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Diversity: The Key to Success in STEM

Anonymous

EDUC 5272: Advanced Practices for Teaching the STEM Fields

at the Elementary and Middle School Levels

University of the People

Dr. Evrim Erbilgin

February 3, 2021
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Diversity: The Key to Success in STEM

School Profile

International Maarif Schools Erbil (IMSE) is a fast-growing multicultural school of one

thousand two hundred (1,200) students from many countries like Jordan, Syria, Turkey,

Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, India, and Yemen, and one hundred thirty nine (139) teachers from

Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Colombia, Azerbaijan, the US, Iran, the Philippines, India, Yemen, Greece,

Pakistan, the UK, Australia, Canada, Poland, Russia, and Venezuela. It is an IB accredited school

offering high-quality international education at the levels of kindergarten (KG1 and KG2), the

Primary Years Program (PYP), the Middle Years Program (MYP). Its mission is “to foster a

lifelong commitment to intellectual curiosity and to raise children as self-reliant responsible

individuals endowed with critical thinking” (International Maarif Schools, n.d.1, para. 1).

KG1, KG2, and PYP are for students ages 3 to 12, which aims to develop the child

holistically. Its framework is inquiry-based and guided by six transdisciplinary themes of global

importance (International Maarif Schools, n.d.2). On the other hand, the MYP is for students ages

11 to 16 and is inclusive by design. In the 4th and 5th years, students may choose to take six

courses from the eight subject groups within certain limitations, which will provide greater

compliance in adhering to local requirements and specific student educational needs (International

Maarif Schools, n.d.3).

Main Aspects of Diversity

The student body has several ethnic groups, including Arabs (75 to 80 percent of the

population), Kurds (15 to 20 percent), and Turkmen, Assyrians, Shabak, and Yazidi (5 percent

combined). The most dominant religions are Islam (Shia Islam followed by 55 to 60 percent) and

Sunni Islam (40 percent). Minority religions include Christianity, Yazidism, Sabean Mandaeanism,
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Baha’i faith, Zoroastrianism, and others (less than 1 percent combined). The languages and

dialects spoken in the country include Arabic and Kurdish and Turkmen, Syriac (Neo-Aramaic),

and Armenian (Al-Shaikhly and Cui, 2017).

Moreover, the students are diverse in their learning styles, such as visual, auditory, or

kinesthetic/tactile (Diversity in the Classroom, n.d.). Visual learners can understand better when

they see something like a picture or someone demonstrating the concept (Aisami, 2015). At the

same time, some students are auditory learners. They do best when they hear what they need to

learn, such as in a classroom lecture (Karlimah and Risfiani, 2017). Finally, some students are

kinesthetic/tactile learners (Tyas, P. A., and Safitri, M. 2017). Since IMSE has an Inclusion Policy,

some students have learning disabilities like Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

and Autism Asperger. The students' levels of understanding range from the gifted, average to the

struggling students. Therefore, educators have to follow the best hands-on activities to encourage

ADHD and children with Autism to be active and motivated to improve their learning and life

skills (Diversity in the Classroom, n.d.).

Impacts on Teaching Diverse Classrooms in STEM Areas

Special Considerations in STEM Instructional Planning for a Diverse Classroom

Change Classroom Organization

First, teachers must organize the classroom for small group arrangements, which will be

conducive to learning. Based on research, teacher use of collaborative small group activities

promoted significantly more student achievement among both native and non-native speakers of

English (Wabisa Learning, n.d.). Verbal exchanges resulting from well-designed small group

activities make academic concepts and language more accessible as students or the teacher

question, construct and demonstrate learning collaboratively (Teemant, 2014).

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Design Activities to Promote Learning

Second, teachers must reflect on the design of learning activities. While small group

collaboration among students promotes learning, it is more effective when a teacher fully

participates with students in understanding the lesson (Twig Education, n.d.). Such interaction

focuses on the continued use of academic language, literacy, and learning theories, consequently

developing their language and literacy skills. Finally, teachers must design activities that promote

school learning to real-world circumstances, problems, or injustices (Teemant, 2014).

Create a Classroom Culture of Recognition

Third, to be transformative, differentiation should explicitly build a culture of recognition

within the classroom that knows, honors, and affirms learners' identities as learners and people.

