Draft:Intellectual diversity

In grade schools, the goal of implementing intellectual diversity into the curriculum is an overall strengthened understanding of the content.{{cn|date=November 2023}} Children respond differently to various teaching styles, so it is vital to provide many approaches toward understanding a subject. There are four main learning styles in children; they are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing.{{Cite web |title=4 Types of Learning Styles: How to Accommodate a Diverse Group of |url=https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/types-of-learning-styles/ |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=Rasmussen University}} For example, singing the alphabet song promotes linguistic skills for auditory learners, whereas creating the alphabet out of play dough will help develop the same skills for kinesthetic learners. According to Anna Harris, it is an important part of the educational career to push children to apply multiple learning styles when becoming familiar with a subject or topic.{{Cite book |last1=Seifert |first1=Kelvin |title=Educational Psychology |last2=Sutton |first2=Rosemary |date=2019-05-01 |chapter=Student diversity |chapter-url=https://kstatelibraries.pressbooks.pub/seifertsutton/chapter/student-diversity/}} Also, by providing an intellectually diverse setting, students will have opportunities to engage in conversations that challenge their own existing beliefs. Giving children the opportunity to apply their strengths and improve upon their weaknesses will lead to more well rounded and confident adults, ultimately creating well-rounded individuals who are equipped to contribute to a diverse society.{{Cite web |title=Four Ways Schools Can Support the Whole Child |url=https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/four_ways_schools_can_support_the_whole_child |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=Greater Good |language=en}}

There have been numerous successful attempts through government intervention to create an environment of intellectual diversity throughout higher education by passing legislation. The goal is to create a safe space and learning environment for students to learn unbiased information and freely express their views and opinions in free forum spaces. There are reviews of staff timelines put in place to ensure that they are complying with the laws and they are allowing the “free” space, speech, and thinking for their students at each of the universities. Listed below are several Bills that have been presented in states around the country to assist in promoting intellectual diversity in higher education.

Senators Jerry Cirino, Kirtland, Rob McColley, and Napoleon introduced this bill in early May of 2023 to propose new diversity centers to be built at 2 universities in the state of Ohio. The center would be named after Ohio’s 63rd governor, Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society at Ohio State. (Henry, 2023) The other center would be located at University of Toledo’s College of Law and named the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership. The intention with these centers is to create a space for students to engage and interact with each other, giving and learning all perspectives, views, and thoughts free from bias. Prior to the Bill passing, an amendment was added to create additional centers at Miami University, Cleveland State University, and the University of Cincinnati. The bill was officially passed July 4, 2023. (Honesty for Education, n.d.) There was a $191 million dollar budget set for the 5 centers at the universities.

A Bill still in the works as of June 2024, is Senate Bill 83. Ohio lawmakers have been working to pass since early 2023. This Bill outlines both promoting intellectual diversity and controversial beliefs in higher education. It is proposed that students are given “both sides” to a story when it comes to historical events, political views, and religious topics. College faculty would also be mandated a review every 5 years to ensure they are complying with the classroom requirements set into place with these laws. This Bill went for vote in the Senate and passed, yet did not make it through the House. Opposers are concerned that this will hinder the attraction of students to colleges and universities in the state of Ohio. (Henry, 2023)

March 3, 2019 South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed House Bill 1087. This bill’s intention is to add and protect freedom of speech and the matter of intellectual diversity in specific colleges and universities. Passing Bill 1087 made history by being the first bill of its kind in the nation, protecting intellectual diversity on campuses across the state of South Dakota.  The bill includes creating a space within the campus’s referred-to “public forum” spaces where freedom of speech can be conducted by the students. Originally the Bill required students to pass 3 credit hours in both American Government and American History courses to graduate, but that was removed from the final draft of the Bill.  

