What should teachers understand in order to address student diversity in their classrooms?

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” – Maya Angelou

There has never been a time where understanding classroom diversity is so crucial. Whether it be cultural diversity, racial diversity, or others, every teacher needs to understand and accept these differences. Classroom diversity means recognizing that all the people are unique in their own way.

In order to approach diversity, you first have to understand how you feel. Do you have any biases that are purely cultural? Racial? Religious? If you struggled with any of these questions, it’s time to really dive in and see why you feel the way you do and to begin to understand how you feel. Biases can be barriers that prevent our teachers and students working together effectively and may foster creative and innovative ideas. Being aware of your own behaviors and motivations is the first step in successfully managing a culturally diverse classroom.

While we understand that most people do hold certain biases on some level, those who can replace these biases with an appreciation and tolerance will in turn promote student success. As all classrooms are multicultural, working toward respecting all members of our classroom, school, and district is simply a necessity. In order to encourage, value, and promote diversity we recommend that teachers take time to learn about their students’ various backgrounds, interests, and more. By doing this, you’re not only learning more about your students, but you’re taking the next step in being able to accept and understand various types of diversity. Learning how to communicate with students, parents, teachers, and staff gives you a way to approach classroom diversity openly and with less bumps in the road.

As a teacher, making your classrooms a sa

fe, open space by promoting fairness and dignity gives your students the opportunity to grow exponentially. You will want to implement teaching and learning strategies that develop a positive relationship with students.

With the Virtual Substitute Teacher Training course provided by the App-Garden University, each substitute will be trained on the importance of understanding and accepting classroom diversity. We believe all students deserve a positive and meaningful education experience, regardless of their background or culture. Set up a product demonstration with one of our sales representatives today to learn more about what this product can do for your district and help your substitute teachers be prepared to address diversity in the classroom!

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Strategies for Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

There are many school factors that affect the success of culturally diverse students – the school's atmosphere and overall attitudes toward diversity, involvement of the community, and culturally responsive curriculum, to name a few. Of all of these factors, the personal and academic relationships between teachers and their students may be the most influential. This relationship has been referred to as the "core relationship" of learning – the roles of teachers and students, the subject matter, and their interaction in the classroom.

Certain behaviors and instructional strategies enable teachers to build a stronger teaching/learning relationship with their culturally diverse students. Many of these behaviors and strategies exemplify standard practices of good teaching, and others are specific to working with students from diverse cultures. A number of these behaviors and strategies are listed below.

Teacher Behaviors

Appreciate and accommodate the similarities and differences among the students' cultures. Effective teachers of culturally diverse students acknowledge both individual and cultural differences enthusiastically and identify these differences in a positive manner. This positive identification creates a basis for the development of effective communication and instructional strategies. Social skills such as respect and cross-cultural understanding can be modeled, taught, prompted, and reinforced by the teacher.

Build relationships with students. Interviews with African-American high school students who presented behavior challenges for staff revealed that they wanted their teachers to discover what their lives were like outside of school and that they wanted an opportunity to partake in the school's reward systems. Developing an understanding of students' lives also enables the teacher to increase the relevance of lessons and make examples more meaningful.

Focus on the ways students learn and observe students to identify their task orientations. Once students' orientations are known, the teacher can structure tasks to take them into account. For example, before some students can begin a task, they need time to prepare or attend to details. In this case, the teacher can allow time for students to prepare, provide them with advance organizers, and announce how much time will be given for preparation and when the task will begin. This is a positive way to honor their need for preparation, rituals, or customs.

Teach students to match their behaviors to the setting. We all behave differently in different settings. For example, we behave more formally at official ceremonies. Teaching students the differences between their home, school, and community settings can help them switch to appropriate behavior for each context. For example, a teacher may talk about the differences between conversations with friends in the community and conversations with adults at school and discuss how each behavior is valued and useful in that setting. While some students adjust their behavior automatically, others must be taught and provided ample opportunities to practice. Involving families and the community can help students learn to adjust their behavior in each of the settings in which they interact.