Running Head: THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY

The Importance of Diversity

Anissa Borgens

Arizona State University

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The Importance of Diversity

This proposal relates to my students at EDUPRIZE Gilbert Charter School in Gilbert,

AZ. I currently teach 7th Grade ELA and Social Studies, as well as the same subjects for 7th

Grade Honor students. In my regular ELA and Social Studies classrooms, I have 28 students that

break down to 15 female to 13 male. Additionally, in my Honors ELA and Social Studies

classrooms I have 24 students that break down evenly to 12 female to 12 male. Our school day

starts every Monday through Friday at 7:55am and on Monday to Thursday we leave at 3:15. On

Fridays, we enjoy a half day that ends at 12:30pm. In the mornings, students begin in their

elective classes before my ELA class begins at 9:30am. At 10:15, students move, and my ELA

Honors class begins and then students have lunch from 11:00am to 11:35am. After, my Honors

students return for Social Studies. Once again, at 12:24, students change classrooms and my

other Social Studies class begins. After this, I teach my application classes where students are

able to apply what they learned in class through activities like writing, test taking or group

discussions. Finally, from 2:50 to 3:15pm, I have my advisory period. In my class, we do not

have as much access to technology as I would like, or I have seen within other schools. I have a

total of 11 Chromebooks that I can allow all of my students to use and a projector that allows me

to broadcast information so that all students can see from sitting at their desks. Ideally, I would

like more of an opportunity for my students to use technology, if possible.

At EDUPRIZE, our mission is to “provide educational excellence to our community of

learners through the use of project-based, multiple modality instruction, and a strong

differentiated curriculum” (EDUPRIZE Schools). We are an A+ school of excellence and strive

to provide every student with the best possible education that will prepare them for the most
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successful life. As a teacher, my philosophy is to treat every student like the unique individuals

that they are while teaching them more than just English and Social Studies. I strive to create an

environment for my students that feels safe and welcoming. Above all, my goal as a teacher is to

provide my students with all of the tools needed to live a happy and successful life. Like my

school, I am a firm believer in project-based learning and every year I assign projects that allow

students to spend time investigating and creating responses to questions or challenges.

For this year I would like to introduce a new project-based lesson that focuses on

diversity at the school. This project will be introduced during the time period in our class in

which we will be discussing WWII. Unfortunately, diverse people are not often discussed when

talking about WWII, so this will be the focus of the project. Students will spend an extended

period of time exploring and answering questions about the diverse people who made history

during WWII. Every day during the project students will learn about new people and eventually

learn why exploring diversity in so important.

Applicant and School Narrative

My name is Mrs. Borgens, and this is my third year teaching at EDUPRIZE. I received

my degree in Secondary Education and History at Arizona State University. While at ASU, I

spent every semester interning and student teaching which provided me with the crucial

experience that solidified my desire to teach. History has always been a hobby of mine, but it

wasn’t until I began teaching students and seeing them make that connection when I taught, that

I realized that my true passion was teaching. When it comes to teaching, I find myself leaning

more towards a humanist and classicist approach. To me, the student is the most important aspect

of teaching. Above all, I want students to see as a source of knowledge as well as a facilitator of

information. I believe all students are citizens of my class that are in control of their own
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education. I strive to provide a classroom that is bountiful with resources that encourages

students to explore and eventually, be the leader of their own learning.

With this being my third year in the classroom, I have been able to observe what works

and what doesn’t. As I stated before, technology is seriously lacking in not only my classroom

but in the school as a whole. Outside of the classroom, the only additional technology available

to the students are desktop computers in our library. I use Google Classrooms and Jupiter where

I am able to communicate with students and parents outside the classroom, as well as post

grades. Sometimes I am able to utilize online games like Quizlet and Kahoot, but due to lack of

sufficient technology, students often have to share laptops among themselves. This year I would

like to implement new technology available to my 7th grade students in the form of individual

Chromebooks. Chromebooks are used in the class but there are simply not enough resources for

every single student. If EDUPRIZE could provide a laptop for every student in my classroom, I

believe my students would be better for it. After all this is the 21st century and in the future

technology will be even more fully integrated in society; I want my students to be prepared.

School Narrative

EDUPRIZE Gilbert is the only A+ charter school in Arizona and includes two separate

schools, one of which is located in Queen Creek. The Gilbert campus includes “a theater in the

round, gymnasiums, multiple technology labs, and beautiful playground facilities” as well as

“Competitive sports, clubs, and a large variety of music programs are offered throughout the

year” (EDUPRIZE Schools). EDUPRIZE is considered an “above-average charter school”

according to the site, Niche. The median household income in the area is significantly higher

than the national average at $87,566. Of the 1,873 students, 49% are female while 51% are male.

Additionally, the school’s racial diversity is broken down by 71.3% White, 18.2% Hispanic,
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3.3% Asian, 3.3% Multiracial, 3% African American, 0.6% Native American and 0.3% Pacific

Islander. (Explore EDUPRIZE, 2017).

Summary of Project and Impact

This project is designed to help bring awareness of diversity to students who may not

experience it every single day. Over 70% of the students attending Eduprize are white and the

median income of the area is significantly higher than the national average. Many students do not

have the opportunity to experience perspectives that are different than their own. Diversity plays

a large role in shaping a culture that understands things from various points of view. With the

provided computers for the students, they will engage in a project-based lesson that focuses

heavily on diversity. Students will have the opportunity to research and present on a diverse

person from history who experienced hardships. This is the main project-based lesson

surrounding this project. However, if students are provided the right equipment, they should be

able to engage in various other project-based lesson plans that revolve around using technology.

This project impacts students learning because studies show that students thrive in

diverse environments. These environments enable students to “concentrate and push themselves

further when there are people of other backgrounds working alongside them. This promotes

creativity, as well as better education, as those with differing viewpoints are able to collaborate

to create solutions” (The Benefits of Diversity in Schools, 2019). Students will be provided new

viewpoints which help enrich their own. Students will be engaged as this is an important to

present in front of their fellow classmates. Additionally, the new technology will be exciting for

students and they will enjoy using it in class.

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Project Impact

Initially, all students in the classroom will notice an impact as they will each be able to

experience technology in the classroom. This will allow them to complete projects and research

online while in class. Additionally, they will be able to correspond with their teacher or check

grades online whenever they need to. This gives more autonomy with their own education while

still being able to monitor if need be. In the future, students will be able to think of new ways to

use the technology provided to them. Project based learning will be in the forefront as students

will be the ones in control of their own learning and will be able to complete any necessary

assignments on the technology.

This project will impact teachers as they will have to spend less time presenting in front

of the class. Instead, teachers will act as facilitators of learning for the students as they use the

provided technology. This will affect my own teaching as I will not have to spend extra time

trying to hunt down spare laptops for my students. It will be easier for me as a teacher because I

will be able to spend more time making sure all students understand and answering any

additional questions. This project will impact the school because it is important for the

community to adapt to changing times and understand the positive impact diversity can have. If

students are made more aware of how important it is to appreciate diversity, this appreciation

may carry into other areas in the community. Hopefully once the district sees how successfully

this project has been, they will be more inclined to provide necessary technology for other

schools. When students complete their project with the technology provided, they will feel more

connected to the concept of diversity and make connections to their own community.
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Project Narrative

Learning Goals and Outcomes

 What is diversity?

 Where do you see diversity in your life?

 What would it look like if there was no diversity?

 How do you embrace diversity in your life?

 How would you change attitudes towards diversity at this school?

 What did diversity look like during WWII?

 How would it feel to be a woman during WWII?

 How would life be different for an African American during WWII?

AZ-ED Standards

HS.SP1.2 Classify a series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or

continuity.

HS.SP1.1 Analyze connections among events and developments in various geographic and

cultural contexts.

