Thanks for visiting my first-ever attempt
at blogging. The course on which this blog is based is CI6103 Curriculum
and Instructional Design for Diversity. My life has been rather hectic as a
high school teacher just four weeks into the school year and nearly ten weeks
into this course. However, the chaos has
been worthwhile because the knowledge I have gleaned from the coursework has
led to some advances in my approaches in the classroom. If you take the time to click on the other pages and posts within this blog, you will find my research on all aspects of instructional design for diversity. Please comment, and let's work together to help one another learn more.
The course's main objective is to have teachers
embrace the importance of planning culturally relevant instruction for diverse learners.
Teachers were to create and reflect upon a curricular framework that would benefit
all learners from varying backgrounds.
The word “rigor” was used throughout the course, which
was not surprising as it is one of education’s buzzwords of the moment. Though,
I have to say there is something to be said for having students think in new
and interesting ways—isn’t that the point?
If teachers are not taking into consideration the
racial and ethnic backgrounds of their students when creating lessons, they are
missing out on opportunities to build real relationships with their students.
One takeaway from the course was how important student-teacher relationships
are for academic encouragement—many students do not get that type of motivation
from home.
Writing across the curriculum is not new. I did it in the 1970s in elementary
school. Today, we can build upon that by
integrating theme and interdisciplinary unit planning to improve student literacy.
Educators can develop integrated instructional plans based on action research
findings. Talking to coworkers, surveying colleagues, and developing new
insights into processes may lead to innovative ideas that will prove successful
in the classroom.
Differentiating instruction is more than just giving “Billy”
extra time to complete his project or for Sally to have a test read aloud.
Teachers can develop curricula to teach in accordance with students’ learning styles and to
assess their skills in ways that truly gauge their abilities.
Technology can be an appropriate tool for diverse students
to overcome language barriers. Voice-to-text, translation apps, and video all
have classroom applications that may help students succeed in the classroom in
ways that we haven’t thought of previously.