Legitimizing Differences
This vignette features a first year teacher Liz who is having trouble engaging her students.
In the first video Liz talks to her menu about her feelings about reaching students who do not participate.
<quiz display=simple>
{Based on this above video what do you think are Liz's main concerns?
|type="()"}
- Covering the material.
|| She does have a worry about time but that is not the biggest obstacle.
+ Not embarrassing students by singling them out.
|| Yes, she sees attention focused on a student as negative.
- Apathy about students.
|| No, she seems to care about the students.
- Showing high student grades.
|| She is not thinking about grades in this context.
</quiz>
Now watch the following video to see how Liz applies the technique of legitimizing differences in her classroom.
<quiz display=simple> {What effect did the technique have on the class? |type="()"} - Students resented having their time wasted. || No, most people are social learners and become more engaged when working in a group. - Students appeared very uncomfortable. || Initially they were surprised but soon warmed to the attention. - No effect. || No, watch the video again. + Students appeared to show more interest. || Yes, students were interested in the experience of their peers.
</quiz>
Main Points