HS.SP1.3 Evaluate the significance of past events as they relate to their own lives and the world.

HS.SP2.3 Demonstrate historical empathy when examining individuals or groups in the past

whose perspectives might be very different from those held today.

HS.H1.1 Compare the development and characteristics of historical cultures and civilizations

from different global regions within designated time periods.

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6.H4.1 Use primary and secondary sources to describe how different group identities (racial,

ethnic, class, gender, regional, immigrant/migration) emerged and contributed to societal and

regional development, characteristics, and interactions over time.

ISTE Standards

1a- Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology

to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.

1c- Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and

to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

3d- Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing

ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

My project is structured to allow for the skills of collaboration, research, communication,

creativity, and innovation. Students work and communicate together to research a person from

history that may be different from themselves. As they work together, they will innovate new

ways to relay their knowledge to the rest of their classmates.

Description of Project-Based Learning Unit Activities

Day One: This is the day of the entry activity in which I will enter the classroom,

dressed in character, explaining the beginning of a new project in class.

Students will be engaged as I discuss the new and exciting topic we

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will be exploring. We will also sit down as a whole class and have a

discussion of what diversity means to us and what is looks like in our

community. Afterwards students will share what they know about

WWII so far and we will watch a short video about WWII to give them

a first glance at what we will be studying. While watching the film,

students will take notes in the provided template on Evernote.

Day Two: Students will get into groups of four where every person has a role that

they fulfill. Roles include timekeeper, elaborator, presenter and note

keeper. While in roles, students will answer questions on an online

worksheet about the video they watched in the previous class about

WWII.

Day Three: Students will split into groups of four where they go to a corner of the

room. In each corner there will be station with an activity about an

often underrepresented group of people from WWII. (Women, African

Americans, etc.) In these stations they will complete the activities and

move onto the next station. Each station will take about 30 minutes.

Day Four: Students will split into groups of four where they go to a corner of the

room. In each corner there will be station with an activity about an

often underrepresented group of people from WWII. (Women, African

Americans, etc.) In these stations they will complete the activities and

move onto the next station. Each station will take about 30 minutes.
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Day Five: Students will fill out a journal entry as if they were one of the people

from their corners in the previous days of class writing to a family

member during WWII.

Day Six: Students will pick up a piece of paper with a firsthand account of the

day in life of a person during the war. Each piece of paper will be

about a different person. Students will then fill out a profile on the

person they read about.

Day Seven: Students will organize their profiles and place them on a timeline that

covers the time period during the war.

Day Eight: Students will have time to finish their presentations and ask any

questions about the final project they have been working on.

Day Nine: Students will begin presenting on their historical figure from the period

of WWII and turn in their online portfolio.

Day Ten: Students will finish their presentations of their historical figure and

turn in their online portfolio. Students will fill out a self-evaluation

following their presentation.

Assessment

Throughout this project, students will meet with the teacher and their peers to receive

feedback on their assignment and assess their grasp of the concepts. In addition, students

will complete formative assessments, such as exit tickets and checklists, that assess

students understanding of the project and subject matter of their assignment. All other
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worksheets and notes taken during class will be collected into a student’s portfolio on

Evernote that I will be checking throughout the project. The final presentation will serve

as a summative assessment for this project.

Technology Support

Technology will be used throughout the course of the project as students will spend time

researching and creating a presentation on their assigned laptops, inside and outside the

classroom. Technology will be provided by the school for students to use.

Sustaining the Project after the Proposal Period

I plan to continue to project by continuing to teach the importance of diversity and

historic learning long after the initial project is completed. Additionally, students will use

the laptops and their researching skills on further assignments. The skills learned from

completing this project, like research and presentation, will carry students through other

subject and into other areas of their lives.

