Cultural Diversity: Connecting with Practice

Part 2b: Rationale for learning & teaching, Part 2c: Reflection & Engagement

Ellyce Roadknight

EPP306 Pedagogy in Diverse Classrooms

Tanya Davies

June 5, 2023

Words: 2052
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Part 2b: Rationale for learning & teaching

This essay will outline and discuss the significance the unit of work has on teaching

and learning in a middle-class stage three classroom of twenty-two students, of whom twelve

identify as First Nations peoples. How the teacher draws upon students’ learning and

background knowledge will be described, including how the identified teaching strategies

from part a support students. The unit’s relevance to supporting students from diverse

backgrounds through differentiation as well as how specialist teachers and support personnel

at school, system level, and the wider community can be used to enhance educational

outcomes for all students will also be described. 

The learning experiences in this unit can be used to comprehensively explore and

develop stage three students’ social, emotional, and cognitive characteristics. Using the

gradual release model, students read, critically analyse, and justify how the structure,

language, and visual elements of the text are used to create meaning because stage three

students can identify, critically analyse, and respond to techniques, literary devices and

language features authors use to influence readers (NSW Education Standards Authority

[NESA], 2021b). Students apply these skills to investigate and compare texts to identify how

they communicate for audience and purpose requiring students to refer to their knowledge,

values, and experiences to identify themes and issues within the texts and real-life (NESA,

2021b). This is because stage three students are developing perspective-taking skills and can

recognise points of view and justify interpretations (Ministry of Children and Youth Services,

2017). For this reason, the unit literature is specifically chosen so that it acts as a ‘window,

mirror, and glass sliding door’ for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to develop

intercultural understanding and to support the development of respectful and inclusive

attitudes as students’ self-concept, moral beliefs, and values develop (Bishop 2015, p. 1;

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Madsen, 2021; Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2017). For Indigenous students the

texts reflect knowledge of Country, kinships, and language to which they can relate,

motivating students to want to deepen their understanding of their identity because they

create a positive perception of being Aboriginal by mirroring a positive sense of identity,

promoting excellence, and therefore allowing children to embrace their culture (Bishop,

2015). For non-Indigenous students who may have experienced traditional Indigenous

ecological practices within the local community, the texts spark curiosity to deepen their

understanding as well as enable students to have more nuanced perceptions of the world

around them (Bishop, 2015). The unit is underpinned by the value of what First Nations

people’s traditional knowledge holds for Australian society and offers students multiple

opportunities to consider their own beliefs and practices as they gain deeper insight into

themselves and others, deepening students’ curiosity, care, empathy, reciprocity, respect, and

responsibility and therefore promoting positive intercultural behaviours and

facilitating respectful and sustainable communities for all humankind (Adams et al., 2022;

ACARA, n.d; Mansouri & Jenkins, 2010).

Students’ prior learning and background knowledge are founded in the situated

practice phase where the teacher begins the unit by building knowledge of the topic (Cope &

Kalantzis, 2015; Larson & Marsh, 2015). The teacher engages students' prior learning and

background knowledge of the topic by introducing and detailing the mentor text, including

the cultural context, and introducing some topic-specific vocabulary (Henderson, 2019; Luke,

2018). Gibbons (2015) notes contextualising the learning is paramount for differentiating for

EAL/D learners because they require support to build background knowledge about content

and language knowledge specific to the subject. Throughout the unit, teachers continue to

draw upon students’ prior learning and background knowledge using culturally safe literacy
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pedagogies to immerse students in the literature and learning experiences (Bell & Goodman,

2022; Henderson, 2019). Teachers use a range of high-impact teaching strategies that are

inclusive and enable students to safely investigate, analyse and communicate ideas and

information related to First Nations sustainability, and to advocate, generate and evaluate

actions for sustainable futures through sharing knowledge about social, economic, and

ecological systems and world views that promote social justice (Department of Education,

2017; NESA, 2021a). Some examples include goal setting, explicit teaching, and modelling

worked examples, collaborative learning, multiple exposures to relevant information, and

strategic questioning (Davis, 2012; Department of Education, 2017). Formative feedback

strategies are also included throughout the unit to monitor student learning. The evidence of

student achievement guides future teaching and learning opportunities by identifying student

strengths and areas for improvement (Department of Education, 2019). These strategies are

implemented to challenge students intellectually and foster deep understanding and critical

thinking, to structure learning around explicit performance criteria, allow opportunities for

conversation and dialogue, and connect with students in meaningful ways (Keddie &

Churchill, 2022; Luke, 2018). The strategies are supportive and inclusive and encourage self-

direction and anatomy by recognising and valuing difference and diversity because drawing

content from students’ diverse knowledge and experiences helps students connect to new

learning, positioning them as experts (French, 2019; Keddie & Churchill, 2022; Luke, 2018).

