Blog
- Write an online blog in which you reflect on what you learned during your clinical experiences, and the new information presented in this module.
- Reflect on how these and other experiences have prepared you to support students from diverse cultural groups at your school.
- Find two additional journal articles and two online resources that provide greater insight into how to support the specific student populations of your school, then add recommendations from these articles to your blog.
What I Have Learned During My Practical Teaching Experiences
Teaching Reading
Since starting to teach in Saint Albans, England, U.K. over the last eight weeks, I have observed that some students speak a London dialect where they th-front and produce other non-standard lexical deformations[1], including when they read those words. Since reading our Teach-Now required reading articles for this module about Ebonics, I now understand that when students read these words and pronounce them that way, I should not interrupt them to make them say the word properly. (Furthermore, it seems it is hardly ever good practice to interrupt a reader.) Instead, I will wait until the child has finished reading to then go back and give them feedback on how the word is actually pronounced in standard English. Adopting this practice would be respecting the multicultural portion of InTASC Standard 1 where I “understand the role that language and culture play in learning and modifying my instruction to make it more comprehensible and accessible to each learner”[2]. I could also “bring multiple perspectives [into] the discussion of [this] content, including [drawing] attention to learners’ personal, family, and community experiences and cultural norms”[3] by pointing out the different dialects of English that exist in the world such as American-English (Southern accents, etc.) and the “Queen’s English”[4]. Now that I am aware of the importance of not denigrating how those children speak at home, and also how easily a teacher could unintentionally do this (especially considering the fact that this British dialect is already looked down upon within the U.K.), I will make the effort to further expand on the point of how there are many different dialects and registers of speech in any language[5]. For example, I could use age-appropriate extracts from comical scenes in films with famous British actor Simon Pegg where he uses London dialect in inappropriate situations and then highlight that there are certain circumstances where it is perfectly fine to speak like that, but other circumstances where it is not. I would then go on to say that in school, teachers are responsible for ensuring that all students learn how to read, speak and write standard international English, so that our students will be able to travel anywhere in the world where English is spoken or to any part of the U.K. and be easily understood (Lisa Delpit, 2012). These actions would communicate respect for and responsiveness to my students’ cultural backgrounds by integrating culturally relevant content to build on my learners’ experiences and cultural norms[6].
Teaching Mathematics
My Year 4 students’ handwriting is atrocious! Whenever I correct students’ handwriting they try to justify it saying “that’s how I do my number ‘5’” (or whatever letter or number it is). For mathematics in particular, I have found a response they cannot contest: I tell them that Mathematics is an international language that is written the same way all over the world so that anyone, anywhere in the world, speaking any language can understand it, so they cannot write a ‘5’ like an ‘S’ and think that is alright. I tell them that the way we write things in Mathematics adheres to an international convention (rules) on how this should be done.
Intervention Groups
At the school where I currently work, every classroom has a teaching assistant (T.A.). This person is responsible for taking aside small groups of struggling learners and doing interventions with them. This occurs during class time (but not the entire time), during assembly time and occasionally during part of break time. An intervention consists in re-teaching the basics in English and Mathematics. For example, they are given additional reading time where the teaching assistant (T.A.) listens to their reading, or special remedial learning programs are conducted such as “Read, Write, Ink” for phonics and “Right Words” for spelling. During their Interventions, students use manipulatives and interactive, visual online learning programs with an iPad which may involve methods such as ‘the counting up method’ to try to help students understand the basics concepts in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. These students participate in the same learning tasks as all the other students in their class, however, the T.A. assists them in completing their task in some way. The T.A.’s assistance ranges from providing additional hints and prompts towards the right answer, to having the children answer questions orally and the T.A. writing their answers in the book for them. In addition to this, we provide this group of learners with tailored simplified tests when we have assessments. I believe that this system of intervention successfully allows us to “prepare all learners for the demands of particular assessment formats and make appropriate accommodations in assessments or testing conditions, especially for learners with disabilities and language learning needs”[7].
Creating Tolerance for Cultural Diversity and Respecting British Values
In the U.K. there is a school subject called PSHE which could be considered multicultural education. PSHE stands for personal, social, health and economic education. “[It] is a school subject [in England] through which pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe, and prepare for life and work in modern Britain”[8]. Right now, PSHE is taught to students at the school’s option, although it is highly encouraged by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted). However, PSHE will become compulsory for all schools in England in the year 2020. During PSHE, in the unit on British Values, students learn about the West’s modern interpretation of tolerance and freedom and what this means for citizens in these countries. Things like terrorism, liberty to choose one’s own religion and marriage partner, domestic violence, peer pressure, drugs, the right to vote and democracy are covered. In addition to this, the religious education subject taught at British schools teaches about most of the world’s main religions (one at a time) and reflects on the moral values espoused by them using concrete scenarios and examples. In my opinion, these two subjects cover most of my aims in “teaching culturally relevant content which build on learners’ background knowledge and accessing resources which deepen my understanding of cultural, ethnic, gender, and learning differences to build stronger relationships and create more relevant learning expectations”[9]. Some of the homework assignments given for PSHE also require family member involvement which satisfy the multicultural educational aim of “working collaboratively with learners and their families to establish mutual expectations and ongoing communication to support learner development and achievement”[10]. I believe that if proper emphasis is placed on all these strategies and resources I will be able to successfully teach my students multiculturalism and tolerance.
