How classrooms are culturally diversified

1. Culturally Diverse Classrooms
Dr. Jagannath K. Dange
Associate Professor
Department of Education
Kuvempu University
Shankaraghatta
Dist: Shimoga,
Karnataka
jkdange@gmail.com
http://jkdange.blogspot.com

2. Session objectives
Culture; Diversity and Cultural Diversity
Areas, Kinds and impacts of Cultural Diversity
Diversity and Education
Diverse students- learning styles, multiple intelligences,
Exceptional
Diverse learning benefits
Culturally inclusive classroom
Safe classroom climate
Learning and experiences
Key questions for teachers

3. There is hardly any country in the world today which is
not marked by cultural diversity.
India is among the most diverse societies with a plurality
and diversity of cultures which marks it out as perhaps
the largest multicultural society in the world.
People from all the major religions in the world—
Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and
Zoroastrians (Parsis) constitute its vast population.
The diversity is coupled with enormous cultural diversity
that is based on such factors like language, caste, region
and race.

4. CULTURE:
Set of values, beliefs, attitudes, languages, symbols,
rituals, behaviors, customs of a group of people.
Learned and shared- You are not born with culture.
Dynamic and changing

5. Cultures differ from one another in the
ways they view the world—worldviews.

6. Culture is learned first in the family, then in
school, then in the community and other
social organizations such as the Temples,
church and masjid.
Purnell, 2005

7. The Iceberg of Culture
Clothes
Food
Music
Values
Attitudes
about Family
Beliefs about men &
women-gender roles
Attitudes about time Political beliefs
Proxemics
Attitudes toward “others”
Religious beliefs
Sexuality Beliefs
Attitudes toward
authority
Language
These are learned or
taught and can be
changed
Beliefs about Beauty
Art
What’s below the surface is absorbed or acquired from our
environment and is much harder to change

8. Diversity literally means 'difference' and in the educational
context diversity relates to the differences between Faculty and
other staff, between students, and between teachers and
students. The reasons for differences are numerous and may
include personality, culture, religion, gender,caste, language, age
and so on.
The 'diversity agenda' in education sets out to address issues that
lead to inequalities in practice. It has its roots in the legal
framework that underpins the provision of equal opportunities
and which acknowledges that our social identity impacts on life
experiences and opportunities.
Equality aims to create a fairer society, where all can participate
and have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Part of this
involves identifying patterns of experience based on group
identity, and challenging processes which limit individuals'
potential life chances.

9. The diversity agenda also relates to a wider aspiration
to widen participation in education as a whole,
reflecting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948).
The broad 'diversity agenda' includes consideration of
issues relating to gender, race/ethnicity, culture, age,
domestic circumstances, prior educational
achievement/attainment, sexuality and sensory,
psychological or physical disability/impairment.

10. Diversity is not the problem
The “problem” emerges because we live in a
world that encourages people to use
differences to………………………………………
include or exclude,
reward or punish,
credit or discredit,
elevate, or oppress,
value or devalue,
leave alone or harass…. Johnson, 2006

11. What is Cultural Diversity
The phrase 'Cultural Diversity' means a range of
different societies or people of different origins,
religions and traditions all living and interacting
together.
India has benefited from diversity throughout its
long history and is currently one of the most
culturally diverse countries in the world.

12. Areas of Cultural Diversity
Family organization
Language
Personal space
Economy
Region
Beliefs
Spirituality
Gestures
Gender
Religion
Touching
Eye contact
And Education
And so on……

13. Seven kinds of diversity
Beverly D. Tatum, 1999
“Otherness”
Race/ethnicity
Gender
Religion
Sexual
Orientation
Socio-economic
status
Age
Physical/Mental
Ability
“ism”
Racism/ethnocentrism
Sexism(gender)
Religious oppression
Heterosexism(against
homosexual)
Classism
Ageism(on age)
Ableism(ability/disability)

14. People from the same Religion, caste, Region,
ethnic or racial group are also “diverse” in
terms of socio-economic status, education,
age, individual experiences.
Diversity in Diversity

15. Cultural Diversity Impacts
Beliefs about such things as:
Birth
Death
Health
Illness
Family
Employment
Education

16. Literacy rate is 76%
Higher Education 26% may reach 30% in
2020.

25. Diversity is must
For institutions
To keep pace in today's complex and competitive global
arena, education must retire old notions of educational
exclusivity and embrace new models of inclusive excellence.
For students
By incorporating diverse content, perspectives, and
approaches into the curriculum, faculty strengthen
scholarship and prepare students for engagement with
today's complex world.
“Teaching Diversity and Democracy Across the Disciplines: Who, What & How,
Diversity & Democracy, Fall 2009
Diversity matters

26. Diversity and Education
Diversity capitalizes on the unique experiences
and common wisdom of all cultures by providing
a fertile ground for contrast and comparison.
Provides a view of other peoples so distinct
from, yet similar to, ourselves that our own lives
and experiences are given new perspective and
meaning.
Diversity is an enriching and necessary
component of the total educational experience.

