ANALYSIS

MODULE

1DIVERSITY IN CLASSROOMS
Definition of “diversity in the classroom”:


Diverse - different from each other.
Diversity - the quality or state

of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc.

Therefore:

Diversity in classrooms
– refers to the mix of personalities,
interests, learning styles, and abilities present in the classroom. The
differences or variety of students which an instructor must consider in
order to maximize the success of the lesson and the students

Three Classroom Atmosphere Considerations:

1. Atmosphere of Tolerance

2. Atmosphere of Acceptance

3. Atmosphere of Caring

Maintaining a classroom that understands and respects student

diversity maximizes student involvement and participation. A tone of
inclusiveness will ensure a safe and comfortable environment for student
learning.

Classroom Atmosphere.

Learn student names. When personally recognized, students are
more likely to be motivated and interested.
Many teachers follow up by
learning as much as they can about their students, and relating to them on
 2 ALTERNATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS FOR SLOW LEARNERS
a personal level.


Avoid judging students. Inadvertent judgments discourage

AND UNDERACHIEVERS
students and negatively impact their ability or motivation to learn.

Slow Learners – Slow learning occur when student struggle with
Treat students as adults. For obvious reasons, avoid
tasks but have no other obvious attitudinal or motivational difficulties.
condescending behavior to students, and never humiliate them.

Reasons for slow learning include delayed maturation, commonly in
cognitive and communication development. These are students who have
Provide encouragement and positive reinforcement. Fostering a
limited ability due to different reason in the education process, sometimes
positive classroom atmosphere will maximize your students’ ability to
due to mental ability, to their background, illiterate parents, culture
focus on learning.
problems, or other learning disabilities. Slow learners fall behind their
peers.

Underachievers – are when students fail to match up to
Practicing Tolerance, Acceptance and Caring
expectations. Underachievement signals something has gone wrong.
Reasons for underachievement includes disruption to family routine,
Provides students with the ability to be comfortable with
illness, emotional difficulties, loss or lack of motivation and direction.
themselves. Students to learn more about what is inside of a person
Underachievement calls for investigation, intervention and remedy.
instead of judging them by their outsides.
Underachievers fall behind the progress they are expected to make.
Provides a nice atmosphere that can be productive to learning.
Slow Learner Identification
Promote teamwork, confidence, and respect, and these are all key
- Language development problem
factors in a successful classroom. If teachers are accepting of student's
- Limited vocabulary

differences they will be able to look at students for their potential instead
- Short sentences, grammatically incorrect
of with a bias mind, and this will help them teach more successfully.
- Child behavior

Also allow the students and teachers to earn respect for each - Reading problem

other which will make the classroom a pleasant and productive - Slow response/decision making
environment.

“Our students are diverse in their cultures and ethnicity, their
experiences, their learning styles, and many other dimensions. And all of Evaluation
these dimensions shape who they are and how they learn. Effective
teachers understand this and use a variety of teaching methods to promote - Intelligence Test

student learning”. - Group test

- Vocabulary test
By : Center for Excellence in Teaching, University of Southern California” - Test of visual perception
 - Spelling test ADVANTAGES 

- Behavior questionnaire

- Test in reading and arithmetic - The advantages of identifying slow learning or
underachievement are given in the box below. A question for
The effects on individuals of not identifying slow learning include: school self-evaluation is: what do those who know about
students’ progress and prospects do with what they know?
- poor self-esteem 
 - From the learners’ point of view, the advantages of
- frustration and disaffection 
 identifying and providing for slow learning and
- misbehavior and truancy 
 underachievement reflect the five outcomes valued and
- self-harm 
 include:
- pessimism about the future 
 - confidence and self-worth 

- reduced options in education and employment 
 - security and health 

- Social marginalization and exclusion. 
 - enjoyment and achievement 

- positive contribution to school 

EFFECTS - Capability and good prospects in relation to continuing
education and employment. 

The effects on individuals of not identifying underachievement
similarly include: For schools, the benefits include:

- loss of self-esteem - job satisfaction 


- alienation - personal and public recognition 

- antisocial and criminal activity 
 - Further funding and development opportunities. 

- self-harm 

- Restricted access to future opportunities. 
 Disadvantage 


The effects for schools of not identifying slow learning and - The disadvantage of determining and providing for slow
underachievement include: learning and underachievement from a certain groups should
be particularly affected by these outcomes.
- unproductive stress 
 - Socioeconomic 

- wasted resources 

- diminished satisfaction 
 Factors of Slow Learning & Underachievement:
- missed opportunities to learn about learning in ways that can
benefit everyone 
 - Emotional growth Absenteeism
- Resource problem
- Poor reputation and negative labeling. 

