How we create an inclusive environment at IWS
Online education provides us the opportunity to interconnect learning experiences of students worldwide. However, we must consider their cultural backgrounds from different parts of the world and make sure that the environment that we provide to them is inclusive, promotes equal opportunities and embraces their diversity.
At IWS, there is an essential list of things we consider for inclusion.
In our school, we have students from different countries and even continents with different customs and traditions. It is crucial that the teaching at IWS creates an environment of respect and cultural diversity in which our students can also learn from their peers. Having students all over the world is a great opportunity to learn from them so you can take advantage of that in your lessons and ask them to tell an interesting fact about their country or culture to break the ice. Your students will feel more understood and listened to and the rest of their colleagues will learn a bit more of different cultures.
Our teachers are responsible for proposing activities to our students in which they can actively participate by asking questions and exchanging opinions and points of view. This enables our students to learn to appreciate what their peers from different parts of the world have to offer. Creating activities in which they can volunteer and express their opinions is a great way to encourage them to be part of their own learning community.
Language can be a barrier when it comes to our students communicating with each other but at IWS we offer tools to avoid misunderstandings or difficulties of expression. All our teachers give their classes in English, but our online sessions can be subtitled. In addition, our platform has a translation system in 40 languages which makes teaching more accessible to our students.
Many of our teachers propose group activities or discussion sessions which encourage our students to share their ideas with their peers and to get closer to their cultures. Working in groups helps to create a more inclusive and respectful communication environment. It might seem that working in groups online is a difficult task, but we have plenty of tools that help us create collaborative activities such as discussion groups, Zoom meetings, Gmail chats, etc.
At IWS we are concerned that the understanding of our diverse students is as optimal as possible, that is why we incorporate in our classes’ audiovisual resources such as videos, games, quizzes among others. The audiovisual elements are a good tool to break down language barriers and thus achieve a more inclusive teaching. It is important to keep in mind that not all students learn the same way and at the same pace so using different resources that adapt to their specific needs will help create a learning environment more inclusive.
These are the essential tools we implement at IWS to provide a more inclusive environment for our students and to make their learning experience more enriching. We want to give our students an education based on respect and values. That’s why we try to facilitate them with the tools and resources that will make them feel more comfortable, understood, and valued even though we are in an online learning environment.
