Growing Diversity = Growing Problems

A major problem in education today is the increase in diversity in the classroom and how to manage it. I took an education course last semester that focused entirely on this diversity, with emphasis on English language learners (ELL). This semester, I am enrolled in another education course that has a broader focus on the issue. The class deals with how to create an inclusive classroom environment and meet the needs of every student.

Why is this increase in diversity a problem? The answer is simple. Education is one of the most important factors to being successful in life. The more education you have, the better chance you have of  obtaining a higher job. The better job, the more you get paid, and it snowballs immensely from there. As such, America's educational system is meant to have every student have a "level playing field," or as close to level as we can get it. The problem lies in how we achieve this level playing field when you have students understanding on completely different levels. Every student is unique and learns at their own pace. Without outside diversity, our schools have an uphill walk both ways to get every student to the same level. Throw in diversity such as: PA Statistics, and you just turned that walk into a sprint.

PA is only one state, however, and it's not even a high immigration state. It only gets worse as you go to states such as California and other high immigration states. Now we just mixed in a high percentage of students that have no understanding of the English language, have a lower education than average, and are being tested one year after they arrive at schools. The playing field isn't so level now.

Diversity Video

The question that everyone should ask themselves is "What can we do about this?" There are many solutions, but they are only as effective as the teachers make them, and it takes time for an entire education system to adapt to growing diversity. The emphasis is on the teachers. Change the way instruction is given, and pedagogy classes for upcoming teachers needs to adapt instruction on how to deal with this issue. Realize that not no two students are the same and teach specifically to each student's needs. That is definitely a good starting point, but it still needs to grow exponentially.

The real issue is that our future is involved in our education, and we need to grow our education system to manage diversity in the classroom. Everyone is a stakeholder in the problem.

To read into this farther, I found an article that highlights main points of the increasing diversity problem and names multiple ways to deal with it. Diversity Article

Twitter-an Outside the Classroom Tool

First off, here's this
My Twitter: RienWetmore

Now to the main point of this blog: the potential of twitter as an educational tool. Twitter is a social networking site, and it's meant to be used as such. It was never designed to be an educational tool, except for how easily it makes communication. As a teacher, if you have lesson plans or ideas that you want to share and have commented on, Twitter is the perfect tool. If you want feedback on how effective you think a project was, Twitter is the perfect tool. It's a perfect tool for communication. Inside the classroom, however, students will simply use Twitter to socialize and not focus. There are already enough distractions in students' lives, why add one more inside the classroom?

Power Point Project

Chalkboard Still Best for Math

I felt that our recent power point project for SEDU 183 was very open-ended. It gave students the chance to express their creativity and apply power point in the classroom in new and different ways. The main struggle that I ran into, however, is that math is a hard subject to incorporate power point into. Math is best done on pencil and paper or on the chalkboard. That is why I used my power point mainly as a reference tool for guided practice.

Math and Technology

     I just finished reading chapter one for SEDU 183 and realized that math is one of the hardest subjects  to incorporate technology into. All the changes the book talked about, especially the point of eliminating paper as a physical medium in light of new technology, pose a challenge to teachers. This challenge is amplified for math teachers. Not only is math best done by hand with pencil and paper, it's also uniquely difficult to incorporate new technology into. Powerpoint and smartboards are about as advanced in technology as most math classes can reasonably go. I like the concept of change and starting anew with technology, but I don't think it will help my classroom as much as the book encourages.

     This technology, however, has its place outside of the classroom through communication. Students can constantly communicate with each  other and the teacher. It helps the students learn by peer teaching and by turning learning from "generic to personal." PLNs are an excellent way to share and guide ideas, motivations, homework, study groups, and infinite more uses. These same networks can keep parents actively involved in their kids' education and give the students a more personal sense of learning. 

     Overall, I feel that change is needed and technology is definitely the resource that education needs to focus in. I also feel, however, that math classes won't be improved by implementing too much technology into the classroom. The best use of technology in math is communication, which happens mainly outside of the classroom. The truth though, is that this is all just my opinion and yours may be completely different. I'm always open to new ideas and suggestions.