11
TEACHING DIVERSE LEARNERS Jian He, College of Applied Engineer, Sustainability and Technology, Kent State University Oindrila Roy, Department of Political Science, Kent State University August 2014

TEACHING DIVERSE LEARNERS

  • Upload
    eze

  • View
    41

  • Download
    8

Embed Size (px)

DESCRIPTION

Jian He, College of Applied Engineer, Sustainability and Technology, Kent State University Oindrila Roy, Department of Political Science, Kent State University August 2014. TEACHING DIVERSE LEARNERS. Outline. Why care about diversity? What does diversity really mean? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Citation preview

TEACHING DIVERSE LEARNERS

TEACHING DIVERSE LEARNERSJian He, College of Applied Engineer, Sustainability and Technology, Kent State UniversityOindrila Roy, Department of Political Science, Kent State UniversityAugust 2014

Welcome to the workshop on Teaching Diverse Learners, everybody!In this workshop we will draw your attention toward the nature and scope of diversity in undergraduate classrooms.We will also talk about diversity in terms of learning styles. Additionally, we will suggest some best-practices that might help you to create an inclusive learning environment in your classes. Finally, we will also provide you with some information about various campus resources that may be useful in this regard.

OutlineWhy care about diversity?What does diversity really mean?Diversity in learning styles & best practicesFacing the Uncomfortable SilenceCampus resourcesQ&AContact details

This workshop is divided into the following subsections:We will begin with highlighting the importance of diversity in undergraduate classrooms.Thereafter, we will talk at length about the various facts of diversity.The next section will involve discussions on diversity-related scenarios from Graduate Student Orientations series on Facing the Uncomfortable Scilence.We will wrap up this section by suggesting some best practices for promoting an inclusive learning environment in general.In the following section, we will draw your attention toward different learning styles, and suggest some ways in which you can cater to all learners.Finally, we will talk about the GSO series on Facing the Uncomfortable Silence, and provide you with a list of other campus resources.If you have any questions/concerns, please feel free to send us an email at the email addresses listed on the last slide.

Why Care about Diversity?Enhances student experience & highlights the worth of multiple perspectives Promotes social and professional developmentEncourages self-awareness

As undergraduate instructors and teaching assistants, it is important for us to appreciate how critical it is to promote diversity in order to guarantee a safe and comfortable learning environment for all our students.Diversity in various forms is key for enhancing student experience. Exposure to people from various walks of life helps students broaden their horizons and be appreciative and tolerant of a wide-range of perspectives.For instance, it is not possible for all our students to travel to foreign countries. But having an international student in class allows them to interact and learn about people from other countries. Similarly, millennial students may not have the same experience as non-traditional students in a class. So having diversity in terms of age also exposes students of various age groups with a wide variety of perspectives. Hence, as instructors, it is important for us to create an atmosphere where each and every student will feel comfortable sharing his/her perspective on issues without being hurtful or offensive toward others. Promoting diversity also prepares students for their future careers. To succeed in the real world, students need to be prepared to be able to communicate effectively with people from diverse backgrounds. According to Hyman and Jacobs (2009), this is especially important because, America's workforce is more diverse than at any time in the nation's history, and the percentage of America's working-age population comprised of members of minority groups is expected to increase from 34 percent to 55 percent by 2050. In addition to professional development, such interactions also go a long way in widening social-circles.Finally, promoting diversity in classrooms also enhances self-awareness. When students can compare their own culture and backgrounds with that of others in a healthy way, they become more aware of their own selves. Thus, it helps improve self-knowledge in the long-run. Visible & Invisible DiversityVisible DiversityExamples: Age, race, sex, ethnicity, accent, and other physical attributesInvisible DiversityExamples: Socio-economic status, work experience, sexual orientation, parental status, religious affiliation and beliefs, nationality, geographic location, and political viewsPersonal Diversity

