Standard 3-Diverse Learners

A teacher must understand how students differ in their approaches to learning and create instructional opportunities that are adapted to students with diverse backgrounds and exceptionalities.

Substandards

A. understand and identify differences in approaches to learning and performance, including varied learning styles and performance modes and multiple intelligences; and know how to design instruction that uses a student's strengths as the basis for continued learning;

B. know about areas of exceptionality in learning, including learning disabilities, perceptual difficulties, and special physical or mental challenges, gifts, and talents;

C. know about the process of second language acquisition and about strategies to support the learning of students whose first language is not English;

D. understand how to recognize and deal with dehumanizing biases, discrimination, prejudices, and institutional and personal racism and sexism;

E. understand how a student's learning is influenced by individual experiences, talents, and prior learning, as well as language, culture, family, and community values;

F. understand the contributions and lifestyles of the various racial, cultural, and economic groups in our society;

G. understand the cultural content, world view, and concepts that comprise Minnesota-based American Indian tribal government, history, language, and culture;

H. understand cultural and community diversity; and know how to learn about and incorporate a student's experiences, cultures, and community resources into instruction;

I. understand that all students can and should learn at the highest possible levels and persist in helping all students achieve success;

J. know about community and cultural norms;

K. identify and design instruction appropriate to a student's stages of development, learning styles, strengths, and needs;

L. use teaching approaches that are sensitive to the varied experiences of students and that address different learning and performance modes;

M. accommodate a student's learning differences or needs regarding time and circumstances for work, tasks assigned, communication, and response modes;

N. identify when and how to access appropriate services or resources to meet exceptional learning needs;

O. use information about students' families, cultures, and communities as the basis for connecting instruction to students' experiences;

P. bring multiple perspectives to the discussion of subject matter, including attention to a student's personal, family, and community experiences and cultural norms; and

Q. develop a learning community in which individual differences are respected.