Chapter Summary

  • Chapter Summary
    • This chapter focused on the diverse student populations in our classrooms. The main points associated with specific objectives were as follows:
    • Learning Objective 1: Discuss the changing nature of American classrooms.
      • Children have changed and more foreign languages are being spoken in our schools.
      • Teachers must be sensitive to the changes in our schools.
      • Teachers must plan to meet the needs of diverse school populations.
    • Learning Objective 2: Explain why teachers need to embrace diversity and establish high expectations for all students.
      • Teachers must hold high but realistic expectations for all students because students often view themselves as the teacher views them.
      • Instructional plans must be modified for students with special needs and G/T students.
      • LEP is a major challenge in some parts of the country. In some schools, more than half the students have a first language other than English.
    • Learning Objectives 3 and 4: Explain the role communication plays in culturally sensitive classrooms and ways to enhance home-school communication.
      • Teachers need to develop better communication and listening skills so they can better com­municate with students and parents from different cultures.
      • Technology and various communication tools are making it easier to communicate with parents and the community.
      • Effective teachers communicate with parents, school administrators, and community leaders.
      • Language and cultural differences tend to make accurate communication with students and parents difficult at times.
    • Learning Objective 5: Define and describe the various dimensions of differentiated instruction and learning styles.
      • Students are not all alike.
      • A one-size-fits-all approach to instruction is no longer applicable to today’s classrooms.
      • Teachers must be sensitive to and accommodate students’ learning styles and focus instruc­tion on students’ learning preferences.
    • Learning Objective 6: Explain the concept of multiple intelligences and describe Gardner’s eight areas of intelligence.
      • Gardner suggests that humans have eight different intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and natu­ralist. Teachers need to focus instruction on these different abilities.