Diverse Learners

The attached images are posters, that I made, that are being used to support my students’ latest project, a paper mola. (A mola is a decorative fabric that originates from the San Blas Islands, off the coast of Panama.) It is extremely useful to make large scale images for each step in the making process for all students, whether they are nonnative English speakers, special needs, or typical students.

Just like any other classroom, my students work at varied paces (complete the work at different times). I have to demonstrate and present new information as students are ready to progress; this happens at different times for different students. Posters allow me to accommodate each student individually. As each student approaches me with a question, “what do I do now?” or “what did I miss last week?” I simply instruct them to read the posters and see if they can figure out what the next step is. If they can’t resolve their question then I point out where they are in the process and explain what to do next, using the posters as a visual aid.

For students who have attention deficit disorders, the posters help to keep them organized and focusing on one direction at a time. For learners who are nonnative English speakers, it provides the student a chance to look at the direction in print. Often times, I am speaking while in motion and the student may not be able to see my mouth. Having the words in print helps the students slowly process translation. The visual cues help beginning English learners to associate image to word and it allows me an opportunity to point to an object and ask the student to teach me the vocabulary word in their native language.

Finally, the posters help the students to see my thought process, the creative decisions and steps I made in the process to create the tangible example of a completed piece. They respond well to seeing me demonstrate the process. Having these posters displayed helps me answer the common question, “how did you do that?” to the needs of my diverse learners and the diverse styles of learning of all students.