Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction Vocabulary Pretest 1. Influences A Few Definitions to Consider Back to the Future What Are the Issues Now? 2. How Are We Diverse? Why Is It Important to Examine Differences? Cultural Diversity Diversity of Modalities Diversity of Socioeconomic Status Diversity of Race/Ethnicity 3. Recognizing the Signs of Bias Linguistic Bias Stereotyping Exclusion Unreality Selectivity Isolation 4. The Road to Closing the Achievement Gap The Urban Achievement Gap: Fact Versus Fiction What Can Teachers Do? 5. Which Teaching and Learning Strategies Make the Most Difference in Closing the Gap? What Is a Best Practice? High Expectations: Why They Matter The Role of the Self-System in Learning We Have Their Attention--Now What? General Ideas for Cognition Some Additional Thoughts How Do We Deal With Language Acquisition Skills? 6. Working With Diversity: A Teacher?s Checklist Vocabulary Summary Vocabulary Posttest References Index
"The book provides a root cause analysis of why so many students are failing in America's public schools. The materials translate research into practice and provide a rich collection of data for instructional strategies." -Mary Reeve, Director, Services for Exceptional Students Gallup McKinley County Schools, NM Innovative, research-based strategies to reach all the learners in your class! This second edition of the best-selling volume in the What Every Teacher Should Know series presents critical information about teaching learners from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, language, ability, and special needs backgrounds. Updated throughout, this essential guide assimilates new data about how the brain processes information and provides tools for understanding and working with diverse students, including a cultural proficiency checklist, a vocabulary pretest and posttest, and a vocabulary summary. Donna Walker Tileston explores: Brain-compatible teaching strategies that engage diverse learners Signs of bias to avoid in the classroom, including stereotypes, exclusion, selectivity, and more How culture affects learning styles Updated research on teaching children in poverty Guidelines for working with English language learners What Every Teacher Should Know About Diverse Learners shows teachers how to set high expectations for all students and facilitate their progress in fulfilling those expectations.
Donna Walker Tileston is a veteran teacher and administrator. She is currently the president of Strategic Teaching and Learning, a consulting firm that provides services to schools throughout the United States and worldwide. Donna's publications include Ten Best Teaching Practices: How Brain Research, Learning Styles, and Standards Define Teaching Competencies (2000), which has been on Corwin's bestseller list since its first year in print, in addition to the ten-volume award-winning series What Every Teacher Should Know, now in its second edition. Other recent titles are Teaching Strategies for Active Learning (2006), Teaching Strategies that Prepare Students for High Stakes Tests (2008), and Closing the Poverty and Culture Gap (2009). Donna received her BA from the University of North Texas, her MA from East Texas State University, and her EdD from Texas A & M University-Commerce. She may be reached at www.whateveryteachershouldknow.com