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DIVERSITY
Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture, Volume 1, Number 2, 2010 © 2010 Bridgepoint Education, Inc. and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) • DOI: 10.1002/jpoc.20014
Addressing Today’s Diverse LearnersAmy Kahn, Ph.D., University of the Rockies; Phyllis Hillwig, Ed.D., Words & Numbers
Diversity work has permeated organizations of all sizes and in all
sectors, from large corporations and government agencies to
schools and nonprofi ts. Every aspect of how organizations operate
refl ects this work. Th is article focuses on how diversity principles and
best practices apply to learners and the learning process. It addresses
learning in schools, colleges, corporations, and online, and how to
accommodate the needs of diverse learners.
Each of us has our own perspective on what diversity means. Most
people start listing diff erences such as appearance, race, age, sexual ori-
entation, and sex as dimensions of diversity that should be considered.
Others might include disability and religion in their example. In the
classroom environment, it is important that when we refer to diverse
learners, the term broadens to include students’ individual learning and
communication styles, abilities, disabilities, profi ciencies, and talents. In
its most literal form, diversity means variety or diff erences. In the context
of contemporary business literature, the most common defi nition is that
diversity (Baytos, 1995; Cox, 1994; Cross, Katz, Miller, & Seashore, 1994;
Gardenswartz & Rowe, 1998; Griggs & Louw, 1995; Loden, 1995; Th omas,
1991) is any combination of diff erences, from the more visible individual
diff erences to the less visible and invisible diff erences (Orndoff , 2003).
Some experts (Hubbard, 1997; Lynch, 1997; Th omas & Woodruff , 1999)
include organizational dynamics, culture, systems, practices, and proce-
dures in their defi nition of diversity.
People who work in the practice of diversity raise awareness about
how individuals have unique talents, experiences, and backgrounds that
infl uence their thinking, behavior, learning, and engagement with others.
65Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture, Volume 1, Number 2 • DOI: 10.1002/jpoc
In fact, understanding this concept is more impor-
tant than ever before. We live in a transparent,
global economy in which a mistake based on a lack
of sensitivity to a diverse population can have a
detrimental eff ect on one’s goals and purpose. How
we attempt to understand each other matters.
Th e topic of diversity is on the minds of many
leaders within higher education. In an Association
of American Colleges and Universities national
survey on diversity requirements, 62 percent of
respondents, from 546 colleges, reported that that
they have in place a diversity requirement or are in
the process of developing one (http://www.aacu.
org/divsurvey/irvineoverview.cfm, 2010). Derald
Wing Sue, professor of psychology and education
at Columbia University and one of the most cited
multicultural scholars in the United States, relayed
in his book Overcoming Our Racism: Th e Journey
to Liberation (2003) that the most powerful way to
reduce racism is to include multicultural aware-
ness in the classroom, and said that higher educa-
tion is a great place for untraining people’s biases
and being preventive.
Addressing this topic with students will
prepare them as they enter or return to the work-
force. Th e word diversity is often found in organi-
zational values, mission statements, and vision
statements. And there exists a body of diversity
management research that shows how diff erences
among people can have an impact on organiza-
tional systems in both positive and negative ways.
Th e work of Bol m an and Deal (1997), Griggs and
Louw (1995), Th omas (2003), Maltbia (2003),
Lynch (1997), and others addresses the importance
of helping people feel included and satisfi ed by
defi ning initiatives intended to help them achieve
their potential by understanding diff erences and
valuing diverse representations and approaches.
Organizations like the Society for Human Resource
Management, DiversityBusiness.com, and Diver-
sityInc. annually acknowledge corporations and
individuals committed to diversity work. Today’s
corporations are embracing the concepts and strat-
egies associated with diversity work into strategic
business initiatives: sales, marketing, purchasing,
customer service, communications and public rela-
tions, and human resources, among many others.
Teachers of students entering and already within
the workplace must understand the implication of
diversity and how to become advocates for build-
ing bridges that raise awareness and continue dia-
logue on this topic.
