Diverse Leaners
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Diverse Learners
Diverse learners are students from ethnically, racially, linguistically, and culturally diverse communities and families of lower socioeconomic status. Learners whose identities and abilities are different from what is often considered as mainstream are often classified under the group of diverse learners. Such leaners are often educated in general education classrooms which are often made up of students who talk differently and have diverse needs and backgrounds. Students who have disabilities are often taught in such classrooms and may extend the diverse social and academic needs of learners. The life of Wildin Acosta is a perfect example of a diverse learner who was cultural, ethnic, and racial differences. As a result of this condition, Wildin’s graduation and education were in danger owing to immigration and documentation issues that led to his near-deportation back to Honduras (Christopher, 2017). Wildin, a 19-year-old was a student a Riverside High School in Durham when he met with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who had his deportation information.
As an undocumented immigrant, Wildin was facing struggles to pursue education due to documentation issues, an aspect that saw him get arrested for six months. However, Wildin was lucky in that he had positive academic records and was regarded positively by teachers and friends at Riverside High School where he joined an array of clubs and played in soccer teams. He was regarded by most as a good student who was successful at balancing his part-time job, clubs, and soccer as well as solving issues associated with being an undocumented student. However, Wildin was lucky in that he was not the only undocumented student in the institution. Four journalism students among them being Olga Bonifacio, Juliana Rodriguez, Maggie Johnson, and Aldair Corrales, were among the undocumented students.
Wildin and his friends fall into the category of ethnically and culturally diverse students. In order to improve the learning capabilities of diverse learners in this category, institutions should delve to provide the students with instructions that are different from those provided to students who have mainstream backgrounds. For instance, culturally and linguistically diverse learners are likely to receive inferior instructions owing to the fact that most of them are likely to get placed in bottom reading groups while others can be expelled from the class due to remedial instructions (Christopher, 2017). While this is common, others such as Wildin are likely to suffer from issues associated with documentation that can cause their arrest such as Wildin’s situation. This group of students also need alternative learning methods in that schools are likely to discriminate against individuals from diverse backgrounds through the implementation of assessments that do not take into consideration their home language. This group may also be discriminated against as a result of the use of teaching mechanisms that fail to build on their cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Although Wildin had successful academic records and had positive relations with their teachers, most diverse learners often experience an array of struggles with their teachers who fail to communicate with the students effectively while some tend to violate the behavioral norms of their backgrounds.
Compare and Contrast Strategies and Principles
When it comes to diverse learners, most teachers are likely to have low expectations and may fail to provide them with interesting and challenging lessons. In order to resolve the learning issues, institutions should adopt learning strategies to reduce the learning struggles experienced by individuals in this group. As Boroson (n.d.) advises, institutions adopt advanced learning mechanisms such as sketchnoting to improve understanding and ensure they attain a similar degree of understanding with other students. Sketchnoting as Boroson explains is a strategic practice that can be employed to educate diverse learners. This mechanism is beneficial in that it permits student choices and helps to strengthen their memories. It can enable learners to appreciate learning through the use of non-linguistic and linguistic forms of representation. This mechanism enhances focus while reducing student stress that could have been facilitated by an array of issues that could be related to linguistic, cultural, racial, and ethnic issues. Additionally, the use of sketchnoting technique is essential in that it enables the learners to exercise their choice while embracing an array of designs that encourage creativity, imagination, and innovation.
Doodling is another technique that can be employed to educate diverse learners. Although doodling is often considered a waste of time and lack of concentration, Boroson (n.d.) explains that doodling is a form of technique that can improve focus amongst students by increasing their imagination. Just like sketchnoting, doodling is a type of mnemonics that entails connecting images with information such as to increase an individual’s ability to understand and remember what has been learned. According to Cole (2008) students and diverse learners such as autistic students are able to learn and retain information for longer by writing their notes in a manner that enables them to capture essential information by creating images or writing notes. Such practices often stimulate neural pathways between cognitive, visual, and motor skills.
Sketchnoting and doodling are similar in that both rely on the learner’s individual imaginations and associations. Both techniques do not require perfection and instead, entail the use of visuals to improve learning. These techniques will help to build credibility by ensuring that children know essential facts to their situation, find answers, and articulate the reason why the issue affects their growth, their school, and community.
Effectiveness of Campus Services
In a bid to resolve the issues evidenced by diverse learners and particularly immigrants in the country, the institution has implemented an array of learning styles. Auditory techniques help students to learn through conversation and listening while visual techniques help students through the use of visual aids, reading, and writing. The kinesthetic technique is another technique that is often employed by providing the learners with a stimulus that is associated with the lesson. For instance, when learning about immigrants and the struggles evidenced by culturally and ethnically diverse learners, the teacher often begins the lesson by introducing the topic orally, Students often learn about the experience of immigrants by analyzing the oral information provided. The teachers often provide students with immigrant cards to learn about the life of immigrant students in relation to documentation needs by activating kinesthetic aspects of learning. The class then visits immigration department stations in the institution to understand the requirements and the activity that diverse learners often undergo (Chamberlain, 2005). For instance, the agent often questions the students while checking their mouth, hair, and eyes for signs of sickness. This learning technique engages all learners including visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learners. The teachers then instruct the students to prepare a reflection or essay on their experience on the immigration practice, an aspect that engages the visual learner. Further discussion on the activity enables the students to share their reflection by speaking out loud in a manner that reinforces their learning. Additionally, some may engage in sketchnoting and doodling, an aspect that increases their individual understanding of the lesson. As such, the application of auditory, visual, and kinesthetic aspects of learning helps diverse learners to gain a deeper understanding, focus, and participation.
Suggestions to Increase Academic Success
One approach that the institution should adopt is the use of a mixed learning approach. Although personalized learning is the most effective approach, mixed learning will help to ensure that all student’s needs are catered due to the adoption of multiple learning strategies that recognize inherent differences in student learning.
Another approach is the need to implement diverse teaching mechanisms instead of having a single approach for all the students. Instead, the teachers should adopt a lesson plan with student’s needs in mind.
In order to take every student’s needs into consideration, the institution should provide all students with accommodation. For instance, the teachers should provide diverse learners with the opportunity to access class notes in a language they can understand. Additionally, learning should incorporate ethnic, linguistic, and cultural aspects of diverse learners to encourage inclusion and participation.
References
Boroson, B., (n.d.). Picture this. Art and creativity in schools. Educational Leadership. ASCD. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec18/vol76/num04/Picture-This.aspx
Chamberlain, S. P. (2005). Recognizing and responding to cultural differences in the education of culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Intervention in School and Clinic, 40(4), 195-211.
Christopher, B., (2017). Walking undocumented. Teaching Tolerance. Retrieved from https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/summer-2017/walking-undocumented
Cole, R. W. (2008). Educating everybody’s children: Diverse teaching strategies for diverse learners. ASCD.