For many years, traditional practices made us think that the learning process was the same for everyone. However, studies have shown that it does not work this way. In the classroom, we have different students and all of them have their own pace, our role is to provide them a learning environment in wich diversity can be included and respected.

Our classrooms are diverse. We have students from different realities and experiences. Paulo Freire affirms that ‘‘getting to know the reality in which our students live is a duty that the educational practice imposes: without it, we do not have access to the way our students think, hardly then, we can see what they know and how they know’’ (FREIRE, 1997, p.53, my translation). As educators, we must know our students and understand their realities. In the learning process, stories and experiences are not left behind, actually, they are part of it. It is a mistake to think our students come to class without anything but consuming knowledge.

Hence, students are not homogeneous, there are a lot of things educators need to consider when it comes to teaching and learning. Our students are not on the same page due to the fact that they are not equal. Respecting the differences, stories, realities and students’ rhythm is part of our pedagogical practice. Understanding the diversity in the classroom is essential in order to build a strong connection with our students. Technological resources have helped us in the path of constructing a learning process that in Cope and Kalantzis words is ‘‘more engaging, more effective, more resource efficient, and more equitable in the face of learner diversity’’ (COPE&KALANTZIS, 2017).

REFERENCES

COPE, B., and KALANTZIS, M. (2017). Conceptualizing e-learning. In: B. Cope and M. Kalantzis (Eds), e-Learning Ecologies. New York: Routledge.

FREIRE, Paulo. Pedagogia da autonomia: saberes necessários à prática educativa. 25.ed. São Paulo: Paz e Terra, 1996.

The following video talks a little bit about diverse learners: