Running head: DIVERSITY

Diversity Framing Statement

Gillian Edwards

Standard 3: A teacher teaches with respect for their individual and cultural characteristics.

Candidates understand how elementary students differ in their development and approaches to

learning and create instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse students.

The Understanding by Design (UBD) kindergarten Totem Pole Unit is an example of my

ability to create rich, culturally responsive learning experiences that are accessible to all learners.

An effective and inclusive classroom begins with knowing and respecting our students’

cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Culturally responsive educators recognize that culture

influences many aspects of learning. They also recognize the importance of creating a classroom

environment that values differences (Nuri-Robins, Lindsey, Lindsey & Terrell, 2005). In

addition to understanding students’ heritage, it is important for teachers to recognize their

students’ socioeconomic backgrounds. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are at

greater risk for academic and social problems than their more affluent peers and often suffer long

term stress caused by their environment (Jensen, 2013). The integration of music, art, drama and

physical movement into lessons helps boost student engagement, improves retention and

attendance, (Gorski, 2013) and can help mitigate stress caused by poverty (Jensen, 2009). When

we know our students cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, we can be proactive in creating

content and planning learning experiences that “engage and anchor” (SERCC, 2015 p. 7)

students in their learning.

In today’s diverse classrooms, we need to teach for deep understanding and create

content that is connected to students’ daily lives and reflects the traditions and values of their
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cultures. The Understanding by Design (UBD) framework provides a guide for creating

curriculum that deepens student understanding by focusing on the big ideas and essential

questions of a topic (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006). “Meaningful content is from real life,

depends heavily on prior experience and can be used within the life of the learner,” one benefit

of meaningful content is that “the brain is already tuned to that channel” (Kovalik, 1993 p. 41).

When UBD content is connected to students lives and cultures, they see themselves reflected in

the curriculum and make rich connections with their existing schema (Jensen, 2009). thus,

students can take their learning further. Alaska’s Cultural Standards reflect this idea: culturally

responsive educators “integrate and connect students’ traditions, values and customs to help

students make connections with new content” (SERCC, 2015 p. 9).

The UBD Totem Pole Unit was inspired by and connected to our student’s cultural

heritage and planned to support learners in a Title One school. More than half of the students in

our kindergarten class had Alaska Native heritage and many of the students lived in the Tlingit

community of Saxman. Totem poles are as familiar to Ketchikan kindergarteners as cows and

horses are to students in farm country. The poles and their stories provided an authentic, locally

connected way for young students to explore story elements while visits from family members

and the sharing of regalia and other items of cultural significance helped build an inclusive

classroom community that valued differences. The unit employed strategies recommended for

students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds including vocabulary support and integrating

art and drama.

“Responsive or differentiated teaching means a teacher is attuned to students’ varied

learning needs” (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006, p.18) and provides support to help all learners

move forward. In addition to individualized learning plans, teachers can implement “patterns of
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instruction” that meet a wide range of needs (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006, p.18). The Universal

Design for Learning (UDL) provides a framework for doing this. UDL guides the creation of

lessons that offer students multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression

(CAST, 2018). The Totem Pole Unit utilized the UDL framework: content was presented

through multiple modes including read aloud, picture books, videos and artwork. A word wall

with pictures and frequent turn and talks were used to support vocabulary development. Student

response sheets used graphics and words to scaffold for students who could not yet read

directions and the students could choose to write, draw or speak to show their understanding of

the story elements. The final performance task, creating a totem pole and telling its story,

allowed all students to show their understanding using the oral tradition.

It takes time to get to know the students and their families and understand their needs as

learners. It takes careful planning to create content that connects with cultural traditions and

meets the needs of all learners. The time and planning are worth it. When it all came together,

the best thing about the Totem Pole Unit was that it embraced who we were as a classroom

community and connected our learning with stories, art and traditions that were important to the

students and their families.

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References

CAST (2018). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from

http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Gorski, P. C. (2013). What works (when adapted to your specific context, of course). In

Reaching and teaching students in poverty: Strategies for erasing the opportunity gap.

New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with poverty in mind: What being poor does to kids' brains and what

schools can do about it. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum

Development.

Jensen, E. (2013). Engaging students with poverty in mind: practical strategies for raising

achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum

Development.

Kovalik, Susan (1993). ITI: The model: Integrated thematic instruction. Chicago, IL: Kovalik &

Associates.

Nuri Robins, K., Lindsey, R.B., Lindsey, D., Terrell, R. (2005). Culturally proficient instruction,

2nd Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

SERRC – Alaska’s Educational Resource Center. (2015). Culture in the classroom. Juneau, AK:

SERRC.

Tomlinson, C.A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating Differentiated Instruction and

Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum

Development.