Innovation

This project is innovative because it truly puts students at the center of their own

learning. They will be solely responsible for their own research and presentations. I will

merely serve as a facilitator and assist with any questions. I want students to be able to

understand the role of diversity in not only their community and life, but during WWII

and throughout history. Most of all, I want them to understand how diversity has shaped

the world we live in. Students will have the opportunity to think critically and draw
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connections between their own experiences and those of someone different than

themselves. Additionally, they will be able to learn and apply skills like research, public

speaking and presenting and working with their peers.

Budget Narrative

One of the main items needed for this project are the Chromebooks so students can

complete the technological part of the assignment. While the Chromebooks are

expensive, I will be attempting to receive funding from the website adoptaclassroom.org

where I will be posting my request for the funding needed to obtain these supplies.

Additional supplies such as post-its, markers and notebook will be used on the individual

days within my classroom for this project. All other assignments will be completed on the

Chromebooks provided to students.

Item # and Cost Where to Purchase Total

Samsung - 11.6" 55 - $189.00 https://www.bestbuy.com $10,395

Chromebook

Post-it Super 2 - $34.99 https://www.officedepot.com $69.98

Sticky Easel Pad

Poster Markers 5 - $5.79 https://www.officedepot.com $28.95

Notebook 55 – $0.59 https://www.target.com/ $32.45

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References

EDUPRIZE Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.eduprizeschools.net/

Explore EDUPRIZE - Gilbert Campus. (2017, June 17). Retrieved from

https://www.niche.com/k12/eduprize---gilbert-campus-gilbert-az/#map

The Benefits of Diversity in Schools. (2019, April 18). Retrieved from

https://online.queens.edu/online-programs/medl/resources/benefits-of-diversity-in-school.
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Appendix

Inquiry (5E) Lesson Plan Template

Teachers: Anissa Borgens Subject: History

Common Core State Standards: HS.H4.1 – Examine how historically marginalized groups have affected change on political
and social institutions.

Objective (Explicit): By the end of the lesson, students will be able to explain the importance of diversity during WWII by
creating a portfolio and a presentation with the technology provided.

Evidence of Mastery (Measurable):
 Include a copy of the lesson assessment.
 Provide exemplar student responses with the level of detail you expect to see.
 Assign value to each portion of the response.

Students will complete an online portfolio through Evernote filled with assignments and notes completed in class as well
as their final presentation.

Sub-objectives, SWBAT (Sequenced from basic to complex):

 How will you review past learning and make connections to previous lessons?
 What skills and content are needed to ultimately master this lesson objective?
 How is this objective relevant to students, their lives, and/or the real world?
Students would be able to reflect on their own learning by completing the research needed to present on their character
from WWII History. Students will need researching skills in order to complete the assignment. Additionally, students will
master the content of their chosen character so they can teach the rest of the class. This lesson is relevant to students
because they will be learning about the accomplishments of someone who is most likely very different than them that is
often underrepresented in WWII history.
Key vocabulary: Biography Materials: Laptops, costume for entry, short WWII entry
video
Engage
 How will you activate student interest?
 How will you hook student attention?
 What questions will you pose, based on your objective, that students will seek to answer in Explore?
Teacher Will: Student Will:
Dress up as a character from History and present the lesson Students will remain engaged with the lesson and begin
plan. Encourage students to dress up for their presentation thinking about their own presentation. Additionally,
as well. Student’s attention will be hooked as they will students will prepare any initials questions they may have
enjoy the silliness of my costume and the excitement of a and be prepared to answer the posed question. Students
group project. Students will seek to answer what makes a will also take notes on the assigned note template.
historical figure so important. Additionally, students will
watch a short video that introduces the time period of
WWII and take notes on the online note template.
-What did diversity look like during the time period of
WWII?
Explore
 How will model your performance expectations? Remember, you are not modeling what you want students to discover but need to
model expected behavior or required procedures.
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 How will students take the lead and actively use materials to discover information that will help them answer the question posed in
Engage?
 What questions or prompts will you be prepared to use with students while they are “exploring”?
Teacher Will: Student Will:
By coming to the class dressed in character, I will Students will begin researching the figure they will present
demonstrate how I want the students to present their on the provided laptops. Students should ask any questions
presentation. Students may ask any questions about the they have about the presentation and overall project.
project during this time. Additionally, students will begin to learn more about
diversity during the time period with in class activities.
Co-Teaching Strategy
 What co-teaching approach will you use to maximize student achievement?