In different states, there have been many bills that have passed, or these bills are trying to be passed, about intellectual diversity. This form of teaching is presented around the world because it presents different ideas and teaching environments. The state of Indiana passed a court case stating that faculty members who don’t provide intellectual diversity will receive consequences. In the article “Indiana Bill Threatens Faculty Members Who Don’t Provide ‘Intellectual Diversity’” it states, “The legislation would demand attention to ‘intellectual diversity’ in promotion and tenure decision processes affecting faculty members, and it would mandate new post-tenure review policies, threatening academics’ careers and livelihoods if their teaching and scholarships don’t meet their trustees’ criteria." (Quinn, 2024). This case passed the Bill of teaching Intellectual Diversity because it helps promote new ideas, especially for younger kids. In the article describing the court case, it also quotes, “These measures would severely constrain academic freedom,” says a joint statement by the Purdue at West Lafayette and Indiana University at Bloomington chapters of the AAUP.” (Quinn, 2024). According to the state of Indiana, the teaching of intellectual diversity promotes academic freedom. To add to that, many other states have passed bills, such as many schools in Ohio. When designing court cases, the states or schools have to come to an agreement because it broadens the idea of new thoughts. In general, since many states have passed laws, it is a very common subject, and many people agree that intellectual diversity helps spread new interest.

For years, the generally accepted theory of intelligence was that of General Intelligence, developed by English psychologist Charles Spearman in 1904.{{cite journal |last1=Spearman |first1=C. |title=General intelligence: Objectively determined and measured. |journal=The American Journal of Psychology |date=1904 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=201–292 |doi=10.2307/1412107|jstor=1412107 }} When he tested people in multiple areas of knowledge, he found that when someone scored highly in one area, they tended to score highly in other areas as well, leading him to presume that intelligence must be generalized, i.e., people either were or were not generally intelligent.{{cite journal |last1=Spearman |first1=C. |title=General intelligence: Objectively determined and measured. |journal=The American Journal of Psychology |date=1904 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=201–292 |doi=10.2307/1412107|jstor=1412107 }} Then, new research presented in 1987 by Neil D. Fleming, Director of the Education Centre of Lincoln University in New Zealand, stated that there were four styles of learning: Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic, known collectively as the VARK model.{{cite journal |last1=Fleming |first1=N.D. |editor1-last=Zelmer |editor1-first=A. |title=I'm different, not dumb: Modes of presentation (VARK) in the tertiary classroom. |journal=Higher Education and Research Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) |date=1995 |volume=18 |pages=308–313 |url=https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/wateroutreach/files/2016/03/Fleming_VARK_Im_Different_Not_Dumb.pdf}} Visual learners work best with symbols and visual displays of information such as graphs, flow diagrams, and charts.{{cite journal |last1=Fleming |first1=N.D. |editor1-last=Zelmer |editor1-first=A. |title=I'm different, not dumb: Modes of presentation (VARK) in the tertiary classroom. |journal=Higher Education and Research Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) |date=1995 |volume=18 |pages=308–313 |url=https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/wateroutreach/files/2016/03/Fleming_VARK_Im_Different_Not_Dumb.pdf}} Auditory learners “learn by ear” and learn best by listening to new information in formats such as songs, rhymes and pneumatic devices, and verbal instructions.{{cite journal |last1=Fleming |first1=N.D. |editor1-last=Zelmer |editor1-first=A. |title=I'm different, not dumb: Modes of presentation (VARK) in the tertiary classroom. |journal=Higher Education and Research Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) |date=1995 |volume=18 |pages=308–313 |url=https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/wateroutreach/files/2016/03/Fleming_VARK_Im_Different_Not_Dumb.pdf}} Readers/Writers learn new information best by reading the information or writing it down. Finally, Kinesthetic learners learn using all their external senses: touch, taste, hearing, smell, taste, and sight, and they prefer concrete, physical examples like experiments or games.{{cite journal |last1=Fleming |first1=N.D. |editor1-last=Zelmer |editor1-first=A. |title=I'm different, not dumb: Modes of presentation (VARK) in the tertiary classroom. |journal=Higher Education and Research Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) |date=1995 |volume=18 |pages=308–313 |url=https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/wateroutreach/files/2016/03/Fleming_VARK_Im_Different_Not_Dumb.pdf}}