Connecting the life worlds of students, their skills, and knowledge and providing

opportunities for them to apply their skills and knowledge in new and realistic contexts

makes learning authentic and therefore meaningful to all learners (Larson & Marsh, 2015;

Luke, 2018). 
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Differentiation is not merely simplifying or providing additional tasks to early

finishers but rather designing and planning learning with a holistic and flexible mindset

(Fitzgerald, 2016; Tomlinson, 2010) Differentiation requires teachers to differentiate process,

output, and language to make the content accessible (Bell & Goodman 2022; Tomlinson,

2010). This unit of work makes the content accessible by considering a range of access

points, such as incorporating a variety of language modes using multimodal texts with the

assistance of ICT (Gibbons, 2015; Turner et al., 2022). This supports diverse and

multicultural students by reducing their cognitive load while maintaining an appropriate level

of challenge (Fitzgerald, 2016; Gibbons, 2015). The unit is underpinned by the multiliteracies

framework which offers students a language-rich classroom because the literature has been

thoroughly assessed to create authentic learning experiences in a variety of contexts to meet

students’ learning needs (Cope & Kalantzis, 2015; Madsen et al., 2021). The unit is also

inquiry-based and incorporates a variety of student-led and teacher-led activities that

encourage students to explore, experiment, and engage with the concepts and principles

underpinning what they learn to develop higher-order thinking and creative and critical

thinking skills (Healy, 2016; Henderson, 2019; Luke, 2018). The activities are sequenced to

scaffold student learning whereby students create a resource-rich learning environment and

because the resources are relevant to students understanding they become appropriate for

assisting students with different learning needs and levels of achievement (Fitzgerald, 2016;

Larson & Marsh, 2015). The unit provides students with alternative methods and choices to

demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, and skills. This flexibility encourages students

to work at their own pace and develop the knowledge, understanding, and skills useful to

them (Henderson, 2019; Tomlinson, 2010). Enabling students to demonstrate, in different

ways, what they know, understand, and can do at different points of the learning cycle

recognises and values the interrelationship between difference and diversity (Keddie &
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Churchill, 2022). In addition, this unit topic focuses on First Nations culture sustainability,

which is culturally relevant to this classroom, however, other cultures are also recognised

whereby students have the choice to use the skills learned throughout the unit to research

another culture for the summative assessment task (Davis, 2012; Miller et al., 2022)

To support diverse learners, teachers need to identify the individual needs of students

and differentiate, content, process, output, and language to optimise learning outcomes whilst

considering the student’s overall well-being to ensure they do not feel marginalised (Keddie

& Churchill, 2022; Miller et al., 2021). Depending on the class and student context this can

be challenging and therefore seeking support from specialist teachers, and other relevant

personnel is vital to ensuring all students have the opportunity to reach their learning

potential in a safe environment (Bell & Goodman, 2022). This can be achieved by working

collaboratively with these professionals to develop and integrate differentiated teaching

programs, practices, and strategies into the regular classroom in discrete ways ensures

students reach their learning potential (French, 2019; Gibbons, 2015). This work also assists

teachers and support staff in identifying and removing barriers to learning that are often felt

by non-dominant young people but are not often articulated or made visible (Mansouri &

Jenkins, 2010; Miller et al., 2022). By involving the wider community in students’ learning

experiences students can form valuable relationships whereby they interact and empathise

with others, and challenge stereotypes and prejudices which broaden their already developing

perspectives (ACARA, n.d; Mansouri & Jenkins, 2010). This can be achieved through

incursions whereby community members are invited into schools and excursions whereby

students join in community events. Providing students with real-life experiences fosters

students’ engagement and creates purposeful learning (Davis, 2012; Keddie & Churchill,

2022). Showing students how what they are learning, and the skills they are learning can be
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taken up in the real world offers powerful ways for students to learn new perspectives

(Larson & Marsh, 2015; Luke, 2018). The connections students make within the community

can create pathways that offer ongoing support and learning opportunities that benefit

students’ connection to identity, and culture (Kickett-Tucker, 2021).

