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By the end of this lesson, teachers will be able to create a structured and effective lesson plan, addressing key components such as student needs, goals, assessment strategies, and instructional methods.

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1. Identify the importance of knowing your students
2. Set clear aims and goals for lessons
3. Determine appropriate assessment methods
4. Select effective teaching strategies
5. Organize lesson structure and delivery methods

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How can a well-structured lesson plan enhance student learning and teacher effectiveness?

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Discuss the importance of understanding student backgrounds, learning styles, and needs. Create a student profile template using Padlet for collaborative input from colleagues.

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Learning about and understanding diversity in the classroom can enhance the perspective of both prospective and developing teachers in many ways as they engage with the realities of today's classrooms.

First, today's teachers are likely to confront a range of different types of students-students with different socioeconomic backgrounds, different learning abilities/disabilities, and different ethnic or religious identities. Second, working effectively with classroom diversity is critical to promoting educational equity and optimizing both access and outcomes. Third, learning about diversity and developing strategies for working productively with those who are different entails short- and long-term benefits for students. Finally, diversity in the classroom is a teaching tool and opportunity for educational enrichment in itself.

Explore the impact of diversity in education, why diversity matters for students, and how teachers can foster diverse and inclusive learning environments.

Educational Equity

Educational equity refers to the idea that every student should have access to the necessary resources to reach their full academic potential.

Without educational equity, academic success is significantly more difficult for some students. Systemic barriers-such as housing insecurity, inadequate nutrition, and underfunded classrooms-continue to prevent students from reaching their full potential. Certain groups of students do not receive the same educational opportunities and accommodations as their peers. This can lead to a lack of diversity in the workforce, barriers to social mobility, mental health issues, and increased poverty.

When students from disadvantaged backgrounds have access to the same resources and opportunities as their more privileged peers, they are more likely to succeed academically and professionally. Educational equity is important because it prioritizes all students having the opportunity to reach their potential, regardless of their identity or circumstances.

Diversity, Culture, and Social Identities

Diversity in the classroom refers to differences in social identities. A person's age, race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, and nationality all comprise a person's social identity. Our identities are intersectional and overlapping, and many aspects of our identities change over time.

Types of diversity that can be present in the classroom include:

Ability diversity: This includes differences in students' physical, mental, and learning abilities.

Age diversity: This includes differences in students' ages.

Gender diversity: This includes differences in students' gender identity and expression.

Ethnic diversity: This includes differences in race, ethnicity, national origin, and languages spoken at home.

Religious diversity: This includes differences in belonging to and identifying with the values and/or practices of a particular religion or sect.

Socioeconomic diversity: This includes differences in income, education levels, occupations, and housing security and stability with regard to students or their families.

Experiential diversity: This includes differences in students' life experiences, such as immigration, military service, adoption, or foster care.

Sexual orientation diversity: This includes differences in students' sexual orientations.

Geographic diversity: This includes differences in students' local or regional identity and experiences based on where they live, learn, and play.

Diversity in the classroom is not limited to these examples. Individuals can belong to multiple social groups at the same time. Note that diversity is not only about visible differences. Along with the last three categories above, differences in learning styles, personality, mental health, and more are often present without being visible.

Why a Diverse Teacher Workforce Matters

Diversity in the classroom is not limited to the student population-it includes teachers, too.

The teacher workforce that supports elementary students is far less racially and ethnically diverse in the US than the students they teach, according to data published in 2021 by Pew Research Center. While the share of Asian American, Black, and Hispanic teachers has increased over the past two decades, this minor increase has not kept pace with the rapid diversification of the general US population.

For example, Pew reports that between 2017 and 2018 (the most recent study based on National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data):

79 percent of US public school teachers identified as non-Hispanic White, whereas only 47 percent of all public elementary students identified this way.

9 percent of US public school teachers identified as Hispanic, whereas 27 percent of public elementary students identified as Hispanic.

7 percent of US public school teachers identified as Black, whereas 15 percent of public elementary students identified as Black.

Recent empirical studies show evidence for improved learning outcomes for students who have teachers from the same racial and/or ethnic groups. According to findings synthesized by Brookings Institute in 2022, students who had a same-race teacher tended to experience educational benefits such as:

Improved test scores

Improved course grades

Improved working memory

Better attendance

Better interpersonal self-management

Higher likelihood of taking an advanced math class

Higher likelihood of being selected for a gifted and talented program

Higher likelihood to graduate from high school

Higher likelihood to intend to enroll in college

Diversifying our educational system must therefore include increasing the representation of teachers who belong to different racial and ethnic communities. Students of color deserve to have the opportunity to learn from teachers who may share similar cultural experiences as them.