- Class size
- Deprived culture

- Poor leadership
 - Course - Use flash cards to difficult words

- Fear complex
 - Use of memory cards and memory games
- Medium of instruction
 - Classroom discussion

- Illness (Alexia;Dyslexia;Strephosybolia) - Story-telling to be encourage
- Environment
 - Oral questions and answer

- Defective vision - Recognizing different pictures
- Untrained teacher

- Health problem Methods Strategies for Slow Learners (Reading)
- Inadequate teaching staff
- Teaching method - Use memory flashcards

- Transfer of teachers - Reading with meaning

- Psychological problems - Reading stories, magazines, newspapers and discuss them in
- Communication problem class
- - Pictures on wall with stories to help remember and
understand
Methods and Strategies for Underachievers - Use of TV and computers
- Finding missing parts

- Repeating or reframing instructions
 - Memory games
- Introducing new support (learning support, ex. Academic - Computer games
organization or clubs)
- Slowing the pace

- Retreating to basics

- Rehearsing
 Methods Strategies for Slow Learners (Spelling)
- Boosting means to persevere

- Inviting students to give examples when, why and how things - Spelling competition between students
are difficult
 - Check-recheck method

- Provide Feedback and affirm the student has done well - Weekly spelling test

- Use visuals in teaching
 - Spelling games on computer
- Tailor communication and responses
 - Typing tutor game on computer
- Pairing with a learning partners

- Provide teaching assistant
 Methods Strategies for Slow Learners (Writing)
- Mentoring by faculty or older student
- Encourage writing, ignore mistakes in early stage
§ Start
Methods Strategies for Slow Learners (Language) with short sentences and grammatically incorrect sentences
- Writing small stories

- Pronounce word clearly and ask student to repeat - Form filing, letter writing and telegram

- Use visual aid
 - Computer-based writing games

 3CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
- Writing school magazine, news, stories
- Later time attention to grammar, punctuation and full stop.

A curriculum is the plan for an entire training or education

program. It gives direction to training by defining how it should be
References implemented and what is expected of the learners after finishing it. In
tangible terms, a curriculum is a document that has four essential
Blanchard, J. (2002) Teaching and targets: self-evaluation and elements, namely learning intent, learning content, approaches and
school improvement, Routledge/Falmer methods and evaluation.

Blanchard, J. (2007) ‘Up close and personalised — boosting In formal education, a curriculum is the planned interaction of
creativity and individual learning’, Curriculum Briefing: Restructuring students with instructional content, materials, resources, and processes for
learning — changing curriculums, vol 5, no 3, Optimus Education evaluating the attainment of educational objectives.

DfES (2003) Every child matters: change for children, Other definitions combine various elements to describe
DfES
Durrant, M. (1995) Creative strategies for school problems, curriculum as follows:
Norton
Dweck, C. (2000) Self-theories: their role in motivation, personality,
and development, Psychology Press Fielding, M. and Bragg, S. Ø All the learning which is planned and guided by the school,
(2003)Students as researchers: making a difference, whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or outside the
school. (John Kerr) 

Routledge/Falmer
Harris, A. and Chapman, C. (2002) Effective Ø Outlines the skills, performances, attitudes, and values
leadership in schools facing challenging circumstances, NCSL MacBeath, J., students are expected to learn from schooling. It includes statements of
Demetriou, H., Rudduck, J. and Myers, K. (2003) Consulting pupils: a toolkit desired student outcomes, descriptions of materials, and the planned
for teachers, sequence that will be used to help pupils attain the outcomes. 

Ø The total learning experience provided by a school. It
Pearson Publishing
Metcalf, L. (1999) Teaching toward solutions: includes the content of courses (the syllabus), the methods employed
step-by-step strategies for handling academic, behaviour and family issues (strategies), and other aspects, like norms and values, which relate to the
in the classroom, Simon & Shuster
O’Connell, B. (1998) Solution-focused
way the school is organized. 

therapy, Sage Publications
Rudduck, J. and Flutter, J. (2004) How to
Ø The aggregate of courses of study given in a learning
improve your school: giving pupils a voice, Continuum Press
environment. The courses are arranged in a sequence to make learning a
subject easier. In schools, a curriculum spans several grades. 

