Diversity in the Classroom

My school placement has a good amount of diversity as it provides multiple international programs which includes students from China, Ireland, Spain, and Australia. Additionally, parents do pay tuition for their students to attend my school so the community falls in a higher socio-economic status. Particularly with exchange students, they are 100% fluent in English and can read and write well, but speaking English can be difficult at times. In my individual classes, I have had a couple of exchange students and had to utilize various differentiation techniques to ensure they were learning. All students are given iPads and I’d allow my exchange students to record the lesson so they can listen to it later to promote comprehension. By allowing them to record the lesson, they are able to focus on me and the content rather than taking too much time writing things down and not knowing what it means. Flexibility as a teacher is very important to ensure that all students are learning in ways that are appropriate for them.

As I mentioned above, my students fall in the higher socio-economic status so the challenges I face in the classroom are sometimes different than those of my fellow teacher friends. I do not have to worry about whether or not my students have had a full meal or that they don’t have the adequate resources to learn, but I still deal with classroom management and student engagement challenges. Entitlement is a big challenge I’m facing especially with their uncontrollable use of the iPad. While I try to incorporate various online activities, I have my students “park” their iPads in cubbies in front of the room to remediate the situation. When my students are working independently, I allow them to listen to music. Ever since Apple AirPods have come out, most of my students have them. Some students have non-Apple versions and they get made fun of for not having the real various which is inappropriate. I redirect that behavior, but because I’m in a school in which families can afford a lot of things, I have to find ways to bridge the gap as I want students to be able to listen to music while they are doing work, but I also don’t want students to feel bad if they don’t have that particular item.

Having a diverse school community influences my teaching as I try to incorporate various UDL strategies that can benefit all students. In addition to exchange students, I have students who have ADHD or are on the ASD spectrum and therefore UDL strategies are essential to improve their learning. I try not to single anyone out so I make my accommodations available to all. I offer multiple ways in which students can take notes whether it is on paper via guided notes or they have an electronic version and then convert it to notability. In today’s culture, people are very technology dependent so I have to make sure I incorporate technology when I can like a webquest or lab simulation. I know not everyone loves science so I try to provide a lot of real world connections, incorporate current events, and tie in culture into my lessons.