Course Reflection

Course Reflection

8.2 Component 4e: Growing and Developing Professionally

A distinguished teacher will seek out feedback on teaching from both supervisors and colleagues when they are trying to incorporate culturally competent teaching into their classrooms. This is the desire to create an environment that is inclusive, so that every individual feels a part of the learning process. This means a teacher must proactively look for ways to acquire ideas, materials and lessons that can help foster a culturally diverse atmosphere.  The way to help empower a teacher and their classroom,  is to ensure an emphasis is placed on professional development and that must include cultural awareness, which may come from other fellow educators who possess that understanding inherently or may have also obtained it throughout their time teaching or other life experiences.

This article is an excerpted from: A Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching, Wlodkowski and Ginsberg, 1995. This briefly talks about the importance of cultural competent teaching and how it can benefit students inside the classrooms. This passage gives teachers some insight into how vital it really is to simply be aware of the students occupying their classrooms, as they are an important piece of the learning process. This aspect can’t be overlooked as it is an invaluable part of what can ultimately help stimulate learning, as it engages students in a manner that makes material accessible and relevant.

Re-engaging on Motivation and Culturally Competent Teaching

Research has shown that no one teaching strategy will consistently engage all learners. The key is helping students relate lesson content to their own backgrounds.

"To be effective in multicultural classrooms, teachers must relate teaching content to the cultural backgrounds of their students. According to the research, teaching that ignores student norms of behavior and communication provokes student resistance, while teaching that is responsive prompts student involvement (Olneck 1995). There is growing evidence that strong, continual engagement among diverse students requires a holistic approach—that is, an approach where the how, what, and why of teaching are unified and meaningful (Ogbu 1995).

To that end, we have developed a comprehensive model of culturally responsive teaching: a pedagogy that crosses disciplines and cultures to engage learners while respecting their cultural integrity. It accommodates the dynamic mix of race, ethnicity, class, gender, region, religion, and family that contributes to every student's cultural identity. The foundation for this approach lies in theories of intrinsic motivation."

This article helps teachers understand and realize that cultural competent teaching is a method meant to help engage students and get them to intrinsically “buy into” the teaching taking place. Thus, they feel a part of the process and valued for their experiences and perspectives.

Dynamics of Differences is the interpersonal interactions that occur in a cross-cultural encounter. These learned expectations or assumptions about each other are something that could hinder students for being successful in their educational pursuits. I believe that if I am working in a high need area that is (Bronx, NYC or Central District of Seattle) accompanied by poor economic conditions, I will be faced with groups of minority students  that I may be unfamiliar with such as their cultures or faiths.

 I will have to “educate” myself about my students/ families and their cultural backgrounds so that I can become familiar with the aspects of their life’s that I may only have a limited knowledge about. There is only so much that can be learned about people, unless you are exposed to them in actuality and having to interact with them directly. I will have to actively immerse myself in the community and look to involve myself in every opportunity that I can by engaging in as many possible open dialogues, inner personal interactions and events as possible. I will have to be candid about my experiences/assumptions and look to my students to help me resolve and clarify any misinterpretations and misunderstandings that may arise. The more genuine, transparent and willing I am to address preconceived notions that may be evident,  the more it will be possible to create an atmosphere that is conducive for success and achievement.

When the students’ lives and cultures are included and represented in the classroom, it is more likely that they will feel respected, valued and motivated to learn. By incorporating cultural competence into their education, you as teacher are subconsciously letting them know that they are an intricate part of the educational process. The students will feel as though they are invested in the education that they receiving because of the inclusion of their culture, which itself can be a very powerfully influential factor.

I will increase my effectiveness in cultural competence by having assessments that take into account the students’ perspectives as well as teaching classes that include the students’ experiences, concerns or their interests in mind. I will ensure that the students are able to voice their opinions in a safe environment that nurtures the acceptance of differences and embraces diversity. I will have questions that go beyond the facts and requires students to give thoughtful insights or allows them to give their point of view. I will utilize the prior knowledge and experiences that the students have in order to make the content relevant.