Diversity
In the US, many school districts have more immigrants than ever before. These students come from many different countries with different cultural backgrounds that need to be acknowledged and addressed in culturally inclusive lessons. For example, in my science class in our unit on ecosystems I use examples from all countries my students are from. I also use academic language with social language for each student to understand. Many of these students are also part of English as a Second Language (ESOL) programs and need differentiated instruction and digital tools to meet their needs. Students with disabilities (SWD), both physical and mental, must be accommodated to meet their needs. Similar programs can be used to meet the needs of both ESOL and SWD students. A tool I’d recommend is Immersive Reader. Immersive Reader can read the text, translate the text, change the background color and size of text, and give definitions of words in the text. Immersive Reader is a digital tool to help teachers meet their students’ diverse needs.
Socioeconomic status contributes to the digital divide because families just cannot afford a device or high-speed internet. The digital divide can create challenges for the teacher and school to meet the needs of diverse students. One-to-one initiatives can ensure all students have access to a device, and access to mobile hot spots can provide high-speed internet to students in with low socioeconomic status at home. By using technology, teachers can meet all needs of diverse learners no matter the student.
Below is a list of professional activities completed during the Instructional Technology Program related to addressing the needs of diverse student populations.
These activities address diversity related to SWDs, ELLs, minority populations, students with low socioeconomic status, and different cultural backgrounds. Each activity helped prepare me with the knowledge, skills, and disposition necessary to be a teacher willing to embrace diversity in the classroom
Socioeconomic status contributes to the digital divide because families just cannot afford a device or high-speed internet. The digital divide can create challenges for the teacher and school to meet the needs of diverse students. One-to-one initiatives can ensure all students have access to a device, and access to mobile hot spots can provide high-speed internet to students in with low socioeconomic status at home. By using technology, teachers can meet all needs of diverse learners no matter the student.
Below is a list of professional activities completed during the Instructional Technology Program related to addressing the needs of diverse student populations.
- Modeling and advocating the use of technology to promote a deep understanding of content
- Participating in leadership meeting discussions to identify strategies for underperforming subgroups
- Analyzing Milestone data to determine discrepancies in different subgroups' performance
- Modeling equal access to technology by providing multiple ways to access digital content
- Facilitated teacher training on using Nearpod in the classroom to differentiate the pace of content to meet student needs
- Scaffolded activities to allow equal access to the content
These activities address diversity related to SWDs, ELLs, minority populations, students with low socioeconomic status, and different cultural backgrounds. Each activity helped prepare me with the knowledge, skills, and disposition necessary to be a teacher willing to embrace diversity in the classroom