Diversifying Instruction

How to accommodate the needs of diverse learners?

Diversity involves various cultures, religions, gender, and beliefs. 21st-century globalization exposed each one of us to a different culture, and with the advancement of technology, we can have a sneak peek of other cultures in the comfort of our home. In education, diverse student populations focus on students with different cultural backgrounds and those with learning disabilities included in the mainstream classroom. Often, we focus on linguistically diverse learners and forget that our students are part of the diversified population because of their individual needs. Still, how can we provide equal opportunities for the diverse population? Using student-centered instructional methods can help educators cater to diverse learners' needs.

Before I took the curriculum and instruction class, I did not spend a lot of time on my students' IEP, 504, and ELL paper accommodation, and I will scan it and look for their testing accommodations. If they have preferential seating, that's it. When I took the course, I started to understand what these documents are all about and how essential they are in providing equal chances for each student. I read the papers and now take down notes and used some strategies that I learned from article readings in the class.

Here are the strategies that I used in my class to accommodate diverse learners:

• Visual aids - are great tools to use in classroom instruction. ELLs benefit from using this as they can interpret the concept through images. Visual representation provides opportunities for students to organize their thoughts (O'Keefe & Medina, 2016)

• Scaffolding - is essential in developing skills or promoting an in-depth understanding of specific content to students (O’Brien, 2016). Students are learning with guidance from the teacher, and gradually the teacher will let the students learn independently. It helps build self-confidence with students.

• Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) - giving students opportunities to practice their writing skills in a different discipline is essential (Saulnier, 2016). Students who are academically gifted in writing can use these skills in explaining Mathematical concepts in writing.

• Interdisciplinary Approach - reinforce students' knowledge from one discipline to another through repetition. Students enjoyed the interdisciplinary Approach as they learned more in less time and saw the topic's significance in real-life scenarios (Bolat & Karakus, 2017).

• Group accommodation - is a strategy wherein teachers differentiate instruction as a group rather than individually (O'Keefe & Medina, 2016). This strategy saved teachers time and gave a chance to students to learn the concept differently.

• Building relationships - taking time to know our students and investing time with them. Kwok (2017) mentioned that a strong relationship between teacher and students result in higher academic achievement.

• Use of technology - educational games and technology-based simulation provide a different experience for diverse learners in the learning process. A game-based learning environment promotes a positive environment that motivates students to participate in class discussions (An & Cao, 2017). Simulations in learning have advantages like it provides experiential learning to students (Schultz, 2021)

Diversity in the student population is not an issue in the Philippines, but there is a great diversity in the student population in America. Coming from a different culture, I grew up and trained to use a teacher-center approach in teaching. Student-centered instructional strategies helped me a lot to be a better teacher to my students, but there are many strategies that we can use in the classroom. The key to finding the best plan for our students is to know them first and accept that it will be a trial and error process in finding the right method in teaching our students.

Reference:

An Y.-J., & Cao, L. (2017). The effects of game design experience on teachers’ attitudes and perceptions regarding the use of digital games in the classroom. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 61(2), 162–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-016-0122-8

Bolat, Y., & Karakus, M. (2017). Design Implementation and Authentic Assessment of a Unit According to Concept-Based Interdisciplinary Approach. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 10(1), 37–47. https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/297

O’Keeffe, S. B., & Medina, C. M. (2016). Nine strategies for helping middle school students weather the perfect storm of disability, diversity, and adolescence. American Secondary Education, 44(3), 72–87.

Saulnier, B. (2016). The Application of Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) Techniques in a Systems Analysis & Design Flipped Classroom. Information Systems Education Journal, 14(4), 13–19. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1135329.pdf

Schultz, K. (2021, July 19). Conducting Action Research [Video]. American College of Education https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1830544/modules/items/29645751