Misconceptions Of Diversity

Diversity consciousness enables individuals to be successful especially in learning environments. Unfortunately, many people have misconceptions of diversity. We, most of the time, tend to limit our awareness of diversity to just certain dimensions, such as gender, race, culture, religion. There are several hidden dimensions of diversity that are important to be aware of such as learning styles, personalities, personal expectations etc. In a school environment, having a broad range of learning styles is essential to the success of a student. We are all different and from the very first day a student sets feet on a campus, he/she will have to deal with differences. Moreover, a student does not get chance to pick his/her classmates or the professors' teaching methods. Therefore, having a narrowed learning style can be problematic to a student development. In my country, Mali, the teaching and learning methods are quite different from here. 95% of the time professors give only lectures and class discussions are very limited. When I came here, my first semester at college was hard. I had professors that opted for more class discussions and presentations rather than giving just lectures. I had to readjust my learning styles and accommodate myself to the new
Professors should not be the only sources of learning for students. I personally believe that encouraging students to learn from each other can better their understanding. Students tend to understand each other better because they share the same stress, feel the same fear failure and most significantly have the same level of vocabulary which makes it fluid their interactions. For instance, it is sometimes hard for some professors to explain things in less technical ways; however, a student that understood the explanation can enlighten his/her peers by using casual and effective