Dr. Howard Gardner, Ph.D. Research Professor of Cognition and Education in Developmental Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, founded Project Zero, a developmental psychology research group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, in 1967 and while researching for this group developed the Theory of Multiple Intelligences in 1983.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences |date=1993 |publisher=Basic Books}} His theory not only outlined parts of the VARK model but also added three more learning styles, and an additional one in a later revision, for a total of eight styles of learning, which in his theory are called intelligences.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences |date=1993 |publisher=Basic Books}} While the theory was originally released in 1983, it did not rise to popularity until five years after the release of his famous book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.{{cite journal |last1=Baş |first1=G. |title=The effect of multiple intelligences theory-based education on academic achievement: A meta-analytic review. |journal=Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice |date=2016 |volume=16 |issue=6 |pages=1833–1864 |doi=10.12738/estp.2016.6.0015}}

Gardner’s current list of intelligences is as follows:

• Spatial-Visual Intelligence – These people learn best with visual aids such as charts, graphs, and can mentally manipulate the shape of an object in relation to itself and to its surroundings.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences |date=1993 |publisher=Basic Books}}

• Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence – These people are sensitive to the semantics, phonology, syntax, and correct usage of words in both written and verbal manners.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences |date=1993 |publisher=Basic Books}}

• Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence – These people learn best with a “hands-on” approach where they can interact with their environment and can move their bodies or to handle objects skillfully and with coordination.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences |date=1993 |publisher=Basic Books}}

• Logical-Mathematical Intelligence – These people can identify numerical and logical patterns, and can conceptualize, think abstractly, and categorize or classify objects in relation to these patterns and in relation to one another.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences |date=1993 |publisher=Basic Books}}

• Musical Intelligence – These people can accurately recognize and produce rhythm, timber, and pitch.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences |date=1993 |publisher=Basic Books}}

• Interpersonal Intelligence – These people can both easily read and accurately respond to the emotions and intentions of other people.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences |date=1993 |publisher=Basic Books}}

• Intrapersonal Intelligence – These people can be extremely self-aware and in tune with themselves regarding their own emotions, intentions, personal values and personal beliefs.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences |date=1993 |publisher=Basic Books}}

• Naturalistic Intelligence – These people can precisely and accurately recognize and categorize plants, animals, and other objects in nature.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences |date=1993 |publisher=Basic Books}}

Howard Gardner stated that “the biggest mistake of past centuries in teaching has been to treat all children as if they were variants of the same individual, and thus to feel justified in teaching the same subjects in the same way.”{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=H. |title=Intelligences reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st century |date=1999 |publisher=Basic Books}} The theory of multiple intelligences can be used to promote intellectual diversity in the classroom by encouraging a shift in focus from the current system that encourages the use of memory to a concurrent system that along with memory encourages creativity and other valuable learning dispositions.{{cite journal |last1=Chan |first1=B. |last2=Fagan |first2=J. M. |title=Encouraging intellectual diversity in education |journal=Rutgers University Libraries |date=2012 |doi=10.7282/T3S180TC}} The implementation of this theory in college classrooms has also shown to provide a more structured learning strategy for those students with intelligence types not typically catered to in traditional classroom settings and to improve their overall cognitive skills, and college students’ MI types changed and developed over their college careers, according to a five-year longitudinal study at Taylor’s University in Malaysia.{{cite journal |last1=Lai |first1=H.Y. |last2=Yap |first2=S.L. |editor1-last=Tang |editor1-first=S.F. |editor2-last=Logonnathan |editor2-first=L. |title=Application of multiple intelligence theory in the assessment for learning |journal=Assessment for Learning within and Beyond the Classroom: Taylor's 8th Teaching and Learning Conference 2015 Proceedings |date=2016 |pages=427–436 |doi=10.1007/978-981-10-0908-2_36 |publisher=Springer, Singapore|isbn=978-981-10-0906-8 }}

