Multicultural Learning Process

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First of all, teachers need to put the students first and consider the learning outcomes that they want to achieve. These learning outcomes need to be specific so that later in the process it will be possible to evaluate the learning. The learners age, stage of development, previous learning and learning style - kinesthetic, visual or auditory, need to be taken into account. In the primary years from age 5-7 the children are very receptive. They learn by observing and doing. From age 8 they like their ideas to be appreciated, tend to develop personal interests and hobbies and be more involved with friends. In the pre-teen years children may begin to identify with famous people and imitate them, give more importance to their peer group or…show more content…
We may be teaching in a multicultural school, or we may be teaching in a culture which is very different from our own. A few years ago I was teaching some students from Korea. The children needed to improve their writing skills. They were completely unfamiliar with essay writing and giving and arguing their point from their own perspective. I found this baffling. I spent some time trying to get them to talk about their feelings and opinions in general, as an initial exercise, but it was difficult to get them to participate. I discovered that in their society they have a much more collectivist view and consider themselves more as members of a group and how the group interact and affects each other that westerners do. Due to this they were not accustomed to giving their opinions or creating argument…show more content…
All of us immediately recognize a classroom because its layout has been the same for centuries. It seems that traditional classrooms were influenced by the behaviorist view that children are passive receivers of knowledge and have to be filled up like a container and trained using reward and punishment. Teachers need to create a learning environment that is safe and practical. The tables and chairs can be arranged to encourage group learning and interaction – spaced around the room with chairs on all sides. The students and teachers can move around and interact. The classroom can have areas where tasks and projects can be displayed and other resources can be made available. This kind of environment is influenced by the cognitive view that children need to be provided with opportunities to search and find their own answers. Teachers need to provide the resources and be observers and facilitators. Children are active and responsible for their own

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