Applying the lens of cognitive science to existing middle school science curricula in an effort to improve student learning of science
Both Diversity in the Classroom: A Casebook for Teachers and Teacher Educators and Diversity in the Classroom: Facilitator's Guide.
This publication offers 13 dramatic accounts of real-life classroom dilemmas written by veteran inner-city teachers who work with students in multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-racial classrooms. Intended as a basis for discussion in preservice and inservice seminars, these cases focus on the teacher-student relationship. They help teachers examine not just barriers of language and customs but also deeper, more troubling aspects of the classroom exchange: how unrecognized psychological undercurrents of race, culture, and class can obstruct teaching and learning. Commentaries written by teachers, administrators, and scholars follow each case and provide a range of perspectives.
This guide is a companion volume to Diversity in the Classroom: A Casebook for Teachers and Teacher Educators. Specifically, the guide offers the information needed to use these cases in structured professional development experiences.
Because the cases in Diversity deal with highly sensitive topics not ordinarily addressed in teacher education programs, the successful facilitator must acquire certain insights, not just into discussion-method teaching and its implied understanding of group dynamics, but also techniques specific to discussing multicultural material. The first part of the guide aims to equip the facilitator with such insights, particularly with strategies for deflecting hurtful confrontation or explosive interactions. The second part of this guide contains discussion notes for each case presented in Diversity along with a suggested discussion outline. The appendices address interpersonal resistance and active learning.