Therefore, teachers have to develop significant relationships with their students, modify the

curriculum to match students' experiences and knowledge (Wiedemann, 2019). Likewise, teachers

should utilize the students' local community setting to contextualize learning, such as their social,

political, historical, cultural, and economic concerns. Moreover, teachers' instruction should

encourage student's opinions and allow them freedom of choice. Finally, asking student civic duty

by practicing school learning in real-world situations (Teemant, 2014).

Impacts on Student Learning in Diverse Classrooms in STEM Areas

Aspects of diversity that Positively Impact STEM Learning

Innovation is the ability to imagine something novel, something no one has ever done

before, have the creativity and guts to question and seek answers. Besides, a homogeneous group

is likely to ask the same questions repeatedly, with some minor variations along the way

(Wiedemann, 2019). In contrast, a heterogeneous group is more likely to ask various questions
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because of its diverse teammates who give different perspectives and viewpoints. That is why

diversity is vital to the success in STEM.

Some Aspects of Diversity that Make STEM Learning Challenging

We know STEM is interesting and important in life; however, teachers still face some

challenges when it comes to STEM education. First, students find Science boring by the time they

reach 12 to 13 years of age (F Learning Studio, 2020). To stop this from happening, we have to

encourage students to love science early in school by integrating STEM lessons into our daily

lessons starting in kindergarten onwards. Second, students do not see the relevance of STEM into

their lives (Twig Education, n.d.). Then, teachers must innovate and find ways to link practical

project work which enables students to develop 21st-century skills, such as teamwork, group

discussions, communication, and peer interaction (Wabisa Learning, n.d.). Third, teachers do not

have time to plan intricate STEM lessons. We can use technology by showing educational videos

in the Internet which are a fast and fun way to get students’ attention when jumpstarting a lesson

(Twig Education, n.d.). In my 3rd-grade classroom, we watch educational films to fortify lectures

and lessons in all my classes in Science, Math, English, and Social Studies.

In conclusion, diversity stimulates innovation; diversity makes us flexible and makes us

more intelligent and smart. There is no STEM diversity, which will lead to fewer discoveries,

which means we cannot solve life's pressing problems like developing an effective vaccine for

COVID-19. Therefore, without diversity, we cannot benefit from the full potential of STEM

(Wiedemann, 2019).
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References

Aisami, R. S. (2015). Learning styles and visual literacy for learning and performance.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.508

Al-Shaikhly, S., and Cui, J. (2017, October 17). Education in Iraq.

https://wenr.wes.org/2017/10/education-in-iraq

Clarke, I, Flaherty, T. B., and Yankey, M. (2006). Teaching the visual learner: The use of visual

summaries in marketing education. Journal of Marketing Education. 2006; 28(3):218-226.

doi:10.1177/0273475306291466

Diversity in the Classroom. (n.d.). Learning styles.

https://sites.google.com/site/diversityintheclassroom1234/gender/learning-styles

F Learning Studio. (2020, Feb 27). Thirteen sad reasons why people find science boring.

2020https://www.flearningstudio.com/13-reasons-science-is-boring/

International Maarif Schools Erbil. (n.d.1). Mission and vision. http://maarifschools.edu.krd

International Maarif Schools Erbil. (n.d.2). MYP. http://maarifschools.edu.krd/myp/

International Maarif Schools Erbil. (n.d.3). PYP. http://maarifschools.edu.krd/pyp/

Karlimah and Risfiani, F. (2017, May 24). Contribution of auditory learning style to students'

mathematical connection ability. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-

6596/895/1/012058

Teemant, Annela. (2014). Tailoring STEM instruction for diverse learners: What matters most?.
Midwest Noyce Regional Conference Proceedings for 2010 - 2013: Preparing excellent
STEM teachers for urban and rural high-need schools. 49-54.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272567118_Tailoring_STEM_instruction_for_di
verse_learners_What_matters_most
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Twig Education. (n.d.). Challenges in STEM education and how teachers can overcome them.
https://twigeducation.com/blog/challenges-in-stem-education/

Tyas, P. A., and Safitri, M. (2017). Kinesthetic learning style preferences: A survey of Indonesian

EFL learners by gender. https://doi.org/10.21070/jees.v2i1.688

Wabisa Learning. (n.d.) More than thirty resources for STEM project-based learning activities.
https://wabisabilearning.com/blogs/stem/36-stem-project-based-learning-activities

Wiedemann, C. (2019, February 6). Why diversity is crucial to success in STEM.

https://ceric.ca/2019/02/why-diversity-is-crucial-to-success-in-stem/