Implementing Change
EDU 675: Change Leadership for Differentiated Educational Environment
Teri Engleman
September 12, 2011
Topic: Be more culturally responsive through differentiated teaching.
1. Background of students, staff, educational setting
Educational Setting: Early Discoveries is a federally funded at-risk preschool program. Through the collaborative efforts of the Virginia Beach Public School System and the YMCA of South Hampton Roads, this program meets the needs of families with children who are “continuously exposed to high-risk factors and situations that are likely to have an adverse impact on their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development” (Discoveries and Adventures 2007, p. 1). The purpose of our program is to ease students through the transition into kindergarten. In essence, Early Discoveries is like a kindergarten readiness program. The program’s main goals include: intellectual growth and educational stimulation, emotional security, social adjustment, physical well-being, and individual growth and expression (Discoveries and Adventures 2007).
Learners: In Ms. Engleman’s class at Early Discoveries there are 14 children in attendance. The program is designed for at-risk four year olds students that meet certain at-risk factors. This class consists of eight girls and six boys. When considering family life, eleven children have at least one military parent, three are non-military, and [out of the 14] two children come from single parent homes. One of the students has been diagnosed with ADHD and two others, according to a doctor or psychologist, show ADHD behaviors. Finally, two of Ms. Engleman’s students have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for speech.
Staff: Assistant teachers are required to have a minimum of 12 credits completed towards an education degree and at least one year experience working with children. Lead teachers must have at least a Bachelor’s degree in the field of education and at least 2 years classroom experience. All staff members are required to complete the week long summer training session implemented by Early Discoveries. Ms. Engleman is a lead teacher who has been with the program for five years, and teaching for seven. She is completing a Masters degree in education. Mrs. Varner has been with the program for three years, and teaching for 12. She is completing an Associates degree in education. This is the second year Ms. Engleman and Mrs. Varner have worked together.
2. Goals/objectives
ž Recognize culture’s influence and use cultural resources for instruction (Huber 2010, p. 18).
ž Include resources that legitimize cultural and historical legacies of all cultural and ethnic groups (Huber 2010, p. 18).
ž Incorporate student values, beliefs, families and perspectives (Huber 2010, p. 48).
ž Support additive multiculturalism in the classroom by incorporating more than one culture into instruction.
ž Learn to become a multicultural teacher and see reality from different perspectives.
ž Encourage collaboration between home and school to enhance learning.
ž Use culture specific educational accommodations to connect with students.
3. Plan of action including strategies
ž Discuss cultural backgrounds with parents. Be sure to ask if there are values, beliefs or traditions you need to be aware of.
ž Discuss and display all the cultures in your classroom. Teach the children to be aware and respectful of other cultures.
ž Use materials that represent the cultures of the world (i.e. books, music, ethnic dolls/pictures, etc.)
ž Implement culture specific accommodations (i.e. types of work groups, using native language with English, etc.)
ž Incorporate cultural language, customs, traditions, foods, cultural activities, etc.
4. Assessment
To assess the success of cultural awareness and sensitivity in instruction teachers can use:
ž Portfolios to document and follow students’ understanding of the cultural inclusion efforts.
ž Observations allow teacher to see if students are assimilating the new knowledge of cultural concepts in everyday life and play.
ž Communication with family allows teachers to determine if concepts are being retained and used at home (most likely a monocultural environment).
5. Resources including time, personnel, costs
ž To successfully implement culturally responsive differentiation, a multicultural education expert needs to be hired to train staff.
ž Staff will be required to complete two 1.5 hours training sessions on recognizing opportunities for and implementing a culturally relevant and anti-biased curriculum.
ž Perceived cost will include trainer fees, and $100 petty cash/ per classroom to purchase multicultural materials.
6. Professional development that will be required
All teachers will be required to complete multicultural awareness training which covers the following information-
According to the APA (2002), the following guidelines play an important role in education and practice:
ž Guideline #1: “recognize that, as cultural beings, they may hold attitudes and beliefs that can detrimentally influence their perceptions of and interactions with individuals who are ethnically and racially different from themselves” (p. 3).
ž Guideline #2: “recognize the importance of multicultural sensitivity/responsiveness, knowledge, and understanding about ethnically and racially different individuals” (p. 3).
ž Guideline #3: “employ the constructs of multiculturalism and diversity in psychological education” (p. 3).
ž Guideline #4: “recognize the importance of culture–centered research among persons from ethnic, linguistic, and racial minority backgrounds” (p. 3).
ž Guideline #5: “apply culturally–appropriate skills in practices” (p. 3).
ž Guideline #6: “use organizational change processes to support culturally informed organizational (policy) development and practices” (p. 4).
Resources
American Psychological Association (2002). Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists. Retrieved 11 September 2011 from: http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/policy/multicultural-guideline.pdf
Discoveries and Adventures (2007) Norfolk , VA : YMCA of South Hampton Roads
Huber, J. (2010). Culturally Responsive Differentiated Instruction. Retrieved 11 September 2011 from: http://www.equityallianceatasu.org/sites/default/files/9.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment