Classroom Strategies for Diverse Students

Sameness dominates school practice

Educators know that students learn in diverse ways.  The experience in the classroom validates this theory every day.  Almost all of the educators talk and discuss the learning differences, either by the name of wisdom styles, emotional type, cognitive styles, or multiple intelligence's and try to bring their own individual approach and talents to the learning situation.

Educators know that a student’s culture, family background, and socioeconomic level affect their learning to a larger extent.  In spite of the knowledge of differences among students, sameness continues to dominate school practices where mentors or trainers talk with all the students, delivering the same information at the same time to all of them.  They even use the same tests for every student to evaluate the achievement and success of the learning.

Imbalance in the classroom

This kind of similarity is wrong and if we want to go with the idea about diversity with practice, then the schools must address the imbalance between sameness and diversity.

Educators must follow some strategies that are helpful in teaching a class of diverse students:

* Students learn more when they are challenged by their mentors and are encouraged to take part in collaborative activities and to identify and solve problems. So it is very essential for educators to maintain high values and exhibit high expectations for all culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse students.

* Teachers must show care by trying to know about every student’s personal need and strengths and also by sharing their hopes and concerns. This strategy will encourage the student to do their best and participate in activities without any fear.

* Teachers should try to identify with students’ home cultures and must value the various different ways of being a parent and convey concern about the schooling of one’s child in order to improve the student’s performance in and out of the classroom.

* Teachers should also try and ask the parents for their involvement because parental involvement also plays quite a role in student’s academic achievement. Teachers should also support parents by sharing the information of child’s learning and progress with them.

When a teacher brings forth a student’s experiences in classroom debate and authenticates their say, it motivates a student and enhances their self-esteem. The educators must gain knowledge about a student’s backgrounds in order to improve their learning.