Bell, P. (1970). Basic teaching for slow learners. London:
Ø Curriculum can refer to the entire program provided by a
Muller.
Hughes, J. (1973). The Slow Learner in Your Class (Nelson's Teacher
Texts). london: Cengage Learning Australia. classroom, school, district, state, or country. A classroom is assigned
sections of the curriculum as defined by the school. 


As an idea, curriculum came from the Latin word which means a

race or the course of a race (which in turn derives from the verb "currere"
meaning to run/to proceed). As early as the seventeenth century, the to the institutions vision mission.
University of Glasgow referred to its "course" of study as a curriculum, and
by the nineteenth century European universities routinely referred to their Learning Content – identifies the subjects and topics that the students
curriculum to describe both the complete course of study (as for a degree that the students need to know in order to develop the appropriate
in Surgery) and particular courses and their content. By the beginning of knowledge, skills and attitude.
the twentieth century, the related term curriculum vitae ("course of one's
life") became a common expression to refer to a brief account of the Approaches and Methods (strategies) – deals with planning and
course of one's life. 
A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more implementing suitable activities where the students can learn best. These
general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood should be anchored on the institutions philosophy and corresponding
and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. Curriculum has theories of learning.
numerous definitions, which can be slightly confusing. In its broadest sense
a curriculum may refer to all courses offered at a school. Evaluation – deals with determining whether the curriculum is
producing the desired results, and whether the learning intent has been
In the early years of the 20th century, the traditional concepts achieved. It also analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum,
held of the "curriculum is that it is a body of subjects or subject matter identifying gaps and possible solutions, which will be the basis for the
prepared by the teachers for the students to learn." It was synonymous to future revisions.
the "course of study" and "syllabus".
Dimensions of Curriculum

The Intended Curriculum is the overarching plan given by the
Curriculum and Instruction governing body of an institution. It is the standard to be followed. This
means that the intended curriculum has undergone research, validation
The relationship between curriculum and instruction is obviously a and approval by experts and the institution. The intended curriculum
very close one. Curriculum is essentially a design, or roadmap for learning, cannot be change unless the institution says so, based on the current the
and as such focuses on knowledge and skills that are judged important to needs of the institution and society, and/or the result of curriculum
learn. Instruction is the means by which that learning will be achieved. evaluation.

Elements of a curriculum The Implemented Curriculum, as the term implies, is the

implementation of the intended curriculum. This is where actual
1. Learning Intent
 instruction takes place. In the Dimension, the intended curriculum is
2. Learning Content
 translated into different courses, subjects, and/or lessons. With this we can
3. Approaches and Methods {strategies] define instructions as the conduct of the intended curriculum. The
4. Evaluation[assessment] elements of the instruction are similar to those of a curriculum namely,
Learning Intent, Learning Content, Methods, and Evaluation. However, the
Learning Intent - specifies the aims, goals and objectives of the elements of instruction are more specific, covering the lessons or topics to
training. It should be anchored on the institutions overarching aims and be delivered. For example, the learning intent is translated as specific
goals, which are then translated to the knowledge, skills and attitude that objectives, learning content are topics or lessons each day, methods are
should be developed among the students that would eventually contribute shown as specific teaching strategies which will be used to deliver the
 4ADULT LEARNER
lesson, while evaluation is the actual test or forms of assessment that
measure if the objectives of the lesson have been meet.

The Achieved Curriculum indicates the results of the implemented

curriculum, or whether the intended curriculum has been achieved.
Definition of adult learners - Adult learner or mature learner
sometimes also called adult student it is a person who is 18 years and up
that involved in terms of learning

Adult learning – is a theory that holds set of assumptions about
how adults learn.

Characteristics of adult learners

1. Adults have accumulated life experience.

Adults come to courses with experience and knowledge in

diverse area they tend to favor practical learning activities that enable
them to draw on their prior skills and knowledge they are readily able to
relate new facts to post knowledge explored in a teaching situation.

2. Adults have established opinion.

Values and beliefs witch have been built up overtime and
arrived at following experience of families, relationship, work, community
politics etc. these views cannot be dismiss and must be respected.

3. Adults are intrinsically motivated learners increase their
effort when motivated by a need, an interest or a desired to learn.

They are also motivated by the relevance material to be

address and learn better when materials related to their own needs and
interest . For learners be fully engaged in learning their attention must be
fully focused on the material presented.

