This is a selection of activities from the Ministry of Education publication Defining Diversity: A Facilitation Manual to use with New to New Zealand (2008). The activities are designed to assist Boards of Trustees, senior management, teachers, and parents to deepen their understanding of cultural diversity and encourage the development of culturally appropriate responses. It is possible to use the activities without reference to the New to New Zealand text.
It is not intended that all activities will be worked through in order but that activities are selected that best meet the needs of the participants. Some of the activities can be adapted to use with students. The Defining Diversity activities concentrate on the key message: Know your learner.
This can be achieved by:
These activities are designed to help you understand your own culture so that you can understand the culture of others.
Purpose: To explore your life journey and share this information with colleagues.
Materials: A3 paper and pens.
Instructions: Visually depict your life from birth to today. Include as many significant moments as you can. You will be sharing this pathway with a partner. You can use any form of visual depiction, for example a heartbeat monitor, a straight line or a spiral. You have ten minutes to complete your life path. When you have completed your path, check to see that you have included most of the significant moments of your life. Now talk your partner through your path.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To share a snapshot of your cultural experiences with colleagues.
Materials: Activity 2 worksheet and pens.
Defining Diversity Activity 2 worksheet (PDF, 41 KB)
Instructions: Individually fill in the sheet then share information with colleagues.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To explore seven diversity key words and generate initial unconscious responses.
Materials: Activity 3 worksheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 3 worksheet (PDF, 35 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy the activity 3 worksheet onto cards. Taking it in turns, teachers have 30 seconds each to explain each word. The skill is in explaining the word/concept clearly within the time allowed.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To encourage people to examine their own definitions of seven diversity key words and consider other definitions.
Materials: Activity 3 worksheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 3 worksheet (PDF, 35 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy the activity 3 worksheet onto cards. Ask staff individually to think about what the key word means for them. Share their definitions with their partner and finally share with the wider group.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To record ideas about the visible and less visible aspects of culture using an iceberg graphic.
Materials: Activity 4 worksheet and pens.
Defining Diversity Activity 4 worksheet (PDF, 88 KB)
Instructions: Invite participants to record their cultural panorama onto the worksheet. The visible culture, the tip of the iceberg, is what we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. The invisible culture, the iceberg below the surface, is our attitudes, values, beliefs and assumptions.
Discussion points:
These activities suggest ways to foster cultural diversity in schools and encourage staff to develop approaches specific to their communities.
Purpose: To explore ways of promoting recognition and awareness of cultural diversity in our school.
Materials: Activity 5 worksheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 5 worksheet (PDF, 42 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy and cut out the post it notes from the activity 5 worksheet. Photocopy grid sheet 5a to A3 size.Place the post it notes onto the grid sheet 5a. Negotiate their position.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To distinguish between the two types of responses to diversity – surface and deep.
Materials: Activity 5 worksheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 5 worksheet (PDF, 42 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy and cut out the post it notes from the activity 5 worksheet. Photocopy grid sheet 5b to A3 size. Place the post it notes onto the grid sheet 5b. Negotiate their position.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To evaluate our own perceptions and assumptions of our students and to get to know them better.
Materials: Activity 6 worksheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 6 worksheet (PDF, 37 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy the survey sheet. One copy for teacher and one for the class. The teacher completes the survey using their own knowledge of the class. The second sheet circulates the class and each student adds their details. The teacher then compares their information with the information provided by the students.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To brainstorm what is working well in the school in promoting cultural diversity (plus), what we need to change (minus) and what other directions we might take (interesting).
Materials: Activity 7 worksheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 7 worksheet (PDF, 13 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy the activity 7 worksheet and distribute to groups. Participants record comments onto the PMI sheet. Discuss in groups.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To gather information on catering for a culturally diverse school community, to consider new approaches and who/how they will be carried out.
Materials: Activity 8 worksheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 8 worksheet (PDF, 110 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy the activity 8 worksheet and distribute to groups. Participants record comments onto the table. Discuss in groups.
Discussion points:
These activities encourage discussions about culture and multicultural education.
Purpose: To initiate discussions about culture.
Materials: Activity 10 worksheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 10 worksheet (PDF, 25 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy the activity 10 worksheet. Discuss each of the statements in small groups.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To become familiar with common greetings.
Materials: Activity 15 worksheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 15 worksheet (PDF, 43 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy the activity 15 worksheet. Participants match up the countries with the greetings. These can then be displayed as a poster.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To compare life/school in others countries to life/school in New Zealand.
Materials: Activity 18 Venn diagram.
Defining Diversity Activity 18 Venn diagram (PDF, 69 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy the activity 18 worksheet. Invite participants to research information about their chosen country and record the details on the two Venn diagrams.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To reflect on New Zealand culture.
Materials: Activity 19 worksheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 19 worksheet (PDF, 46 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy the activity 19 worksheet. Complete the table. Discuss/compare your own notes with a partner and small group.
Discussion points:
Purpose: To identify goals in achieving effective multicultural classrooms and to create an action plan for these goals.
Materials: Activity 20 guidelines sheet.
Defining Diversity Activity 20 worksheet (PDF, 33 KB)
Instructions: Photocopy the activity 20 guidelines sheet. Complete the table. Discuss/compare your own notes with a partner and/or group.
Discussion points:
Published on: 12 Mar 2020
