Classroom Diversity 1

Observation #2: Classroom Diversity

Estefania Huerta

California State University, Chico

Author Note

First section: Observation Questions and Prompts

Second section: Reflection Questions

Third paragraph: References/ Citation

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Observation Questions and Prompts:

In a classroom setting we tend to think that because our students are learning about

topics/subjects such as social studies, spanish, etc., that the class demographics are very

different. This was the case for the majority of the video observations that I observed. Many of

the class demographics in the video were students in grade levels first-third, both genders

(female & male), and caucasian. The characteristics listed earlier may be viewed as “normal”,

but what stood out to me in these video observations was the special education students. I say

that because I have never observed a classroom with special education students and I was

fascinated to see how these students thought out through situations. For example, during the

video observation the students were demonstrating/acting out scenarios such as how to start

conversations. Among the students, we may see that their personalities are different which made

their thinking very broad. Besides their thinking being very different, some of these students

spoke different languages such as English and Spanish.

In regards to the lessons, the teachers in the video observations did a great job in keeping all the

students engaged. Many of these lessons were meant to be very engaging. For example, the

classroom was set up for students to be in table groups which indicated that the majority of the

class time was to be working and discussing in groups of about five students. All the lesson plans

can be viewed and learned in a variety of learning styles/preferences. As mentioned earlier, many

of the lessons were hands on and engaging which can be seen as being kinesthetic. This way of

learning seemed to be most effective because students were understanding the material more

than working independently at their desk. These learning styles/preferences were not necessarily
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addressed to the students but instead told to do it that way because that is how the lesson plan

was set up to be. In the case, it was set up to be hands on and engaging. If I were a student in the

class I observed, I believe my learning styles/preferences would need to have been addressed.

Students feel welcomed when their teachers allow them to learn by their learning styles or

independently.

As a teacher, it is very rewarding to see our students enjoying learning. In regards to the video

observations, many of the students were involved in the learning activities. Before COVID I

have observed many classrooms. I have noticed that compared to the video observations, many

of the students were not as involved. For example, in the video observation many of the students

were excited to be able to work on class activities together. This allowed them to get different

ideas from each other. In other words, they bounce off each others’ ideas and make it an

open-minded environment. That is the purpose of group settings in a classroom. Students get to

learn the many ways to solve a math problem or analyze text from an article.

During class activities, it was visual that these teachers were very supportive towards their

students, even the ones that needed extra support. There were cases where students were not

paying attention and dozing off. In this case, the teacher worked with these reluctant learners by

reminding them what is expected and the consequences if they did not get their work done.

These consequences were not like pulling a card, detention, etc. Instead, these consequences

were like more homework/classwork to do at home because they weren’t paying attention. I

believe that the teachers in the video observation did a great job walking around and assuring

that those reluctant learners are getting the guidance/support needed. Besides reluctant students,
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there were shy and english learning students. Similarly to the reluctant learners, the teachers

made sure that the shy students were comfortable with sharing their ideas. For example, at the

start of a lesson plan, when giving instructions, the instructor would say things that made the shy

students feel comfortable. Words such as, “Okay everyone, remember to be kind and respectful

towards everyone’s ideas. There is no right or wrong answer here!” For the English learners, the

teachers were very patient and understanding. I noticed in the video observation that there was

another teacher aide to assist the teacher. I believe having that extra person was very beneficial

because it offers more support for these students, especially because it may be already difficult

for them to be learning english at a pace they may not be accustomed to. Lastly, for the students

who were physically challenged, the teachers assured that there were accommodations. For

example, in one of the observations there was a student who was in what is considered a chair for

someone with a disability. All students with any needs were assisted by the teachers in these

observation videos.

As we are aware, teachers expect students to learn new material and be able to connect it into the

real-world. I was fascinated by the fact that one of the teachers in the video observation created a

lesson plan that was modified instruction in order to better serve the needs of culturally diverse

students. For example, during the lesson plan the students were having a discussion, similarly to

a socratic seminar, and were connecting the reading/movies to the different cultures there are.

The students were discussing how disney has been misunderstanding/misinterpreting characters

such as ​Aladdin​ just because of their cultural background. With these modified instructions, it
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allowed students to view things in different perspectives and be open-minded towards other

students from different cultures/backgrounds.

Moreover, the students of all kinds were appreciated and given the attention needed. On that

note, I did not observe any instances of students being excluded from learning because their

needs were not being met. All the students were involved and if they had a special need they

were assisted by either the teacher or a teacher aide that was there. Not to mention, there were

instances that the classmates would help each other. The students alway felt supported which

impacted their learning in a positive way.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

Some personal challenges I believe I will face when teaching a diverse group of students is the

lack of motivation, lack of family support for the students, and the lack of pictures in the

textbooks that may not include challenged individuals. Based on the videos I have watched, I

learned that diversity in the classroom prepares the students for diversity in the workplace, it

fosters a sense of awareness for these diverse groups, supports mindfulness, etc. Prior to my

K-12 education in California, I did not have much diversity in the classroom. Part of it may be

because I attended a predominantly white elementary school. Some strategies I have observed in

prior field experiences are embracing small groups, promoting project-based learning, and

adapting learning tools. In regards to my future classroom, I have always promoted the

importance of working in small groups because it allowed different ideas from students of all

backgrounds. For that reason, I will implement the idea of small group work in my classroom.
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