But, what all does diversity entail?At the very outset we would like to clarify that diversity means a lot more than race and ethnicity.According to the University of Michigan, diversity may be broadly classified into visible and invisible diversity.All of us can usually tell the difference between a relatively older and a younger student, or a male and a female student. From listening to our students speak, we can also sometimes tell if someone has a British accent or an Australian accent. These are all examples of visible diversity. They are referred to as visible diversity because we can identify such attributes by observation. Many of these attributes are relatively stable and difficult to change.However, diversity also includes characteristics that cannot be identified from mere observation. For instance, just by looking at a student one cannot make assumptions about his/her religious affiliation or political views. For instance, nationality counts as a form of invisible diversity. By looking at an Asian student, one might think that s/he is from China, where as in reality the student may have been born and brought up in Japan. Therefore, as instructors, we should be careful about drawing such problematic conclusions about invisible diversity based on physical attributes. Other forms of invisible diversity include and are not limited to socio-economic status, work experience, sexual orientation, parental status, and geographical location.In addition to visible and invisible diversity, it is important to highlight the importance of personal diversity.Personal diversity emphasizes the fact that no two individuals are exactly alike, and that every individual is unique. Recognizing personal diversity is important because it helps us avoid problematic stereotypes.For instance, it is quite misleading to assume that every Asian student will be proficient in math. All individuals have different capabilities, so its grossly inaccurate to assume that all Asians will do well in math.

Best PracticesBe careful and intentional about the course-designBe attentive to issues of diversity while planning the scheduleBe aware of, and avoid problematic assumptionsBe extra-careful about cultural referencesBe prepared to deal with controversial issuesFamiliarize yourself with the student body

We would like to give you some broad suggestions about how to promote inclusive learning in your classrooms. These suggestions are by no means exhaustive, but offer some insights that may be valuable as you prep for your course. We draw these recommendations from an article by Saunders and Kardia:

The course-design is a useful tool for promoting diversity. Whenever possible, try to include multiple perspectives on an issue. For instance, if you are talking about global warming in a public policy class, it is important to cover the viewpoints of people from both sides of the ideological spectrum in the United States. Again, whenever possible, try to include material from authors with diverse backgrounds. For instance, its worthwhile to make students familiar with scholarship from both male and female scholars.

Schedule planning is another area where one has to be attentive of diversityStudents may have the right to accommodation for religious holidays. While developing your schedule and attendance policies, familiarize yourself with the universitys policies on such issues.

Steer away from all possible problematic assumptions and stereotypesDo not assume all students from a particular group share the same views on an issue. For instance, do not expect all Jewish students to be anti-Palestine, or all southerners to be pro-life. Do not assume students from certain backgroundsincluding but not limited to nationality, region of residence, socio-economic status, and accentto be poor writers. For instance, not all international students are poor writers.Another problematic assumption is that older students and students with disabilities are slower learners.

While in class, you also need to be extra-careful about cultural references.For instance, in a class with students from various age-groups do not only refer to TV shows or movies that are especially popular with the younger generationWhile making reference to sports, try to give examples of some that are predominantly male and some that are predominantly female.

If your course topics entail discussions on controversial topics such as abortion, gay-marriage, religious fundamentalism etc. be prepared to tackle the topics in an objective and professional manner. Such discussions should be purely academic. Remind students to behave professionally and strongly discourage them from indulging in any sort of exchange that can be offensive. Also, have a strong syllabus statement which stipulates that such behavior will not be tolerated in class.

Last, but, not the least familiarize yourself with the students. Try to learn from their experiences and backgrounds as you grow in your career.

Diversity: Dimensions in Learning Styles (Felder 1993)QuestionLearning TypeWhat type of information does the student preferentially receive?Sensory vs. IntuitiveThrough which mode is sensory information most effectively perceived?Visual vs. VerbalWith which organization of information is the student most comfortable?Deductive vs. InductiveHow does the student process information?Actively vs. ReflectivelyHow does the student progress toward understanding?Sequentially vs. Globally

In addition to the forms of diversity discussed previously, it is also important to be aware of the diversity in learning styles.

According Felder (1993), you need to thing about five different aspects of learning as you teach.

The first aspect involves information receiving. In this regard it is possible to differentiate between sensory and intuitive learners. Sensory learners learn better with audio, visual, and tactile aides, where as intuitive learners perform better with ideas. Among sensory learners, it possible to think of visual learners, who process information though images, and videos better. Verbal learners on the other hand rely more on sounds, including lectures and audios.Another aspect of learning involves organization. Some learners are deductive in the sense that they prefer to deduce consequences from broad theoretical principles that are given. Inductive learners, on the other hand, come to broad theoretical explanations on the basis of observations that are given.In this regard, it is also possible to distinguish between active and reflective learners. Active learners process information better by participating in class activities such as discussions, debates etc. Reflective learners learn through introspection.Finally when it comes to progressing toward understanding, sequential learners take small incremental steps, whereas global learners try to focus more on the bigger picture.

