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Running Head: STATEMENT OF INFORMED BELIEFS

Statement of Informed Beliefs Essay

Zoe Garrison
Instructor: Dr. Etheridge
EDUC 220 001W: Diversity in the Schools
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Statement of Informed Beliefs Essay

Today there is more diversity in school than there has ever been in our current history. It

is crucial for today’s teachers to understand the diversity and everything that comes with it in

schools. Every student learns differently, and as a teacher, it can become difficult for them to

accomplish learning and accomplishing the different teaching strategies for their students. I will

be discussing how I will be able to include diversity in different ways in my own classroom. I

will be going over five sections: all students can learn, teacher’s expectations, students’ social

ecology theory, cultural diversity instruction, and curriculum for all learners.

All Students Can Learn

In this first section I will be discussing my ideas on the ability of students to learn and the

teacher’s responsibility in the process. How I will ensure that all students will learn, and how I

will manage and lead the classroom so all students will learn as the teacher.

It is important for teachers to make sure that all students get an equal learning

opportunity. Not only does each student need to be given the opportunity to learn, but it is also

the schools’ job, mainly the teachers, to make sure that each student wants to learn. A large role

that the teacher has is essentially making learning fun for the students. Learning in general, tends

to seem, hard and like a lot of work for students. Being able to identify each students’ strengths

as well as their weaknesses is going to be one of the most important things to be able to make

school more enjoyable for students. I am able to measure students’ strengths and weaknesses by

Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. There are eight multiple intelligences

they are as follows, linguistic, logical, mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily/kinesthetic,

interpersonal, intrapersonal, existential, and naturalist. This theory presents the idea that every

student is able to have strength in at least one of these categories. As the teacher, I need to know
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which intelligence each student works the best with. After I find what intelligence each student

can use best, I then help that student learn the things that they need to know in a way that would

work best for them.

In order to make learning a little more fun and understand each student I need to have

good classroom management. As the teacher, I would like to run my classroom with positive

reinforcement. I want to teach elementary school and showing young minds that it’s okay to get

things wrong and to preserver, to try again is going to be important for their minds. I want to

give them a sort of point system to encourage them to keep doing well. This will go by color,

pink is role model, blue is great work, green (the color they start on every day) is good student,

yellow is thinking about choices, and red is a parent contact. Getting pink is the goal for each

student, this encourages them to listen and to be on their best behavior. This will make the

students want to meet their weekly goal of green, blue or pink.

Younger students tend to put other students down when they feel they are doing better

than others, to avoid this style of bullying I will take away recess minutes as discipline for that

student. It is also important for the teacher to know the background of who each students’

members of their nuclear family are. Also knowing what is going on in the student’s

microsystem so they know that their teacher cares about what is best for them as an individual.

Now, I discussed my own ideas on the ability of students to learn and the teacher’s

responsibility in the process, through making learning more fun for the students. How I will

ensure that all students will learn with positive reinforcement. How I will manage and lead the

classroom so that all students will learn as the teacher in knowing each student’s background.

Teacher’s Expectations
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In the second section I will be going over how teacher expectations influence students’

ability to learn and the effect that might have on the student. I will also be going over educational

goals and their importance.

There needs to be a good balance for the expectations I will have for each of my students.

If my expectations are too high or just unreasonable then I could be setting my students up for

failure. Placing high expectations will help them place those same expectations on themselves,

leading them to succeed, just not too high. I cannot have blanket expectations, each student has

their own expectations for themselves, just as I do for them individually. If I had the same

expectations for each student, then some might see that as too high, or too low. Each student

should have an internal locus of control, this would make having high expectations easier for the

student to hold these same expectations in their own hands and see that they are able to succeed.

Having too low of expectations, especially for a student that might have a learning deficiency

can make their learning experience harder and encourage them to not challenge themselves.

As well as expectations, educational goals are just as important to have within the

classroom. If there are going to be goals in the classroom, they must have reasoning behind

them. All too often parents and teacher do not give reason for anything or give little to no

information. This seems to be more common with younger students, giving them a direct

response or reason for something will only motivate them more to complete their goal. Goals

have three types of structures, cooperative, competitive, and individual goal structures. I

would use individualized goal structures within my classroom because they better promote

teacher-student interactions. If the classroom does not have goals, then the expectations will not

be met. As the teacher, I need to make sure each student knows their individual goals and works

to meet them. Taking accountability for the outcomes of these goals, whether it be their own
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goals, my goals for them, or the state standards this is what is going to keep these students

going.

