Exercise 3: Teaching and learning in culturally diverse classes

Duration: 45 minutes

The goal of this exercise: to enable teachers to explore students’ viewpoints in relation to teaching and learning in culturally diverse classes

Teaching methods:

•  discussion
• teamwork 
• individual work
• critical analysis of the text
• writing

Instructions for the teacher:

• Before you start, be ready to face any possible incidents that could go wrong while discussing this topic.
• Get ready for a discussion about a very sensitive topic. Ensure your thorough knowledge of the ethical aspects and conditions of a respectful discussion and the inclusive environment.
• Read the introduction to exercise 3. 
• Read Story 3: Description of a teacher
• Ask the students the questions to elicit their reflections on this topic (see Questions to elicit student reflections).
• Create a space for student questions and discussion. You may collect questions that students may ask and write them down on a flipchart to be discussed together.
• Summarizing discussion – Try to cover all students’ points of view in brief regarding the issue. Then filter through the main arguments in detail and identify key points.
• Evaluation of exercise – Ask the students to write feedback on the exercise on a piece of paper. As they leave the classroom, they can put their pieces of paper signed or anonymously into the feedback box. Written feedback is part of the system of teacher-student communication (Nicol 2010). Constructive feed¬back is an important ele¬ment of every dis¬cus¬sion in education, and it can provide effective information for learning and teaching. Students can provide feedback to the teacher on the topic. Students can give feedback to the teacher and topic. You can use the questions presented below: What did you like about the exercise? What did you not like? What does the teacher do to help students feel safe and comfortable during this exercise? What improvements the teacher can make?  What would they do differently if they were teaching the class? Students can take approximately 10 minutes to write feedback.

Introduction to Exercise 3

Picture a culturally diverse class. Think about school success and who a successful student is in terms of grades and in the eyes of peers and teachers. Reflect on the question of whether it is beneficial in school pedagogy if more successful students in terms of grades are mixed with less successful ones.

Story 3: Description of a teacher

A teacher does not agree with the opinion that it is beneficial in school pedagogy if more successful students are mixed with less successful ones. The teacher does not believe that less successful pupils learn from their more successful classmates, who might “serve as an elevator” to improve study results for them. The teacher is even worried that it works the other way around. “The less successful and more roguish have a bad influence on the others” (The citation is based on the author’s research and is taken from the author’s publication). The teacher’s disapproving attitude to mixed-ability classes is projected in his / her work with pupils.

Questions to elicit student reflections

• Discuss the pros and cons of such classes. You can divide the class for this task into two groups.
• Discuss with students what makes a school successful.
• Discuss the students’ needs (the needs of more successful students and of less successful ones)
• Define student success and define the role of the school in the construction of a successful pupil.
• Reflect an inclusive learning environment and the context of the challenges of increasing student diversity.