Chapter 3:
Teaching
your
Diverse
Students
Guide
What are the challenges posed by How do phrases like “melting pot” and
01. America’s increasingly diverse 06. “cultural pluralism” both capture and
students? mask American identity?
How does unconscious bias influence What are the purposes and approaches
02. life in the classroom? 07. of multicultural education?
How is gender fluidity influencing Why is culturally responsive teaching
03. school life? 08. important?
What are the instructional and political
How can teachers use culturally
04. issues surrounding English Language 09. responsive teaching strategies?
Learners?
05.
How do deficit, expectation, and
cultural difference theories explain
dissimilar academic performance
among various racial, ethnic, and
cultural groups?
01
What are the
challenges posed
by America’s
increasingly
diverse students?
Key Terms to the Conversation
Ethnicity Race Culture
A group of individuals sharing a A set of learned beliefs,
Shared common cultural
common socially determined values, symbols, and
traits such as language,
category, often related to genetic behaviours, a way of life
religion, and dress.
attributes, physical appearance, shared by members of a
and ancestry. society.
Multiracial
Claiming ancestors from
two or more races.
Figure 3.1 pg. 61
02
How does
unconscious bias
influence life in the
classroom?
● Unconscious bias
● School-to-prison
pipeline
Figure 3.3 pg. 62
03
How is gender
fluidity
influencing
school life?
LGBTQIA+
● Only 26% of queer students say they feel
safe in their school classrooms
○ 5% say all of their teachers & school
staff are supportive of LGBTQIA+
people Key Terms
❖ Sexual Orientation: innate characteristic that determines who
one is attracted to sexually and romantically
❖ Gender Identity: innate sense of being male, female, both,
neither, or other
❖ Cisgender: a person who identifies with their gender assigned at
birth
❖ Transgender: a person whose inner sense of gender differs from
what they were assigned at birth
04
What are the
instructional and
political issues
surrounding
English Language
Learners?
“What is going on in America? It is amazing, and disturbing,
to ride on a road and see street signs that are printed not only
in English but in other languages as well. What's more, even
legal documents are now being written in foreign languages.
How unnerving to walk down an American street and not
understand what people are talking about. Maybe this isn't
America. I feel like a stranger in my own land. Why don't they
learn to speak English?”
- Benjamin Franklin,
1750s
English Dual
Acquisition Language
Programs Programs
● Transitional Approach
● Immersion Approach
● Maintenance or
○ Language Developmental Approach
Submersion ● Two-way Immersion
● English as Second
Language
05
How do deficit,
expectation, and
cultural difference
theories explain
dissimilar academic
performance among
various racial,
ethnic, and cultural
groups?
Theories About Group Success
Cultural
Deficit Expectation
Difference
Theory Theory
Theory
06
How do phrases
like “melting pot”
and “cultural
pluralism” both
capture and mask
American identity?
● Multicultural
society
● US is a ‘melting pot’
○ Key: ‘Melting’
● Assimilation and
enculturation
● Cultural pluralism
Figure 3.7, pg. 77
07
What are the
purposes and
approaches of
multicultural
education?
Multicultural Education
1. Expand the curriculum to reflect
America’s diversity
2. Use teaching strategies that are
responsive to different learning
styles
3. Support the multicultural
competence of teachers
4. A commitment to social justice
James Banks’ Curriculum
Level 1: The Contributions Approach
Level 2: The Additive Approach
Level 3: The Transformation Approach
Level 4: The Social Action Approach
08
Why is culturally
responsive teaching
important?
Gloria Ladson-Billings’ Principles
1. Students must experience academic success, which leads to stronger
self-esteem. Esteem is built on solid academic accomplishment.
2. Students should develop and maintain cultural competence, and the
student’s home culture is an opportunity for learning.
3. Students must develop critical consciousness and actively challenge
social injustice.
● Stereotype
○ Stereotype Threat
● Generalization
09
How can teachers
use culturally
responsive teaching
strategies?
