A topic that’s been in the spotlight lately is diversity in the classroom. More and more, educators are expected to teach a room full of students—all with different personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles—and ensure that each student feels included, understood, valued, and respected. Is it possible to successfully create an inclusive classroom learning environment?

We rolled up our sleeves, combed through research articles, brainstormed and came up with several ideas we’d like to share, including ways educational technology can help foster an inclusive classroom learning environment.

The Inclusive Classroom

1. Recognize that Diversity Exists in the Classroom

It goes without saying that it’s important to recognize that each classroom student is a unique individual who learns differently and at their own pace. But it’s not only learning styles that may vary among students. Your classroom is likely to be made up of learners with different ethnicities and religions, and who come from homes with varying household incomes. Recognizing that student diversity exists is the first step towards fostering an inclusive classroom learning environment.

2. Encourage Discussions About Diversity

Give students the opportunity to share who they are and what they feel makes them unique. It can be as simple as setting up an activity where one student interviews another. They can ask questions about the student’s family culture, home language, stories, and traditional foods, clothing, and music. If a student speaks a different language at home, encourage them to teach their classmates a few basic phrases, such as, “Hello” or “How are you?” or “Thank you!” Learning a new word or phrase in a different language each day will help foster a feeling of inclusion for everyone in the classroom.

Encouraging an open dialogue about diversity in your classroom helps to promote acceptance, and according to the Scientific American  article How Diversity Makes Us Smarter, people think harder and are more creative when they’re in a diverse group:

“Decades of research by organizational scientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists and demographers show that socially diverse groups (that is, those with a diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation) are more innovative than homogeneous groups.”

3. Mix Up Teaching Styles

As mentioned earlier, students generally learn differently and at their own pace. Some are adept at gleaning information from a book or online article. Others prefer to digest information via images, instructions, and diagrams. Still others retain information better through listening or doing.

How can you appeal to each student? If you’re teaching one of Shakespeare’s plays, for example, you could provide the following options to your students: read the original text; look at artwork or a graphic novel; listen to a recording; or act out scenes with other classmates. Doing this gives students the chance to learn in the way that’s best for them and demonstrates to other students that there are different ways of learning.

4. Use Diverse Teaching Materials

Whose voices are being represented in your teaching materials? Use materials that feature a broad range of perspectives. Include authors of colour, different genders, nationalities, and age. Choose authors who speak different languages and who have varied upbringings. Presenting a variety of stories shows students that every voice counts and that every voice matters.

How Educational Technology Can Help

1. Provides Access for All

Technology improves equality in learning. If students use computers in the classroom or library, they have access to digital resources curated by educators. Technology in the classroom can help bridge the digital divide of students from low-, middle-, or high-income families. All students can become familiar with the technology that will help them succeed outside the classroom.

Digital divide
the economic, educational, and social inequalities between those who have computers and online access and those who do not

2. Breaks Down Language Barriers 

There are many digital programs that can translate words on a web page into the language of your students’ choice. These programs are especially helpful for ESL students or students with parents whose first language is not English, for example.

3. Encourages Different Ways of Learning

Educational technology offers students the opportunity to learn their own way. They can read articles, watch videos, listen to interviews, or take quizzes and participate in online discussions about a topic.

4. Presents Different Perspectives 

The Internet is a vast resource of information brimming with a multitude of perspectives. With educational technology at their fingertips, students can safely research a given topic, such as the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, from varying perspectives. Through online articles, personal accounts, diaries, letters, quotations and videos, students can consider the perspective of vested parties, such as the federal government, Indigenous peoples, and immigrant workers from China.

5. Allows for Individual Thought 

A student researching a topic online by themselves is able to form their own conclusions. They have time to think critically about the information they’re reviewing without being influenced by other students. When asked for their thoughts during a class discussion, they are more likely to present their own opinions because they have not been affected by “groupthink.” As defined in this article  on MiddleWeb, groupthink happens when…

“…people are afraid of the consequences of sharing their real thoughts and feelings. When this happens and people withhold their ideas, there is a danger that the decision won’t be the best one or the most innovative or creative. It also indicates a low level of trust in the group and a fear of conflict. People start to feel that it’s better to be quiet, go with the flow, and not challenge each other.”

How do you address diversity in the classroom with your students? How do you use educational technology to foster an inclusive classroom learning environment? Do you have any tips on classroom management that work for you? Please share your experiences in the comments section.

REFERENCES

Phillips, Katherine W.
“How Diversity Makes Us Smarter.” Scientific American, 2014. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/

Aguilar, Elena.
“Leading Teams: How to Avoid “Groupthink”.” Middleweb, 2016. https://www.middleweb.com/29414/leading-teams-how-to-avoid-groupthink/

Elrick, Lauren.
“4 Types of Learning Styles: How to Accomidate a Diverse Group of Students.” Rasmussen College, 2018. http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/types-of-learning-styles/