In this second section I went over how teacher expectations can have an influence on the

student’s ability to learn, how I cannot have blanket expectations for the class as the students

should also have their own expectations. I also went over educational goals and their importance.

How there are three types of structures within the goals I might have as a teacher.

Student’s Social Ecology

In this third section I am going to go over my ideas on the importance of connecting

learning students’ social ecology, using Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Model of Human Development. I

will also discuss how families, cultures, and communities have an impact on students’ learning.

The student’s connection to social ecology and education is critical. Defined in the book

ecology is “the science of interrelationships between organisms and their environments” (Berns,

2016, p.5). In chapter 2 Ecology of Socialization Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Model of Human

Development, his most recent theory emphasizes how the child is “…influenced by biological

factors” (Berns, 2016, p.38). They are also influenced by sociocultural and interactive factors.

School is located within the student’s microsystem which directly affects them. Going to school

and learning is essentially a child’s job before they become an adult, the things they learn set

them up for success, so it’s important that they actually learn them and are socialized to prepare

them for their adult life. As the teacher I need to achieve the goal of properly socializing my

students so they can be successful later.

Many things have an effect on the student, some big things to consider are family,

Culture, and Communities. These are also located in the student’s microsystem and can have a
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positive or a negative impact. If the student is experiencing something at home that could be

negative like parents splitting up, the child is expected to carry this with them to school where it

can have a large impact on their learning experience and work ethic. The child would likely have

a hard time focusing on the criteria and completing assignments. This of course causing a direct

negative effect on the student learning experience. Many instances like this are also likely to

influence the student when interacting with peers, acting out and acting irrationally towards

someone. This has a greater affect in the microsystem rather than if this was in the mesosystem.

Learning about students’ religion is going to give them an equal chance to learn like other

students and lets me adjust appropriately if needed for each student. I am not able to control what

happens to the student outside of the classroom, but I will do my best to understand them and

what they are going through in order to adjust to what they could be needing in that moment.

Students from different cultures may not have common cultural experiences this impacts how

each student is viewing the world, and how they are able to individually understand things and

how they are able to communicate. If the student is feeling support or understanding at home,

they might project this at school, when parents/guardians are able to work together with the

teacher this creates a better support system for the student at home and at school.

This third section discussed how my ideas on the importance of connecting learning to

students’ social ecology while also using Bronfenbrenner’s Model of Human Development and

how this can be influenced by biological factors. I then discussed how families, cultures, and

communities have an impact on students’ learning and being able to correctly identify when a

student is acting out and try to understand.

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Cultural Diversity Instruction

Cultural diversity is going to be a major part of schools, students, staff, and curriculum.

Incorporating this into my curriculum will invite students to feel more welcome and able to talk

about their own culture within the classroom. In this section I will go over how I will

acknowledge and build on the life histories and experiences of students’ ethnic backgrounds. I

will also discuss the difference between cultural pluralism and cultural assimilation.

It is going to be crucial for me as the teacher to involve students’ cultural histories and

ethnic background into the classroom. Learning through this course and through other teachers

in a classroom I have seen culture most included in the classroom during the holidays. This is a

very common way for teachers to be able to introduce different types of culture into the

classroom that each student might have. Within my second-grade classroom I would include

various books learning about different ethnicities and how they celebrate their holidays

throughout the months leading up to them in my curriculum. I will include activities related to

each culture we are reading about that week, activities that could include an art project, a group

assignment, or even food if applicable. Along with reading about different ethnicities I will

interact with each student if they would like to talk about their own culture and keep the

classroom inviting with pictures on the walls representing all different types of ethnicities

hopefully encouraging the students to feel good in their own skin and express their culture.

Cultural pluralism is defined in the book as “…mutual appreciation and understanding

of various cultures and coexistence in society of different languages, religious beliefs, and

lifestyles.” (Berns, 2016, p.212). Cultural assimilation is “…the process by whereby a minority

(subordinate) cultural group takes on the characteristics of the majority (dominant) group.”

(Berns 2016 p.212). Cultural pluralism is what a teacher should be working to have in their
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classroom, being able to maintain a balance between students’ cultural identities and lifestyles.

