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Diversity Framing Statement

Eva Sanchez

ED 698 Master’s Portfolio Spring 2022

University of Alaska Southeast

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Diversity
A teacher teaches with respect for their individual and cultural characteristics.
Candidates demonstrate an understanding of the need to consider individual differences
and diverse communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that allow each learner
to meet high standards and of how providing differentiation of instruction in the areas of
content, process, product, or learning environment is in the best interests of the students.
This paper will address the importance of recognizing and celebrating diversity in our

classrooms. The artifacts that I used for this framing statement can be found at

http://sanchezmp.weebly.com/diversity-artifact.html .There are two artifacts for this enduring

lesson. The first is a representation of the lesson in VoiceThread. I added this to provide the

reader with actual photos and lesson information that I used during classroom instruction. The

second is the lesson plan that I followed as I taught in 6th-grade social studies class. For this

lesson, I was asked to consider all the different facets of diversity, from culture to language, from

ability to disability.

Our classrooms have become a reflection of the diverse world in which we live. In this

classroom, there were students from different cultures and ethnicities, students from different

language backgrounds, and students with different abilities and disabilities. As I planned my

lesson and discussions, I tried to weave each of my student’s differences into the rich tapestry of

our curriculum and our classroom culture.

As I discussed the history of Seward with my students, I was surprised to find out that

many did not know that Alaska’s First People (Alaska Natives) had settled the area long before

Russian or American occupation. My goal for this lesson was to make students aware of the rich

and diverse cultural history that exists in the area that they call home.

Culture is the lens through which we view the world. As teachers, we must appreciate

that every student who walks into our classroom has a unique interpretation of their environment
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based on their cultural background, in other words, their different schemas. Zaretta Hammond

defines schema as “a set of conceptual scripts that guide our comprehension of the world” (2015,

p.22). As I stated previously, my students did not have any knowledge on how the area of

Seward was settled hundreds of years ago. As such, I designed a lesson that scaffolded students’

lack of schema by starting with their misconception, that Seward was settled by Russian fur

trappers. As a class, we then discussed Seward’s actual history of settlement. Many were

surprised to discover that Seward was actually settled by Alaska Natives 800 years ago! The

importance of schema in the classroom cannot be emphasized enough. It is the building block

upon which students’ new learning is anchored to prior knowledge (Harvey and Goudvis, 2007).

I have made it a priority in my classroom to teach my students what schema is and how

important it is in our everyday life. They understand the idea that if two students are looking at

the same picture or reading the same paragraph, each student understands and interprets that

information differently based on their unique schemas. This helps reinforce the idea to my

students that different does not mean wrong, it only means that we see things from different

perspectives.

When teaching, I also make it a point to teach from different perspectives. Bruce Lesh

explains that it is imperative when teaching multiple perspectives to ensure that students

understand that “It is not the who, what, when, and where that is open to interpretation, but the

meaning of those events, personalities, and ideas” (Lesh, 2011, p. 94). Before the lesson,

students viewed Seward’s settlement from the perspective of the European settler. In their view,

Seward’s history began with Russian occupation. In this lesson, students were challenged to see

the settlement of Seward from a different perspective, from that of the Alaska Native. As another

example, in my current classroom, while discussing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, my students
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and I read White Socks Only, by Evelyn Coleman. My students were incensed that a man would

hit a child, a complete stranger, with a belt. Interestingly, they did not even mention that the man

was white or that the child was black. We discussed the ideas of segregation and how people

used to think that this was normal and how things should be. We discussed how MLK Jr. had

helped to change people’s perspective to realize that this was wrong and people should not be

kept from doing things based on the color of their skin. One little girl raised her hand and said,

“Ms. Eva, he changed people’s schemas, how they think!” She made me realize that our

perspectives are often rooted in our schemas and to grow our schemas means to grow our

perspectives and hopefully our empathy for one another as well!

Another source of diversity in my classroom is based on language, both spoken and

unspoken. In this 6th grade classroom, there were several English Language Learners (ELLs).

