Coffman 1 Jorden Coffman Module 1 Summary An effective teacher is one who knows how to represent the information in ways

in which every learner will understand. This concept is known as pedagogical content knowledge; the ability of a teacher to be able to reach all of her students is what ultimately makes an effective teacher. There is so much diversity in the school systems today though, that this concept has been come harder for teachers to accomplish over the years. Students no only come in different sizes and maturity levels but now come to class speaking different languages and bringing with them many different cultural and background experiences. Therefore in order for teachers to teach more effectively they must be able to capitalize on these differences in their students and be able to modify their teaching in order to meet the needs of their differentiating learners. Texas is one of the six states in which experiences a wide range of diversity which poses challenges to teachers as they attempt to teach children with different attitudes, values, and languages. Culture refers to the attitudes, values, beliefs, and ways of acting and interacting that characterize a social group, culture influences the attitudes and beliefs of students in the ways of which they learn and feel about school and their classrooms. Recent test scores show that minority students are not succeeding in ways in which they should and there are three theories of minority achievement that should help teachers become more effective. The first being the cultural deficit theory which takes the students regardless of their background and teaches them with equal love and care as ever other student. This theory is not to point the finger at the minority students and blame their ability to learn on themselves but rather but it in the teachers hands to be able to modify their teachings in order to reach out to them The second theory is that of teacher expectations in which teachers need to form positive expectations for their class and make them known as this creates a powerful foundation for learning and influencing the students to do their best. Teachers need to be aware of the expectations they have for their students and should continually monitor their own actions to ensure positive expectations are

Coffman 2 communicated to all the students. The third theory is that of cultural differences in which teachers must familiarize themselves in the ways in which their students cultures may affect their learning. Such as some students cultural differences vary between the home and school, this is why it is important to capitalize on each students cultural and background differences. By entering the students lives in order to better understand their culture teachers will also be able to better understand the students attitudes and values and how these affect the ways they act and behave. Our students need to know that we as teachers understand and care about their home cultures and that we value the diversity in which they bring to our classrooms. As effective teachers we much communicate positive attitudes and mutual respect about diversity by encouraging students to bring their cultures into the classroom, including their music, dress, language, and foods.