Diversity in Curriculum and Instruction Angela Byars-Winston Counseling Psychology UW-Madison August 14, 2003

If the world were a village of 100 people, there would be… 57 Asians 21 Europeans 14 from the Western Hemisphere (north and south) 8 Africans 52 would be female 48 would be male 70 would be non-white, 30 white 70 would be non-Christian, 30 would be Christian 89 would be heterosexual, 11 homosexual 59% of the entire world's wealth would be in the hands of only 6 people and all 6 would be citizens of the United States 80 would live in substandard housing 70 would be unable to read 50 would suffer from malnutrition 1 would be near death, 1 would be near birth Only 1 would have a college education 1 would own a computer

Assumption Cultural diversity is a fact of life and efforts to build a common culture inevitably privilege the dominant culture (Ortiz & Rhoads, 2000)

Ivey (1993)

What influences your teaching? 1)Your positionality (perspectives resulting from an intersection of multiple social identities) 2)Your experiences as a function of dynamics created by and resulting from membership in multiple social groups

Questions: What was the best class experience you ever had? What factors made it enjoyable for you?

Teaching and Learning Are Function of… Culture of student Culture of instructor Culture of department, college, institution

Does diversity make a difference? Engagement and Diverse Instruction Yields: Cognitive Complexity Critical thinking Openness to new ideas and different points of view; being challenged Knowledge Acquisition & Application] Persistence & Educational Attainment Creativity

If necessity is the mother of invention, then diversity may well be the mother of creativity

Culturally Inclusive Classrooms Integrate diverse perspectives into the syllabus (science problems in diff parts of the world). Create a classroom community in which all students feel included and involved. Present course material in a variety of ways

Good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher...Good teachers possess a capacity for connectedness. Parker J. Palmer (1998), The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teachers life.

Facilitators of Diverse Instruction and Student Engagement Varied teaching practices Contact Curriculum