Each student is going to have a different background, letting them express that within the

classroom making it a safe space for them is going to be the kind of atmosphere in the classroom

I want. Cultural assimilation is where each student would essentially conform to the majority or

dominate-group. If the classroom is filled with mostly white students, then the students with

different ethnic background would be expected to follow the dominate-group. This is not

something a teacher should be looking for in their classroom. This used to be more prevalent in

classrooms and schools, but we are moving further and further away from this. Moving towards

equality is what I want within my classroom.

In this section we discussed how I would like to include ethnic background in my

classroom and curriculum, and how the holidays can be exciting for the younger students to get

to share their cultural holiday traditions. I also discussed the difference between cultural

pluralism and cultural assimilation. I want to encourage cultural pluralism within my own

classroom to support equality in my students.

Curriculum for all Learners

In this section I will be discussing how I as the teacher will adjust my planning, delivery,

and assessment as necessary for students. I will also discuss how teacher assessment informs

instructional planning and delivery. Lastly, I will discuss how I will ensure that each learner

improves upon their original level of learning upon entering my classroom.

As I continue in my teaching career, I will continuously be making revisions to my

methods and assessments ensuring that they work, especially with each student. Adjusting my

curriculum for the students to receive the information to the best of their ability will always be
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one of my goals. After my first year I will mostly likely have most of this down, however just

like how society is adjusting constantly, I must be prepared to do the same. With younger

students its going to be harder to adjust when seeing some students failing and some excelling.

The reason being is that they themselves are not able to identify their learning style yet they are

not sure how they are able to understand information at their best, so as the teacher I have to be

looking for this and finding ways to teacher using different types of teaching methods. When

coming to a point that I might not be able to know how to adjust to help a student going to

outside resources like other teachers and staff is always going to be helpful as they can share

their own experiences with this as well.

Much like planning, delivery is always going to be changed and need some adjustments.

This really differs between each student because they are each going to be taking in information

differently than their peers. Assessment will be similar to planning and delivery; adjustments

should be made as each student’s learning ability is going to be different at a young age. This

will change with students who might have a learning disability, as well as students who are

higher functioning. For example, in elementary school classrooms many students are in different

reading categories, for each level they can read they get a range from an easier book, a medium

level book, or a harder book. So that each student can read at their current learning level.

Teacher assessment informs instructional planning and delivery through making changes

as they are needed in the areas that need it. As the teacher I will need to make sure that there is

going to be enough time for each student to get an assignment done, allotting time for the

students that might need more time than others, and of course there are the students that do not

need much time at all for some assignments. Being prepared for this is going to be a necessary

task. For me, when I know I’m going to give out an assignment that some students will need a bit
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more time with, I will create a list up on the board. Essentially a list of tasks to be completed

when/if you finish your assignment, ensuring that all students stay busy. Letting me as the

teacher have time to work with students more one-on-one. Noting that each student is going to be

on a different learning path than others is normal. This does not mean that they didn’t make any

improvement. Some students can be on a slower learning schedule but still be making great

progress and continue moving forward. The same goes for higher learning students. This is a

reoccurring theme throughout all grade levels. There is never not progress to be made with a

student, even if it’s a little less progress than other students.

To add, pre-assessments can be useful in this area, through out the year giving pre-

assessments out for things we will be learning more in depth on can help me find out where each

student might be within this subject already. This is common for spelling with younger children.

Giving them a spelling pre-test helps the teacher determine where each student is at with their

spelling skills and know what kind of words they will do well with, and which ones to practice

before giving them the spelling test.

Within this area I talked about how I will adjust my planning, delivery and assessments

for my student as needed. I also discussed how my assessment informs instructional planning

and delivery. Lastly, I touched on how I will ensure that each learner improves upon their

original level of learning upon entering my classroom.

In conclusion, there is also going to be diversity in schools, as it is only increasing as our

society and nation as a whole continue to increase. It is always going to be important for teachers

to understand the diversity in students and see how different each student is between their

learning styles, culture, communities, and backgrounds. As the teacher I will always being

assessing my teaching strategies and making them better for each student to learn and have a
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good experience at school. I also need to make it a priority to students that they are welcome and

safe in the classroom. I went over these five sections: all students can learn, teacher’s

expectations, students’ social ecology theory, cultural instruction, and curriculum for all learners.

Schools are only going to increase and become more diverse, understanding the universal

design, and working to always making improvements will only help our students succeed.
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References

Berns , R. (2016). Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support, 10e. MindTap
- Cengage Learning. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from
https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?
snapshotId=2799807&id=1409758742&deploymentId=4885011924501135496587306932
0&eISBN=9781305396241