Troy, I believe money does play a roll in what and how you learn. If you have the money, you are able to afford the resources to attend the best schools, pay for tutoring if needed, and the stress of your needs not being met doesn't get in the way of concentrating on your work.
Carla,
True. There is a lot of diversity that we may not directly link to diversity. Good post.
Philip Campbell
I also see diversity with age. I had an eighty-four year old in my class and he put the younger students to shame. He studied harder and even though his hearing wasn't a hundred percent he was ahead of all the students in the class.
Diversity is what makes us interesting as a group; however, we need to be aware of all the ways in which we are diverse. Sexual orientation is something we need to be informed about;another important one is socio-economic groups; and we must be sensitive to gender issues.
Jacqueline,
There is a divide between generations. it is important to acknowledge them also.
Philip Campbell
A lot of students have trauma, learning disabilities and even mental illness in thier background. By understanding how things like ADHD, anxuety, PTSD, depression, personality disorders and previous abuse effect growth and development, learning stules and soft skills; we can not only help our students but also ourselves with behaviors.
When you grow up with something like ADHD, you struggle to understand and pick up on other peoples emotions and how they are reacting to your seemingly innocent remarks.
Because all learners come from various backgrounds it is necessary to use open minded soft skills to understand the beliefs and ethical concepts that drive decition making of others.
Garry,
Good. Having an open mind will help a lot.
Philip Campbell
Diversity means a lot of things. In a technical class, each student brings knowledge, skills, and behaviors related to the subject. As an instructor, I must be willing to assess those "diverse" elements in order to help the student to learn.
Tom,
Many students do bring in abundance of knowledge already. It is wise to see how we can use that to our advantage.
Philip Campbell
Each person in every room will have something were they are diffent from at least one other person in the room. We are all different in our own ways and catagories. Though we are not our catagories. I feel if we respect the diversities seen and unseen in each person and honor each persons dreams we can help them succeed.
I agree. Issues of socioeconomic status must be addressed with sensitivity. These are very sensitive and emotional issues for students.
Dr. Campbell: The backgrounds of each of our students is diverse. Some have a language barrier, which makes communication in the classroom both online and in class difficult. Others have different cultural backgrounds that make their answers potentially right in their eyes, but wrong in the eyes of the law. (I teach law). Sometimes the diversity helps to make a class discussion even more interesting. The differing points of view. Advising students to not react emotionally, to some things that others say in class, is also very important.
In reading all the posts for this topic, I saw the following diversity issues that respondents felt we need to be aware of / respectful of: sexual orientation, socio-economic status, gender, language, culture, age, trauma, learning disabilities, mental illness, politics, race, aesthetic (?), past experiences and learning styles. (Interestingly enough, I do not remember seeing anybody mention religion.)
I am going to go in a different direction in responding to this post. There are 6-7 billion people on Earth. Theoretically, each person is unique. It is impractical, if not impossible, to learn about / be aware of every possible way that someone might be different from me. I would also argue that it is not necessary depending on your goal. If your goal is political correctness, not being sued, or some other superficial aim, then by all means worry about all these factors. If your concern is truly about people, then it is probably much more helpful to focus on how people are alike rather than how they are different. Human beings have basic needs (and failings) that are common to all people. Genuine concern / compassion for meeting these needs will overcome those barriers. With regards to the classroom or the workplace, set an expected standard for behavior. Participants don't get to opt out of expected norms for behavior because they are poor / rich, straight / gay, black / white / yellow / red, male / female, etc. Be respectful (accept that other people have different opinions and allow them to express them even if you don't agree without responding violently), and use active listening and assertive response skills. Focusing on diversity by definition places the emphasis on how people are different. Unity can never be achieved if people keep focusing on how they are different.
I have many single mothers in my class and I detect that they are unfocused. They have multiple young children and have a hard time balancing their educational and personal lives. I have never been in that situation-I am married with 3 kids-and I cannot imagine how you find that balance. Is there any tips I can give them so they can stop struggling with their academic achievements?
Peggy,
That is a great question that i am sure many instructors face on a daily basis. Many times they come to our schools and this is their quiet time, so we should really empower them and make them feel like this is a great opportunity for themselves and their families, which it is. Many do not feel like that though. many feel like it is hard to be away from their kids, especially if they are sick. Additional support from their peer group will also help them on their journey. Small victories for them will help them on their way as well. Keep up the good work.
Philip Campbell
In one of my classes (at another institution) approximately 90% of my class is Arabic, and those students are more or less evenly divided between Christian and Muslim backgrounds. I have found that it works best to celebrate their diversity and generate an atmosophere of mutual curiosity. Curiosity breeds tolerance. Satisfied curiosity breeds respect, at least to a degree. It is, of course, more difficult when one is dealing with a couple of thousand years worth of learned behavior and attitudes. Those years have to be acknowledged and respected, too.
In addition to the many other kinds of diversity discussed by others, I was thinking about learning type diversity. There are so many individual ways that people learn - types of learning visual or auditory or hands on. And some don't fit neatly into any of these categories. I think it's vital to be sensitive to all kinds of learners you may have. It may not be possible to taylor your learning to each person, but including many diverse ways to learn will help all students.
Melissa,
Trying to do that on the front side of a class is better than realizing it 3/4 of the way through the class. Keep coming up with many different ways to present concepts and you will hit all the learning styles.
Philip Campbell
Absolutely it's best to recognize this from the start. Of course, the hardest part is diversifying the way you present concepts - especially outside of your own preferred learning/teaching style!
