Pay attention and listen to your students. Offer different types of quizzes to asses learning abilities. Simply ask them to see you in private with any concerns they have about class subject/material or testing methods.
We have our students take a VAK quiz which determines whether they are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners.
While we use all of these teaching styles in our class, knowing which one is predominant with a particular student allows us to provide recommendations and tutoring that addresses his/her way of learning the best!
The instructors need to assess the learning needs
of diverse learners and appreciate the knowledge and experience that diverse learners have to offer.
Hi Diane!
Isn't it wonderful when we all learn as a result of having non English speaking students in a class. It sounds like patients is a wonderful gift that you have.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
I have had several students who spoke little English , one from Poland, one from Puerto Rico, And one from Russia. I often ask them what is their word in their language for the word I am using.Sometimes it is translatable, sometimes not . It seems to help the student to know that I care by including them always in discussions of new words. I have to be patient with them because their understanding of our language is very little. But 2 have graduated and are doing well, and I am working closely with a Russian student now.
I like to use an informal approach. At the beginning of a class session (not just the first day) I might ask, "Who'd like to share one of the most embarrassing things that happened to them at work?" Sharing responses to this question really helps with total class rapport and relaxation. If students hesitate to share, I'll start off by telling one or two of my own.
I do the same thing. It also helps me to know if there might be an issue down the road. For example, students may miss a clinical due to having a sick child. It also helps in that I can call upon a student if they have certain experiences to share with the class. That makes them feel important and motivates them.
One of the best ways I have experienced is to give students choices for learning. They see these choices in the syllabus at the beginning of the course and they choose to write papers, make in class book reports, or make posts to a forum online. At the end of the semester each of these requirements must add up to a certain number of points to complete the course. It gives students choices about how they are going to learn and it also requires them to make decisions and manage their time.
Thanks, Wook! To your point, the student/teacher partnership, so to speak, requires that adult students share in the responsibility of the learning process!
Jay
ED106 Guest Co-Facilitator
I agree that instructors need to have be a support system for the diverse learners. However, it is important that the l;earners themselves explain their situation before hand. If that is not possible, going over some basic review or tests can allow the instructor to have a better feel for the learners and their situations.
Jillian & Jay
I have a 10 question survey that my students fill out on our introduction day. They also give a 5 min bibo on their characters and I tend to figure them out pretty easy after those two things. We tend to keep it very informal as have learned from past experiences that sometimes formal is not the best approach as students tend to be more open and honest in an informal environment.
Yes I agree taking the time to get to know your students is a large tasks especially when that class has 35-40 students in it but it is so rewarding and your students start to bloom as they feel part of the class and the group. It is also very important for you to understand each student and get the best from each one of them.
Diverse learners have diverse modes of learning. Ways to learn about their needs can include but should not be limited to taking surveys, asking questions, and giving aptitude tests. Often, when a student enrolls, certain demographic details will be collected. Included in that information may be the neighborhoods they come from which might reveal some of the socioeconomic hardships they may not be willing to admit to. Sometimes, when a student is academically ready to move into the field of study by obtaining employment, there may be some unforseen fees or other financial burdens. An intuitive instructor or college staff may have some resource referrals available to the student to get on their feet. If things of this nature are available, sometimes it can open the doors for students to be willing to express those kinds of needs.
Have a class discussion how the class will be facilitated: type of technology, lecture segments, activities, tests formats, assignments, etc.. and get student's feedback on what has worked in the past for them.
At our college we are a border city. 90% of our
students are hispanic. The diversity I find comes in the age groups, The 18 to 20 year olds
have very limited experience in the work world;
the older student who has been laid off at work
and needs additional training are a whole different group. It is up to the instructor to
make sure both groups know their responsibilities
in the classroom and complete assignments as
required. The instructor must facilitate learning so that both group succeed in learning
the material.
Iagree that the instructor should be avialable if the student is struggling with understanding any of the subject matter presented.However the instructor must also be approachable to the student, so they can feel at ease when asking for additional assistance with a subject they are trying to understand.
Good morning James!
Thanks for sharing your techniques. It sounds like repetition, repetition repetitiion - a great teaching AND learning tool.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
In my class we try to cover all options. We will write things down on the board, do daily demo's, use visuals such as power point and or videos. I offer long and short term projects so if they need extra help we can help them. We will put the words with their deffinitions on the board and leave them there for a couple of days and go over them before we erase them.
Thanks for your comments, Debra! The type of cultural diversity discusisons that you facilitate in the classroom certainly help prepare students for both the workplace and the community in general.
Jay Hollowell
ED106
I have a multi-cultural class and we share our experiences from each country. Within this discussion, we analyze difficulties, and strengths for the professional and identify where each student feels their strengths and weaknesses are. This helps with self realization and also motivation to work on the areas that they identified as personal weaknesses.
