Strategies for Teaching diverse students
When a teacher comes to us, interested in teaching abroad, we usually ask them what their motivations are for going abroad to teach. One of the most frequent reasons we hear about is that they enjoy teaching diverse students and want to learn more about diverse cultures. Teaching diverse students requires a certain set of skills and abilities from the teachers’ part such as cultural sensitivity, extra patience, open mindedness and acceptance.
Here are some top strategies for teaching a diverse classroom:
- Appreciate the cultural diversity and accept the differences/similarities between the students
Teaching culturally diverse students can be an extremely enriching experience for the teacher. Being part of so many cultures is wonderful but it also can bring up surprising situations in the classroom. An effective teacher is always prepared to accept the differences as well as the similarities between the students and make the most of everybody’s background to create a positive learning environment.
- Focus on the ways students learn
The classroom culture and environment is greatly influenced by the backgrounds and learning abilities of the student body. Each student, depending on where they studied before or their level of English in the classroom, has their own individual way of learning. Teachers in a diverse classroom will need to be extra patient and vigilant of the different ways students learn to make sure nobody falls behind and everyone is understanding the content being taught.
- Adapting classroom behavior
Similar to the way students learn, the way they behave is also very different depending on their comfort level in the classroom and what is socially acceptable in their own cultures. In the classroom, the teacher needs to make sure that the rules of what is expected and acceptable are carefully explained to everyone. Also, sometimes, certain cultures can be more outspoken in the classroom or more shy depending on what they are used to. An effective teacher will be an empathetic one who seeks to understand the reasons why certain students might not participate as much in class and coax them out gently.
If you have other strategies or stories about teaching in a diverse classroom, please share with us.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Leesa johnson on
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Great ideas. Keep helping us to learn more about differentiated teaching. Keep up the good thinking & implementing for educators.
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Permalink Reply by Jayashree Iyer on
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These strategies are simply amazing and it will definitely workout well.
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Permalink Reply by Ryan Boulter on
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Another possible strategy that I see is modeling the type of behaviour you wish to see:
This is a strategy that I am practicing a lot in my classroom. Students will respond to your tone, lesson content, teaching techniques, and the interactions you have with them. I find most students will either live up of down to your expectations. If you keep consistent most students will generally adhere and adapt to the classroom expectations. It is difficult somedays nevertheless. I find treating all students similar and being consistent with all is helpful. Any other ideas that you have would be greatly appreciated.
Ryan...
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Yes Ryan, Modeling is a wonderful technique.
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Awesome strategies!
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Permalink Reply by Muhammad Yousaf on
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Great and easy to understand strategies for diverse students
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Wonderful ideas. A skilled educator knows that in order to mold their students, they themselves must be malleable. You cannot approach every student from every culture the same way. Instead, celebrate the differences and utilize them during instruction. I also agree with Ryan’s comment, modeling is effective but I argue that you may have to meet them halfway. If you are modeling a completely alien behavior, the students may not understand what you request of them. Thus, it is important to keep the situation in context.
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Permalink Reply by Leona Hinton on
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I absolutely love these strategies! I also enjoyed reading a relevant article on Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-ways-to-pl...
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