1. Motivating Students & Building Rapport May 2017 CTE Professional Development Webinar
Eva Scates-Winston, Equity Specialist
Denise Felder, Dir. of Professional Development
Minnesota Career & Technical Education

2. Student Issues & Challenges
Low Self-Concept / Self-Esteem
Hopelessness
Abandonment
Abuse (Physical, Emotional, Sexual, Mental)
Basic Needs Unmet
Broken Family Structure
False Sense of Loyalty to Family
Poverty
TCI Solutions (Deon Clark and Joshua Olatunde)

3. What are some other strengths that students have?
Student Strengths
Resiliency
Survival Instincts
Resourcefulness
Networks
Information Sharing
Persistence
What are some other strengths that students have?
A few of hundreds of strengths that individuals may have. Students have some many skills and abilities that are not acknowledged.

4. Smart = Multiple Intelligences!
Networks
Resilience
Survival
Smart = Multiple Intelligences!
Persistence
So when you look at a students strengths and abilities as a whole, “smart” is not all academics and content but various skills to acquire any knowledge that is useful.

5. Eva: the life experiences of students shape their perspectives, values, motivation and attitudes. Their behavior can not only reflect those world views but also be impacted on how others perceive them.
Denise: Don’t judge someone based on my perspective.
Don’t assume someone wants to be like me, wants to adopt same values, have same things I do. Being middle class is not the goal, being self-actualized is.

6. Perceptions The Culture Wheel TM
Share the resource poster can be bought on NAPE website. Eva might have copies for Minnesota consortia members.
Our behavior and how we perceive others is based upon what we experience in our environment. Cultural stereotypes exist about people and careers; those stereotypes are based upon our implicit biases built upon our life experiences and limited view. Micromessages are an expression of those biases and can either be a bias for or against; or can be positive or negative messages. These positive and negative messages attribute to students’ self-efficacy and either maintain the status quo on existing stereotypes or challenge them and the cultural norms that exist.
The Culture Wheel TM

7. Understanding Our Blind Spots
Explicit biases and stereotypes
We endorse and support them.
Implicit biases and stereotypes
We are usually unaware of how our unconscious minds control our thoughts and behaviors.
Recognize that everyone has biases, they are human nature

8. Perceptions
Working in higher ed and/or being from middle class we see things one way and assume everyone sees what we see.
Students might have a different perspective that we’ve never considered but it is valid and real.

9. Gorski, Paul (2013). Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty.
“In our efforts to become equity literate educators, one of our first tasks is to understand our own socializations and the ways in which we have bought into stereotypes…”
Stereotypes and perceptions, lack of knowledge impact our practices and the ways in which we communicate information, the practices and rules at our campuses, which do not reflect the reality and needs of students.
E.g. Categorizations such as, “at-risk” students and “serve or ensure all” students rather than “at-risk” environments or “serve/ensure each or every” student.
Gorski, Paul (2013). Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty.

10. 5 Steps to Addressing Biases
Recognizing we all have biases.
Learning what your biases are.
Understanding the impact your biases may have on your students.
Seeking to validate your biases.
Reconciling your biases.
Recognize that everyone has biases, they are human nature
Acknowledge what your biases are
Decide what to do about your biases

11. How We Communicate Micromessages Verbal Para-verbal Non-verbal
Contextual
Omission
Praise &
Criticism
Micromessages
Explaining micromessages further…
What is said; how said, body language, context of culture, situation or when/what’s happening; what is NOT said or done; level and depth of feedback
Source: National Alliance For Partnerships in Equity

12. How We Communicate
Micromessages
Small, subtle, semiconscious messages we send and receive when we interact with others
Micro-inequities
Negative micromessages we send other people that cause them to feel devalued, slighted, discouraged, or excluded
Micro-affirmations
Positive micromessages for which people feel valued, included or encouraged.
For example, What does this word “smart” mean to you? What perceptions do you have about being smart?
MICROMESSAGES
Small, subtle, semi-conscious messages we send and receive when we interact with others
e.g. ; I really valued your perspective, I had not thought of the problem in that way; I want to make sure that I understand what you are saying.”
MICRO-INEQUITIES
Negative micro-messages we send other people that cause them to feel devalued, slighted, discouraged or excluded
e.g. “This class may be hard but you can take a different class if you feel more comfortable”; half of you will fail this course/test”.
MICRO-AGGRESSIONS are those biases that tend to be expressed in verbal and non-verbal behavior; these are also a reflection of how one responds to continuous negative messages and inequities “sent” by others.
MICRO-AFFIRMATIONS
Positive micro-messages that cause people to feel valued, included, or encouraged
e.g. “You approached this situation with a lot of grit and determination to do well.” You are very good at…” Noticing a quality about an individual.