Diversity in teaching

There is not only a student factor in intellectual diversity but an instructor factor as well. It is not just the students that come from different backgrounds and life experiences, having a diverse teaching population contributes to intellectual diversity. Pew Research Center stated that “the share of black, Hispanic, and Asian American teachers has increased in recent decades, but it has not kept pace with the rapid growth in the racial and ethnic diversity of their students." In the most updated study completed in 2018, they found that 79% of public teachers are non-Hispanic or white, and 47% of students are non-Hispanic or white. 9% of teachers are Hispanic, 27% of students are Hispanic, 7% of teachers are black, and 15% of students are black. Alexander Cuenca, an IU professor, is quoted saying, “If students can't see themselves in the classroom, if we’re scared to mention black perspectives in social studies, why would they go into teaching social studies?” (Appleton).

To conclude with all the information said above, applying intellectual diversity to schools will overall benefit students.  This refers to the consideration of a wide range of different viewpoints and perspectives. The concept presented helps emphasize many thoughts and options, which encourage students. Also, the teaching of this subject helps broaden new jobs and classes for these students when taught at a young age. However, the idea of intellectual diversity can present challenges because, when finding new viewpoints, they also need to be respectful. Intellectual diversity can also be an added strain on educators, who have to incorporate many teaching styles to fit students needs. Such as having different learning requirements or different backgrounds that could have impacted their previous education level. This can also be a challenge because it can cause problems when these new ideas don’t respect the norms in society. To add to that, there may be conflict with society because of the new viewpoints. The whole world has had many different views on this idea, and many believe it will help achieve a dynamic intellectual environment. Additionally, the most updated version of the article has missing citations and an overall positive tone. If possible, we would like to add in the citation and offer an overall more neutral tone.

In a university setting, it is important to incorporate diverse lessons in order to cater to many types of thinkers. For example, a study conducted by the National Academy of Engineers found that the students exposed to a more diverse curriculum scored higher on the "King and Kitchener reflective judgement scale."{{Cite book |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7044495 |access-date=2023-10-03 |date=2014 |doi=10.1109/FIE.2014.7044495 |s2cid=9536380 |language=en-US |last1=Kellogg |first1=Stuart |title=2014 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) Proceedings |chapter=Building diversity by embracing intellectual diversity |pages=1–4 |isbn=978-1-4799-3922-0 }} Diversity amongst lessons may lead to more versatile people. According to a Pew Research Report, the United States will continue to diversify within the next few decades.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-04 |title=Why Is Diversity Important in the College Experience? |url=https://online.maryville.edu/blog/why-is-diversity-important-in-college/ |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=Maryville Online |language=en-US}} Creating more diverse lessons will instill new knowledge in students which will benefit them when they run into different kinds of people. Additionally, diverse campuses tend to expose people to many different types of cultures which may offer valuable experiences. There are many kinds of clubs on college campuses which offer many different perspectives, which will expose people to many types of intellect. Universities are where students will go to educate themselves in order to become a functional part of society, so incorporating intellectual diversity will help to emulate the diverse environment in the "real world".

