Diversity in the Classroom Considering WORLDVIEW in Ourselves and Our Students

WORLDVIEW WORLDVIEW describes how a person perceives his or her relationship to the world and influences communication, individual goals, belief systems, problem solving, decision making, socialization, conflict resolution, and behavior. (Zirpoli, p. 61) images.clipartpanda.com/world-clipart-world-clipart-02.jpg https://clipartoons.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/children-around-the-world-free-cliparts-vectors-and.jpg

Five Categories of WORLDVIEW NATURE Concerns how people feel about nature, how they react to the environment, consider whether nature has control over people TIME ORIENTATION Concerns how people interact with past, present, future and how they value time, schedules, and task completion ACTIVITY ORIENTATION Concerns whether a person is action oriented, cognitive oriented, or affective oriented HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS Concerns how we function in relationships, collectivism vs. individualism HUMAN NATURE Concerns how one sees self and others in terms of good, bad, or combination, and their power to effect this expectation

NATURE Students who have a nature orientation may feel that ’the natural world is such a beautiful place it is a shame to destroy it with buildings, highways, and dams…” They may be distrustful of technology and prefer more tradtional and less modern ways of gathering information. Native Americans are nature centered, believing in the power of nature, the importance of seasons, and feeling controlled by natural events. (Zirpoli, p. 61)

TIME ORIENTATION Students who come from a culture that values time in a different way than our traditional system in the US where we value schedules and deadlines may struggle with this worldview. Students may not value spending time preparing for tests, parents may not value after school appointment times. Latin Americans may believe that being late is a sign of respect. African Americans may be polychronic (time is cyclical, punctuality is unimportant, and interruptions are acceptable.) (Zirpoli, p. 62)

ACTIVITY ORIENTATION Question: Is the student a thinker, a feeler or a doer? What mechanism does the person use to act and change? Asian Americans may demonstrate strong control of emotions and display outward calm. Women may work more from an emotional relational standpoint Men may work more from an action standpoint and value task completion (Zirpoli, p; 62-63)

HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS Collectivist: collaboration and interdependence, encourage subordination of individual goals in favor of the goals of the larger group, stable relationships, seek advice or help only from in-groups so having a cultural in-group is essential for connection Individualist: the traditional norm of US culture, favors autonomy and independence, striving for personal achievement, taking personal responsibility African Americans and Asian Americans tend to value collectivism, considering the good of the group over individual gain (church, family, neighborhood) African American students may consider relatives and close friends as “family”—strong kinship relationships (Zirpoli, p. 63, 65)

HUMAN NATURE The continuum of how a person views humankind: as good, bad, or immutable. A child who lives in poverty may see the world as unsafe and very negative. A child who has not had good success academically may see everything in school as bad. (Zirpoli, p. 63-64)

TIPS FOR CONSIDERING DIVERSITY IN THE CLASSROOM (IN SUMMARY OF THOSE IN THE BOOK) The following tips are taken from Barbara Gross Davis’ chapter entitled “Diversity and Complexity in the Classroom: Considerations of Race, Ethnicity and Gender” in her excellent book, Tools for Teaching. We recommend that you read her full text to learn more about the issues and ideas listed below in this broad overview. Davis writes: “There are no universal solutions or specific rules for responding to ethnic, gender, and cultural diversity in the classroom…. Perhaps the overriding principle is to be thoughtful and sensitive….” She recommends that you, the teacher: Recognize any biases or stereotypes you may have absorbed. Treat each student as an individual, and respect each student for who he or she is. Rectify any language patterns or case examples that exclude or demean any groups. Do your best to be sensitive to terminology that refers to specific ethnic and cultural groups as it changes. Get a sense of how students feel about the cultural climate in your classroom. Tell them that you want to hear from them if any aspect of the course is making them uncomfortable. Introduce discussions of diversity at department meetings. Become more informed about the history and culture of groups other than your own. Convey the same level of respect and confidence in the abilities of all your students. Don’t try to “protect” any group of students. Don’t refrain from criticizing the performance of individual students in your class on account of their ethnicity or gender. And be evenhanded in how you acknowledge students’ good work. Whenever possible, select texts and readings whose language is gender-neutral and free of stereotypes, or cite the shortcomings of material that does not meet these criteria. Aim for an inclusive curriculum that reflects the perspectives and experiences of a pluralistic society. Do not assume that all students will recognize cultural, literary or historical references familiar to you. Bring in guest lecturers to foster diversity in your class. Give assignments and exams that recognize students’ diverse backgrounds and special interests. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/diversity/

VIDEO LINKS STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING CULTURALLY DIVERSE STUDENTS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPutaPc9gB8 MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE NEED TO CHANGE OURSELVES AS TEACHERS! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgtinODaW78

GREAT RESOURCES http://www.edutopia.org/blog/preparing-cultural-diversity-resources-teachers http://www.pbs.org/kcts/preciouschildren/diversity/ https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/diversity/ http://ctl.yale.edu/teaching/ideas-teaching/diversity-classroom