References
Brown, Lorraine. (2009). International Education: A Force for Peace and Cross-Cultural Understanding? 17 pages. Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, U.K. Retrieved from http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/10121/2/journal_for_peace_education.pdf
Delpit, Lisa. (2012). Ebonics and Culturally Responsive Instruction: What Should Teachers Do? Teaching for Equity. Pp. 149 – 156. 8 pages. Retrieved from http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/lilly/meier/printable/VAB8339-18645 Originally in http://www.RethinkingSchools.org/archive/12 01 /EbDelpit.shtml
Fialová, Barbora. (2011). The Multicultural Learning Environment in the USA and the UK. (Master’s Thesis). Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, Filozofická Fakulta, Katedra Anglistiky a Amerikanistiky [Palacky University in Olomouc, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of English and American Studies]. Olomouc, Czech Republic. Retrieved from https://theses.cz/id/dbh6nl/MA_THESIS.pdf
Gollnick, Donna M. & Chinn, Philip C. (2013). Foundations of Multicultural Education. Pearson Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/samplechapter/0/1/3/7/0137035098.pdf
Hanover Research. (2014-08). Strategies for Building Cultural Competency. District Administration Practice. Washington, D.C., U.S.A. www.HanoverResearch.com Retrieved from https://www.gssaweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Strategies-for-Building-Cultural-Competency-1.pdf
Inquiry to Action Group: Social Justice Educators on a Path to Cultural Relevancy. (2014-03). Training Module: Developing Cultural Competency Among School Staff. Contributors: Sheila Myers, Tamara Weiss, Erica Darken, Melanie Berlin, Elizabeth Kim. Editor: Avery Finch. Partner Text: Rethinking Multicultural Education: Teaching for Racial and Cultural Justice. 24 pages. Retrieved from http://tagphilly.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Developing-Cultural-Competency-Among-School-Staff.pdf
Modood, Tariq & May, Stephen. (2001) Chapter 5: Multiculturalism and Education in Britain: An Internally Contested Debate. International Journal of Educational Research. No. 35, Pp. 305 – 317. 13 pages. Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship, University of Bristol. Pergamon. Bristol, U.K. Elsevier Science Ltd. www.elsevier.com/locate/IJEdures Retrieved from http://www.tariqmodood.com/uploads/1/2/3/9/12392325/multiculturalism_education_britain.pdf
Rawnsley, Sheila Fusae. (2003). Taking Multicultural, Anti-Racist Education Seriously: An Interview with Enid Lee. Horizon, v. 33, no. 1, p. 1-4. Retrieved from https://summit.sfu.ca/system/files/iritems1/7672/b36597041.pdf
Walker, Allan & Riordan, Geoff. (2010-02). Leading Collective Capacity in Culturally Diverse Schools. School Leadership and Management. Vol. 30, No. 1, Pp. 51 – 63. Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong; The University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. Retrieved from http://site25.net/tn/med/m13readings/m13u2a3/Walker_Riordan.pdf
[1] E.g. London Dialect. The th-front: saying “fink” for “think”, “free” for “three”; “bave” for “bathe”, “wivout” for “without”; Skipping over the ‘t’ sound before an ‘er’ sound in words like “matter” and “better” which become “ma’er” and “be’er” respectively; changing the ‘d’ sound to a ‘g’ sound so words like “middle” become “miggle”, etc. Other features of London dialect: “a orange” instead of “an orange”.
[2] Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Standards, 2011. Standard 1: Understand the role of language and culture in learning and know how to modify instruction to make language comprehensible and instruction relevant, accessible, and challenging. Source: Gollnick, Donna M. & Chinn, Philip C. (2013). Foundations of Multicultural Education. Pearson Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/samplechapter/0/1/3/7/0137035098.pdf
[3] InTASC Standard 2: Bring multiple perspectives to the discussion of content, including attention to learners’ personal, family, and community experiences and cultural norms. Source: ibid.
[4] Recommendations from: Delpit, Lisa. (2012). Ebonics and Culturally Responsive Instruction: What Should Teachers Do? Teaching for Equity. Pp. 149 – 156. 8 pages. Retrieved from http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/lilly/meier/printable/VAB8339-18645 Originally in http://www.RethinkingSchools.org/archive/12 01 /EbDelpit.shtml
[5] Recommendations from: ibid.
[6] InTASC Standard 3: Communicate verbally and nonverbally in ways that demonstrate respect for and responsiveness to the cultural backgrounds and differing perspectives learners bring to the learning environment. Standard 4: Know how to integrate culturally relevant content to build on learners’ background knowledge. Source: Gollnick, Donna M. & Chinn, Philip C. (2013). Foundations of Multicultural Education. Pearson Higher Education. Retrieved from
https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/samplechapter/0/1/3/7/0137035098.pdf
[7] InTASC Standard 6: Prepare all learners for the demands of particular assessment formats and make appropriate accommodations in assessments or testing conditions, especially for learners with disabilities and language learning needs. Source: ibid.
[8] Source: PSHE Association. (2018-10-20). Curriculum. Retrieved from https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/curriculum-and-resources/curriculum
[9] InTASC Standard 4: Know how to integrate culturally relevant content to build on learners’ background knowledge. Standard 9: Reflect on my personal biases and access resources to deepen my understanding of cultural, ethnic, gender, and learning differences to build stronger relationships and create more relevant learning expectations. Source: ibid.
[10] InTASC Standard 10: Work collaboratively with learners and their families to establish mutual expectations and ongoing communication to support learner development and achievement. Source: ibid.
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