Until I became an Instructor I was very closed minded. My eyes were opened quickly and I had to adapt and change my teaching style. Still, after 5 years I am constantly changing the way I present and evaluate to fit with each different, diverse group of students.
Besides cultural and ethnic diversity I think it's important that we understand diversity in regards to learning styles. Every student learns differently and it is beneficial to present subject matter in different ways.
There is so much diversity in a career college classroom. You have generational diversity - the Gen Y (and Gen Why) student is very different than the Gen X student and/or the Baby Boomer, yet I have all 3 in the same classroom.
There is diversity among races, religions, cultures, socio-economic factors, learning styles, motivation, and types of intelligence.
I remember a Super Bowl commercial that showed how difficult it is to wrangle cats - sometimes the classroom can feel that way. You have multiple generations/personalities/motivations/intelligences all tearing off in multiple directions. You're trying to guide the discussions and cover the course objectives while remaining aware of the diversity. It can be a challenge!
Karen I agree and I think it is important to for students to know the difference between IQ and EQ because especially in law anwers can become very emotional when a student is comparing a situation they encountered.
Some people have different ways of learning. Some are hands on and some are visual. Either way, you would need to learn how to teach to that student.
Simona,
Recognizing the learning styles shows you are an effective instructor. Good Job!
Philip Campbell
I teach nursing in Phoenix. We have a real mix of both ethnicities and religions in this area. Nurses need to be ready to care for a rich mix of very diverse groups. As part of the course each student researchs a cultural group or a specific religion. We discuss why it is important to be culturally competent care providers, the beliefs, customs, etc of specific groups and then how the nurse would adapt care to be suitable to that patient.
This exercise helps students to see beyond their own beliefs and customs and understand how other people perceive our world.
At the end of all the presentations, students are asked to list similarities as well as differences between groups. We usually have more commonalities than they initially expected so hopefully that give them "food for thought".
Rosemary ,
Being prepared to deal with different people is the first step.
Philip Campbell
I totally agree. I don't think we have experienced in the past as we have today the experiences students bring with them and the impact it has on their ability to learn.
There are any types of diversity that instructors must be aware to be effective in the class. We have several age ranges in the class, so we have our "younger" students that are tech smart and can quickly complete assignments that involve anything with computers/electronics, but they lack the ability to properly speak to someone; then on the other hand we have our "older" student who struggles with new technology, but they have the soft-skills needed to be successful in the work environment. I find the best way to be effective with such a group is to have them work on group projects, so they can not only learn from me, but from each other.
Stephanie Bernard
we should also be aware of econimic and gender diversity
I believe we have different types of learners therefore you have to taylor your classroom in which every student could learn
There is diversity in all of us and we all can use being diverse to make us different. A company has two employees that are totally different in most of their ways. One Creative and one being conservative but both meeting the needs of the company in their diverse ways...
One challenge we face as a career school is diversity of age. Some students come to us right out of high school at the age of 18 and others can be in their late 60s. Motivation, organization and communication style many times need to be adjusted - not to mention the soft and hard skills that need to be applied. Effective teaching in my mind means constantly modifying teaching style for every class as needed.
In every cultural and ethnic group, there are subcultures and sub sub-cultures.
People from the same background perceive things differently and that is a point that instructors need to take into consideration; blanket judgements tend to "typefy" certain groups and limit the instructor's ability to explore avenues of learning that wold certainly broaden the students' horizons and make the learning experience interesting.
In teaching culinary arts the biggest diversity I face much more so than cultural or ethnic diversity is age. My students can range in age from 17 to 70 which make it very challenging to relate to them not only on an individual basis but how to navigate through all of them on a group basis. As a 45 year old I fall right between that range which fortunately allow me to relate to most of them but this isnt the case for most instructors. There is a fine line that we need to balance in order to relate the material to each age group. There is a difference in work ethic that must also be maintained. An older student usually has work experience and an already built in work ethic where as a younger student will be more apt to not understand hard work. In general age diversity amongst the student population can be a very difficult path for an instructor to navigate through.
In my experience socioeconomic diversity along with age diversity play a huge role in how a classroom gets along.
Effective teachers must understand that diversity is not only cultural and ethnic in nature. There is also diversity in terms of skill/ability. Some students are gifted, while others need extra help. Still others are somewhere in the middle. The challenge is to address the needs of learners at all skill/ability levels. This is an essential type of soft skill for all educators.
David,
You touched on something that all teachers need to do everyday. The effective ones are good at identifying student needs.
Philip Campbell
This WILL NOT be short. It is a subject dear to our heart…
To have had a career in a highly competitive and culturally diverse industry and lived in a socially diverse city, it was quite an “eye opener†to relocate to a very “white bread†city.
Fortunately the school does not reflect the city. It is a delight to instruct in an institution with a diverse student population. Students who spent formative years in other states and countries, in urban and rural settings are just the beginning of the diversity.
Students fresh out of high school sit next to grandmothers. LGBT students sit next to students who never met, much less interfaced, with LGBT. Students attend full time and others as part timers working inside and outside the home. Many students speak and read English as a second or third language. (And quite well we must add.) We have encountered students who face the learning challenges of ADHD, deafness and lack of reading skills.
Understanding the ways students take in information is crucial. We have had students who take not a single note during lectures (and ace exams) and others who write in in missing words in guided lecture notes projected on a screen, highlight key phrases and yet struggle in the same exam. Students who very successfully produce “hands on projects†have difficulty in research and writing.
As an instructor our challenge is to combine skills (hard and soft) acquired during our previous profession and connect with diversities in the classroom. We feel a need to prepare students for a tough and highly competitive industry. Standards must be set.
Students want to succeed. Is success measured in the grade or what is learned? As an instructor are we expecting too much? Do we maintain the integrity employed in the business? Do we dumb down? We listen, but are we hearing?
You as instructors on the “front lines†certainly have the same challenges, do you not? Issues we addressed were discussed by you. Bravo!
