Education and Applying Diversity Portrait

When creating a diversity portrait, the identified student group that faced an achievement gap compared with state averages was the black student group. It was identified that the two areas where the identified group performed lower than the state averages were mathematics and low attendance. It has been established in the previous papers that Black students find it easier to refer to their peers instead of their teachers for solving a problem. They can be mixed into groups of Black and White students, both best performing and low performing students, so that this intermix enables them to relate to the students more. They would be more committed to attending school and participating well in class, leading to lower absenteeism.
This paper aims at providing a specially designed lesson plan for an instructional remediation activity. The paper's foundation is that diversity is an inevitable part of our societies and that the educators should emphasize different learning styles for accommodating the varied styles in the classroom. The lesson plan would be for Mathematics since this is the subject where more emphasis is needed for the identified group. There can be several lesson plans since the Black students are weak in this course; however, only one topic would be selected for this paper. The sample lesson plan for the selected mathematics' topic of fractions would be provided in the template below (Gregory, n.a.).
Lesson Title: Fraction Pizza
Content Area:
Fractions
Grade Level (if Applicable): Grade 4
Overview of Lesson: The lesson would aim at providing clear concepts of the fraction by using an example of pizza. The circular shape is best used to describe portions, and thus, fractions are easily comprehendible by the Black students. The teacher's differentiation strategies would be made of flexible groups, including both Black and White students, for improved learning (Abbati, 2012, p. 7). Varied delivery of instructions would also be used in the light of differentiated instruction. The concept of tiering and compressing the assignments would be utilized to build small tasks upon one another. The students' readiness would be tested with this approach and address different understanding levels of distinct students. The use of extra resources and materials would also be encouraged for differentiated learning so that children learn according to their own pace, behaviors, and capabilities. However, since the selected lesson plan is simple, numerous materials would not be required. Complexity levels are kept low so that students remain on the same page. Slow learners have to be taken along; the teacher would ensure that concepts are repeated to them to ask more questions and learn more.
Learning Objectives: The learners would be able to understand and compare equivalent fractions. The visuals representations would help them in showcasing tangible fractions.
Target Student Group: The targeted student group is the Black students within the class, grade 4. The learning profiles of various students among the Black ones are diverse. Their interests and intelligence preferred tasks are unlike. This lesson plan is devised for addressing those styles. Some like to learn visually, and some like to learn in written form. Therefore, tangible and visual interpretations of fractions have been included in the plan.
Key Content Concepts:
The key concepts taught in this lesson are recognition and generation of basic fractions by using visual images and supportive materials. Understanding whether half of the figure, such as pizza used in this lesson plan, is equivalent to what fraction and what fraction symbolizes one whole.
The rationale for Instructional Remediation Strategy and Universal Design Principles:
The universal design principles (UDL) have been effective in the learning environment where students with diverse backgrounds are present (Courey et al., 2012), just as in this selected grade 4 class. Principle 1, which is related to the representation of information, is done by providing information in various forms (Al-Azawei, Serenelli & Lundqvist, 2016) like guessing games hangman, visual diagrams of the circle, picturing pizza in the form of fractions and circle divisions, and stimulating thought processes to idealize their favorite toppings pizza at home or restaurant. The second principle, which is related to action and expression, is used by allowing the students to use alternatives for expressing their ideas (Rao & Meo, 2016). They are given options for responding in the form of coloring, cutting, pasting the types of pizza, the styles of pizza toppings were left their liking and discretion. The third principle, which is related to engagement, is used highly in the lesson plan. Since these students' age group is such that learning visually and with the help of picture representations, they would learn fast. Similarly, small activities like hangman, asking how many like to eat pizza, thinking of more than one pizza toppings in half and half are examples of layering and tiering of activities one over the other. Increased levels of engagement and participation are the sole objectives behind this learning principle.
Materials/Technology Required for Lesson:
· Copies of a circle made into eight divisions or parts
· Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
· Pencils
· Scissors
· Glue
· Worksheets
Instructional Steps for Conducting the Lesson:
i. The teacher would begin the lesson by playing a hangman game and allow the students to guess the word "Pizza."
ii. When the students would have guessed the word, they would ask them how many of them like to eat it.
iii. Encouraging the students to think about their favorite topping of the pizza, for example, cheese and pepperoni. The students would think about the toppings for 30 seconds or one minute and then answer the teacher. Varied delivery of instruction would be used here for increasing their engagement levels.
iv. The teacher would also prompt the students to think of a pizza with more than one type of topping, like that in half and half. Two toppings and two flavors would be introduced to the students. The pupils would answer whether they have seen such a pizza and has ever been delivered at home or eaten at a restaurant.
v. Once the teacher would have gained a surety that they have observed such a pizza in real life, she would explain that this is a fraction.
vi. The teacher can also use the board to write different types of fractions like ½, 2/3, 2/4, and 1 whole pizza, etc.
vii. After that, the teacher would divide the class into small groups. The teacher would keep in mind that Black and White students mixed group is made. For example, in a group of 4, 2 White and 2 Black students are combined. Moreover, fast and slow learners would be brought together in one group to encourage mixed learning.
viii. Worksheets with some exercises would be handed over to the students. On the first page, a circle with eight divisions would be presented.
ix. The students would be asked to make their favorite pizza with toppings in half and half form or one whole, as they desire.
x. The teacher would ask the students to cut each slice with scissors and write their names on each slice's back.
xi. They would be asked to exchange 1/8 of the pizza slices to their group members, and other similar fractions would be advised to be exchanged within the group fellows.
xii. After three or four rounds and after exchanging two or more slices, they would be asked at the end of this task how many slices they have, either 7/8 or one whole pizza, etc. The students would answer after counting the slices in their hands.
xiii. After listening to their answers, the teacher would correct those students who have answered wrong or have more than eight slices or one whole pizza in their hands. More exchanges would be done with those who have less number of slices in their hands.
xiv. When every student shares exchanged pizza slices, they would be asked to paste those slices on their worksheets where the circle and eight divisions would have been presented in the beginning.
xv. A small exercise at the end would be given on the same worksheet, next page, where colored portions of the circles would be given, so that colored portions are mentioned as fractions of the total circle. This would be a small individual task so that each student's understanding, based on their learning capabilities, is tested. This would also provide a basis for evaluation and assessment to check how much the students have learned in the class. The visual fractions on the worksheets would be given to the students for this purpose.
xvi. A closing activity would be presented to apply fractions in their other everyday life things, such as cake, pie, etc. They would be asked to learn fractions at home, especially the next time when they order pizza.
Conclusion
The lesson plan is formulated by keeping in mind the varied needs of Black students as they belong to diverse backgrounds. In the initial diversity papers, it was identified that Black students performed lower in Mathematics and had low attendance rates when compared with state averages for grade 4. The attendance problem is eliminated by mixing Black students with Whites, making small groups, and giving them class activities to elevate engagement levels. The Mathematics lesson plan is designed based on universal design principles (UDL) and differentiated instruction for better results.
References
Abbati, D.G. (2012). Differentiated instruction: Understanding the personal factors and organizational conditions that facilitate differentiated instruction in elementary mathematics classrooms (Master's dissertation). Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/content/qt4kr1559n/qt4kr1559n_noSplash_4854756c2e2aeead29b88a2f7870d0d8.pdf
Al-Azawei, A., Serenelli, F. & Lundqvist, K. (2016). Universal design for learning (UDL): A content analysis of peer-reviewed journal papers from 2012 to 2015. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(3), 39-56. DOI: 10.14434/josotl.v16i3.19295
Courey, S.J., Tappe, P., Siker, J. & LePage, P. (2012). Improved lesson planning with universal design for learning (UDL). Teacher Education and Special Education, 20(10), 1-21. DOI: 10.1177/0888406412446178
Gregory, K. (n.a.). Lesson Plans: Fun fraction pizza. Teacher.org. Retrieved from https://www.teacher.org/lesson-plan/fun-fraction-pizza/
Rao, K. & Meo, G. (2016). Using universal design for learning to design standards-based lessons. Sage Journals, 2016, 1-12. DOI: 10.1177/2158244016680688