Seminar Reflection #3

Observations:
Today in seminar we did an activity that looked at all of the exceptionalities there are that can affect a
child’s learning in a classroom setting. In small groups we thought of all the categories in which diversity
plays a role in school used Pinterest to pin some ideas relating to each category.. Each small group shared
their findings with the class. Some of the different types of diversity included: maturity, socioeconomic,
cognitive, indigenous, cultural, religious, mental health, ethnic, learning styles, gender, sexual, ELL, ESL,
refugee, parental involvement, privilege, and more. Under each category there are still so many variations
students can experience. Many students can have many of these factors from a broad range of areas that
affect their learning. All of these categories play in to the children’s strengths and weaknesses.

Reflection:
Activity Format: As an activity, this process involved some techniques that I think would fit into my
teaching style. The student (me) was required to work in groups, which allowed for more brainstorming
and discussion. In a broad set activity such as this one, group work seems to create a better flow. If one
student has a mental block, the other students can share their ideas and the stream of ideas creates a more
fluid working environment. The method of using a Pinterest board was very simple and allowed my group
to learn a lot and look through a lot of ideas in a short amount of time. There were no concise instructions
given on how to format your board or anything, which was nice and allowed for some individuality. It
was engaging to use a social media platform that I use in my everyday life as a method for doing school
and it made it more accessible to me. Through this medium, I would even consider doing further research
on my own time out of interest. Doing a presentation really helped me to cement the ideas learned, as well
as listening to the presentations done by my peers. After creating a presentation with my group, the other
presentations were more valuable because I felt affirmed when people had the same ideas that we did and
I took special notice when people had things that we didn’t think of.

Activity Content: I did not realize how many areas there are that can affect how children learn. This
activity really broadened my view of what “diversity in the classroom” actually takes in account. After the
first day of practicum, I am able to start to see how diverse the classroom is and how each student has
their own needs and must be treated as such. My TA mentioned how they treat each child slightly
differently according to their abilities, in an equity not equality mindset. From this activity and from my
experience in the classroom it has been made clear just how accommodating teachers must be. There are
so many individual needs that teachers must account for and find ways to nurture. Teachers aren’t even
just responsible for the academic well-being of their students, but are often expected to tend to the mental
and physical health of their students as well. There are programs in place in schools to help students learn
compassion (ex. Roots of Empathy) and anxiety (ex. Stress Management Seminars) which seems well
beyond the scope of pure academic education. With being responsible for so many students all with
different strengths challenges and needing to address such a widespread number of topics in the
classroom, I don’t actually understand how teachers are able to facilitate the kind of growth that they do
with the students. It seems like so much work with so little support. As a future teacher, I think it will be
very important to learn to help students without getting overwhelmed myself.

May 14, 2018

EDUC 2500-YA
Thyra Mathews