4. Adults have individual differences.

Adults learn at various rates and in different ways according
to their intellectual ability, educational level, personality and cognitive o Socials commitments
learning styles. Teaching strategies must anticipate and accommodate o Time

differing comprehension rates of learners. o Money

o Schedules

5. Adult learn best in a democratic, participatory and o Transportation
collaborative environment.
11. Ageing concerns.
Adults need to be actively involved in determining how and
what they will learn, and they need active, not passive, learning Adults frequently worry about being the oldest person in the
experience. class and are concerned about the impact this may have their ability to
participant with younger students with that create an environment were
6. Adults students are mature people and prepare to be treated all participants fell that they have valuable contribution can work to alley
as such.- being lectured at causes resentment and frustration. such concerns.

7. Adult are goal oriented/relevancy oriented. 12. Adults may have insufficient confidence.

Adults need to know why they are learning something. Students come to class with varying levels of confidence.
Adults have need that are concrete and immediate. Some may have had poor experiences of education leading to feelings of
inadequacy and fear of study and failure.
8. Adults are Autonomous and self -directed- they are self-
reliant learners and prepare to work at their own pace.

9. Adults are practical’s and problems solvers. ADULT LEARNING THEORY AND PRINCIPLES


Adults are more impatient in the pursuit of learning Become a familiar with Adult learning theory and the six principles
objectives. They are less tolerant of work that does not have immediate of it
Part of being an effective educator involves understanding how adults
and direct application to their objectives. learn best ANDRAGOGY

10. Adults are sometimes tired when they attend classes-many Andragogy emphasizes the value of the process of learning it uses
students are juggling classes with wore, family, etc. They, therefore approaches of learning that are problem – based and collaborative rather
appreciate varied teaching methods that’s adds interest and a sense of than didactic and also emphasizes more equality between the teacher and
liveliness to the class. the learner.

*Adults may have logistical considerations, including:
 Andragogy as a study of adult learning originated in Europe in
1950 and was then pioneered as a theory and model of adult learning from
o Family and caring responsibilities including childcare or the 1970 by Malcolm Knowles and American practitioner and theories of
elder care adult of adult education who define andragogy as (the art and science of
o Careers
 helping the adults learn.)
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ADULT LEARNING PRINCIPLES? Just as there is no one theory that explains how humans learn, no
single theory of adult learning has emerged to unify the field. The best
Knowles identify the six (6) learning outlined below: known theory of adult learning is Knowles andragogy as a teacher writer
and leader in the field adult education ,Knowles was an innovator ,
o Adults are internally motivated and self–directed responding to the needs of the filed as he perceive them and as such he
o Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning was a key figure in the growth and practice of adult education throughout
experiences the western world. However as many critics have noted a set of
o Adults are goal oriented assumptions providing one piece of the adult learning puzzles. Therefor
o Adults are relevancy oriented despite their limitations Knowles ideas provides a practical instructional
o Adults are practical guide for all ages especially adults.
o Adults learners like to be respected
ADRAGOGY- is a concept popularized by Malcolm Knowles in his
HOW CAN I USE ADULT LEARNING PRINCIPLES TO FACILATATE STUDENTS 1970 book. The modern practice of Adult education Knowles theory of
LEARNING PLACEMENT? andragogy was an attempt to create a theory of differentiate learning in
childhood and adulthood. The term itself was not new to European adult
1. Adults are internally motivated and self – directed. educator had been using it consistently to refer to both the practical
aspect of adult teaching and learning to the academic study of adult
Adults learners resist learning when they feel others are imposing education.
information, ideas, or action on them.
In his book; THE MODERN PRACTICE OF ADULT EDUCATION FROM
YOUR ROLE IS TO FACILITATE THE STUDENT MOVEMENT TOWARD PEDAGOGY TO ADRAGOGY. Knowles 1980p.43 contrast andragogy as (the
MORE SELF- DIRECTED AND RESPONSIBLE LEARNING AS WELL AS TO art of science of helping adults learn) with PEDAGOGY (the art and science
FOSTER THE STUDENTS INTERNAL MOTIVATION TO LEARN. of helping children learn) the second edition of his book however mark are
rethinking in Knowles original conception of andragogy as characterizing
2. Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning only adult learners as indicated in the change of sub titles from andragogy
experiences. versus the pedagogy or vice versa. His most recent Conclusion was that the
use of andragogical and pedagogical principles is to be determined by the
3. Adults are goal oriented
 situation and not by the age of the learner.

4. Adults are relevancy oriented
 The Two dimension of Andragogy as elaborated by Knowles are its
assumption about the characteristics of adult learners and the process
5. Adults are practical
 elements of adult education that stem from these characteristics. He
initially related four basic assumptions and added a fifth and six in later
6. Adults learners like to be respected publication.

