When students see the value and importance of the information being taught in the classroom, they tend to learn better. Yet, if students are disengaged and uninterested, they will not learn. In order to achieve the ultimate goal of successful learning, it is important teachers understand that culturally students learn differently. Because of cultural differences in students learning styles, teachers have to be able to incorporate diverse teaching strategies within their classroom. Consequently, knowing or not knowing each student especially his or her culture, will determine how successfully they will learn.
Understanding the culture differences in learning styles as an educator, will enhance your ability to give every student the chance
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For instance, Brown (2000) defines learning styles as the manner in which individuals perceive and process information in learning situations. He argues that learning style preference is one aspect of learning style, and refers to the choice of one learning situation or condition over another. Celcia-Murcia (2001) defines learning styles as the general approaches-for-example, global or analytic, auditory or visual- that students use in acquiring a new language or in learning another subject. The manner in which a learner perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment. MacKeracher (2004) defined learning as the characteristic cognitive, affective, social, and physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment (as cited in Gilakjani & Ahmadi, 2011, p. …show more content…
Therefore, in learning environments they look to build personal relationships with their teacher and prefer board concepts instead of component facts and specifics. African Americans place importance on oral experience, physical activity, and loyalty in interpersonal relationships. So, within a classroom setting African American students prefer working with individuals, active projects, and discussions. Native American, as cited by Guild (1994) described them as “people generally valuing and developing acute visual decimation and skill in the use of imagery, perceive globally, and have reflective thinking patterns (pg. 17). Ideal learning environment for them would consist of quiet time for thinking, an importance on visual stimuli, and presentation of new information. However, mainstream White American students value independence, analytic thinking, objectivity, and accuracy. These values translate into learning experiences that focus on competition, information, tests and grades, and linear logic (pg. 18). The problem is that the White American student values are the focus of most American
Cultural differences pose several barriers for students and may impair their opportunity to learn. These barriers are created by differences in language expression, communication style, preferred learning style, gender-role customs and behaviors, and limited parental involvement due to these cultural or socioeconomic barriers (Ralabate, & Klotz, 2007).
Enthusiasm is evident in all children; children in every culture can be interested, joyful, and motivated to learn. Engagement is also part of all children’s behavioral repertoire; children in every culture can be attentive, persistent, flexible, and self-regulated. But within these essentials, culture still remains a powerful influence on how children’s approaches to learning develop and are expressed in their behavior. Children who grow up in different cultures may vary in how persistent, attentive, or self-regulated they are. Culture influences children’s response to various kinds of learning tasks and experiences, they tend to be more motivated to engage in tasks that are optimally challenging-neither too far above nor too far below their capacities, but this match depends on what is the cultural environment because some that are challenging for others are maybe already routine for others. Culture also influences how children display their approaches to learning. Some cultures value and encourage vivid expressions of emotion; in other cultures, children may be less expressive. When children focus their attention on a learning tasks, culture may influence whether they show this attention in intense gazes or in sidelong glances, and whether children explore the learning material physically or simply watch others demonstrate the activity. Culture influences how they respond to the other circle of influence as they develop positive approaches to learning. Other ethnic minority students, who tend to flourish when teachers combine warm, personal relationships with high expectation. Whatever the culture, language and ethnicity, children will always develop enthusiasm and engagement-perhaps stimulated by the different things and expressed in different ways, but always benefiting
The article talks about how teachers need to have cultural compatibility. While it might be difficult for some teacher to grasp and understand the different cultures behaviors and beliefs. For those teacher that can are more likely to provide a learning environment that is enriching and responsive to the children’s different cultures. Teacher should have “meaningful interactions with members of other cultures and promote cultural disequilibrium (Colombo, 2005, p. 2).” Activities that have this are more likely to increase cultural competence.
And there is a four-type definition of learning styles: 1. Accommodators (CE/AE) 2. Divergers (CE/RO) 3. Assimilators (AC/RO) 4. Convergers (AC/AE)
Teachers must understand the culture of their students. Being able to understand the cultural differences will help to make a connection of what is being taught. “Helping learners make the link between their culture and the new knowledge and skills they encounter inside school is at the heart of ensuring that all students achieve at high levels” (National Education Association, 2011). Helping our children understand their culture helps them to learn about their roles in the world. Educators are suppose to work with their students to culturally develop their student in a very diverse world. Knowing where they com from and having a solid understanding of their culture will prepare them to be responsible, proud individuals. Its important for teachers and administrators to be culturally diverse so that they are able to connect with their students. When students can make a genuine connection with their teacher, they feel a sense of belonging and they feel that some one cares about them as a person not just a student. Having that sense of feeling that they matter will motivate them to do their best at all
Students who are enrolled in elementary schools with a diverse population usually develop an understanding of insights and perspectives of children from different backgrounds and learn to function in a multiethnic, multicultural environment (Morrissey, 2014). Therefore, students need to learn how to interact in diverse environments. Teachers face challenges of making lessons and instructions “culturally responsive” for all students to avoid favoritism (Griner, 2012). Some students’ cultural backgrounds may have a negative impact on them in a modern classroom (Burt, 2013). It is imperative for elementary school teachers to be knowledgeable of different cultural beliefs and practices to help students adjust to traditional classrooms (Nigma, 2015). Defining the
Students from a different culture may learn differently than other students, and it is up to us as educators to discover this and learn with them. Some might argue that students should be the ones who adapt to school and should just learn what they are given. I would argue that students who come from a different background or different culture might have different behavioral or learning patters that I would need to acknowledge in order to teach them effectively. As teachers we must be willing to reach out and learn from our students rather than have them learn from us. Communication is key in education and learning about your student’s background and culture will provide a huge benefit into figuring out how to help culturally diverse students learn effectively. I believe that the more open we are as educators to diverse students, the more they will open up to u...