A co-teacher may walk around the classroom asking students if they have questions and making sure students are
on task for the assignments.
Differentiation Strategy
 What accommodations/modifications will you provide for specific students?
 How will you anticipate students that need an additional challenge?

Students needing accommodations may receive a note taking sheet that is already filled out and may receive a summary
of the in-class video rather than having to watch the real video. Students needing an additional challenge will be assigned
a short two paragraph essay detailing one thing they found interesting and what they’d like to know more about after
viewing the video.
Explain
 How will all students have an opportunity to share what they discovered?
 How will you connect student discoveries to correct content terms/explanations?
 How will all students articulate/demonstrate a clear and correct understanding of the sub-objectives by answering the question from
Engage before moving on?
Teacher Will: Student Will:
Teacher will be ready to answer any additional questions During this time, students will continue to research for the
and help keep students on track for their presentation. presentation. In class, they will be meeting in groups of 4
Teacher will also divide students into groups and assign where each member has role they must complete. In these
their roles. roles, students will fill out a worksheet together based on
what they have already learned. Students will also fill out a
journal entry as though they were the person from history
explaining the war from their point of view. Additionally,
they will spend time learning about individual people and
sharing this information with their classmates. By this
point, students will be able to begin answer the question
from Engage.
Co-Teaching Strategy
 What co-teaching approach will you use to maximize student achievement?

Differentiation Strategy
 What accommodations/modifications will you provide for specific students?
 How will you anticipate students that need an additional challenge?

Students needing accommodations can share a role in groups with someone else. Students needing a challenge will
complete additional journal entries.
Elaborate
 How will students take the learning from Explore and Explain and apply it to a new circumstance or explore a particular aspect of this
learning at a deep level?
 How will students use higher order thinking at this stage? (e.g. A common practice in this section is to pose a “what If question”)
 How will all students articulate how their understanding has changed or been solidified?
Teacher Will: Student Will:
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Remain available for questions and evaluate the first stages
of students’ presentations. Provide assistance or helpful
redirection if needed.
Co-Teaching Strategy
 What co-teaching approach will you use to maximize student achievement?
Now students will be applying what they have researched
and learned to create a presentation for the class. Students
will use higher thinking to draw conclusions and create a
presentation that is understandable and creative. Students
will display their understanding with their presentations.
Students will continue answer thought provoking questions
related to diversity and WWII. Students will apply their
learning by creating a character profile for the class
timeline.

Differentiation Strategy
 What accommodations/modifications will you provide for specific students?
 How will you anticipate students that need an additional challenge?
Students needing accommodations can write a smaller profile or find one online instead of creating one
themselves. Students needing a challenge may complete multiple profiles rather than just one.
Evaluate
 How will all students demonstrate mastery of the lesson objective (though perhaps not mastery of the Elaborate content)?
 How will students have an opportunity to summarize the big concepts they learned (separate from the assessment)?
Teacher Will: Student Will:
Evaluate the presentations by students and collect online Display mastery by teaching the rest of the class what they
portfolios. have learned and studied. Students can summarize big
concepts with their presentations and answer classmate
questions that follow as well as fill out their presentation
self-evaluation. Additionally, students will submit an online
portfolio filled with all assignments collected over the
course of the project.
Co-Teaching Strategy
 What co-teaching approach will you use to maximize student achievement?

Differentiation Strategy
 What accommodations/modifications will you provide for specific students?
 How will you anticipate students that need an additional challenge?
Students needing accommodations can present to the teacher rather than the whole class. Additionally, these
student may receive extra help with their online portfolio if needed.