Lesson vocabulary was an important consideration when developing a lesson that is

comprehensible to all, especially the ELL students. Gail Tompkins notes that “Reading and

writing are viewed as social activities that reflect the culture and community in which students

live, and students from different cultures have different expectations about literacy learning and

preferred ways of learning” (Tompkins, 2017, p8). When designing my lesson, I intentionally

and carefully reviewed important vocabulary words before beginning my lesson as suggested by

the SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) Model of lesson planning. “Vocabulary

instruction is most effective when words are explicitly taught and also used in context, providing

a balanced approach” (Echevarria & Graves, 2015, p. 57). I have also learned that a student does

not have to be fluent or even speak a second language, to process English differently and

therefore be considered an ELL student. In my current 2nd grade classroom, there is a student in

my class whose parents speak Spanish, he does not. He reads beautifully, fluently, and
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accurately, but he demonstrates limited comprehension of what he has just read. As we read

together, I notice that he lacks an understanding of vocabulary. Following the SIOP model, I

began to identify key vocabulary words during our reading block lessons. As we are reading, I

either ask students to find those vocabulary words or I point them out if they miss them. In this

way, I am scaffolding the schema of not only my ELL student but also the schema of ALL my

students.

My classroom is also filled with students of different abilities and disabilities. In the

aftermath of virtual learning, I have found that the broad range of student ability is often

overwhelming. An important point made by Sousa and Tomlinson is that there is a clear

distinction between ability and readiness. Ability carries with it an assumption of something that

is static, or difficult to change (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011). “Readiness refers to an individual’s

current proximity to, or proficiency with, a specific set of knowledge, understanding, and skills

designated essential to a particular segment of study” (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 85). In other

words, a student’s readiness can change from day to day and subject to subject. It is through this

nuanced understanding that I approach teaching my students. I never assume what my students

can or cannot do based on an Individual Learning Plan (IEP) or previous testing scores. Instead, I

try to create an inclusive classroom based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). “The

purpose of UDL is the meet the needs of all students in an inclusive classroom” (Rapp & Arndt,

2012, p.145). When designing this lesson, I incorporated multiple means of representation.

Throughout the lesson, information was presented orally in the form of rich brainstorming

sessions and discussion, visually with a PowerPoint presentation, and kinesthetically, by giving

students the choice of working in groups with built-in ‘brain breaks’ to help with focus and

stamina. An additional example of this in my current 2nd-grade classroom is when I give

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directions to my students during reading rotations, I give directions both orally and visually (on a

PowerPoint slide). As another example, when we go over math problems, I model doing the

problems on the SmartBoard while I orally explain the process.

Another core component of UBD is to provide multiple means of action or expression.

This means that I provide my students with several ways to show what they know. In this lesson,

I allowed students the freedom to not only choose their topic of research, but also encouraged

them to demonstrate their learning in multiple ways: writing, drawing, song, play/skit, or even a

movie through iMovie®. With this type of differentiation, I am not lowering my expectations for

my students, I am simply acknowledging and highlighting their strengths and allowing them to

shine in their own way.

Last, I consider student engagement. When considering this principle, I try to use

examples that are interesting to my students. In this lesson, I chose a topic that all students would

have an interest in-Seward, the town in which they all live. This allowed me to make the lesson

more authentic by showing my students that what we learn in the classroom has real-life

applications.

The ultimate goal in my classroom is to create an environment where all feel comfortable

to learn, to question, to fail, and to succeed. To do this, I understand that my students need to feel

respected and appreciated. I also know that it is only through recognizing and understanding our

differences can we come together as a single, cohesive classroom.

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References

Echevarria, J., & Graves, A. (2015). Sheltered content instruction: Teaching English learners

with diverse abilities (5th ed.). Pearson.

Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for

understanding and engagement (2nd ed.). Stenhouse.

Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching & the brain: Promoting authentic

engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin.

Lesh, B.A. (2011). Why won’t you just tell us the answer?: Teaching historical thinking in

grades 7-12. Stenhouse Publishers.

Rapp, W.H, & Arndt, K.L. (2012). Teaching everyone: An introduction to inclusive education.

Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Sousa, D.A., & Tomlinson, C.A. (2011). Differentiation and the brain: How neuroscience

supports the learner-friendly classroom. Solution Tree Press.

Tompkins, G.E. (2017). Literacy for the 21st century a balanced approach (7th ed.). Pearson.