From the ECU Clinical Teachers Conference 3/27/14

1. Diversity and Culture in
Classrooms
Dr. Lori Flint
ECU Clinical Teacher Conference Spring 2014

2. Multicultural Education
Goals
n Multicultural knowledge
n Educational equity (equal opportunity to learn, positive
educational outcomes for individuals and groups, and equal
physical and affective conditions)
n Teaching with a multicultural perspective means that teachers see
that culture, race, gender, religion, SES, and ability are
powerful variables in the learning process and that important
ideas about teaching can be gained from studying cultural
systems. When teaching from a multicultural perspective,
educators challenge assumptions and stereotypes; they
examine curricula from a broader point of view and in an
assertive, proactive manner. Essentially, educators endeavor to
promote cultural continuity between the home and school of
minority students and attempt to eliminate culturally
assaultive classrooms. (Ford, Howard, & Harris)

3. Culturally Responsive
Teaching
n A means to improve the school success of
(ethnically and otherwise) diverse students
and for preparing teachers in preservice
education programs with the knowledge,
attitudes, and skills needed to do this.

4. Defined as….
n ….using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and
perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits
for teaching them more effectively
n Based on the assumption academic knowledge and
skills situated within lived experiences and frames of
reference of students, they are more personally
meaningful, have higher interest appeal, and are
learned more easily and thoroughly (Gay, 2000),
resulting in higher academic achievement

5. Can’t Teach What We
Don’t Know…
n We must develop explicit knowledge about cultural
diversity if we are to meet the to educational needs of
ethnically diverse students
n We must do the same for students other than
ethnically and/or racially diverse backgrounds
n Need to understand cultural values, traditions,
communication, learning styles, contributions, and
relational patterns, and the contributions of various
groups to society

6. Get the Facts:
Develop a Database
n About specific ethnic groups (e.g., African, Asian,
Latino, and Native American) to help make make
school more interesting and stimulating for,
representative of, and responsive to diverse students.
n Cultural diversity has its place in every subject taught
in school.
n Teachers must locate, learn, and and weave accurate
information into their lesson planning and
instruction.

7. Design Relevant
Curriculum
1. Formal plans for instruction (mainstream)
Avoids controversy
May be sanitized
Focuses primarily on dominant cultural values
Culturally responsive teaching reverses these trends
by dealing directly with controversy; studying a wide
range of ethnic individuals and groups;
contextualizing issues within race, class, ethnicity,
and gender; and including multiple kinds of
knowledge and perspectives.

8. Design Relevant
Curriculum
2. Symbolic Curriculum
images, symbols, icons, mottoes, awards, celebrations, & artifacts
that teach students knowledge, skills, morals, and values.
are bulletin board decorations; heroes and heroines; trade books; &
publicly displayed statements of social etiquette, rules and
regulations, ethical principles, and tokens of achievement.
culturally responsive teachers are critically conscious of the power of
symbolic curriculum & use it to convey important information,
values, and actions about ethnic and cultural diversity, including
diversity of race, class, culture, gender, etc.

9. Design Relevant
Curriculum
3. Cortés “societal curriculum”
knowledge, ideas, and impressions about ethnic groups in the mass
media. Television programs, newspapers, magazines, and movies are
more than factual information or entertainment, and their content
reflects and conveys particular cultural, social, ethnic, and political
values, knowledge, and advocacies. For many students, mass media is
the only source of knowledge about ethnic diversity; for others, what is
seen on television is more influential and memorable than what is
learned from books in classrooms. It is also often inaccurate.

10. Cultural Caring & the
Learning Community
n Create a classroom climate conducive to
EVERYONE’S learning.
n Use CULTURAL SCAFFOLDING
n BUILD COMMUNITY, not competition
n Be holistic in teaching and learning-teach to the
whole child

11. Develop Cross-Cultural
Communication
n Porter and Samovar (1991) explained that culture
influences “what we talk about; how we talk about it;
what we see, attend to, or ignore; how we think; and
what we think about”
n To Montagu and Watson (1979) communication is the
“ground of meeting and the foundation of community”
among human beings.
n Culturally responsive teachers understand how
communication styles of different ethnic groups reflect
cultural values and shape learning behaviors and how to
modify classroom interactions to better accommodate
them.

12. Making Classroom
Instruction Make Sense
n matching instructional techniques to the learning
styles of diverse students.
n Spindler (1987) suggests establishing continuity
between the modus operandi of ethnic groups and
school cultures in teaching and learning.
n The possibilities for developing this congruity are
endless…

13. Examples….
n For example, a topic-chaining communication style is
very conducive to a storytelling teaching style.
n Cooperative group learning arrangements and peer
coaching fit well with the communal cultural systems of
African, Asian, Native, and Latino American groups
(Gay, 2000; Spring, 1995).
n Autobiographical case studies and fiction can crystallize
ethnic identity and affiliation issues across contextual
boundaries (i.e., geographic, generational, temporal).
n Motion and movement, music, frequent variability in
tasks and formats, novelty, and dramatic elements in
teaching improve the academic performance of African
Americans

14. Use Learning Styles
n Like all cultural phenomena, they are complex,
multidimensional, and dynamic.
n There is room for individuals to move around within
the characteristics of particular learning styles, and
they can be taught to cross style parameters.
n Specific patterns can be seen various ethnic groups
(Shade, 1989)
n Internal structure of ethnic learning styles has 8
major components.

15. Eight Key Components
n Preferred content
n How we work through learning
tasks
n Techniques for organizing and
conveying ideas and thoughts
n Structural arrangements of
work, study, and performance
space
n Perceptual stimulation for
receiving, processing, &
demonstrating comprehension
and competence
n Motivations, incentives, and
rewards for learning
n Interpersonal interactional styles
n Physical and social settings for
task performance

16. Integrate CRT into High
Stakes Areas
n Give culturally relevant
examples, stories, scenarios, etc.
during instructional time
n If you don’t have any of your
own, find some!
n Go way beyond the most
popular figures
n Use sample literature
n Use popular cultural references
n Build bridges to help cement
students’ learning
n Make sure students see
themselves reflected in the
curriculum!
n Empower students by removing
the burden of trying to learn
under unnatural conditions
Extracted from Geneva Gay: Preparing for Culturally Responsive Teaching, 2002.

17. Practical Resources
n Tolerance.org: free teaching kits and materials, lesson plans
MULTICULTURALISM in EDUCATION (lesson plans, materials)
http://www.start-at-zero.com/papers/multiculturalism/lessons.htm
n MULTICULTURAL LESSON PLANS & RESOURCES
http://www.eds-resources.com/edmulticult.htm
n Multicultural Education
http://www.education.com/reference/article/multicultural-education/
n Preparing for Culturally Responsive teaching
http://mrc.spps.org/uploads/preparing_for_crt-_geneva_gay-2.pdf
n Recruiting Minority Teachers
http://www.tolerance.org/tdsi/sites/tolerance.org.tdsi/files/assets/general/
Recruiting_Minority_Teachers.pdf
n Using Multicultural Literature
http://paws.wcu.edu/churley/10_1_colby.pdf
http://www.slideshare.net/JuicyUniverse.com/culturally-responsive-
n Multicultural Literature in Elementary & Secondary Classrooms
http://www.easternct.edu/smithlibrary/depts/curriculum/documents/mcliterature.pdf
n UN Peace Initiative: https://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/peace/frame.htm
n Canadian Peace Curricula & Classroom Resources
http://www.peace.ca/curricula.htm