I believe that students come into the classroom with a variety of different backgrounds

and strengths. As a teacher, I feel that it is important for students to understand and realize that

the classroom is a safe place where it is okay to make mistakes and have varying opinions. These

differences in opinions can be the result of various cultural differences among students. I feel

that it is important to acknowledge these differences early, this is because students should be

aware of the differences among themselves and their classmates (Zaragoza & Fraser, 2017). I

have noticed that the differences in opinions have mainly come about during the units such as

evolution. When students hear the word evolution, they tend to automatically assume that

teachers are trying to make them believe in a topic. I feel that as a teacher it is important that

students realize that evolution is part of their standards and that they do not have to believe in

everything that the theory holds. I saw that this disclaimer at the beginning of the unit was a

great way for the students to understand that I am not trying to sway their beliefs in any way, but

rather trying to teach them the science behind why evolution is supported. I have also told

students that I am available to address any of their concerns outside of class. I feel that this gave

the students more freedom to ask questions and allowed them to feel safer in discussing topics

that seem loaded (Hall& Woika, 2018).

Since students come in with various cultural backgrounds, I feel that this can be

leveraged to a certain extent in a science class (Eshach, Wu, Hwang, &Hsu, 2014). Many

students enjoy working together in groups, so a science class is a great place to allow students to

work together to solve different problems. This was evident when the students were playing

jeopardy as a review game. The students were split into groups based on their tables and were

allowed to work together to answer the questions. This group mentality is important for students

because as budding scientists, they will need to be able to work well in groups and with different
types of people. This skill can only be accomplished through working in groups often, and

changing groups often. I typically change the students’ seats after each test, so that students will

be able to work with different classmates and will develop their skills when working with

different types of people.

In science I also feel that students should be able to listen to the opinions of others

without interruption. Students should feel safe enough to voice their opinion and not fear

critiques from myself or their classmates. I encourage the students to listen and acknowledge the

opinions that their classmates have, though they do not have to necessarily agree with every

work that is said. Hearing this difference will allow the students to analyze and construct well

thought out arguments either for or against opinions that they may have. I feel that even if

opinions differ, students should be able to accept the difference and find the tools to move past

the differences. I try and help them by staying neutral, and not interfering in an argument too

early. This means that I will allow the students to debate their opinions as long as it is safe in the

classroom, and that students are not personally attacking their classmates. I will interfere if I see

that the argument is upsetting a particular student (Shane, Binns, Meadows, Hermann, & Benus,

2016). Student opinions are important to me because at the end of the say it is their classroom. I

feel that students should play a significant role in how the classroom is run and they should feel

safe enough to voice their opinions. This is evident when the students felt safe enough during the

jeopardy review game to work together, to try and answer the questions. The students also felt

safe asking questions during the genetics review. This review was done upon reflection of quiz

grades. The students did not grasp these concepts completely, and the genetics review was

designed to help the students who were struggling to clear up their questions and for other

students to help them as well (Young, 2018).

 References

Eshach, H. h., Wu, H., Hwang, F., & Hsu, Y. (2014). Whole Class Dialogic Discussion Meets

Taiwan's Physics Teachers: Attitudes and Culture. Journal Of Science Education &

Technology, 23(1), 183-197. doi:10.1007/s10956-013-9462-8

HALL, G. E., & WOIKA, S. A. (2018). The Ongoing Challenges to Evolution Education:

Schools, the Law, and Classroom Instruction. American Biology Teacher (University Of

California Press), 80(2), 87. doi:10.1525/abt.2018.80.2.87

Shane, J. j., Binns, I., Meadows, L., Hermann, R., & Benus, M. (2016). Beyond Evolution:

Addressing Broad Interactions Between Science and Religion in Science Teacher

Education. Journal Of Science Teacher Education, 27(2), 165-181. doi:10.1007/s10972-

016-9449-4

Young Imm Kang, S. (2018). Fostering Culturally Responsive Schools: Student Identity

Development in Cross-Cultural Classrooms. International Journal Of Education & The

Arts, 19(1-4), 1-23. doi:10.18113/P8ijea1903

Zaragoza, J., & Fraser, B. (2017). Field-study science classrooms as positive and enjoyable

learning environments. Learning Environments Research, 20(1), 1-20.

doi:10.1007/s10984-016-9219-4