Teaching Techniques to Address All Learners (Felder and Silverman 1988)Talk about diverse learning stylesBalance teaching materialDo not lecture the entire timeEncourage students to share their learning experience with youDiversify assessment techniques

Here are some guidelinesalbeit not exhaustivethat might be useful to reach out to all sorts of learners.

Communicate to your students that you are aware of diverse learning styles, and that your aim is to make the material accessible to all learners.Make sure your teaching material includes a balanced doze of ideas, audios, and visuals.In order to engage students, do not lecture the entire time. Give them sometime to introspect through assignments like reflection questions as well as involve them in discussions and debates to help out active leaners.Try to get feedback from studentsanonymously if during the semesterto assess the effectiveness of your teaching approach. Diversify assessment techniques so that you can reach out to deductive as well as inductive learners. Same applies to incremental vs. global learners. GS0: Facing the Uncomfortable Silence Series Diversity-related scenarios discussed:PTSDMinorityComing-outDisabilityLanguage-barrierReligionWeb link for the resource document:http://www2.kent.edu/graduatestudies/gsonew/upload/gso-fall-2013-conversations-resource-doc.pd

Before ending the session, we would like to draw your attention to GSOs Facing the Uncomfortable Silence Series.This series includes a number of diversity-related scenarios relating to PTSD, Coming-out, Minority, Disability, Language-barriers, and religion.The web link listed on the slide will direct you to the series resource document page, which will provide with strategies and resources for dealing with such scenarios. Campus Resources

Academic Success Center: Tutoringwww.kent.edu/asc/index.cfm330-672-3190Career Services Centerwww.kent.edu/career/networking/socialmedia.cfm330-672-2360Center for Adult and Veteran Serviceswww.kent.edu/cavs/index.cfm330-672-7933Counseling & Human Dev. Centerwww.kent.edu/ehhs/chds/counseling-and-human-development-center.cfm330-672-2208Diversity, Equity & Inclusionwww.kent.edu/diversity/index.cfm330-672-8540Financial Aidwww.kent.edu/financialaid330-672-2972International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS)www.kent.edu/isss/index.cfm330-672-7980LGBTQ Centerwww.kent.edu/diversity/lgbtq330-672-8008Math Emporiumwww.kent.edu/mathemporium/index.cfmOffice of Student Ombuswww.kent.edu/emsa/ombuds.cfm330-672-9494Portage County Veterans Serviceswww.co.portage.oh.us/veterans.htm330-297-3545Psychological Serviceswww.kent.edu/uhs/psych/index.cfm330-672-2487Sexual Assault Response Teamwww.kent.edu/srvss330-672-8016Student Accessibility Serviceswww.kent.edu/sas330-672-3391University Health Serviceswww.kent.edu/uhs/index.cfm330-672-2322Womens Centerwww.kent.edu/womenscenter/index.cfm330-672-9230Writing Commonswww.kent.edu/writingcommons330-672-1787

In the last slide we have a list of campus resources related to promoting inclusive learning. We have listed their websites and phone numbers for your convenience. The same list has been also provided in the hand-out.Contact DetailsJian [email protected]&Oindrila [email protected]

Thank you for attending our workshop.If you have additional questions/concerns/ suggestions, please feel free to email us!BibliographyFelder, Richard M. 1993. Reaching the Second Tier: Learning and Teaching Styles in College Science Education. Journal of College Science Teaching 23(5): 286-290.

Felder, Richard M., and Linda K. Silverman. 1988. Learning and Teaching Styles in Engineering Education. Engineering Education 78(7): 674-681.

Hyman, Jeremy S., and Lynn F. Jacobs. 2009. Why Does Diversity Matter at College Anyway ? U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved August 5, 2014, from http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2009/08/12/why-does-diversity-matter-at-college-anyway

Saunders, Sari , and Diana Kardia. n.d.Creating Inclusive College Classrooms. Retrieved August 5, 2014, from http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p3_1