Tutoring and Demonstrating Ch. 5

Chapter 5. STUDENT DIVERSITY: RECOGNISING AND VALUING DIFFERENCE

The University of Melbourne does not have a 'typical' student but attracts students with vastly different backgrounds and identities. This diversity applies to a number of aspects of student identity, including race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, and political and religious beliefs. The diversity of the University's student population is valued, and the University aims to create an environment that allows and encourages all students to realise their academic potential. Nevertheless, student diversity can be a source of tension in the classroom.

In pursuit of the University's goals, teaching and learning practices must be non-discriminatory. This means that the activities planned should not create or impose hierarchical differences between students. Most particularly, the use of non-discriminatory language in the classroom is essential. The booklet, What Did I Say? Using Non-Discriminatory Language, published by the Equal Opportunity Unit, is profitable reading. It explains how language can discriminate, either intentionally or otherwise, and how this can reinforce stereotypes and cause insult and offence. The booklet offers advice on the use of inclusive language.

As well as being non-discriminatory, there is a more active sense in which teaching and learning practices at the University should celebrate diversity and be inclusive of student identities. This means giving thought to the attitudes, beliefs and expectations of students as individuals, and considering how these influence their approaches to learning and their interactions with yourself and with peers. In the design of curricula, in the translation of curricula into day-to-day teaching and learning, and in the assessment of learning, every effort should be made to be aware of student diversity and to devise experiences that allow all students to participate equally and to benefit equally.

Valuing the perspectives of women and men

In recent years, we have all become more aware of how deep-seated assumptions about male and female behaviour and roles have affected education. These assumptions are being challenged in many ways, but some linger, unexamined and often unconscious. Universities were so long the preserve of men that it is not surprising if the culture still bears some of the marks of old traditions. Day-to-day practices may sometimes be influenced by the presumption that male experiences are the norm, though this is changing very quickly.

Women report feeling uncomfortable in some classrooms because of subtle features of the procedures which marginalise them. The automatic use of 'he' is one such custom and the importance of non-discriminatory language has already been stressed. Beyond this, there may be a need at times to consciously 'make room' for women's voices. A number of studies suggest that they do not always get their fair share of the floor in mixed discussion groups. The pattern of marginalisation can extend to the kinds of examples that are used to illustrate points and the kinds of experiences that are regarded as universal or central. Conversely, some men in largely female classes may feel that their perspectives and experiences are not taken seriously.

There are no easy rules for transforming perceptions; the whole society is engaged in a complex, and sometimes painful, re-thinking of many attitudes. The essential general principle is one of self-awareness. Try to be aware of, and analyse, your own assumptions and be aware of the people with whom you are dealing. This is a matter of empathy, thinking yourself into their positions. Basic good will in this area, as in all areas which involve difference, goes a long way.

You should be aware that the University has binding policies on Equal Opportunity and Sexual Harassment and that both the Commonwealth and the State of Victoria have legislation prohibiting discrimination and harassment. The term 'sexual harassment' covers a range of inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour; definitions and explanations are given in several university publications available from the Equal Opportunity Unit: a pamphlet, Sexual harassment, and a longer booklet, Sexual harassment and procedures to resolve sexual harassment complaints. You should not try to resolve a complaint of sexual harassment; students should be referred to someone trained for that purpose. The University has a number of Sexual Harassment Advisers.

The Equal Opportunity Unit has produced other publications dealing with gender issues in education, such as the pamphlet, Gender-inclusive curriculum: some considerations, and several detailed studies of gender in the curricula of particular disciplines, such as Economics, Engineering and Forestry. Details of how to contact the Equal Opportunity Unit are in the section 'Services for Student Referral' in chapter seven.

Supporting students with disabilities

Universities have made great advances in the last decade in facilitating the participation of students with disabilities in university study and life. There are good support services in this University, coordinated by the Disability Liaison Officer, but all staff have a part to play in helping students with disabilities. If you are teaching students with disabilities, you can cooperate with the Disability Liaison Officer in arranging for them to receive assistance in a number of forms, such as provision of note-takers, use of materials in alternate formats, use of specialised equipment and special arrangements for examinations and other assessment.

There is also a program to assist students with learning disabilities. You may wish to learn about what is offered and refer students if you judge that it is appropriate.

The Disability Liaison Office has several publications which provide more detailed information about the services available to students with disabilities, and a series of pamphlets for teaching staff offering advice on teaching students with different kinds of disabilities, such as mobility, vision or hearing impairment, epilepsy or mental illness. Contact details are in the section 'Services for Student Referral'.

Cultural diversity in the classroom

Kate Beattie

It is essential that approaches to teaching and learning recognise the cultural diversity of the University. Many of your students will have had intimate experience of another culture and language, either in their home-life or from living overseas. For some of them, Australia may be a new environment. Other students won't have had the experience of crossing cultures and will know only one language.

As their teacher, your own cultural background is imposed on this diverse cultural mix. There's no doubt you all have much to learn from one another. However, problems may arise as a result of cultural diversity. The classroom is full of stereotypes and prejudices that come from outside the learning situation. How can you encourage learning in a culturally mixed classroom? As it turns out, most of the principles outlined below apply to effective teaching in any context.

