MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Teaching Diverse Learners

Posted by on March 27, 2011

The challenge to meet diverse needs

The second part of the annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher looks at student differences, how teachers are addressing them, and how well students feel their needs are being met. More than 90 percent of all middle and high school teachers surveyed say strengthening programs to help diverse learners with the highest needs should be a priority, with 59 percent saying this “must be done as one of the highest priorities in education.” A majority of parents (84 percent) say this should be a priority, including 57 percent who feel it to be highest priority. Most business executives from Fortune 1000 companies agree (89 percent), but significantly fewer (31 percent) rate it highest. Given limited resources, teachers say opportunities for collaborative teaching (65 percent), access to online and technology resources (64 percent), better tools for understanding students’ learning strengths and needs (63 percent), and instructional strategies for teaching English language learners (62 percent) would majorly impact their ability to address different learning needs of students. Teachers in schools with a college-going school culture are more likely to say they are able to differentiate instruction. Among teachers who say less than three-quarters of students will graduate high school ready for college, only 50 percent say they are able to differentiate instruction a great deal.

See the report: http://www.metlife.com/about/corporate-profile/citizenship/metlife-foundation/metlife-survey-of-the-american-teacher.html?WT.mc_id=vu1101