the influence of cultural self on one’s teaching professional development in urban education:...
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Typical Response My name is _(insert_name). I am a My name is _(insert_name). I am a _________ at (insert name of school). Is this “who you are” or “what you are?”TRANSCRIPT
The Influence of Cultural Self on One’s TeachingProfessional Development in Urban Education: Designed For Teachers, By Teachers and With Teachers ConferenceAugust 12, 2015
Who Are You?
Typical Response My name is _(insert_name) . I am
a
_________ at (insert name of school).
Is this “who you are” or “what you are?”
Does It Matter?Does it matter who you are?
Teacher Demographics (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013)
Caucasian (83% public school, 88% private school)
Female (76%) Middle class Monolingual
Population Demographics – Wisconsin, 2000-2010(U.S. Census Bureau, 2013) Hispanic, +74% Biracial or Multiracial, +56% Asian, +46% African American, +18% American Indian, +15% Caucasian, +3%
Population Demographics – Illinois, 2000-2010 American Indian, +42% Asian, +39% Hispanic, +33% Biracial or Multiracial, +23% Caucasian, +1% African American, -1%
Population Demographics – Iowa, 2000-2010
Hispanic, +84% Biracial or Multiracial, +68% Asian, +45% African American, +44% American Indian, +23% Caucasian, +1%
Population Demographics – Michigan, 2000-2010 Asian, +35% Hispanic, +35% Biracial or Multiracial, +20% American Indian, +6% African American, -1% Caucasian, -2%
Population Demographics – Minnesota, 2000-2010 Hispanic, +75% African American, +60% Asian, +51% Biracial or Multiracial, +51% American Indian, +11% Caucasian, +3%
National Student Demographic Projection By 2020, 46% of school children
were expected to be from racial/ethnic groups other than Caucasian (Banks & McGee-Banks, 2007)
Madison Student Demographic 53% of public school children
were of a race/ethnicity other than Caucasian in fall, 2010 (Madison Metropolitan School District, 2014)
Current National Student Demographic 50.3% of public school children
were of a race/ethnicity other than Caucasian in fall, 2014 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014)
Importance of Discovering Cultural Self Teachers’ attitudes toward
students comes from the teachers’ backgrounds and who they are (cultural self)
Culture determines how teachers think, believe, and behave and these affect how they teach and learn (Gay, 2010)
Importance of Discovering Cultural Self To strategically approach diversity
issues in the classroom, teachers must begin with an exploration of their own beliefs. (Breese, 2008)
Consciously, we teach what we know;
Subconsciously, we teach who we are (Hamachek, 1994)
Cultural Self-Mapping List on the bones of the fish (next
slide), things that have made you into the person you are today– Examples: family, friends,
colleagues, students, schools attended, where lived, jobs, interests, qualities
Add more bones to existing branches; add more branches of bones
Examination of Attitudes Think about your attitudes toward human
differences and responses to experiences with diversity
How has your cultural self influenced your attitudes and responses?
How Have Your Attitudes Influenced your Teaching? Think about instances when your attitudes
influenced your teaching
Which aspects of your cultural self have influenced your teaching?
Importance of Discovering Cultural Self “Examining one’s own beliefs and
assumptions is an essential skill in becoming culturally proficient. Cultural proficiency involves an inward journey in which one increasingly understands his or her own beliefs and actions and the impact that those beliefs and actions have on others.” (Lindsey, Roberts, & CampbellJones, 2005)
Cultural Proficiency Continuum (Cross, 1989; Lindsey, Robins, & Terrell, 1999) Cultural Destructiveness
– Deny the existence of, discredit, or purge cultures different than one’s own
Cultural Incapacity– Elevating the superiority of one’s
own culture and suppressing cultures that are different
Cultural Proficiency Continuum Cultural Blindness
– Refusing to recognize differences among cultures; acting as if differences do not exist
Cultural Pre-competence– Recognizing that not being familiar
and experienced with other cultures limits one’s ability to effectively interact with them
Cultural Proficiency Continuum Cultural Competence
– Interacting with other cultures in ways that recognize and value their differences, expand one’s knowledge and resources, adapt one’s relational behavior
Cultural Proficiency– Honoring differences, seeing
diversity as a benefit, interacting knowledgeably and respectfully among other cultures
Adjusting Attitudes to Improve Teaching On an index card, list a few
attitudes you need to improve Exchange cards Write suggestions to improve the
attitudes listed on the card you selected
Share ideas
Importance of Knowing Self “I did not realize how much of who I
was would impact my teaching…I soon realized that all my lessons, my posters, my props, my kids’ journals, and the bins I so meticulously arranged for my students to keep their class supplies in were all just parts of an empty shell as long as I ignored who I was and what I brought to my teaching.” (Student comment) (Merseth, Sommer, & Dickstein, 2008)
Culturally Responsive Teaching Why do teachers become
culturally responsive teachers?
It is the right thing to do
It is the ethical thing to do
Examination of Attitudes Think about your attitudes toward ethics
How have you responded to situations involving ethical decisions?
How has your cultural self influenced your attitudes and responses regarding ethics and culturally responsive teaching?
Who Are You? Your background determines who
you are Who you are influences what you
think and do, and how you teach “Our philosophy and behaviors
are framed by our histories, and that can be productive or problematic” (Hoerr, 2011)
Thank You! Dan Timm, Ed.D.
Faculty AssociateDepartment of Kinesiology2000 Observatory DriveUniversity of WisconsinMadison, Wisconsin [email protected]