Using Community Asset Maps and Oral Histories in Your Teaching Felice Atesoglu Russell, KSU Amanda Richey, KSU Jan Anglade, Dekalb International Student Center Rose Wichterman, Fair Oaks Elementary School KSU ESOL Conference February, 2016

Agenda 1.Introductions 2.Background 3.The assignment 4.Project samples 5.Small and whole group work 6.Wrap-up and questions

Who are we? Turn to a neighbor or two and introduce yourself What is your role? In what school/district are you located? Describe the type of community in which you work. What challenges and/or opportunities are present?

Background The KSU TESOL program noticed the need for teacher candidates to better understand their school communities   Both the resources available in the surrounding geographic area & the individual stories of the community members  Desire to improve relationships and connection between teacher candidates and the students and families in their school community

Assignment Framework: Family and Community Engagement Paradigm shift: PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT  FAMILY & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DEFICIT  ASSET/STRENGTH SCHOOL DIRECTED  TRUE PARTNERSHIP

Assignment Framework: Appreciative Inquiry “[Appreciative Inquiry] deliberately seeks to discover people’s exceptionality – their unique gifts, strengths, and qualities. It actively searches and recognizes people for their specialties – their essential contributions and achievements. And it is based on principles of equality of voice – everyone is asked to speak about their vision of the true, the good, and the possible. Appreciative Inquiry builds momentum and success because it believes in people. It really is an invitation to a positive revolution. Its goal is to discover in all human beings the exceptional and the essential. Its goal is to create organizations that are in full voice!” (Cooperrider et al., 2001)

Engaging with the Community: Asset Map and Oral History Project of Community Member Part I: Community Asset Map Part II: Oral History Project – Community Interview

Community Asset Map Employing the methodology of appreciative inquiry, including visits to the field, construct a visual model of the assets of a community and present findings to via a Weebly website. Decide on the community boundary based upon where your students spend time before and after school (where they live, after-school programs they attend, places of worship, etc.). Create a map using Google maps, another mapping program of your choice, another tech tool, or paper (you will need to photograph or scan your work so you can upload to Weebly). Embed those assets that are of particular importance to the community (include at least 10 assets).

Community Asset Map: Summary Include a summative findings narrative on your Weebly site. Discuss the following:  Assets available to the school community  How you might be able to utilize 3-5 assets for emerging bilingual learners and their families (i.e. in your teaching or graduate program).  Any particular successes or challenges you had in completing this project

Oral History Project: Community Interview The oral history project centers on listening to families and communities in order to understand the history, context, and range of assets available in the particular school community. Identification of community members (can come from inside or outside the school) and informed by community asset mapping field visits. Select an individual that is both willing to be interviewed and makes for a good case study. Ethical considerations and connection to schooling must be considered.

Oral History Project: Community Interview 1.Develop a structured or semi-structured interview protocol with about 5-10 questions based on knowledge of the community, community member, and course / TESOL program readings. 2.Conduct ~20 minute interview with the community member and digitally record (be sure the participant is okay with recording). 3.Write-up your findings and post to your Weebly site. 4.In your write-up highlight critical findings, research-infused reflection from the oral interview, and any salient direct quotes from the recorded interview that help to support your main points.

Oral History Project: Sample Questions How did you come to live and/or work in this community? What makes this community unique? (Follow-up: What are some events that bring the community together over the year?) In what ways have you, or would you like to, engage with X school? How does your organization support X school and the families in this community? What is your relationship to X school? (Follow-up: Have you in the past or do you currently have family members that attend X school? What does the community think of X school? ) *Note: Make your questions unique to your particular participant and context.

Project Sample #1: Jan Anglade, Dekalb International Student Center Weebly Link

Project Sample #2: Rose Wichterman, Fair Oaks Elementary School Weebly Link

Small Group Brainstorm 1.How might you incorporate community assets and asset maps into your teaching to improve engagement with families and communities? Have you explored the geographic area around your school? What assets are available? How, if at all, might you utilize each of them? 2.How might you incorporate oral histories of community members into your teaching to improve engagement with families and communities Do you know the individual stories of any school community members? If so, how do these narratives inform your teaching? If not, how might you create opportunities for learning about individual community members’ histories?

Whole Group: Share Ideas

Small Groups: Connections to P-12 Students How might you implement a community asset map into your instruction with your students? What about an oral history project? Discuss specifically how you might incorporate one or both of these projects: - Grade(s) - Content area(s) - Language level(s) - Curriculum connections - Modifications - Scaffolds

Whole Group: Share Ideas

Wrap-up and questions Any other questions about this project? Thank you for attending our session! Contact information: Dr. Felice Russell: Dr. Amanda Richey: Jan Anglade: Rose Wichterman: