The definition of diversity considers student age, economic, ethnicity, and physical, academical backgrounds and more. Implementing an inclusive teaching approach can enhance students learning by creating a flexible learning environment for students so that their own interest and experience can be integrated into subject matter. I value student diversity because it encourages students to share their knowledge, experience, and unique perspective with others. Addressing student diversity can help me better follow student-center teaching philosophy that considers their needs. Studies have shown students who lack of sufficient learning experience in subjects like mathematics often have low confidence, leading them to avoid taking related activities that could benefit them. Student learning technique issues and environment issues can continuously impair their learning experience, and addressing the issues is crucial.
When issues with student retention rate in higher education context arise, teachers are encouraged to step in to improve student retention rate by implementing an inclusive approach that aligns with the increasing demand for student diversity. The framework of the approach provides students opportunities to express themselves and represent information in multiple ways during their learning activities, which have been proven to be productive. This approach takes into consideration the student-center idea that student own knowledge, interest and experience should be connected to their learning.
When I began to teach math, I was puzzled by the students’ slow reaction to class lecture, especially when the lecture content didn’t seem to attract them. Hot moments could occur at the time students were struggling by questions they were not able to access but must be understood for upcoming tests. During the moments, it was challenging to communicate effectively with my students. One explanation for this problem is lectures were not appropriate for students in my classroom. They were not able to understand the lectures, which failed to draw their interest to the lecture content, ultimately impact their ability to learn. To address the issue, I must reform lectures instruction content, style, and format by associating their interest and their experiences, and using multiple resources and materials. Additionally, I need to be sensible to the diversity of my students caused by their culture.
In other words, an inclusive teaching approach that considers student diversity requires careful attention to lecture content design and pedagogy practices within the classroom teaching environment. Since preparation from teachers and from students are both crucial to student retention and academic performance, and improving student engagement is a key element in achieving students’ goal, student engagement plays a significant role to help students succeed. Students are known to learn new knowledge more effectively in a classroom setting than at home, so our focus should be on improving classroom teaching effectiveness. In fact, I have been striving to incorporate teaching innovation into my classroom such as teaching calculus or statistics knowledge though project-based learning. After learning AI technology that is mathematics-based, I plan to incorporate the knowledge and skills into my teaching projects. I aim to enhance my teaching and student learning by integrating technology into the classroom to provide a more dynamic and engaging learning experience. I believe that my students, particularly those who have life experience, will have a strong interest and appreciation for the change in my teaching style. They will see mathematics subject learning is not just about earning a credit, but also about obtaining skills for their job seeking and for their further studies. By incorporating technology and project-based learning into my teaching approach, I aim to make math more accessible and relevant to all my students, regardless of their background or level of prior knowledge.