Equity, Diversity, Inclusion
Equity
Equity allows fair opportunities to learn by receiving full access to education along with all available resources. It recognizes students as individuals, is free from bias, and provides high quality instruction which is delivered to meet the needs of all students. An equitable classroom implements flexible and creative approaches to learning that support student success and achieving academic goals.
Diversity
Diversity in the classroom means that there are no barriers to stop students from learning. The classroom is welcoming and accepting of every student, celebrating everything about them. It also acknowledges student identity and recognizes various cultures throughout the learning environment which supports students in feeling valued and supported.
Inclusion
Inclusion fosters a sense of belonging in a safe and welcoming environment. The classroom is full of engaging activities that match the interests and needs of all students by using their strengths and struggles to guide lessons and instruction. Inclusion recognizes that children are unique individuals, honours and celebrates differences and where children come to learn and grow.
What can I do as a Teacher?
A few things to consider...
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Learn about your students, their families and their backgrounds.
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Create a culturally responsive learning environment by ensuring all languages and cultures are acknowledged and celebrated.
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Develop multimodal lessons for students to learn about their community and the world around them.
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Foster a classroom community that honours and values language, culture, and identity.
Let's Discuss...Cultural Appropriation
“Taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else’s culture without permission. This can include unauthorized use of another culture’s dance, dress, music, language, folklore, cuisine, traditional medicine, religious symbols, etc. It’s most likely to be harmful when the source community is a minority group that has been oppressed or exploited in other ways or when the object of appropriation is particularly sensitive, e.g. sacred objects.”
From, Who Owns Culture? Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law, by Susan Scafidi
Blending Intercultural Education and
Differentiated Instruction
Intercultural Education
Recognizes a variety of cultural viewpoints that encourage learning about different perspectives where students learn by asking questions, investigating and inquiring about culturally related topics. Learning is acquired by gathering and analyzing information to gain knowledge for deeper understanding.
Differentiated Instruction
Adapting instruction to meet the needs of learners without compromising learning outcomes.
Four elements to guide instruction:
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Content (What is the learning objective?)
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Process (How will the students achieve the learning goal?)
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Product (How will learning be represented?)
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Learning Environment (Where will students complete the work?)
Closing thoughts...
Blending these two frameworks support a culturally responsive classroom environment and meets the learning needs of our multicultural students and provides instruction that supports our learners with diverse backgrounds.
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I would need to inquire more about this topic in order to implement it into my teaching practice. In order to guide instruction in this direction; strategies, techniques and ongoing professional development would be required to support teachers on this learning journey.