13. Oral Culture Characteristics
Relationships are first priority.
Shows emotion readily in most situations.
Present oriented: Highly in-tune with here-&-now.
Repetitive: Storytelling important for maintaining knowledge.
Relationships are at the heart of everything and are first priority.
Spontaneous - Strong desire for variety-Great abilities to “go with the flow” or jump from subject to subject
Repetitive - Storytelling and repeating the same over and over are important for maintaining the knowledge.
Holistic - Focus on the “BIG picture” tendency to take everything that is going on around them.
Comfort with Emotions - Shows emotion readily in most any situation.
Present Oriented - Highly in-tune with the here-and-now.
Agonistic - More physical. combative; striving to overcome in argument.
Source: Communications Across Barriers (

14. Print Culture Characteristics
Linear - Organizes thoughts/actions by “first this, then this” process.
Time has high priority in daily activities.
Analytic/abstract - Knowledge is outside of self.
Ability to delay gratification
Linear - Organizes thought and actions by “first this, then this” thought process.
Time - Is at the heart of everything and has high priority in daily activities.
Analytic/Abstract - Knowledge is outside of self--ability to step back from a situation and separate and disconnect self from what is going on.
Self-disciplined/Focus - Strong ability to shut out sense data and focus on one idea at a time.
Ability to delay gratification - Strong understanding of relationships between parts.
Ability to strategize, plan ahead, set goals, and focus on the future - Ability to break things into parts promotes the ability to connect small efforts to end desires.
Source: Communications Across Barriers (

15. Cues and Messages
Unfortunately, the messages we send students are often unintentional and based on our life experiences and observations. However, these messages as received by students may be seen as negative and hence, internalized by them.

16. How we perceive appearances, points of view and one’s behavior is a reflection of our own bias based on our experiences
Share comments in chat box.

17. Adapted from Explore Nontraditional Careers Toolkit, © NAPE-EF 2016
CUES
MESSAGES
Selecting class materials and textbooks without vetting them for gender inequities and stereotypes
Females are not as visible as the males and appear less valuable or important in the class or course
Posing simple factual questions more to females, and challenging or mult-part questions more to males.
Females are not expected to enter nontraditional CTE fields or STEM, so analytical thinking is not important.
Giving females more neutral responses such as “Okay” and “Yes” while males have more complex responses.
Female “invisibility” is often overlooked as well as their contributions to the content or field
Giving males clues for solving problems themselves while solving the problems for females.
Females can’t do it or should not appear too smart. (i.e. learned helplessness)
Praising females more for the form and appearance of work; praising males more for content of their work
Females values rests on outward appearance not their internal ability
Reference Nontraditional Careers Toolkit as resource
Example of an activity adapted from the NAPE NT Toolkit which also includes lesson plans. NT toolkit: (p.20-21)
Adapted from Explore Nontraditional Careers Toolkit, © NAPE-EF 2016

18. Humanizing Yourself: The Human Condition & Experience
Building Rapport
Humanizing Yourself: The Human Condition & Experience
Piquing Students’ Interest About You
Articulating Yourself: Tell Your Story
Think of ways to let students know about you personally. Some teachers post a bio sheet outside their classroom or office listing hobbies, education, personal info.
Sharing personal info makes you a human students can relate to, not just an authority figure.

19. Building Rapport Tell Your Story
Decide which personal details, experiences you will share.
Practice sharing your story.
Is your story relevant to your audience?
Can you clearly tie your story to an underlying issue that students are facing?
Are you careful not to presume that you know exactly what the student is dealing with?
Second-level disclosure – choose personal details to share but don’t inappropriately share details or emotions about your personal life.

20. Motivational Interviewing
Step 1: Build Rapport Step 2: Obtain Permission Step 3: Seek to Understand Step 4: Initiate “Change Talk” Step 5: Critical Listening Step 6: Feedback and Affirmations
MI uses four general processes to achieve its ends:
Engaging – used to involve the client in talking about issues, concerns and hopes, and to establish a trusting relationship with a counselor.
Focusing – used to narrow the conversation to habits or patterns that clients want to change.
Evoking – used to elicit client motivation for change by increasing clients' sense of the importance of change, their confidence about change, and their readiness to change.
Planning – used to develop the practical steps clients want to use to implement the changes they desire.
Many resources to learn motivational interviewing are online.
Develop Discrepancy!!!

21. Ensuring Equitable Relationships
What do you believe success for your students looks like?
Have you unintentionally put a limit on what your student can achieve?
How will you create a welcoming and inclusive environment?
What obstacles or challenges might you face when creating inclusive classrooms?
Equitable relationships means you do not treat every student the same, some need more attention or more resources than other students to get to the same place.

22. Ensuring Equitable Relationships
“Show n’ tell” vs. brochures and pamphlets
Provide mentoring and coaching
Seek advocates for safe and supportive environment
Seek out social capital to benefit students
Ensure that every student has consistent opportunities
Success is helping students to build social and cultural capital. Students start in different places depending on their experiences. Helping students using these strategies, for example, helps to provide more equity and access
Capital: Identifying other areas of collaboration within the campus departments along with community resources.
Opportunities as others (e.g. internships, leadership opportunities, concurrent enrollment, etc.) to benefit them growing their own networks, skills and knowledge

23. Toolkit developed by NAPE with lesson plans including the Cues and Messages activity to do with educators and administrators. Go to this website

25. Questions? Discussion! Denise.Felder@minnstate.edu