Teaching Diversity in the Classroom

Valuing inclusion in the classroom can help to create a more respectful learning environment for everyone.

Students can be taught as early as pre-school and elementary school how to use accurate terms to describe their own social identity. For example, a child can proudly affirm that they are both Black and Korean American, having a mother who is a Black woman from Chicago and a father who is a Korean man from Busan. Likewise, a child can proudly affirm simply having two mothers or two fathers.

Students should also learn to celebrate and respect people from cultures different from their own. Diversity is crucial for elementary school students to learn about because it helps them to appreciate the differences among people and cultures. In a rapidly diversifying world, students deserve educators and educational resources that teach diversity in the classroom and affirm the importance of inclusion, respect, and justice for all.

Learning about diversity from an early age can lead to more inclusive and respectful interactions with others and can also help students develop a sense of empathy and understanding for people who may have different experiences or perspectives.

Kids often express a natural curiosity toward the food, sports, art, clothes, children's books, games, toys, and dances of different cultures. This openness and enthusiasm for learning from and about people who are different is something teachers must encourage and nurture.

Students who learn to appreciate and support members of diverse groups as children can grow up to be strong leaders of diverse and inclusive communities.

Contribute to the Ongoing Effort to Diversify Education

With the right teaching tools, educators can foster diversity and inclusion for the next generation of students. The significance of diversity in the classroom takes its impetus directly from a historical context where many classrooms were not diverse-either by political fiat or teaching philosophy-but its impact and its mission lies in promoting equity and positive outcomes for today's students.

If you're interested in an enriching career as an educator who embraces the mission of using diversity in the classroom as an educational opportunity, American University's Online Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and Online Master of Education (MEd) in Education Policy and Leadership programs may be a great next step for you. We prepare graduates with the tools they need to approach the diversity landscape in education with an informed perspective and teach students from diverse backgrounds.

Start pursuing your goals in education with American University.

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Diversity in the Classroom: Teaching, Types, and Examples

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Why learn about diversity in the classroom? Explore the impact of diversity in education and how teachers foster diverse and inclusive learning environments.

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Practice writing SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) objectives for a lesson. Share and peer-review objectives using a Padlet board.

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Explore various formative and summative assessment methods. Create a mind map of assessment techniques suitable for different learning objectives.

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Examples of Formative and Summative Assessments

Both forms of assessment can vary across several dimensions (Trumbull and Lash, 2013):

Informal / formal

Immediate / delayed feedback

Embedded in lesson plan / stand-alone

Spontaneous / planned

Individual / group

Verbal / nonverbal

Oral / written

Graded / ungraded

Open-ended response / closed/constrained response

Teacher initiated/controlled / student initiated/controlled

Teacher and student(s) / peers

Process-oriented / product-oriented

Brief / extended

Scaffolded (teacher supported) / independently performed

Recommendations

Formative Assessment Ideally, formative assessment strategies improve teaching and learning simultaneously. Instructors can help students grow as learners by actively encouraging them to self-assess their own skills and knowledge retention, and by giving clear instructions and feedback. Seven principles (adapted from Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick, 2007 with additions) can guide instructor strategies:

Keep clear criteria for what defines good performance - Instructors can explain criteria for A-F graded papers, and encourage student discussion and reflection about these criteria (this can be accomplished though office hours, rubrics, post-grade peer review, or exam / assignment wrappers). Instructors may also hold class-wide conversations on performance criteria at strategic moments throughout a term.

Encourage students' self-reflection - Instructors can ask students to utilize course criteria to evaluate their own or a peer's work, and to share what kinds of feedback they find most valuable. In addition, instructors can ask students to describe the qualities of their best work, either through writing or group discussion.

Give students detailed, actionable feedback - Instructors can consistently provide specific feedback tied to predefined criteria, with opportunities to revise or apply feedback before final submission. Feedback may be corrective and forward-looking, rather than just evaluative. Examples include comments on multiple paper drafts, criterion discussions during 1-on-1 conferences, and regular online quizzes.

Encourage teacher and peer dialogue around learning - Instructors can invite students to discuss the formative learning process together. This practice primarily revolves around mid-semester feedback and small group feedback sessions, where students reflect on the course and instructors respond to student concerns. Students can also identify examples of feedback comments they found useful and explain how they helped. A particularly useful strategy, instructors can invite students to discuss learning goals and assignment criteria, and weave student hopes into the syllabus.