27. Diversity and inclusivity
are about understanding…
Diversity Inclusivity

28. Diverse Students
students different from one another…….
social and cultural diversity
Social relational skills, values, characteristics
Information processing orientations and skills
Communication patterns
Learning styles and strategies
Motivational styles
Psychological characteristics

29. Cultural, Learning and Motivational Styles
Non-traditional
Social interactions
Peer cooperation
Performance
Visual perception
Symbolic expression
Narrative
Traditional
Independence
Competition
Verbal skills

30. Cultural, Learning and Motivational Styles
Females
affiliation
relationships
collaborative-
cooperative
interaction
Males
separation
autonomy
competitive
achievements

31. Learning Styles
Relational
holistic, global
intuitive
social
verbal
Non-academic task
oriented
affected by opinions
withdraw from drill
style conflicts with school
environments
Analytical
focus on detail
sequential
Impersonal-
abstract
academic task oriented
not affected by opinions
Persist-(continue in
drills)
styles matches school
environments

32. Experiential Learning Model
Concrete Experience
Testing Implications Observations
and
of Concepts in New Reflections
Situations
Formation of Abstract
Concepts and Generalizations

33. Experiential Learning Model
Visual
Concrete Experience
Testing Implications Observations and
of Concepts in New Reflections
Situations
Connected Separate
Formation of Abstract
Concepts and Generalizations
Verbal

34. Effective Teaching Strategies
Concrete Experience- readings, examples,
fieldwork, problems, observations, simulations, primary
texts, films, games
Reflective Observation - logs, journals, discussion,
brainstorming, thought/rhetorical questions
Abstract Conceptualization - lecture, papers,
projects, analogies, model building
Active Experimentation - projects, fieldwork,
homework, laboratory, case study, simulations

43. Diverse learning experiences benefit students
Diversity has positive effects on students’
cognitive development, satisfaction with the
School/college experience, and leadership
abilities.
Students who interact with racially and ethnically
diverse peers show greater intellectual growth
and academic skills.
Both in-class and out-of-class interactions and
involvement with diverse peers foster critical
thinking
Benefits and Challenges of Diversity, Eve Fine, 2004

44. Special Needs Students = All Students!
Because all students have special needs, they must be
acknowledged and taught appropriately.
Remember the 8 areas for teaching styles, learning
styles, and multiple intelligences.

45. ACC Center for Teacher Certification
Guidelines for Working with Special Needs
Learners
Adapt and modify materials and procedures to address
the special needs of each student.
Break complex learning into simpler components,
moving from the most concrete to the abstract (Piaget’s
concrete to formal operations).
Be aware of everything that is going on in the classroom
at all times, monitoring students for signs of
restlessness, frustration, anxiety, or off-task behavior.
Be ready to refocus and reassign students.

46. ACC Center for Teacher Certification
Culturally Relevant Teaching
Teachers understand student diversity and know
how to plan and teach learning experiences and
design assessments that are responsive to
differences among students that promote all
students’ learning
Appreciate the uniqueness of each person and
mutual respect for all.

47. ACC Center for Teacher Certification
Gender Bias
"Sitting in the same classroom, reading the
same textbook, listening to the same teacher,
boys and girls receive very different
educations" (Sadker, 1994).
In fact, upon entering school, girls perform
equal to or better than boys on nearly every
measure of achievement, but by the time they
graduate high school or college, they have
fallen behind (Sadker, 1994).

48. Don’t ask students to get out of
their comfort zone….
Challenge and support them to stretch their
comfort zone.

49. Creating culturally inclusive classroom
environments

50. A Culturally Inclusive Classroom
 Students and staff alike recognize, appreciate
and capitalize on diversity so as to enrich the
overall learning experience.
 Encourages all individuals – regardless of age,
gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation,
socioeconomic status, sexual orientation or
political beliefs – to develop personal contacts
and effective intercultural skills.
Designing Culturally Inclusive Learning and Teaching Environments
GIHE Good Practice Resource Book, Griffith University, Australia

51. A Culturally Inclusive Classroom
Designing Culturally Inclusive Learning and Teaching Environments
GIHE Good Practice Resource Book, Griffith University, Australia

52. Challenge and support students
People who expand or stretch their comfort
zones to include more people and experiences,
often report more complete, rewarding, and
successful lives—during college and beyond.
“From Diversity to Inclusivity, “ T. Brown, 2011

53. Engaging majority students
Provide majority students with avenues to
enhance their cross-cultural competencies
and encourage their active participation and
engagement with diverse populations.