In Classrooms
Th e Industrial Revolution played a large part in
shaping the U.S. education system as we know it
today. More than a century later, similarities in
how classrooms were structured and managed
remain. Like workers in a factory, students in
Industrial Revolution-era schools went from class
to class, listened, and were expected to learn from
a variety of instructors. Although the classrooms
were fi lled with immigrants of many cultures,
wearing diff erent types of clothing and speaking a
variety of languages, educators were focused on a
model of acculturation in which students were
expected to adapt to fi t in with the system of edu-
cation provided. In the past, students did not
expect the classroom to fi t their needs; instead,
66 Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture, Volume 1, Number 2 • DOI: 10.1002/jpoc
schools expected students to learn how to achieve
in the construct they provided.
Today’s classrooms, especially in higher edu-
cation and in corporate America, provide student-
centered learning environments that require an
even deeper understanding of diversity. Add to this
the growing amount of technology, and the role
of the instructor becomes even more complex.
With the Internet and the growth of online school
options, there has been an increase in both tradi-
tional and nontraditional students. Students going
to college are no longer between 18 and 24 years old
sitting in brick-and-mortar schools. Th ey could be
working adults, retirees, with or without full-time
family responsibilities or other obligations, logging
in on their computers at midnight, or reading notes
on their mobile devices while waiting in line at the
grocery store. Some who have returned to school
have not been in the classroom for 20 years. In
addition to diff erences in age, experience, culture,
and learning style, there is also variance in technol-
ogy profi ciencies and comfort among students. On
the instruction side, more and more schools are
relying on adjuncts that come with their own
perspectives, pedagogical approach, experiences,
technology acumen, and biases. According to Sue
(2003), individuals have long-standing and instinc-
tive attitudes, stereotypes, and prejudices toward
each other, and even the most well-intentioned,
morally correct, ethical individuals unconsciously
take on their society’s prejudices.
Becoming Responsive to Diversity
Practitioners in the fi eld of emotional intelligence
explore mechanisms that control emotional trig-
gers so people can learn to respond appropriately
to specifi c situations. Diversity intelligence for
instructors (whether in traditional classrooms,
online, or in corporate America) means recogniz-
ing the breadth and depth of their surroundings,
including the individuals who make up their
classroom, and taking steps to ensure that they
respond to the variety of inputs that they experi-
ence. It means creating a learning environment that
recognizes the individuality of the people experi-
encing the class in which they can feel part of the
learning experience. Although there are numerous
approaches and ideas as to how to respond to diver-
sity in the classroom, this article focuses on how
instructors can be responsive to diversity through
their teaching and curriculum delivery. As a result,
the instructor’s actions will model appropriate
behaviors to the students, who will see and learn
from the instructor’s approaches and actions.
Consider these elements of teaching and the
learning environment: room setup, course design,
access, and actively integrating diversity in
discussions.
� Room setup. Something as simple as room
setup can be fundamental to encouraging
discussion and raising awareness among
individuals within the class. Research
( F leming and Asplund, 2007) shows
how creating an inclusive environment
increases engagement. Instructors should
create the right environment for the stu-
dents. Th ey should seat or group students
so that they can easily see, hear, and
interact with one another constructively.
67Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture, Volume 1, Number 2 • DOI: 10.1002/jpoc
A computer lab setting in rows with stu-
dents looking at screens and not inter-
acting, for example, is not ideal for
collaboration and fostering diversity
awareness. Students should be encour-
aged to share and work together; assign-
ments should be varied so that a portion
of the lesson has a group assessment.
Visual aids can also help ensure that stu-
dents from a variety of language back-
grounds can grasp the learning material.
� Course design. In the development of any
content area, instructors should review
multiple sources that are representative of
diverse perspectives and cultures. For
example, if the course or workshop is in
professional ethics, the instructor should
look at the breadth and depth of the course
material and consider using sources
outside the traditional pool of resources.
For example, the instructor might con-
sider the ethnic makeup, country of origin,
and region of origin of the thought leaders
who represent the subject area. Some-
times this means exploring alternative
perspectives. Instructors should deter-
mine whether the course design is open to
multiple perspectives from a variety of
cultures and time frames.
� Access. Varying the format, approach, and
style of the assignments or activities and
being open to ideas is another way to
include and motivate diff erent learners. If
an assignment requires a report, the
instructor should explore whether it
could be turned in as, say, an audio record-
ing or visual game rather than the tradi-
tional typed document. Do all assignments
require a similar approach? As good role
models, instructors should design courses
and workshops to include an array of
tools that will help address the diversity of
learning preferences in the classroom.
