CHAPTER 3: UNDERSTANDING STUDENTS NEED IN THE CLASSROOM.

TEACHING FOR DIVERSE LEARNING NEEDS

- After gathering information about students, you can tailor activities/lessons to their abilities/needs. ex: if you find that some students work better in groups, you should include small group activities that every student can participate in. (allow students who prefer this LEARNING STYLE to learn, and help students who have trouble with social skills develop them.)

3. HELPING LEARNERS HELP EACH OTHER

- Encourage your students to reach out to one another for questions/problems. - Plan community building games to allow students to become comfortable and safe to learn from one another.

STARTING QUESTIONS

- Finding out what your students are CURIOUS about will allow you to make plans/activities conducive to learning.

Ways in that students are diverse

- Learning Styles. - Different sets of abilities, strengths, weaknesses. (being aware of their strengths/weaknesses will help you prepare lessons to help those students. ex: having students slightly below grade level in reading, you can design lessons to work closely with these students. ex: students are ABOVE grade level. By knowing their skills/interest you can designed enrichment activities to extend their learning.

WHY ARE POSITIVE STUDENT INTERACTIONS IMPORTANT

- Poor student interactions result in classroom environment will be chaotic, unpredictable, unsafe, and impede a growing sense of self worth - POSITIVE student interactions foster feelings of SAFETY. classroom environment is PREDICTABLE and students support one another in personal and academic growth.

Teachers as a FACILITATOR

- Provide students with materials, opportunities and guidance as students as students take on aspects of their own learning. - Students become independent learners empowered to collaborate, make use of available resources, and take charge of their own growth and development.

2. cohabitation

- Sharing of a household by an UNMARRIED couple.

Learning profile

- Students cultures, genders, learning styles all go into making of who they are.

2. LEARNING TO KEEP QUIET

- Teacher has to be quiet after pinpointing students with questions. Practice counting silently to 30 before answering a question. keep notes documenting learners ideas, strategies. (allow teacher to guide them toward appropriate resources, and brings students together in collaborative groups.)

SEEKING HELP

- There are specialist that are educated and trained in a variety of needs. ex: a reading specialist might be able to help you design lessons for students having difficulty with reading. DONT HESITATE TO CONTACT THEM.

Getting to know you activities

- activities you might choose to use on the first couple days of school.

KWL charts

- ask students what they already know - ask students what they wonder. refer back to the W, when selecting activities/topics for discussion. At end of a study, you can go back and write what the students learned.

1. Setting a positive example

- be a good role model (a person who serves as an example that others should imitate) - Showing positive interactions establishes a pattern of TRUST and MUTUAL SUPPORT. - Teach students to show respect to themselves and others. (model interactions between herself and students) - Maintain a sense of Humility (Humans make mistakes and taking responsibility)

Learner centered classrooms

- classrooms in which students are the focus in all activities. - teacher acts as the facilitator and guide on the side. - it is important to KNOW YOUR STUDENTS

Traditional family

- consists of a HUSBAND, WIFE, plus CHILDREN whether biological or adopted.

Diversity

- does not just refer to cultural diversity, but also diversity in skills, knowledge, and needs.

1. Student Diversity

- each student brings different set of skills, backgrounds and educational needs. could be cultural, personal, emotional, educational.

The Question game

- encourage students to have a discussion as a class in which they phrase all their thoughts as questions. helps students pinpoint their own inquiries, and give the teacher insights on what they are wondering about.

Behavior expectations

- fill students on the behavior expectations. (how she wants them to act in class) - practice speaking respectfully, listening to one another, taking turns into conversations. - stage mock conversations and allow students to critique each other on skills. - teach them how to read body language, and physical proximity of how close they should stand to one another.

5. Singlehood

- is temporary, although some people don't get married by choice.

Advantages of Learner Centered Teaching

- learning centered fosters INDEPENDENCE. - Allows for individual differences in student learning styles. (when student drives their own learning process) (self motivated) -social engagement is increased through collaborative work.

4. Polygamy

- marriage consisting of more than two partners. - usually exists as man being married to more than one wife at a time/ or one women married to more than one man.

3. Same sex families

- same marriage between two men or two women. - same sex families may still face social resistance

Learning Centered Teachers

- shifts the teachers role from being a provider of information to becoming a facilitator of learning. - increases student engagement. (students are more responsible for their own learning progress)

Non traditional/Alternative

- single parenthood - cohabitation - same sex families - polygamy

Learning objectives

- topics her students are expected to master. - adds elements to bring in valuable feedback and perspectives students can offer.

