Making Changes in Your Classroom

Revamping or giving a face lift to your entire curriculum may sound a bit daunting. Keep in mind that small changes can make a large impact. Allison and Rehm (2007) provide areas to focus on when beginning to adopt multicultural education in your classroom:

• Visuals: In order to reach students who may not speak English or struggle with the language, pictures, bulletin boards, flash cards, graphic organizers, etc. may assist them in understanding a topic. Visuals are a tool that can be used in any subject area and may serve to make learning more meaningful for diverse students. Student drawings, story boards, and posters can also be used to allow expressive thoughts.

• Peer tutoring: This technique is highly effective with students from racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse backgrounds. Coupling two students of differing aptitudes and backgrounds, has been found to produce positive outcomes in multicultural classrooms, especially with English language learners, Hispanic and Native American students whose cultural values accentuate cooperation and mentoring.

• Cooperative learning: This approach groups students from diverse cultural backgrounds in heterogeneous groups. Students are then instructed to collaborate and cooperate with each other on assignments and problem- solving tasks. This strategy has been found to elevate inter-ethnic relationships, develop cross-cultural understandings, and develop teamwork while also building literacy and language achievement among linguistically diverse students.

• Alternative means of assessment: Traditional tests, including paper and pencil, discriminate against students of diverse cultural backgrounds. These types of tests are unsuccessful when it comes to recognizing various heritages, languages, and experiences. Alternative tests are considered critical, because they provide students the opportunity to validate their understanding in several ways. This increases the students’ opportunities for success. Researchers have strongly asserted that assessment techniques must be compatible with and relevant to the cultural backgrounds, learning styles, and life experiences of all students.

What's working for you in your classroom?

Source: Allison, B. N., & Rehm, M. L. (2007, November). Effective Teaching Strategies for Middle School Learners in Multicultural, Multilingual Classrooms. Middle School Journal , 39, 12-18.