் செய்தோம், அவர்கள் பூர்த்தி செய்ய வேண்டும்.  ஃபேவரிட் பாஸ் டைம், ஃபேவரைட் ஆக்டிவிட்டி, உணவு, அலர்ஜி, விளையாட்டு போன்ற பல கேள்விகள் படிவத்தில் இருந்தன.
 பள்ளியின் முதல் நாளில் ஆசிரியர்கள் படிவத்தை சேகரித்தனர், மேலும் பெற்றோரால் பகிர்ந்து கொள்ளப்பட்ட தகவலுடன், எங்கள் இளம் மாணவர்களைக் கவனித்துக்கொள்வது மிகவும் உதவிகரமாகவும் எளிதாகவும் இருந்தது.  இது குழந்தையைப் பற்றிய சிறிய சிறிய விஷயங்களைப் பற்றி நாங்கள் கவலைப்படுகிறோம் என்று பெற்றோருக்கு உணரவைத்தது, அது உண்மையில் உதவுகிறது.

தேவையான அனைத்து வகையான மருத்துவ தகவல்களுக்கான மருத்துவ விவரப் படிவத்தையும் நாங்கள் பகிர்ந்து கொள்கிறோம்.

பிறந்த தேதி, இடம் போன்றவற்றை அறிய ஆவணங்களின் பட்டியல்.
தமிழ்

Honouring student diversity

• Sangeetha Thyagarajan - UN Educationist

Diversity amongst students generally refers to the differences between them based on

1. Religion, caste , greed
2. Region, language
3. Social standing
4. Mental abilities and capabilities 
5. Age, sexual orientation 
6. Physical capabilities. 

But, in schools we only consider the first one as a case of student diversity.
To abate discriminations we encourage 

- cultural and religious celebrations in school.
- respect for all languages and castes/religions with competitions based on their culture. 
-  holidays during their celebrations. 
- teaching them about the constitution and their rights.
- being fair and just to all students. 

The difference in social standing, mental and physical capabilities and sexual orientation still need deep rooted methods to handle.

Though we talk of inclusive education,  its only a partial solution to a ice-berg problem. 

So, lets continue honouring students in the way we know best by ACCEPTING THEM AS THEY ARE and HELPING THEM GROW into sensitive,  productive individuals.

மாணவர்களின் பன்முகத்தன்மைக்கு மதிப்பளித்தல்

 • சங்கீதா தியாகராஜன் - ஐ.நா கல்வியாளர்

மாணவர்களிடையே உள்ள பன்முகத்தன்மை பொதுவாக அவர்களுக்கு இடையே உள்ள வேறுபாடுகளை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்டது

 1. மதம், சாதி , பேராசை
 2. பகுதி, மொழி
 3. சமூக நிலைப்பாடு
 4. மன திறன்கள் மற்றும் திறன்கள்
 5. வயது, பாலியல் நோக்குநிலை
 6. உடல் திறன்கள்.

ஆனால், பள்ளிகளில் நாம் மாணவர்களின் பன்முகத்தன்மையின் நிகழ்வாக மட்டுமே முதல் ஒன்றைக் கருதுகிறோம். பாகுபாடுகளைக் குறைக்க நாங்கள் ஊக்குவிக்கிறோம்

 - பள்ளியில் கலாச்சார மற்றும் மத கொண்டாட்டங்கள்.
 - அனைத்து மொழிகள் மற்றும் சாதிகள்/மதங்கள் தங்கள் கலாச்சாரத்தின் அடிப்படையில் போட்டிகளுடன் மரியாதை.
 - அவர்களின் கொண்டாட்டங்களின் போது விடுமுறை.
 - அரசியலமைப்பு மற்றும் அவர்களின் உரிமைகள் பற்றி அவர்களுக்கு கற்பித்தல்.
 - அனைத்து மாணவர்களுக்கும் நியாயமாகவும் நியாயமாகவும் இருத்தல்.

சமூக நிலை, மன மற்றும் உடல் திறன்கள் மற்றும் பாலியல் நோக்குநிலை ஆகியவற்றில் உள்ள வேறுபாட்டைக் கையாள இன்னும் ஆழமான வேரூன்றிய முறைகள் தேவை.

உள்ளடக்கிய கல்வியைப் பற்றி நாம் பேசினாலும், பனிப்பாறை பிரச்சனைக்கு இது ஒரு பகுதி மட்டுமே தீர்வு.

எனவே, மாணவர்களை அவர்கள் இருக்கும் நிலையில் ஏற்று, உணர்வுப்பூர்வமான, உற்பத்தித் திறன் கொண்ட நபர்களாக வளர உதவுவதன் மூலம், நமக்குத் தெரிந்த விதத்தில் மாணவர்களை கௌரவிப்பதைத் தொடரலாம்.
Steps to know a child in your classroom.

Mrs Abrar Khan - UN Educationist

We have one to one mentor meet where we are close to students and exchange views. 

After 3 or 4 session they are free with the mentor and open up. We understand their difficulties:

• Broken families 
• Writing difficulties 
• Speaking in public 
• Memory power
• Exam fever  

We understand the problem send as per that we tackle and it has really helped us in  bringing the effects
successfully.

The parents are mostly worried about academic. Of course few are worried about all round development. 

This mentor session is helped in developing the confidence in students and sucess in their careers.

I have received many calls even after the marriage. They remember the shaping of their career. I am sure many of us

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