This essay has outlined and discussed how the unit of work provides learning

opportunities and experiences to support students from diverse and multicultural backgrounds

to advocate, generate, and evaluate actions for sustainable futures through sharing knowledge

about social, economic, and ecological systems and world views that promote social justice

(NESA, 2021a).

Part 2c: Reflection & Engagement

My previous experiences with young people suggested that race, culture, language,

class, gender, and sexuality was irrelevant concerning classroom behaviour and a particular

student’s ability to focus on or succeed in learning (Bell et al., 2022). My participation in this

subject, including reflecting on my teaching identity has deepened my understanding and

adjusted my cultural lens to consider that many factors shape students’ engagement and

learning in classrooms (Davis, 2012). It is up to us as teachers, to understand how various

factors intersect for the young people we work with, which highlights the importance of

‘knowing students and how they learn’ (Australian Institute for Teaching and School

Leadership, [AITSL], 2017, para 1). Such work requires me to identify how injustice operates

differentially in the lives of individuals and groups within Western Education and apply this

when thinking pedagogically and conceptually about how I approach my work (Bell et al.,

2022). Rich cultural diversity is central to Australia’s identity and therefore must be valued in

the classroom. Cultural diversity creates a rich learning environment whereby students and
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teachers can draw upon a variety of perspectives that can be used to deepen their

understanding of previous and new knowledge, opening opportunities for individuals to

achieve and advance as a collective group, making it invaluable to the English subject (Davis,

2012, Henderson, 2019). This is because English is not only learning how to speak, read and

write but rather explicitly teaches students the social, cognitive, and emotional skills required

to think empathically, ethically, and cross-culturally and therefore affords students the

capabilities required to adapt and progress within a dynamic world (ACARA, n.d). Meaning

that English is a subject is where ‘critical intersectional consciousness' can thrive as diverse

people learn about the impacts of oppression on various groups within our society, and

experiment with alternative ways of acting to challenge oppression and therefore prevent

schools from becoming places of race relations and intercultural tension (Bell et al., 2022, p.

17; Mansouri & Jenkins (2010). I can foster this learning by assessing my cultural awareness

to evaluate programs, strategies, and resources in relation to incorporating and supporting

diverse/multicultural perspectives using the questions I have identified below as well as

repeatedly reflecting on my position and the various competing pressures and agendas that

shape my practice (Miller & Steele, 2021; Mills & Keddie, 2012). In summary, this subject

has enhanced my moral and ethical attitude toward equity and possibility because my belief

in the capacity of people to transform their world has been strengthened (Bell et al., 2022).

This subject has enabled me to deeply reflect on my cultural awareness and has given me a

variety of practical strategies that I now feel confident and prepared in applying because I

understand that there is not one right way, but there are right things to do (Miller & Steele,

2021; Mills & Keddie, 2012). 

 
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Questions

1. Whose perspective/s is/are being represented in the content? Who is doing the

representing? What are the power dynamics? Who has the dominant voice? How can I

ensure diverse/multicultural perspectives are included?

2. Am I offering students a variety of ways to demonstrate their learning to ensure

diverse/multicultural perspectives are included? Has the RAFT framework been

implemented effectively?

3. How can I make this content accessible to all students in my classroom? How can it

be differentiated to include diverse/multicultural perspectives? Am I considering other

factors that shape students’ engagement and learning, and disregarding deficit

discourses?

4. Is the learning environment set up/collaborative work going to ensure diverse

perspectives are included and shared?

5. Have I explicitly outlined expectations of students’ behaviour and attitudes to promote

inclusivity? Could this content raise questions and/or facilitate discrimination? If so,

which students may be deeply affected by this? To be prepared, what strategies can I

use or what discussions can I have to ensure the classroom remains a culturally safe

space?
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