1 Dimensions of Diversity Culture Language Gender Ability differences Exceptionalities

2 Culture The knowledge, attitudes, values, customs, and behavior patterns that characterize a social group. Cultural Diversity The different cultures that you’ll encounter in classrooms and how these cultural differences influence learning.

3 Cultural Attitudes, Values, & Interaction Patterns Learned at home and in neighborhood Influence school success, both positively and negatively Require both teacher sensitivity and adaptability

4 Educational Responses to Cultural Diversity Multicultural education: salad bowl or mosaic versus melting pot Culturally responsive teaching Accepting and valuing cultural differences Accommodating different cultural interaction patterns Building on students’ cultural backgrounds

5 Language Diversity Maintenance language programs: use and sustain the first language Immersion programs: emphasize rapid transition to English English as a Second Language (ESL) programs: focus on English in academic subjects Transition programs: maintain first language while students learn English

6 Bilingual Education Controversial because critics fear the loss of English as U.S. language 26 states have official English language legislation De-emphasized by No Child Left Behind Proponents claim it is effective, humane, and practical. Critics claim it is divisive, ineffective, and inefficient. What do you think?

7 Gender Gender influences career choices. Gender-role identity creates differences in expectations and beliefs about appropriate roles and behaviors. Stereotypes create rigid and simplistic caricatures of groups of people. Single-gender classrooms and schools separate male and female students. Brainstorm: Gender Stereotypes

8 Multiple Intelligences Gardner’s theory: Suggests that intelligence is not unitary but multidimensional Suggests that classrooms should attempt to develop different kinds of intelligence While accepted by teachers, is controversial because of a lack of a firm research base

9 Responses to Differences in Ability Ability Grouping Places students of similar aptitude and achievement together for instruction Between-class ability grouping divides students for all subjects. Within-class ability grouping divides students only in certain subjects, such as math and reading. Tracking At the secondary level, divides students across the curriculum. What do you think? What does the research say?

10 Learning Styles Describes students’ personal approaches to learning Popular with educators, viewed skeptically by researchers, and difficult to implement Suggests we should develop metacognition—students’ awareness of how they learn most effectively

11 Students with Exceptionalities Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Passed in 1975 Guarantees a free, appropriate, public education (FAPE) for all students with exceptionalities Mainstreaming: moves students from segregated settings into the regular classroom

12 Students with Exceptionalities (continued) Inclusion: more recent and more comprehensive approach, advocates a total, systematic, and coordinated school-wide system of services Least restrictive environment (LRE): places students in as normal an education setting as possible Individualized Education Program (IEP): individually prescribed instructional plan created and implemented by multiple stakeholders

13 Categories of Disabilities under IDEA Specific learning disability Communication disorder Intellectual disability Emotional (behavioral) disturbance Other health impaired Autism Multiple disabilities Hearing impairment Orthopedic impairment Developmental delay Visual impairment Traumatic brain injury Deaf-blindness

14 Students who are Gifted and Talented Students who are at the upper end of the ability continuum who need special services to reach their full potential. Controversy about Gifted and Talented programs in the era of NCLB

15 Exceptionalities: Implications for Teachers Collaboration: working with other educational professionals to create an optimal learning environment for students with exceptionalities Your role: Aid in identification process Collaborate on IEPs Adapt instruction Maintain communication