In the work environment, intellectual diversity is a crucial part of fostering innovation and creativity. Since there are people from all sorts of backgrounds in places of work, there is a larger range of ideas and solutions. When an employer takes the time to find each team members strengths, there is more opportunity for creative problem-solving and decision making.{{Cite news |date=2015-05-21 |title=Measure Your Team's Intellectual Diversity |work=Harvard Business Review |issn=0017-8012 |url=https://hbr.org/2015/05/measure-your-teams-intellectual-diversity |access-date=2023-10-20}} Encouraging intellectual diversity not only helps with creativeness, but also encourages inclusivity and an equitable space. There are a variety of problems in a multitude of fields, but overall, if you put people together with different strengths, it is more likely for some of those problems to be solved. Additionally, intellectual diversity will boost employee engagement, as well as their overall satisfaction.{{Cite web |title=The role of diversity practices and inclusion in promoting trust and employee engagement {{!}} Deloitte Australia {{!}} Diversity & Inclusion case studies |website=www.deloitte.com |url=https://www.deloitte.com/au/en/services/consulting/perspectives/role-diversity-practices-inclusion-trust-employee-engagement.html |access-date=2023-10-20}} When talking about intellectual diversity in a place of work, it is important to talk about the overall diversity and inclusivity of that place. People of color bring a different kind of experience, which is underrepresented in "white-collared" jobs.{{Cite news |last1=Cox |first1=Gena |last2=Lancefield |first2=David |date=2021-05-19 |title=5 Strategies to Infuse D&I into Your Organization |work=Harvard Business Review |url=https://hbr.org/2021/05/5-strategies-to-infuse-di-into-your-organization |access-date=2023-10-23 |issn=0017-8012}} To ensure that a company remains diverse, it must start at the very top of the company with the CEO. When the CEO of a company takes the stance of promoting diversity in their company, it sets the overall tone for that company. Overall, intellectual diversity is a crucial part of a well run business.

In the workplace, fostering intellectual diversity is essential for promoting creativity, innovation, and effective problem-solving. Research indicates that exposure to differing perspectives enhances critical thinking and broadens the range of potential solutions to complex issues (Antonio, n.d.).Antonio, A. L. Effects of Racial Diversity on Complex Thinking in College

Students. University of Michigan. https://diversity.umich.edu/admissions/research/racial-diversity.pdf In academic settings, for example, universities that encourage diversity in research funding and faculty recruitment can mitigate the risk of ideological conformity, fostering a more dynamic intellectual culture (Clark et al., 2024).Christopher J. Clark, Ray Block Jr., Kaneesha Johnson, Michael Minta, Frank R.

Baumgartner. (2024, February 22). The Intellectual Benefits of Diversity: How Political Science Users from Its Lack of Diversity, and How It Can Do Better. Oxford Handbook of Engaged Methodological Pluralism in Political Science. http://fbaum.unc.edu/articles/TheIntellectualBenefitsOfDiversity.pdf By promoting methodological pluralism and protecting academic freedom, institutions can create environments where diverse viewpoints are valued rather than suppressed. This approach not only improves the quality of scholarly discourse but also prevents biases that may arise from homogenous intellectual environments. Additionally, ensuring that diversity initiatives do not inadvertently stifle open debate is key to maintaining a balance between inclusivity and academic rigor.

Intellectual diversity in the public sector is important. Jobs that require you to work with the public require different viewpoints. In Law Enforcement for example is tense and rapidly evolving. A diverse and inclusive police force is crucial to create trust and legitimacy in communities. Diverse thinking brings a wider range of perspectives and experiences to the police department, leading to more effective solutions and a better understanding of diverse communities. Inclusion ensures that all community members feel represented and valued. That will in turn create trust and more cooperation with the police. Police departments across the nation benefit from training, education, and policies, that promote equity. A diverse police department is essential for creating a positive workplace for officers and a fair, competent, and reliable police force for the community. According to Charles Bozza Ph.D. “law enforcement needs to know how to deal with people from other backgrounds in today’s society or be prepared for the results of lack of understanding”. American culture is hurling towards the future at break neck speed and law enforcement needs to match this pace. The police are seen as the first line of defense in dealing with conflicts among people.

Research seems to be based more on the impact of intellectual diversity in higher education. Scholarly articles and journals about intellectual diversity in K-12 education were nonexistent. It seems that K-12 Education could benefit from more research on the impact of intellectual diversity in the classroom. Diversity and inclusion in the workforce for public education in K-12 is gaining steam. Stories of successful teachers with diverse backgrounds but not having a traditional teaching certification are becoming common place. There should be a reevaluation of teaching licenses requirements in order to bring in people with different backgrounds and experiences. School leaders should be empowered to make hiring decisions irrespective of certification status. Barriers to teaching should be removed as great teachers can come from diverse backgrounds and not all from a College of Education.

