Unit on ‘Responding to student diversity in the primary classroom’

The unit is compulsory for 2nd and 3rd-year Bachelor’s student teachers enrolled in primary education programmes at the University of Malta. It has been integrated in the new Master in Teaching and Learning in October 2016. The unit aims at preparing student teachers to teach students with a diverse background, through gaining both theoretical knowledge and practical experience on diversity.

There are two main aspects of the unit’s activities:

1. Theoretical training: In the first semester, student teachers are introduced to the topics of diversity and inclusion, and to approaches on how these can be addressed in the classroom, including through the use of individual educational planning (IEP) (through reflection on one’s own background, discussion and group work).

2. Practical training: In the second semester, while student teachers are doing their six-week teaching practice, they have to identify a student who is having some difficulty in coping with learning and implement an IEP for that student’s inclusion in education process.