Lec 1 - Diverse Learners in Malaysia

8/13/2019 Lec 1 - Diverse Learners in Malaysia

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THE DIVERSE NEEDS OF

CHILDREN IN MALAYSIA


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Course outline
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Who are they?

All children exhibit differences from one another in terms of their physical

attributes (e.g., some are shorter, some are stronger) learning abilities (e.g., some

learn quickly and are able to remember and use what they have learned in new

situations; others need repeated practice and have difficulty maintaining and

generalizing new knowledge and skills).

The differences among most children are relatively small, enabling these children

to benefit from the general education program. The physical attributes and/orlearning abilities of some children

differ from the norm (either below or above) to such an extent that they require

an individualized program of special education and related services to fully

benefit from education

Diverse learners /exceptional children includes children who experience

difficulties in learning as well as those whose performance is so superior that

modifications in curriculum and instruction are necessary to help them fulfil their

potential.


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impairment, disability, handicap and at risk

Impairment refers to the loss or reduced function of a particular body part or

organ (e.g., a missing limb).

A disability exists when an impairment limits a persons ability to perform certain

tasks (e.g., walk, see, add a row of numbers) in the same way that most persons

do. A person with a disability is not handicapped, however, unless the disability

leads to educational, personal, social, vocational, or other problems

Handicap refers to a problem or a disadvantage that a person with a disability or

an impairment encounters when interacting with the environment

At riskrefers to children who, although not currently identified as having a

disability, are considered to have a greater-than-usual chance of developing one.- often applied to infants and pre-schoolers who, because of conditions

surrounding their births or home environments, may be expected to experience

developmental problems at a later time.

-also refer to students who are experiencing learning problems in the regular

classroom and are therefore at risk of school failure or of being identified for

special education services.


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Diversity is an apart of the nature of the human species,

and students are and always have been different from

one another in a variety of ways(Banks et al., 2005)

Why diverse?

Gender

Religion

Disability Family back ground

Citizenship

Low self esteem

Introvert Unsocialise

Lack of confidence


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DIVERSITY IN MALAYSIA SCHOOLS:

Uniformity continues to dominate our school practices.

Most schools still function as if all students were thesame:

use the same textbooks and the same materials for learning.

work at the same pace on the same quantity of learning

material

study the same content and work through the same

curriculum on the same schedule

Teachers talk with whole groups of students, delivering the

same information at the same time to everyone

schools conduct the same examinations for all to measure the

success of the learning.


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Malaysia: Policies

Every student benefits from an outstanding teacher

and an engaging learning experience.

Every student and teacher deserves to be treatedwith respect.

Every student should have an opportunity to reach

his or her individual optimum potential.

Every student should master specific basic

knowledge skills.


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Why is knowledge to deal with diverse

groups of students such an important

element in teaching?

Teachers have always needed to address the

diverse learning needs of their students


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Education for diverse learners in Malaysia is also developed actively with

various programmes to strengthen national integration

To attract more students from all ethnic background to enrol in NationalSchools, several initiatives have been taken towards achieving the

concept of Unity in Diversity.

These include:

i. opportunity to learn other languages for communication such as Arabic,Chinese and Tamil.

ii. The expansion of the pre-school programme by increasing the

number of pre-school classes in all National Schools especially in the

interior and remote areas, applying the National Pre-school

Curriculum, including ensuring that children with special needs receive

pre-school education.

iii. LINUS were introduced in 2011 to ensure that after 3 years in scholl,

students can read and write Pupils with learning disabilities will attend

remedial classes

iv. sufficient number of remedial teachers provided to all primary schools


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v. Cluster Schools

refers to the selected schools which have the potential to be

excellent in their respective clusters and to fulfill the prerequisitesset by the Ministry of Education (MoE) Malaysia.

Presently there are 120 schools from 9,943 schools in Malaysia

In the selection process, the cluster schools are assessed andevaluated based on their excellence in respective clusters as follows:

Primary Schools

Secondary Schools

Special Education Primary and Secondary Schools

International Schools and Private Schools.

Matriculation Colleges and Institutes for Teachers Education


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Cluster Schools

The establishment of CSEs in Malaysia was

aimed to cater to the diverse needs of students,

particularly their abilities and talents, in order to

provide the best teaching and learning process


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INCLUSION CLASSROOMS

- placement of many students with disabilities in regular

education classrooms

What do inclusion classrooms look like?

All students learn different things in different ways at different rates. Following are

classroom strategies based on the theory of differentiated instruction.

Use small-group discussion, cooperative learning groups and learning teams.

Involve students in decisions about their learning.

Match skill mastery with each students goals and needs.

Change instructional groups and methods frequently.

Evaluate progress while involving students and provide intrinsic rewards.