When discussing racial diversity on college campuses, it is important to note that in research studies, they tend to try to observe the effects of three particular forms of racial diversity: structural diversity, or the overall racial composition of the student body; curricular or co-curricular diversity, or racial diversity classes, workshops or activities hosted by the college; and interaction diversity, or informal interactions between students of different races that occur outside of classes or even outside of campus.{{cite journal |last1=Denson |first1=N. |last2=Chang |first2=M.J. |title=Racial diversity matters: The impact of diversity-related student engagement and institutional context |journal=American Educational Research Journal |date=2009 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=322–353 |doi=10.3102/0002831208323278}}

In terms of structural diversity, students’ acceptance of people of different races and cultures is directly proportional to their exposure to racially and culturally diverse students.{{cite journal |last1=Neville |first1=H.A. |last2=Lewis |first2=J.A. |last3=Poteat |first3=V.P. |last4=Spanierman |first4=L.B. |title=Changes in white college students' color-blind racial ideology over 4 years: Do diversity experiences make a difference? |journal=Journal of Counseling Psychology |date=2014 |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=179–190 |doi=10.1037/a0035168|pmid=24635589 }} A well-known study performed by W.G. Bowen and D. Bok, outlined in their 1998 book The shape of the river: Long-term consequences of considering race in college and university admissions, demonstrated that regardless of their own race, alumni who graduate from racially diverse colleges feel that they get along better with people of racially diverse backgrounds, and they are also generally more accepting of other people's cultures.{{cite journal |last1=Denson |first1=N. |last2=Chang |first2=M.J. |title=Racial diversity matters: The impact of diversity-related student engagement and institutional context |journal=American Educational Research Journal |date=2009 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=322–353 |doi=10.3102/0002831208323278}}

Increased structural racial diversity on college campuses has also been shown to increase the odds of students’ participation in diversity-related activities and of involving themselves in racially diverse groups.{{cite journal |last1=Denson |first1=N. |last2=Chang |first2=M.J. |title=Racial diversity matters: The impact of diversity-related student engagement and institutional context |journal=American Educational Research Journal |date=2009 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=322–353 |doi=10.3102/0002831208323278}}

Structural racial diversity has been shown to affect students’ work ethic and critical thinking skills as well. Various studies have shown that when students are part of a classroom with a diverse student body, and they are instructed to defend their viewpoint against that of another student, they will work significantly harder to substantiate their defense, both in researching and in actively defending their points, which enhances the complexity of and the creativity behind their arguments.{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=K.W. |title=How diversity makes us smarter |url=https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_diversity_makes_us_smarter |work=Greater Good Magazine |date=2017}} A research team led by Anthony L. Antonio of Stanford University performed a study where multiple discussion groups of four white people and a collaborator had either that collaborator or one of the four students switched out with a student of another race; it was shown that this newly-added diversity enriched the group environment by heightening the participants’ levels of integrative complexity, or their ability to both accept that there are multiple legitimate perspectives to complex issues and to conceptually link those perspectives together to better form an overall judgement of the respective issue, and that this effect was particularly poignant when discussing issues where race was a factor.{{cite journal |last1=Antonio |first1=A.L. |last2=Chang |first2=M.J. |last3=Hakuta |first3=K. |last4=Kenny |first4=D.A. |last5=Levin |first5=S. |last6=Milem |first6=J.F. |title=Effects of racial diversity on complex thinking in college students |journal=Psychological Science |date=2004 |volume=15 |issue=8 |pages=507–510 |doi=10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00710.x|pmid=15270993 }} The opinions of members of minority groups in this experiment, whether they were minorities in terms of race or in terms of opinion, were also perceived as more novel by other members of the group than if they were said by someone like-minded in the group.{{cite journal |last1=Antonio |first1=A.L. |last2=Chang |first2=M.J. |last3=Hakuta |first3=K. |last4=Kenny |first4=D.A. |last5=Levin |first5=S. |last6=Milem |first6=J.F. |title=Effects of racial diversity on complex thinking in college students |journal=Psychological Science |date=2004 |volume=15 |issue=8 |pages=507–510 |doi=10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00710.x|pmid=15270993 }}