Promote positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem - Students will be more motivated and engaged when they are assured that an instructor cares for their development. Instructors can allow for rewrites/resubmissions to signal that an assignment is designed to promote development of learning. These rewrites might utilize low-stakes assessments, or even automated online testing that is anonymous, and (if appropriate) allows for unlimited resubmissions.

Provide opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance - Related to the above, instructors can improve student motivation and engagement by making visible any opportunities to close gaps between current and desired performance. Examples include opportunities for resubmission, specific action points for writing or task-based assignments, and sharing study or process strategies that an instructor would use in order to succeed.

Collect information which can be used to help shape teaching - Instructors can feel free to collect useful information from students in order to provide targeted feedback and instruction. Students can identify where they are having difficulties, either on an assignment or test, or in written submissions. This approach also promotes metacognition, as students are asked to think about their own learning. Poorvu Center staff can also perform a classroom observation or conduct a small group feedback session that can provide instructors with potential student struggles.

Instructors can find a variety of other formative assessment techniques through Angelo and Cross (1993), Classroom Assessment Techniques (list of techniques available here).

Summative Assessment Because summative assessments are usually higher-stakes than formative assessments, it is especially important to ensure that the assessment aligns with the goals and expected outcomes of the instruction.

Use a Rubric or Table of Specifications - Instructors can use a rubric to lay out expected performance criteria for a range of grades. Rubrics will describe what an ideal assignment looks like, and "summarize" expected performance at the beginning of term, providing students with a trajectory and sense of completion.

Design Clear, Effective Questions - If designing essay questions, instructors can ensure that questions meet criteria while allowing students freedom to express their knowledge creatively and in ways that honor how they digested, constructed, or mastered meaning. Instructors can read about ways to design effective multiple choice questions.

Assess Comprehensiveness - Effective summative assessments provide an opportunity for students to consider the totality of a course's content, making broad connections, demonstrating synthesized skills, and exploring deeper concepts that drive or found a course's ideas and content.

Make Parameters Clear - When approaching a final assessment, instructors can ensure that parameters are well defined (length of assessment, depth of response, time and date, grading standards); knowledge assessed relates clearly to content covered in course; and students with disabilities are provided required space and support.

Consider Blind Grading - Instructors may wish to know whose work they grade, in order to provide feedback that speaks to a student's term-long trajectory. If instructors wish to provide truly unbiased summative assessment, they can also consider a variety of blind grading techniques.

Considerations for Online Assessments

Effectively implementing assessments in an online teaching environment can be particularly challenging. The Poorvu Center shares these recommendations.

References

Nicol, D.J. and Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006) Formative assessment and self‐regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education 31(2): 2-19.

Theall, M. and Franklin J.L. (2010). Assessing Teaching Practices and Effectiveness for Formative Purposes. In: A Guide to Faculty Development. KJ Gillespie and DL Robertson (Eds). Jossey Bass: San Francisco, CA.

Trumbull, E., & Lash, A. (2013). Understanding formative assessment: Insights from learning theory and measurement theory. San Francisco: WestEd.

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Examples of Formative and Summative Assessments Examples of Formative and Summative Assessments Formative Summative In-class discussions Instructor-created exams Clicker questions Standardized tests Low-stakes group work Final projects

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Introduce and practice different teaching strategies such as direct instruction, cooperative learning, and inquiry-based learning. Role-play these strategies in small groups.

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Analyze the components of a lesson (introduction, main activity, closure). Create a sample lesson outline using a provided template.

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Throughout the lesson, observe participants' engagement and understanding. Use quick polls or quizzes to check comprehension of key concepts.

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In pairs, review each other's sample lesson plans using a provided rubric. Offer constructive feedback for improvement.

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Create a complete lesson plan incorporating all elements discussed. Submit for instructor review and feedback.

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In small groups, discuss key takeaways from the lesson planning process. Share insights on how this will impact future teaching practices.

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Complete a brief online form answering: 1) What was the most valuable thing you learned today? 2) What aspect of lesson planning do you still find challenging? 3) How will you apply today's learning in your next lesson?

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Develop a detailed lesson plan for an upcoming class, incorporating all elements discussed today. Be prepared to present and discuss in the next session.

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Write a reflective entry about your lesson planning process. What worked well? What challenges did you face? How might you improve next time?

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Explore online resources for lesson planning. Find and share at least two useful tools or websites on our collaborative Padlet board.

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Top 5 Websites for Lesson Planning Resources | i-to-i TEFL

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Being a fresh TEFL teacher, lesson planning might be the most daunting task on your mind. Not to worry! Here are top 5 websites to help.