Formal Classroom Observation #2
Classroom Cultural Diversity
EDTE 255 requires the prospective teacher candidate to complete specific classroom
and school observations. The observations build on your prior experience in classrooms
(if you have any) and are intended to help you focus on issues of importance in
California schools. Read through the questions and prompts below. This will give you an
idea of what to look for and what kinds of information to collect.
Write a summary report in narrative format (no more than a few pages). Provide
information and address ideas in the questions and prompts below. Make sure to also
include your responses to the reflection questions.
Questions and Prompts:
Describe the students in the class. Think broadly about their differences going
beyond race and ethnicity. What appears to be the range of ability levels,
socioeconomic differences, languages spoken, personalities, etc. that are present
among the students?
Something I noticed is the diversity in the classroom itself. Some students are black,
others are white and everything in between. Each of the students comes from various
backgrounds so they are able to have different perspectives during discussions. This
creates a more fruitful conversation because other students are able to obtain an
understanding of cultures that are unlike their own. Students who are more outgoing are
able to encourage shyer students to come out of their shell and participate as well.
How does the teacher engage all students in the lesson? Does instruction involve
students in a variety of learning styles? Which mode of learning seemed to be
most effective? Were different learning styles being addressed? If yes, give
specific examples. If you were a student in the class you observed, would your
learning style have been addressed?
One example of engaging all of the students during the lessons in #586 where the
students studied Chinese cultures. Students were put into small groups and each group
had the opportunity to study one aspect of China’s broad and rich culture. Some
involved discussions and reading and other lessons were more interactive and used
technology. Different learning styles were being addressed because each lesson
provided an opportunity for each style to shine. For students who are more visual
learners, studying the map and putting everything was is a way for students to see and
learn where everything is. My learning style would have been addressed during the
monument study using the Smartboard. I am a visual/kinetic learner, so by having the
opportunity to use google maps to see and study the monument, I would have definitely
learned more.
How involved were students in learning activities? What indicators or examples
did you notice?
The students were super involved. One example of this was the study of Egyptian
Culture in 1098. Students were all working together to find answers to the questions and
putting them on word docs. Each student took initiative by find tasks or jobs for them to
be in charge of.
How did the teacher work with a variety of students, such as the reluctant learner;
the shy student; the English learner? The physically, emotionally, academically
challenged student?
In the high school lesson, the teacher prompted the quieter/shyer students by asking
them a prompt. This gave the student an opportunity to speak during the discussion
without being scared or nervous to find an opportunity to speak.
Did it appear that the teacher had modified instruction to better serve the needs
of culturally diverse students? What evidence, if any, can you report?
To my knowledge I didn’t notice any modified instruction. But if there was I would like to
know so I could rewatch it and learn what to look for in the future.
Did you observe any instances of students being excluded from learning because their
needs were not being met? How was this displayed? How did it seem to impact the
student and his or her behavior during instruction?
Reflection Questions:
What personal challenges do you think you’ll face when teaching a diverse group
of students?
I think the most challenging part for me or for any other teacher is making sure all of my
students are being represented, whether it is academically or culturally. I want to make
sure that I am creating lessons that students feel represented in, and that also other
students who aren’t represented have the opportunity to learn something and expand
their horizons.
What did you learn about diversity in the classroom?
Something that dd not occur to me before this lesson is that diversity doesn’t strictly
apply to the color of your skin, but also applies to student’s learning styles, economic
backgrounds and their different upbringings.
Consider strategies used to engage diverse learners. Based on your prior field
experiences and your current placement, compare and contrast the strategies
observed in these settings.
In my opinion small groups is the best way to engage learners, comparing it to
something like socratic seminars, less outspoken learners have a low stress setting
where they have the opportunity to talk. In a socratic seminar those that find it hard to
engage in large group discussion often get left out, with small groups these kids have a
better opportunity discuss the lesson and new material.
What ideas will you take with you?
One idea that I will take with me is the idea of using various learning techniques such as
researching topics on computers and interacting with these topics in real time so that all
learning styles are represented. I think that in todays world it is better to introduce
children to different types of learning.
What would you do differently in your own classroom?
In my own classroom I would try to find a better way to facilitate large group
discussions, because I would like to make it so that all students have the opportunity to
speak and be heard within my classroom.
