Poverty
Household income correlates with achievement.
Lower standardized test scores
Education is a lower priority because parents are
often uneducated.
Diminished vocabulary-less words are spoken in the
home
Poverty
Students are often more focused on survival than on
academic achievement.
Teachers must make a particular effort to create
meaningful instruction that is relative to the needs of
disadvantaged students.
Gender Inequality
In early years, girls surpass boys in intellectual
development.
At the middle school level and especially high
school, girls exhibit a profoundly lower sense of
self esteem compared to boys.
Gender Inequality
Factors impacting self image
Gender Inequality
Teachers unknowingly place a greater emphasis on male
students.
Girls portray a more subdued manner.
Boys engage in attention-seeking behavior, resulting in
greater recognition and confidence.
For girls, academic success is correlated with good
behavior and following rules.
Gender Inequality
Lesson planning must provide instruction that instills
the girls with confidence, by encouraging
communication and participation.
Cultural Perceptions
The United States is characterized by a unique spirit of
individualism.
Happiness is defined through individual achievement.
Cultural Perceptions
Other nations that focus on individualism
Australia
Hungary
South Africa
Italy
Denmark
Finland
Norway
Austria
Cultural Perceptions
Many citizens of the US come from collectivist nations.
Cultural Perceptions
The worlds most collectivist nations
China
North
Korea
Peru
Colombia
Indonesia
Pakistan
Ghana
Cultural Perceptions
Western cultures hold that knowledge can exist
separately from human experience
Americans see the world as being comprised of
discrete categories of objects.
Everything is defined by applying a series of rules.
Cultural Perceptions
Japanese and Chinese students portray a particularly
holistic view of the world.
All things are interdependent.
Cultural Perspectives
Eastern philosophies are rooted in the teachings of
Confucius who lived from 551-479 BCE.
People from eastern societies have a heightened sense
of social responsibility.
The needs of the higher organization or group
supersede the needs of the individual.
Cultural Perceptions
Two social experiments illustrate the
differences in cultural perspective.
Cultural Perceptions
Experiment One
Two equal groups of American and Japanese students were
shown various scenes of aquatic life. The students were then
asked to describe what they saw.
The Japanese students described the scenery in its entirety as
a pond.
Cultural Perceptions
Experiment Two
Two equal groups of Chinese and American students were
shown three pictures: a cow, grass, and a chicken. The students
were asked to pair the two pictures with the closest relationship.
Chinese students paired the cow and the grass together
because cows eat grass and rely on it for food, indicating
interdependence.
American students paired the cow and the chicken because
they are both animals, showing individuality.
Cultural Perspectives
Teachers should make every effort to understand the
cultural viewpoints of students from nations that
promote the collective world view in order to include
them in class discussions in order to promote
learning.
Special Populations
Special populations include
Special Education Students
Section 504 Students
Special Populations
Teachers must carefully follow all aspects of the
Individual Education Plan for all Special Needs and 504
Students.
Teachers must understand that this is not only
conducive for learning, but legally required as well.
Special Populations
English Language Learners simply will be learning at
different rates than other students, not because of
intelligence, but because of language/communication
barriers.
Special Populations
All three of these groups will experience learning difficulties in the classrooms.
Discovery learning
Inquiry-based learning
Case-based learning
Problem-based learning
Project-based learning
The Result
When educators make every effort to fully
understand the academic and cultural needs of their
students, true, positive change will occur. Lesson plans
that are data-based and student-centered will drive
team PLCs in a new and powerful direction. Campus
cultures will be transformed into dynamic environments
of learning. It is only this transcendent level that will
provide students with the educational memories
sufficient enough to inspire them towards lifelong
learning.
References
Elby, Alan. (2000). What students learning of representations tells us about constructivism.
Journal of Mathematical Behavior 19(4):481-502.
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (2015). Professional Learning Communities:
What are They and Why are They Important?. Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org
Spring, J. (2013). American Education (16th ed.). U.S.: McGraw-Hill.
University of Oregon (2014). TRADING OFF PROBABILITES AND PAYOFFS: Expected value and
expected utility theory. Retrieved from http://www.uoregon.edu