Diverse Learners

How to Accommodate Diverse Learners

Terri-Ann Clarke
October 12, 2015
The book What Every Teacher Should Know About Diverse Learners online examines
the characteristics of student diversity. It stated that, todays learners are different in many ways,
such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, learning modalities, cognitive
development, social development, and the rate at which they take in and retrieve information.
Therefore it is important that teachers recognize that each student is unique and provide for their
individual need. Teachers can provide for diverse learners by; assessment, catering to learning
style and provide suitable learning environment.
According to the University of Connecticut website, assessment is the systematic basis
for making inferences about the learning and development of students. It is the process of
defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to
increase students learning and development. (Huba, Freed 2000) Assessments can be conducted
in a variety of methods, for example; observation and questionnaire. As an educator it is
important that you know who your students are as an individual, and by conducting an
assessment you can learn a great deal about them. This information will help you to effectively
provide for their learning needs. Knowing who your students are, as a group and as individuals,
is an important part of good teaching (University of Southern California online).
The article, teaching in a diverse classroom stated, There is a great deal written on
learning styles; auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Auditory learners prefer to receive ideas and
information by hearing them. Visual learners prefer to receive information by seeing it and,

Diverse Learners
2

kinesthetic learners tend to learn best by movement and touch (Eddy, 1999). For instance, if a
teacher provides an activity that requires students to be quiet, auditory learners will be at a
disadvantage. So, I would suggest that each learning style be accommodated by placing students
in small groups. Moreover, understanding learning styles can help teachers to create a more
diverse classroom, therefore, giving each person an equal opportunity to be successful. Also, in
the article, Diverse Learners in School ,it is stated that, we propose that effective teachers have
always considered their students' uniqueness (i.e, academic needs, talents, interests, learning
styles) in planning, teaching, and evaluating lessons (Tomlinson, 2001)
The Education Reform website defines learning environment as: The diverse physical
locations, contexts, and cultures in which students learn. The term also encompasses the culture
of a school or class, its presiding ethos and characteristics, including how individuals interact
with and treat one another, as well as the ways in which teachers may organize an educational
setting to facilitate learning (Abbott, 2014). The learning environment could have a great impact
on students success. It is very important that learners feel safe comfortable and accepted within
their surroundings. Any discomfort may cause fatigue and distraction, which could cause the
student to fail. Perhaps, a better way to think of 21st century learning environments is as the
support systems that organize the condition in which humans learn best systems that
accommodate the unique learning needs of every learner and support the positive human
relationships needed for effective learning (Dewey 1899/1980). It is a teachers responsibility to
provide a diverse environment to support each student well-being.
The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means, understanding
that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along
the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical

Diverse Learners
3

abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these
differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other
and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of
diversity contained within each individual (University of Oregon). Everyone is unique and
should be treated as such.

Diverse Learners
4

Worked Cited
Dewey, J. (1899/1980). The school and society. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University
Press. p. 19-20.
Hidden curriculum (2014, August 26). In S. Abbott (Ed.). The glossary of education reform.
Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/hidden-curriculum.
Huba and Freed (2000) Learner centered assessment on college Campuses: shifting the focus
from teaching to learning: University of Connecticut Online.
Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria,
VA: ASCD.
University of California online. (2015). Assessment: Retrieve from google.com.
University of Connecticut online. (2015). Assessment: Retrieve from google.com.
University of Oregon Online. (2015). Diversity learners: Retrieve from google.com.