To me diversity and cultural backgrounds are very general terms.

I believe students come

to the classroom from different places as defined by their varying family histories, ethnicities,
daily life experiences, learning styles, personalities, capabilities, self-perceived identities,
struggles, strengths, fears and dreams and the list goes on.
Last year I had the opportunity to work closely with two 3th graders. That experience
helped me gain a deeper understanding of the challenges of reaching students due to the
complexities of students and the places they come from.
Last year I worked as an Educational Assistant in a pullout Special Ed class designed to
integrate students into a regular classroom. As a result I was given the opportunity to work with
two students on a semester long project. My challenge was to understand the students and create
and adapt a curriculum that tapped into their complimenting strengths and pandered to their
specific needs. I found differences and similarities. For instance both students came with unique
cultural backgrounds. One student moved to the US from Korea. The other students parents
grew up in New Mexico. One student was extremely creative while the other was a linear
thinker. One student was diagnosed with schizophrenia and the other as being on the Autism
Spectrum. Both struggled with executive functions.
The goal was to have the students co-author a book. To achieve this goal a key
component was creating the sense of community. This meant teaching them how to validate each
other. I also discovered their need for structure, so I used the strategy of giving them time limits
and created worksheets as a mode for laying out their thinking and brainstorming. I found that
structured facilitation was very important. When they had a disagreement, I gave them exactly
thirty seconds to talk it out before they made a decision. As a result of these components, by the
end of the semester, these two students read their co-authored book to the class.
From this experience I learned two important aspects of embracing student diversity. First
it is important to gain an understanding of as many of the complex layers of students as possible
and to adapt the curriculum to match their needs. Second, seeing how hard it was to foster a
learning community with only 2 students. I recognize how difficult it will be to create a learning
community with a large group of kids.
Whole Group
As a student teacher I explored social interactions between students in a classroom. I
wanted to see if there were specific activities I could implement to impact the class climate. The
first activity I implemented was a sociogram. Students completed a survey. I compiled the results
which showed which students their peers wanted to socialize with, which ones they wanted to
work with, and which ones they respected the most. Then I began a Complement Card process.
The goal was to help students become aware of other students in the class and to identify
characteristics to appreciate. Unfortunately I was unable to carry these activities out to the end of
the year due to time constraints. But the short time we did write complement cards, I saw
students positively responding. They seemed to glow when it was their day to receive the
complements. Because students needed to interact with each other to have something to write

about, I saw students interacting with students they hadnt previously. This activity is one I will
implement in all my classes. It had a positive impact on the class community.
Artifacts
The artifacts I included were examples of the questionnaire students completed and the
results. I also included examples of the Compliment Card lesson plan and cards students wrote.