In this webinar, Dr. Carol Tomlinson of the University of Virginia presented the research base supporting the practice of differentiation and described the characteristics of effective differentiation. She led a discussion of how quality preparation can build and strengthen teachers' knowledge and skills in implementing differentiated instruction…

The adoption of educational policy measures to close the achievement gap, as well as the significant amount of scholarship dedicated to the subject, are just some of the indicators that reflect the tremendous concern in education about the academic performance of students of colour. Within research aimed at promoting equitable practices in…

Considers the proposal that students could learn as much English as they needed in one intensive year, after which they could be successfully "mainstreamed." Argues that this might work for small children, but there are different considerations when fluency for college-prep courses are addressed. Concludes that effective teachers look to their…

Contends that the category "at risk" rests on myths about learning, language, and culture that are based on a deficit view of children who are not from mainstream culture backgrounds. Offers other assumptions about the learning, culture, and the teaching of language on which language arts educators should base their instructional practices. (MG)

This paper explores a writing-classroom pedagogy that uses dramatic literature and racially reversed roles as a springboard for discussion of diversity issues. According to the paper, the belief is that providing students with a drama that features ethnically reversed casts, performed sequentially, would allow them to recognize how powerfully skin…

Presents a letter from a Peace Corps volunteer and first-year teacher about his experiences teaching English at a Russian school. Describes courses of study, the ever-changing schedule, his problems in the first semester adapting to Russian ideas of teaching, and his successful struggle to apply the education he had learned to this new teaching…

The number of students failing in school has risen drastically in the past few years. Because of this, many educators are revisiting traditional practices and infusing effective tools that can enhance and promote literacy skills for all students. This process requires not only that teachers integrate content, but also that they elucidate the…

Describes seven strategies that teachers of all grade levels and disciplines can use to improve their effectiveness in teaching students of diverse cultural backgrounds. (SR)

Interviews Lisa Delpit from the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University. Argues that many nonmainstream children need explicit instruction in literacy conventions and strategies to gain access to the culture of power. (MG)

This response to EC 607 382 raises concerns about the standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. These include (1) the modest references to student diversity, (2) instructional methodology, and (3) the need for more research to validate the standards' curricular and instructional recommendations. (DB)

The traditional college classroom has a distinct culture to which educators have been blind, assuming that the classroom is culturally neutral. It often constrains the success of students from other cultural backgrounds. The alternate cultures of white women and men and women of color have implications for improvement of instructional design.…

One film widely recommended as an instructional resource for communication courses is "Children of a Lesser God," the 1986 movie starring Marlee Matlin and William Hurt. In this film, which can serve as a case study, James Leeds, a talented young teacher in a school for the deaf, falls in love with Sarah Norman, a graduate of the school…

Opening in 1981 to moviegoers in Japan, France, and the United States, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" became an international hit. Set in Botswana, the film covers a relatively small geographic area yet nevertheless can open classroom discussions about how many cultures and how much cultural diversity can exist in a small area. It has three…

This paper examines the classroom interactions between students and instructors of different cultural backgrounds and offers insights as to how instructors might maximize their effectiveness with diverse groups. Inspired by the lived experiences of an African-American graduate student in a department staffed predominantly by European-American…

Discusses designing, initiating, and collecting observational data from a program designed for a multicultural inner-city kindergarten classroom to teach emergent literacy, to use picture books representing children's cultures, and to share responsibility for children's own learning by freely initiating interactions with print materials. Notes…