1. Self-concept – As people mature they move being a dependent

personality toward being more self directed.
ANDRAGOGY – ADULT LEARNING THEORY
 2. Experience – They a mass a growing set of experiences that Constructivism
provide a fertile resource for learning.
Based on premise that we all construct our own perspective of the
3. Readiness to Learn – they are more interested in learning world, through individual experiences and schema.
subjects that have immediate relevance to their jobs and personal lives.
Focuses on preparing the learner to problem solve in ambiguous
4. Orientation to Learning – their time perspective change for situations. Believed that “learners construct their own reality or at least
gathering knowledge for future use to immediate application of knowledge interpret it based upon their perceptions of experiences, so an individual’s
as such- adult learners become more problem-centered rather than the knowledge is a function of one’s prior experiences, mental structures, and
subject-centered.(Knowles 1980) beliefs that are used to interpret objects and events.

5. Motivation to Learn –they become more motivated by various Definition of Learning style
internal incentives , such as needs for self - esteem curiosity , desire to
achieve, and satisfaction of accomplishment. Learning style is an individual's natural or habitual pattern of
acquiring and processing information in learning situations. A core concept
6. Relevance – they need to know why they need to learn is that individuals differ in how they learn.
something. (Knowlse - 1980)further more because adults manage other
aspects of their lives, they are capable of directing or at-least assisting in The three (3) main learning styles
the planning and implementation of their own learning.
1. Visual Learning Style – You learn by seeing and looking.
Three (3) theories of learning Behaviorism
Visual relate most effectively to written information, notes,
It is based on observable changes in behavior.
It focuses on a new diagrams, and pictures. Typically they will be unhappy with a presentation
behavioral pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic. It where they are unable to take detailed notes – to an extent information
concentrates on the study of overt behaviors that can be observed and does not exist for a visual learner unless it has been seen written down.
measured. This is why some visual learners will take notes even when they have
printed course notes on the desk in front of them. Visual learners will tend
It views the mind as “black box” in the sense that response to to be most effective in written communication, symbol manipulation, etc.
stimulus can be observed quantitatively, totally ignoring the possibility of Visual learners make up around 65 percent of the population. They like
thought processes occurring in the mind. books, handouts, blackboard writing, and notes. They learn best alone.
They organize information by categorizing (like a mental spreadsheet).
Cognitivism
2. Auditory Learning Style – You learn by hearing and listening.
Based on the process behind the behavior COGNITIVE
Auditory relate most effectively to the spoken word. They will
Changes in behavior are observed, and used as indicators as to tend to listen to a lecture and then take notes afterwards or rely on
what is happening inside. printed notes. Often information written down will have little meaning
until it has been heard – it may help auditory learners to read written
information out loud. Auditory learners may be sophisticated speakers and Subject-oriented; seek to Problem-centered; seek
may specialize effectively in subjects like law or politics. Auditory learners successfully complete each course, educational solutions to where
make up 30 percent of the population. regardless of how course relates they are compared to where they
to their own goals. want to be in life .
They like lecture classes, discussions with others, and reciting to
themselves. They learn best within a group.
They organize information by Results-oriented; have specific
Future-oriented; youth education
relationships between facts.
 results in mind for education – will
is often a mandatory or an
drop out if education does not
3. Kinesthetic/tactile Learning Style – You learn by touching and expected activity in a youth’s life
lead to those results because their
doing. and designed for the youth future
participation is usually voluntary.

Kinesthetic/tactile learner effectively through touch, movement, Seek education that prepares
and space. They learn skills by imitation and practice. Predominantly Often skeptical about new
them for an often unclear future;
kinesthetic/tactile learners can appear slow, when in fact information is information; prefer to try it out
accept postponed application of
normally not presented in a style that suits their learning methods. These before accepting it
what is being learned
learners make up five percent of the population. They like not taking,
recopying notes, and outlining the book. They learn best with one other Likely to accept new information
person. They organize information with the big picture or overall plan. Self-directed; typically not
without trying it out or seriously
dependent on others for direction
questioning it
Certain effective teaching strategies with adult learners:

1. Use adult learners as resources for yourself and others;
2. Use open-ended questions, provide opportunities for
dialogue take time to clarify student’s expectation of the
course;
3. Permit debate and challenge of ideas
4. Treat questions and comments with respect;
5. Engage students in designing the learning process;
6. Show immediately how new knowledge or skills can be
applied to current problems or situations.
7. Focus on theories and concepts within the context of their
application to relevant problems.
8. Use a variety teaching materials and method.

Differences of learner

YOUTH ADULT