One of the biggest reason disadvantaged students may have trouble in school is because they are marginalized. Once a child is labeled as disadvantaged, he is set to be thought of as someone who can’t succeed. He can. He just needs the right environment, and that includes the children he associates with. Often the disadvantage has to do with culture or immigration. It easy to gravitate to what you know. It’s hard to make the leap to something different, to a good teaching method would be to place the disadvantaged student in a collaborative learning group that mixes all demographics and learning success. In this way, collaborative learning helps disadvantaged students.
All students need to learn to deal with different demographics to be truly successful in life. The world is ever changing, and the community a child knows today can look completely different in the future. All students must learn to communicate and problem solve together. Since the disadvantaged student is acutely aware of social problems and challenges, he can become a key component in a successful collaborative learning setting. He’ll be able to give honest feedback about what works and what doesn’t where poverty is concerned. He can also gain a greater appreciation for those who are more advantaged as he learns from them. The over arching goal is to make sure that all students feel like they have something to offer. The give and take of a good collaborative learning group is a great way to do this.