1. Single Parenthood

- was fairly common due to frequent deaths of spouses. - come about through circumstances of parents choice or divorce

Building on background knowledge

- what they already know about a topic, and their prior experiences.

1. Elementary level

- would be difficult to motivate students. - By knowing your students, you can come up with creative ways to motivate them to work. ex: some students might prefer to learn verbally rather than reading it. 2. Family relationships (can create partnerships to students are supported in learning, even when they are not in school)

Question tickets

-As students enter the classroom, or at end of class, have the students write a question on a post it note about what they are studying, and collect them as exit tickets.

2. High school level

1 responsible for teaching students the skills they will need to move on to college. (tailor instruction towards their INTEREST) 2. PERSONALITIES are important. ex: if you know a student is shy when it comes to working with others, you can offer to spend time to help gain the skills. 3. knowing the students will help you identify PERSONAL PROBLEMS they are having, and know when they are acting strangely.

Three important points for CREATING LEARNING FOR ALL?

1. Curriculum/Instruction is determined in response to students needs/perspectives. 2. instruction is based on students profiles. 3. Lessons are designed to build on background knowledge.

Ways teacher can differentiate instruction for all students.

1. Differentiate teaching methods so each student can learn equally. 2. Teach in a small/whole group situations, and reinforce learning in one-on-one learning sessions. 3. Allow students varying methods of showing their understanding of content. (presentations and tests)

Characteristics of Learning Centered Teaching

1. Engages students in preview, review, and evaluation of work. 2. Explicitly teaches skills (problem solving/analysis) 3. Get students to think how they learn. 4. Allow students control over their own learning process. 5. Encourages collaboration.

2. Weird Breakfast (good activity for students who may not be good at writing skills)

1. Have students sit in a circle. Ask them what the weirdest breakfast they ever had. 2. When everyone had time to think, choose a student to go first. They will give a short introduction, and say the weirdest breakfast they had. 3. Next student has to recall what the other person had, and add their own name and breakfast. 4. Teacher job is remember every students name and weird breakfast, and list them for the class. Then you introduce yourself and your weird breakfast.

Ways teacher can use building on background knowledge with fractions

1. Jump right in and define numerator/dominator, then show students how to write fractions, and explain what they are used for. 2. Build on what students ALREADY know linking new learning to existing schema. (Ask students to brainstorm what they already know about fractions, then go over info)

Most important things when getting to know your students.

1. Learning styles. 2. Cultural backgrounds 3. important relationships 4. interests. 5. Personalities

2. LEARNING ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS.

1. Most important is to KNOW about your students. (Spend time talking to students, questionnaires to fill out) ex: talking to students gives you a clear picture of their verbal skills and personality. ex: questionnaires can target specific info about the student such as their interests and passions. ex: Different icebreaker activities can allow you to observe students socializing so you can learn how they interact in groups. 2. Communicate with parents and families (give you BACKGROUND INFORMATION about their cultural identity and personal history). help you create a more culturally sensitive classroom where they feel welcome and safe

1. Passing notes

1. Put students in pairs 2. In pairs, tell students to tell each other about themselves but only through written notes. NO speaking or writing questions. 3. After couple of minutes, students will introduce their partners with the information from the notes. 4. This activity allows you to see the different PERSONALITIES in the room.

3. College level

1. Understand students cultural backgrounds (knowing that one of your students is observing a religious holiday. 2. Learning about your students is a sign of RESPECT

2. Teaching the art of positive interaction

1. take into account each students unique background and how it impacts the ability to interact with others. ex: some students come from a home where interactions are strong ex: other students may have different social norms such as not making eye contact. - By understanding different student backgrounds, teacher can come up with ways to help students interact successfully.

3. Classroom quilt

1. teacher will create a questionaiire that the students will fill out. Questions will get students thinking about who they are, and how they would describe themselves. 2. After students answer questions, they will use the information to write a short paragraph about themselves based on the survey. 3. Students will glue onto colored construction paper which the teacher will make something that resembles a quilt. activity will give you an idea about your students WRITING abilities.

Learning programs

lessons/activities in the classroom. - need to consider students 1. needs (wide variety of strategies to meet students needs both socially/culturally) 2. backgrounds 3. interest - need to get to know students interest 4. perspectives (consider the lives that students lead outside of school and learn their unique perspectives)