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.

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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.

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Main Points