1. Differing cultural norms

Your students will have differing cultural norms that determine the way they expect to treat, and be treated by, people in authority, people younger or older than themselves, men or women, people of other races, and so on. All these things, as well as their new relationship with you at the beginning of a program of study, are likely to make them nervous, unsettled and perhaps downright uncomfortable. This is particularly true of students new to the Australian education system.

We tend to be largely unaware of the unwritten rules of our social interactions - understandings about who speaks when, interruptions, eye contact, even the 'comfortable distance' we like to maintain in terms of physical proximity to others. (It is claimed that there are significant variations between different cultures in the distances people keep between them when standing in conversation.) To give just one example: in 'mainstream' Australian education, most teachers expect students to look them in the eye from time to time, as a sign of interest, but in some countries it is considered rude for students to look in the eyes of teachers. When we are operating on different assumptions about 'signals' the resulting interaction can be awkward and unsettling, and often we don't understand why.

It would be impossible to give a full list here of the cultural practices and suppositions you may encounter among the student body. It would also be undesirable, as such lists run the danger of stereotyping, ignoring the complex range of individual differences in every culture. The general principles are clear:

• Try to become aware of your own practices, values and assumptions, so you don't treat these as 'given' and universal.
• Be sensitive to others' practices, values and assumptions; try to read body language as well as speech and, if necessary, discuss difficulties with individuals or groups.

2. Differing educational expectations

Your students may well have different perceptions from you of their roles as learners and of your role as their teacher, depending upon their previous educational experiences. Some of them may be prepared to treat everything you say with deference and not be prepared to argue with you in public, although they may think critically in private. Others, educated in a different culture, may be continually questioning and argumentative, challenging your views and those of other authorities at every opportunity. Still others may be passive learners, and may need prompting into constructive criticism and argument.

Students from some cultures may treat the written word as an authority not to be challenged. For them, education may be conceptualised primarily as a process of receiving the wisdom of respected experts. This can lead to problems with plagiarism, as it is defined in our system. With international students, it is particularly important to clarify understandings of plagiarism and the conceptions of learning on which they are based. (This never goes astray with local students either.) Don't rush in with hasty conclusions about 'cheating', particularly in first year.

As in many areas of teaching, articulation of assumptions can go a long way towards preventing misunderstanding. Students from other countries come here to study because they value certain aspects of the Australian educational experience. So they will not expect you to change your fundamental approach. What they do have a right to expect is explanation of procedures and conventions which operate in this educational environment, and assistance in becoming comfortable with these.

3. Difficulties with language and comprehension

You need to be mindful of the difficulties that some students may have in learning in classes that are conducted in English. There is much that you can do to assist them. To encourage comprehension, you can prepare a glossary of unusual terms and names. You can try to be aware of, and explain, slang and colloquialisms when you use them. Aim to focus on key ideas, rather than trying to cover a lot of details. Repeat main points. Use clear audio/visual aids. Overhead transparencies, if you use them, should be simple and clear. Refer students frequently to written materials which will help to clarify matters which have come up in classes, and which they can study at their own pace.

Make clear the aims and objectives for the course, for each section, and for each session. You should tell students about these, and keep referring back to them. Show students, perhaps by using a skeleton outline of the course, where each session fits.

Don't focus only on language skills in assessing. Expert advice suggests it's best not to try to correct all the English errors; rather, try to correct a few, repeated errors that are crucial to the flow of the argument. Remember that time pressure (for example, in an examination) may unfairly affect students working in a second language. Investigate your department's position on the weight that should be given to expression in assessment. Find out about the support services available to students having difficulties with English and refer students if you judge it is appropriate.

If you wish to pursue these issues further, you will find much valuable advice in Ballard and Clanchy's Teaching students from overseas (1991).

Advice on getting to know students

• Avoid stereotyping and labelling. Your class is made up of individuals. Be alert to cultural patterns, but don't assume that they 'fit' everyone in a given group.
• Become familiar with students' backgrounds. This will inform your teaching. Have the occasional individual discussion with students; build this into the program.
• If you're unsure of students' experience in some areas (for example, lab work), have them work in groups with others whose backgrounds you're familiar with until their competence is established.

... encouraging discussion

• Make sure everyone knows how to address each other, including yourself. Ask students for their preferred name and form of address; some students may prefer formality, others not. Clarify the pronunciation of names with which you are not familiar and practise them: if necessary, note them phonetically for yourself.
• Give students notice they will be asked to talk in a few minutes; this gives them time to gather their thoughts and to find words, especially if they're using a second language.
• Gently encourage students to argue. Explain why you think argument and debate are important and beneficial in the classroom. If they are from another culture, they may not be used to it or may find it distasteful.
• Use examples, anecdotes and analogies with which all students can be expected to be familiar.

... and assisting students with their work

• Model styles of thinking, critical reading and arguing in your teaching, telling students that you are doing this and why. Look at different forms of writing such as the essay or lab report, explaining why they are designed the way they are and what purposes they serve.
• Give students a range of model answers. Show them the style and standard of work expected. Point out how textbooks handle arguments in their discipline and show them examples of other students' work.
• Discuss the need for adequate referencing of others' work. Teach the method and style your department requires.
• If the department policy allows it, comment on outlines or drafts of students' work. This can save them, and yourself, a lot of time and heartache later.

Next chapter: Chapter 6 Teaching formats in higher education

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