How to Handle a Classroom with a Learning Level Diversity

The first way of evaluating performance may be through self-evaluation, either via a reflective journal or by writing an evaluation on a lesson plan or scheme of work. After each lesson I deliver, I write a short evaluation which has

Assessments are the way to find out if learning has actually taken place. Enabling us, as tutors, to see if objectives have been met.

Poverty is a serious issue which our society and children faces every day. It is a constant struggle that shouldn’t be ignored. UNICEF states “The study of OECD countries in 2007, over fourteen percent of Australian children under the age of eighteen are currently living in households who are defined as poor or with incomes less than half of the median national income”. The increase in the number and percentage of children living in poverty within our society has contributed to making today's classrooms more diverse than ever it has been. This highlights and makes both teaching and learning more challenging. Diversity exists in the students who are living in poverty and the education assistant and teachers must provide the concept of diversity

The most memorable time when I was impacted educationally by diversity would be my freshman year in High School. I had gone to a private Christian school from Kindergarten through 8th grade. My mom thought that it would be a great idea to send me to public school for my freshman year. Mind you, I lived in Dallas, TX at the time and public school is quite different than private school there. I was not only the minority in school, but I was one of five Caucasian kids in the entire school. I was made fun of for being white, coming from private school, and for being smart. Just like the article, Helping Diverse Learners Succeed, I had to learn about my new environment. I didn’t understand why the kids were mean to me and why

The author of White Teacher is Vivian Gussin Paley. The book is about her experience of teaching her kindergarten class. She shares her experiences of teaching in a school with integrated classes in a time when racism was a major part of society in the outside world. Mrs. Paley’s main focus was to be the best teacher she could be to all of her students, but was not sure how to go about dealing with the racial differences in her classroom. She was told she should ignore the subject of race in the classroom and pay more attention to the behavior and success of her students. Mrs. Paley quickly realized that this was not the solution and that ignoring this subject did not help the students. It conveyed the wrong message to all of the students, even the white ones. Mrs. Paley started to bring the subject to her students and this also helped with her own struggles with racial stereotypes in and outside of the classroom environment. This book gives an inside look of the struggles that teachers face when trying to address the issues of race and it gives some insight on some of the solutions teachers can use to effectively deal with this very fragile subject.

Without assessment, there is no opportunity to keep track of benchmarks of improvement and no sense of progress. Assessment provides a time for reflection for the teacher as well as the child. The teacher may need to revisit his or her approach to teaching, based upon student's comprehension and input. Also, on a very crude level, assessment can encourage students to perform to a higher level: "Whether we like it or not, most students tend to focus their energies on the best or most expeditious way to pass their 'tests'" (Scanlan, n.d.). Q2. - What are some tools and approaches that are most appropriate in assessing children's learning and development?

Performance assessments are different from standardized testing because instead of students sitting for hours and answering application questions with the choices of A,B,C, or D students will physically demonstrate what they have learned.(Performance Based Assessment) Under performance assessments, students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge through such tasks as group projects, writing essays, performing experiments and giving them and showing the teachers they comprehend the subject. (Performance Based Assessment) The key factors in this process, is that performance assessments require kids to be active participants and have them comprehend how to get to the answer by demonstrating their knowledge. (Performance Based Assessment) In this way teachers will be provided “with more information about the learning needs of their students and [will be able to] modify their methods to meet these needs.”(Performance Based Assessment) This process “also allows students to assess their own progress and, therefore, be more responsible for their education.” (Performance Based Assessment) Schools and teachers can benefit from the process of performance assessments because of the academic knowledge they are able to show and perform during these types of assessments. (Pollard) The performance assessments can be a recognizable way of demonstrating how much the students

In what ways did you see teachers respond to the diverse needs of students in their classroom? (Did you see evidence of differentiation of instruction in the classroom? Did the teacher use a variety of large group and small group activities? Did you see any cooperative learning or “all students respond” techniques? Did the teacher use critical thinking questions during class? Did you see evidence of remediation or enrichment in the classroom? Was technology used in any way?)

against previous marks), and/ or summative (at end of course) activities to help the learner see their

When I choose this class, it was because of the name; AED 225 Diversity, Pedagogy, and Visual culture. The eye catching word was diversity. I do not consider myself to be racist, yet I am judgmental as is everyone else in the world. Diversity is a topic that interests me very much. I like to see other people’s point of views and racial situations they have gone through. For example, when I first entered Woodbridge Public High School I did not know anyone. When I met someone they believed I was Caucasian because off how I look. I was offended when someone thought I was not Hispanic. Therefore, every time I met someone new I asked them what they thought my ethnicity was. I wanted to make sure people knew I was not Caucasian. I do not carry

Performance assessments are having many issues towards the students learning and their motivation. They are tested so much with just memorizing

After reading about the 7 guidelines of teaching in diverse classrooms I realized that they are all very interrelated and build on one another. For example, guidelines 1. Cultural responsive instruction, 2. Know your “cell phone”, and 7. Multicultural curriculum are all very closely related since they all have to do with being aware of different cultures in your classroom as well as your own and how they all need to be cherished in the classroom. The remaining four guidelines, 3. Engaging with learning, 4. High expectations for learning, 5. Flexible grouping, and 6. Differentiated instruction, are all related to how the curriculum or instruction in the classroom should be presented. Even with in these two groups of the guidelines they are also related or intertwined

Teachers should understand the diversity spectrum that is in a classroom; there are cultures, races, languages, and socioeconomic backgrounds in classroom during the 21st century educational realm. Students need to acknowledge student’s diverse background specially when they arrive late in the school year.

Within the core of many educational institutions, diversity is a commercial tacit. While every institution cannot offer the same kind of diversity, the endorsement of such exists through various definitions. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges define diversity through the various classes: race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, disability, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and age (“Statement on Diversity”)

Assessments are integral parts of instruction, they determine whether classroom goals have been achieved, and help teachers know what areas they should focus on and maybe reteach. They are great tools for developing lesson plans and answer questions such as; “do my students possess full understanding of the material?” There are many ways of assessing students’ learning, one of which I have personal experience with are on-the-spot assessments.