54. Culturally competent teaching
The ability to successfully teach students who come
from different “cultures” entails:
• mastering personal and interpersonal awareness
and sensitivities,
• Learning specific bodies of cultural knowledge
• mastering a set of skills that underlie effective
cross-cultural teaching
Cultural Competence: A Primer for Educators Jerry Diller and Jean
Moule, 2005

55. A safe classroom climate
1. A safe classroom is one where discussion and
disagreement are acceptable; where established
rules of discourse are followed by everyone,
especially the instructor.
2. Students may need to be reminded of ground rules
from time to time
3. Once students have reached consensus on a
particular point, acknowledge this and agree to
move on, so they don't recycle arguments over old
ground.
University of North Carolina Center for Faculty Excellence

56. A safe classroom climate
4. It may be necessary to call “time outs” to allow
emotions to cool. Ask students to summarize the
discussion and write down their own thoughts, so
these can be shared to restart the discussion.
5. Reserve time to wrap up the discussion, wherein
students report what they learned and examine
conclusions drawn from the exchange.

60. Experiences Examples
Verbal Symbols Words, formulas, ideas, principles. concepts, philosophic
aphorisms
Olfactory Experience Aromas of substances
Gustatory Experience Tastes of the substances
Tactile-kinesthetic
Experience
Handled and touched
(surfaces, parts and kinds of objects)
Visual Symbols-(Non
verbal)
Diagrams, charts, graphs, Power-Point Presentation, non verbal
symbols.
Still Pictures, Radio,
Recordings
Tapes, CDs, Radio, Still Pictures, audio conference, 2G mobile
phones, i-pods.
Motion pictures, Television
and computers
Movies, 2D-Animations, Video clips, Mobile phones, Projectors,
Laptops, tablets.
Exhibits Exhibits and displays-Exhibition, Educational fairs, Museums
Excursions(Field Trips) Field and study trips-historical places, museums, science and
research laboratories, Geographical areas, vegetations, or any
other special places.
Demonstration Demonstration with/or giving a talk, Experimentation,
Dramatized Experience Doing a dramatic presentation or role play,
Contrived Experience Simulating or modeling-models, and mockups
Virtual Experience-3D 3D objects, 3D-Animations, videoconference, smart boards, 3G
mobile phones, and virtual classes.
Four Dimensional The combination of 3D movies with chair movement (vibration,
sway, tilt, drop, wave motion, or movement in any direction) and
other chair effects, such as wind blowing, water spraying, leg and
back ticklers, is usually considered a 4D experience. Using
additional hall effects, such as smoke, rain, lightning, air bubbles,
and special smells.
Ubiquitous Experience Experience where learning is happening all around the student but
the student may not even be conscious of the learning process
Direct Real Experience Viewing the process of digestion live through micro cameras in
the digestive organs of the human beings. Experiences like Space,
depth of the sea, studying the human and animal organs.
Direct and Purposeful Doing the real thing- (seen, handled, tasted, felt, touched) making
wood work, tying a knot preparing a meal, riding bicycle, driving
car.

61. Sense organ based learner and learning experience table
Type of learner Suitable
Learning
Experience
Visual Learners
 Use visual materials such as pictures, charts, and maps
 Use color to highlight texts and personal notes
 Take notes while listening and/or readings
 Use patterns on hand-outs to structure learning (e.g., bold,
headings)
 Brainstorm using illustrations, mind maps and models
 Use multi-media whenever possible (e.g., computers
video, mind maps)
 Eliminate visual disturbances from your learning
environment
 Visualize information as a graph or picture
 Skim readings to get a “big picture” overview before
reading in detail
Visual
Symbols.
Still
Pictures
Motion
pictures,
Television
and
computers.
Exhibits
Excursions
(Field Trips)
Auditory Learners
 Participate in discussions and debates
 Make speeches and presentations
 Use a tape recorder if possible in addition to taking notes
 Read text aloud to yourself
 Create mnemonics (e.g., S.C.O.R.E.) or jingles to aid
memory
 Discuss ideas verbally with a co-worker
 Dictate to someone else while they write your ideas down
 Speak into a tape recorder and listen to your own ideas
played back
Radio,
Recordings.
Dramatized
Experience,
Direct and
Purposeful

62. Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners
 Take frequent study breaks
 Move around to learn new things (e.g. use your hands to
demonstrate a concept, use art supplies to create a new
concept)
 Stand up and move while learning
 Use bright colors to physically highlight reading material
 Use computer to transfer written and/or highlighted
notes
 Turn notes into note cards for physical turning
 Skim-read before reading in detail
 Use physical objects to cue memories
Tactile-
kinesthetic
Experience
Demonstrati
on
Dramatized
Experience
Direct and
Purposeful
Olfactory/Gustatory Learners
 Pay attention to unconscious interpretation of scents &
smells
 Talk with others about associations you make with
specific smells
 Attend to your physical surroundings while learning
 Use positively associated scents to create positive learning
environment (e.g., peppermint gum or oil
Olfactory
Experience,
Direct and
Purposeful,
Excursions(F
ield
Trips),Gusta
tory
Experience

63. Intelligence Examples Suitable Learning
Experience
Bodily-
kinesthetic
Athletes, dancers, surgeons,
choreographers and crafts people
Tactile-kinesthetic Experience,
Visual Symbols-(Non verbal),
Motion pictures, Television and
computers. Demonstration,
Dramatized Experience,
Contrived Experience,
Experimentation
Inter--personal Religious leaders, Teachers,
social workers, actors,
psychologists, and sales people
and politicians
Verbal Symbols,
Visual Symbols-(Non verbal),
Demonstration,
Dramatized Experience,
Direct and Purposeful experience
and Virtual Experience-3D.
Intra-personal psychologist, spiritual leaders,
and philosophers
Verbal Symbols,
Visual Symbols-(Non verbal),
Dramatized Experience,
Direct and Purposeful Experience.
Linguistic Poets, novelists, journalists, and
effective public speakers
Verbal Symbols,
Visual Symbols-(Non verbal),
Still Pictures,
Radio, Recordings, Motion pictures,
Television and computers,
Field trips,
Dramatized Experience.
Logical-
mathematical
mathematicians, scientists,
philosophers, and detectives
Verbal Symbols,
Visual Symbols-(Non verbal), and
Virtual Experience-3D.
Musical composers, conductors,
musicians, vocalist, and sensitive
listeners
Verbal Symbols,
Visual Symbols-(Non-verbal),
Radio, Recordings, television and
computers, and Demonstration.
Naturalistic Farmers, gardeners, botanists,
geologists, florists, and
archaeologists
Olfactory experience,
Tactile kinesthetic experience,
Excursions (Field Trips),
Direct and Purposeful experience.
Spatial Sailors, pilots, sculptors, painters,
and architects
Verbal Symbols, Visual Symbols,
Motion pictures, Television and
computers, Demonstrations,
Contrived Experience,
Virtual Experience-3D, and
Ubiquitous Experience.

64. KEY QUESTIONS FOR THE TEACHERS
“Can I help my students learn whatever their capabilities,
learning styles, cultural heritage, socio economic backgrounds,
and other differences are?”
“Am I familiar with the different backgrounds, experiences, and
capacities of my Students?”
“Do I considered the differences in backgrounds, experiences,
and capacities of my students in designing different learning
activities for them?”
“Can my students see that I recognize, accept, and respect the
differences in their backgrounds and capabilities?”

65. Do my students feel that I am trying to help them learn,
whatever their capabilities, learning styles, cultural heritage,
socio economic background and other differences are?”
“Do I create diverse types of learning activities that would help
all my students develop in all aspect of the curriculum?”
“Do I set clear challenging, but achievable learning goals for
all students in my class, regardless of their individual
differences?”
“Am I sensitive to how individual students respond differently
to the different learning activities in my class?”

66. Teachers need to be aware of the diversity issues that relate to
quality teaching practice, benefits for community, law, equal
opportunities, human rights, and education.
In order to address diversity principles and approaches, teachers
also need to know how to design, deliver and evaluate learning
opportunities to help meet the needs of a diverse student body.
One of the ways in which teachers can determine the learning
needs of diverse student groups is by thinking about how
different students learn. For example:
Different cultures have different perceptions/understandings of
the role of teachers and other students with expectations differing
accordingly.
Students who hold very strong views about race, politics, religion
or sexuality may find it difficult to cope with an objective, open
discussion or with students who hold opposing views.

67. “Education is a lifelong process, which we get through
learning either intentional or unintentional from
Experiences”
“Experience leads to Learning and learning in turn leads to
Education”
“Learning is process of acquiring concepts, skills and
values through experiences either consciously or sub-
consciously”.
Jagannath K. Dange

68. Thank You
Dr. Jagannath K. Dange
Department of Education
Kuvempu University
Shankaraghatta
Dist: Shimoga,
Karnataka
jkdange@gmail.com
http://jkdange.blogspot.com