Structural racial diversity can also heavily impact student’s access to better learning opportunities. Structural diversity among professors at a college can benefit students’ education by providing a wider variety of backgrounds and ideologies to convey information to the students from various cultural standpoints and from people who have lived through a variety of life experiences, and since individual students have different learning styles, having diverse instructors can also be beneficial in that they are more likely to have more diverse methods of teaching.{{cite journal |last1=Green |first1=C.R. |title=The fourteenth amendment and university intellectual diversity |journal=Laws |date=2025 |volume=14 |issue=2 |page=16 |doi=10.3390/laws14020016|doi-access=free }} A myriad of studies has also shown that increased structural diversity on campus can also impact that university’s curricular diversity and interaction diversity innately, since a more racially diverse student body increases the chances of students becoming involved in diversity-related activities and classes as well as providing more opportunities for students to interact with students of other races.{{cite journal |last1=Denson |first1=N. |last2=Chang |first2=M.J. |title=Racial diversity matters: The impact of diversity-related student engagement and institutional context |journal=American Educational Research Journal |date=2009 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=322–353 |doi=10.3102/0002831208323278}}

A longitudinal study observing college students over a four-year period also showed that both curricular diversity and interaction diversity greatly impacted students’ racial belief systems over time.{{cite journal |last1=Neville |first1=H.A. |last2=Lewis |first2=J.A. |last3=Poteat |first3=V.P. |last4=Spanierman |first4=L.B. |title=Changes in white college students' color-blind racial ideology over 4 years: Do diversity experiences make a difference? |journal=Journal of Counseling Psychology |date=2014 |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=179–190 |doi=10.1037/a0035168|pmid=24635589 }} A greater decrease in types of beliefs that served to “deny, minimize and/or distort the existence of racism” were observed both in students who participated in more diversity courses and diversity-related activities and in students who reported having a greater number of close black friends. Increased curricular diversity has also been shown to have beneficial effects in various areas across a myriad of studies analyzed within Denson and Chang’s analysis, including increased levels of intergroup understanding, academic self-confidence and social agency, decreased levels of racial prejudice, improved attitudes towards other group members and towards campus diversity, improvements in critical thinking skills and in cognitive and affective development, and improved learning-related, civic, occupational, social action engagement-related, and action-oriented democratic outcomes.{{cite journal |last1=Denson |first1=N. |last2=Chang |first2=M.J. |title=Racial diversity matters: The impact of diversity-related student engagement and institutional context |journal=American Educational Research Journal |date=2009 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=322–353 |doi=10.3102/0002831208323278}} Increased interaction diversity was also shown to affect the previously mentioned factors as well as correlating with increased levels of cultural knowledge and understanding, leadership skills, student learning, personal development, intellectual and social self-confidence, student retention, and overall satisfaction with students’ college experience.{{cite journal |last1=Denson |first1=N. |last2=Chang |first2=M.J. |title=Racial diversity matters: The impact of diversity-related student engagement and institutional context |journal=American Educational Research Journal |date=2009 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=322–353 |doi=10.3102/0002831208323278}}