The first principle deals with professional development and how it should help educators understand the difficult characteristics of ethnic groups and how variables such as social class, religion, region, generation, extent of expansion, and gender strongly influence ethnic and cultural behavior (Banks, et al., 2015). The authors states that if the plan to enhance the learning prospects of their students then the must be culturally relevant and know how to relay the information to the students where the knowledge can delivered where the students can understand as well as master and achieve (Banks, et al., 2015). Within the principle the team gave five areas that will help teachers become more educated about the students that they teach. Teachers have a duty to discover and pinpoint their personal approaches concerning racial, ethnic, language and cultural groups. They should do as much research as needed to better understand where their audiences of students originate, as well as about the culture of the school. The second principle states that all students have the same opportunities to learn as well as meet the high standards that are set by the district or the state. This would require that teachers are highly qualified to teacher in their field, that the school provide a safe surroundings for the students
According to Gay, culturally responsive teaching is employing previous experience, performance style of student, and cultural knowledge for the purposes of making learning more suitable and effective for students (Gay, 2000). In other words, culturally responsive teaching practice is using cultural experiences, perceptions of ethnically, and cultural features of student to facilitate when teaching. Furthermore, culturally responsive teaching practice teaches through and to the strength of students. Culturally responsive teaching practices is necessary in connecting the cultural knowledge of students, style of performance, and previous experience to the knowledge of academic with the goal of legitimizing what the students already know. Therefore,
“A learning style is a way of learning and refers to the way that you learn new information” (2). Most people have one preferred learning style and perform to a lesser standard when learning in a different style than what they’re used to. Nowadays, children are told to take a quiz in school to determine what their preferred learning style is, but after a few years, not many of these children remember what their preferred learning style is, or even if they do, they don’t apply it to their learning.
Culture is a powerful influence plays a big role in our interactions. Culture may also impact parenting style and a developing child. Having a strong sense of their own cultural history and the traditions associated with it helps children build a positive cultural identity for themselves. This also supports children’s sense of belonging and, by extension, their mental health and wellbeing. This class is crucial in understanding and working well parents, staff, and children. An effective educator understands how students’ cultures affect their perceptions, self-esteem, values, classroom behavior, and learning. As director, I need to use that understanding to help my students and staff feel welcomed, affirmed, respected, and valued. One way that I can do this is by using multicultural literature, especially children’s literature, to honor students’ culture and foster cross-cultural understanding. If cultural differences are not understood by teachers and management, it can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings on both sides. It will be my job to do all I can to overcome both language and cultural differences to ensure a positive learning environment for
Throughout my research, family values, and experiences I will be able to be accepting and understanding of the culturally diverse children that I may have in my classroom. To make my classroom a welcoming and safe environment for those who are different I want to incorporate their culture into projects, lessons and crafts. In doing this I want the class to learn more about each other and their cultural
Wow! I have a personal learning style! If I had given any thought to my learning style prior to this course, I would have said simply, “Some things are easy for me to learn, and some things are not.” Now I can say, “I am a grouper, a top-down learner, an owl, in the C-D quadrants, and my strong intelligences are linguistic, intrapersonal, and interpersonal”. What all this means, still, is some things are easy for me to learn, and some things are not. But there I go again, simplifying the matter.
Methods like experiments, field trips or role play are rarely used. Because of that, labs and tutorials are more essential for these learners. Among the methods that can help these learners are by trying to use all the senses in the learning process because the more senses you use the higher recall will be, as you have many clues. In addition, make notes with several examples for each concept and use your own examples, the more personal examples you create, the better you remember. A very important thing to note is that this questionnaire is not designed to predict the ability of someone to make the diagnosis.
Everyone has different learning styles. Learning styles are important because they help you better understand materials in classes. They are there to guide you and become a better student. Learning styles help you better grasp the material and better process it through your brain. When learning you want to do what is most beneficial for you. That is why there is many different learning styles to suit every person. There is three different types of learning styles categorized. The first learning style is auditory. Auditory is meant for individuals that enjoy asking questions, talking and listening, as well as like to read out loud. Visual learners are more interested in charts, graphs, neat surroundings, seeing rather than hearing, and are pictured to be timid as they read to themselves rather than out loud. Finally there is the kinesthetic learning style. Kinesthetic is to touch, to feel, and usually learn by doing.