Cultural responsiveness in classroom practices

Like it or not, we all have biases. Thing is, most of us probably don’t even realize it. As a teacher, recognizing and correcting cultural or language barriers and biases can only mean one thing: a better learning experience for both the students and the instructor.

Donna Sobel, associate professor in the School of Education and Human Development, is examining how three public school teachers who teach in a dual-immersion language schools rate their understanding of cultural responsiveness and apply their knowledge and skill in that area.

“While teachers might recognize the need to address learners’ background experiences and needs, even those committed to this effort may not know how to begin,” Sobel explains. “By bringing unspoken cultural biases to a conscious level for examination, teachers are less likely to misinterpret the language and actions of students from diverse backgrounds and react in a discriminatory manner.”

Armed with a faculty development grant, Sobel’s research will provide best practices to the teacher preparation program in SEHD on preparing teachers for organizing and managing the culturally diverse classrooms.

“Culturally responsive instruction begins with an examination of oneself relevant to others and the sociopolitical context,” Sobel stresses. “In order for teachers to engage in this level of personal examination, opportunities must be created for all teachers to use conscious reflection.”

Building bridges through La Vista

Parents’ involvement in their children’s education is an important part of student success. Today, schools struggle to engage parents, particularly in schools with a high immigrant population.

Sherry Taylor, associate professor of literacy at the School of Education and Human Development shown here with her daughter, is working to build bridges across language and culture and get parents involved in the education process. Taylor is collaborating with Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer — an open enrollment, bilingual elementary school in Boulder Valley School District—to get parents involved in the education process.

Although parents choose to enroll their children at Pioneer for the exposure to other languages and cultures, it turns out that the “parents are hesitant to cross those boundaries that they select for their children,” Taylor says. When surveyed regarding the matter, both Spanish and English-speaking parents admitted they felt uncomfortable interacting with each other and the school community.

With the help of a faculty development grant, Taylor is trying a new program to nurture connections between parents. In March 2007, Taylor began holding drop-in meetings, one morning a week, as part of a program La Visita. Parents participate over café con leche (coffee with milk) in interactive discussions on school matters.

During the 2008-09 academic year, Taylor will continue La Visita by introducing new methods and materials—straight from the classroom. For example, parents might discuss contemporary themes presented in multicultural, bilingual children’s literature or identify similarities in their lives using a Venn diagram – an illustration of overlapping circles showing relationships between two or more subjects.

 “It’s a way for parents to think about how we’re the same and how we’re different,” she says. “It’s a very neat, grassroots way of supporting parents’ interaction and helping them better understand what happens in the classroom.”

Taylor, the principal, two teachers and four parents will form a parent involvement team to explore the program’s effectiveness through questionnaires and interactive focus groups. In February 2009, the team will attend a Colorado Council for International Reading Association conference where Taylor will present their findings.

Understanding the education 'environment'

Like a set of building blocks, children stack new knowledge on top of pre-existing knowledge grounded in unique social-cultural settings and experiences. Each child starts with a different set of blocks, or their everyday ideas about the world. In environmental education, understanding what certain terms like “environment” mean to different students is essential to foster inclusive teaching and learning in diverse classrooms.

“In reality, however, these ‘everyday ideas’ that children rely on to make sense of environmental concepts often go unnoticed in the classroom,” says Bryan Shao-Chang Wee, assistant professor of curriculum and pedagogy at the School of Education and Human Development as well as geography and environmental science in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Teachers may lack the time to explore and incorporate these ideas into the curriculum, he explains, due in part to accountability-driven policies like No Child Left Behind.

Wee is looking closer at children’s everyday ideas about the environment in two locations opposite the globe—the United States and China. He has collected drawings and written responses from approximately 300 students age 7 to 12 from each country. Funded in part by the Center for Faculty Development, he will employ two graduate students to assist with translation and data analysis.

 “Ultimately,” says Wee, “a heightened sense of human-environment interactions generated by a deeper understanding of these everyday ideas can move human society a step closer to local and global sustainability.”

Faculty mentoring faculty online

More often than not, faculty members teach online courses in isolation from others. There is usually no one around to help celebrate success or provide guidance in a challenging situation.

With the help of a faculty development grant, five faculty members from the School of Education and Human Development are establishing a way to enhance online course design and teaching through collaborative mentoring. Senior Instructor Caron Westland, Assistant Professor Laura Summers, Senior Instructor Stephanie Townsend, Senior Instructor Susan Giullian and Associate Professor Joni Dunlap have designed a program in which faculty can provide support and feedback to each other.

Each faculty member will be allowed to review their four colleagues’ courses at three times during the course—the beginning, middle and end. Members will be able to help each other with skill development, offer advice about best practices, attend some of each other’s classes and offer different points of view. Each member will then attend a conference related to teaching in an online environment and relay their experiences to the group.

Reflective practice amongst faculty is essential to improving students’ learning environment in both the physical and the online classroom.