Social exposure to other students from a variety of different races and cultures via involvement in a class with a racially diverse student body helps to prepare students for their transition from college to the equally if not more diverse workforce.{{cite news |title=Minorities in the chemical workforce: Diversity models that work: A workshop report to the chemical sciences roundtable |work=The National Academies Press |agency=National Research Council |date=2003 |doi=10.17226/10653|isbn=978-0-309-08539-7 }} A 9-year longitudinal study of 8,000 white students performed by Gurin et al. in 2002 showed that students who attended a more racially diverse college “had more diverse friendship groups, lived in more diverse neighborhoods, and worked in places that had more diverse coworkers than students attending colleges that had the least amount of diversity”.{{cite news |title=Minorities in the chemical workforce: Diversity models that work: A workshop report to the chemical sciences roundtable |work=The National Academies Press |agency=National Research Council |date=2003 |doi=10.17226/10653|isbn=978-0-309-08539-7 }} The study also revealed that students exposed to curricular diversity as well as students exposed to interaction diversity in college showed higher levels of both intellectual and citizenship engagement as well as more developed skills in writing, mathematics, and in academics in general later in life, but the greatest results were in students exposed to both curricular and interaction diversity.{{cite news |title=Minorities in the chemical workforce: Diversity models that work: A workshop report to the chemical sciences roundtable |work=The National Academies Press |agency=National Research Council |date=2003 |doi=10.17226/10653|isbn=978-0-309-08539-7 }} Interestingly, though, at the beginning of the study, nearly 80 percent of the students questioned stated that they were confident in their ability to work cooperatively with diverse people, despite 66 percent of those students having grown up in predominantly white neighborhoods, only half of them stating that they had above-average knowledge of other backgrounds and cultures, and only 9 percent of them having taken a high school diversity course; in effect, these students believed that they would have no issue getting along with and understanding diverse people despite having little to no prior experience or interactions with diverse people.{{cite news |title=Minorities in the chemical workforce: Diversity models that work: A workshop report to the chemical sciences roundtable |work=The National Academies Press |agency=National Research Council |date=2003 |doi=10.17226/10653|isbn=978-0-309-08539-7 }}

However, not all racial diversity studies had exclusively positive results. In the previously mentioned four-year longitudinal study, students who reported even a few close Latino friends showed significantly less decrease in these ideologies than those who reported having no Latino friends at all.{{cite journal |last1=Neville |first1=H.A. |last2=Lewis |first2=J.A. |last3=Poteat |first3=V.P. |last4=Spanierman |first4=L.B. |title=Changes in white college students' color-blind racial ideology over 4 years: Do diversity experiences make a difference? |journal=Journal of Counseling Psychology |date=2014 |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=179–190 |doi=10.1037/a0035168|pmid=24635589 }} Another study performed by Rothman, Lipset, and Nevitte in 2002 showed that increased structural diversity correlated with increased levels of discriminatory experiences as well as decreased levels of student satisfaction and of perceived quality of education.{{cite journal |last1=Denson |first1=N. |last2=Chang |first2=M.J. |title=Racial diversity matters: The impact of diversity-related student engagement and institutional context |journal=American Educational Research Journal |date=2009 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=322–353 |doi=10.3102/0002831208323278}}

When talking about people with cognitive disabilities, it is important to define what cognitive disability is. Cognitive disability refers to how a person thinks, and can include people with conditions of autism, mental illnesses, brain injuries, strokes, Alzheimer's disease or dementia, and more.{{Cite web |title=Cognitive Disabilities |url=https://www.fcc.gov/cognitive-disabilities |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=www.fcc.gov |language=en}} People with cognitive disabilities think very differently than people who do not have cognitive disabilities. It is important to include people with cognitive disabilities under the term "intellectual diversity" because intellectual diversity is the exposing of multiple different viewpoints. A person who is autistic might have a totally different viewpoint on a certain topic than someone else might have. Cognitive diversity allows you to be able to look further into understanding the basics of knowledge, and who it can come from. It unveils new ways of thinking.{{Cite journal |last=Maeve |first=M. O’Donovan |date=October 21, 2010 |title=Cognitive Diversity in the Global Academy: Why the Voices of Persons with Cognitive Disabilities are Vital to Intellectual Diversity |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10805-010-9116-x |journal=Journal of Academic Ethics |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=171–185 |doi=10.1007/s10805-010-9116-x |s2cid=145080289 |via=Springer Link}} There are many people with disabilities in a college setting, and it is important that they are included and that they are given a voice. People who have cognitive disabilities think in their own way and have valuable knowledge to share with others, but are often labeled as unknowledgeable and their ideas are discarded when it comes to people sharing their different ideas or point of views.

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