Arrange the classroom to facilitate student exploration and self-direction.

Use activities such as role-playing, drawing, learning centres, computerized

instruction, problem-solving, story-writing, building models and peer learning


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Students cultural and family background and

socioeconomic level affect his or her learning.

The context in which he or she grows and develops hasan important impact on learning.

Learners bring their own individual approach or styles,

talents and interests to the learning situation.


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DisabilityOne of the main groups under diverse learner is children with

special needs.

i. hearing impairments

ii. visual impairments

iii. learning disabilities

Categories of students with learning disabilities

i. Downs Syndrome

ii. Mild Autistic Tendency (Autism)

iii. Dyslecsia

iv. Epylepsy

v. Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)

vi. Minimal Mental Retardation

vii. Specific Learning Difficulties


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SELF

ACTUALIZATION

ESTEEM NEEDS

BELONGINGNESS AND

LOVE NEEDS

BASIC NEEDS

Achieving ones full potential

- Creative

- self fulfilment needs

Prestige & feeling of

accomplishment

Intimate relationship

& friends

Food, water,

warmth, rest

MASLOW HIERARCHY

OF NEEDS


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Responding to pupilsdiverse learning needs

When planning, teachers should set high expectations

and provide opportunities for all pupils to achieve,

including:

boys and girls

pupils with special educational needs pupils from all social and cultural backgrounds

pupils from different ethnic groups

Travellers

Refugees asylum seekers

those from diverse linguistic backgrounds


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Teachers need to be aware that pupils bring to

school different experiences, interests and

strengths which will influence the way in which

they learn.

Teachers should plan their approaches to teaching

and learning so that pupils can take part in lessons

fully and effectively.


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Teachers should take specific action to respond to

pupils diverse needs by:

creating effective learning environments

securing their motivation and concentration

providing equality of opportunity through

teaching approaches

using appropriate assessment approaches

setting targets for learning


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Teachers need to ensure that all students are

appropriately engaged, challenged and extended by

designing classroom activities that meet the diverselearning needs of their students.

Students with diverse learning needs are those

who:

require support with learning due to disability

require learning support - gifted

are learning English as an additional language ordialect- refugees / citizenship


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Issue:

Meeting the Diverse Needs of Young Children

receiving increased numbers of children with

disabilities or developmental delays increase in racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity

teachers SHOULD create classrooms that are

responsive to the diverse needs of all children.


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RESPONDING TO STUDENT DIVERSITY

General Principles

Treat students as individuals whose identities are complex and unique.

For example, use open-ended questions - of their experiences or observations

without calling on a student to speak for his or her race/gender/culture. Also,

learning to pronounce all of the names correctly shows respect for variedbackgrounds.

Encourage full participation while being aware of differences which may

influence students' responses.

For example, make eye contact with everyone, increase wait time to includeless assertive and/or more reflective students, ask questions that draw out

quieter participants or challenge dominant students in small groups, or talk

with students outside of class to provide encouragement.


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RESPONDING TO STUDENT DIVERSITY

Vary teaching methods to take advantage of different learning styles and to

expand the repertoire of strategies tried by each student.

For example, foster peer relationships with in-class collaboration, include

concrete examples whenever possible, use visual or dramatic presentations, or

value personal knowledge and experience when students share it.

Promote a respectful classroom climate with egalitarian norms andacceptance of differences.

For example, encourage student projects involving diverse perspectives, discuss

guidelines or "ground rules" for good participation, and monitor language use

for implicit assumptions, exclusions, or overgeneralizations.

Beware of possible student anxiety about their performance in a

competitive environment but try not to "overprotect."

All students - including those whose personal or cultural histories may include

being a target of stereotypes and discrimination - need straightforward

comments on their work delivered with tact and empathy, and early feedback so

that they can change their learning strategies or get help if needed.


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Avoiding Common Problems

Avoid highly idiomatic English.Idioms are especially confusing for non-native speakers or any student who

may have been raised in another country or another region of the

Malaysia.

Provide some linguistic redundancy.Particularly non-native speakers, benefit from both seeing and hearing

language

Use diverse examples rather than ones which assume a particular

background or experience.Make sure you aren't consistently assuming all your students share that

experience. For example, notice when many of your examples are based on

cultural or regional knowledge, hobbies favored predominantly by one

gender, or political or historical knowledge unfamiliar to those from other

countries


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Avoiding Common Problems

Don't assume that students who don't talk don't know thematerial.

Being quiet in the classroom and not "showing off" are

considered respectful in many Asian cultures.

Watch the type of humor that occurs in your classes to be

sure it denigrates no one.

A large number of jokes involve putting down people who are

different in some way and who may already feel marginal

because of those differences.

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Lec 1 - Diverse Learners in Malaysia