Th at said, the instructor does not have to
do all of this work. Students and col-
leagues can contribute their ideas on what
works for them and what does not.
� Actively integrate diversity in discussions.
Instructors should take the time to talk
about diversity in the context of the class-
room content. For example, if the course
is Introduction to Psychology, instructors
could ask why a particular approach to
therapy may be appropriate for some cul-
tures and not others. Th ose teaching a
business or leadership course could ask
whether building teamwork would be the
same if all the team members were the
same age, sex, and race versus if they
were all diff erent. What assumptions are
we making from what we see and what
we cannot see?
Providing a broad approach to addressing
diversity can raise many questions. To what degree
are instructors expected to accommodate their
students? Can they truly meet the needs of all
learners? What if the researchers in a specifi c dis-
cipline are not from a variety of backgrounds?
68 Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture, Volume 1, Number 2 • DOI: 10.1002/jpoc
Becoming diversity intelligent does not require
every student to have all of his or her needs met
through one class. It does, however, mean that
instructors will take measures to consider a broader
instructional model and make conscious decisions
about the information they include and exclude in
class. It means making conscious decisions before
setting up the classroom and while deciding the
mix of assignments. It means sharing this informa-
tion with the class and beginning the class by
setting expectations for the students.
Classrooms, both online and traditional, need
to align with the current state of society. Even
without expensive technology, today’s instructors
must focus on and pay attention to the expansive
needs of the students. Today everyone can choose
to create his or her own menus. Nearly all products
and services are sold in a variety of colors, sizes,
and prints to accommodate individual buyers. Tele-
vision off ers countless channels for viewing and
packages for purchasing. Even the news networks
scroll headlines across the screen while a news-
caster tells the story. Th e Internet also off ers an
expansive network of opportunities for learning.
We can take a lesson from professional marketers,
product researchers, and business professionals
who are trying to address their diverse markets by
giving students an array of choices and options,
hoping to appeal to listeners and learners.
Our Obligation as Professionals
As instructors, we are defi ned by our actions,
and interactions with peers, subordinates, stu-
dents, clients, and others defi ne us. To grow as
professionals, we must be aware of and acknowl-
edge our stance on the topic of diversity and dif-
ferences. We all stereotype. We all have bias. And
we are all human. Each of us judges others based
on our own sets of values, assumptions, and beliefs
about human behavior and how it should or should
not be. As educators, we should acknowledge that
our impressions aff ect how we treat our students
and the material we are teaching. If we believe that
some groups are smarter than others or fail to
acknowledge diff erences, our expectations toward
the individuals who may or may not be in those
groups will shift. Th e opposite also holds true: Th e
more we learn about our own hot buttons, the
more we can make conscious decisions about how
to treat students.
Professional organizations have standards of
practice and codes of ethics, and they need to con-
sider the implications when these codes are culture
bound and they need to include other cultural per-
spectives (Sue, 2003). In a global society, educators,
as growing professionals, need to continue the
dialogue within and beyond the classroom. In
research, we should provide an array of nontra-
ditional reading materials. In discussions, we
should actively look for those who off er diff erent
perspectives. In life, we should know that we
come with stories that have shaped who we are.
To truly embrace diversity, we need to be aware
of our own bias and know that others will be
biased toward us as well. Openly addressing diver-
sity and encouraging the dialogue will increase
richness in our experiences as professionals and set
examples for others to embrace the tapestry of
each other. �
69Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture, Volume 1, Number 2 • DOI: 10.1002/jpoc
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Amy Kahn, Ph.D., the director of diversity for University of the Rockies, has taught online and in the classroom for more than 20 years. She specializes in creating environments, from the classroom to corporate spaces that enhance individual contribution and organizational growth. Dr. Kahn can be reached at [email protected].
70 Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture, Volume 1, Number 2 • DOI: 10.1002/jpoc
Phyllis Hillwig, Ed.D., is chief operating offi cer and co-owner of Words & Numbers, one of the most respected education content developers in the industry. She has published numerous articles and spoken
frequently on the topic of next-generation content creation, and she serves on the board of several education businesses and organizations. Dr. Hillwig can be reached at [email protected].