Multicultural Education

Luke Dreiling March 25, 2014

Objectives
(Expressive)
Students will be able to: Uncover misconceptions about cultural diversity Relate how cultural literacy impacts a students learning experience

Know the four different approaches to multicultural education

Identify which students best benefits from a multicultural education

Misconceptions of Cultural Diversity

People from the same geographic region or those who speak the same language also share a common culture
Multicultural education just includes ethnic or racial issues Some cultures are more evolved than other cultures

PAUSE & REFLECT:

What first came to mind when you first heard the words Howe cultural diversity?

Cultural Literacy
The ability to understand and participate fluently in a culture

KEY: Cultural knowledge and reading comprehension go hand and hand

Watson

Four Approaches to Multicultural Education

Contributions Approach
Teachers focus on specific contributions of a culture or cultures through implementing discrete activities or units

Example: (focuses on culture specific heroes, holidays, or other cultural phenomena) Put together a mini-unit for how St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland for St. Patricks Day

Additive Approach
Involves the inclusion of books, units, or courses that add to the existing curriculum but do not change it substantially

Example: When studying Magellan's voyage around the earth, study journal entries and literature written in the Philippines, South Africa, and other stops to enrich cultural knowledge and understanding of the voyage

PAUSE & REFLECT

What is the difference between the contribution and additive approach to teaching multicultural education?

Transformational Approach
Focuses on transforming the existing curriculum restructuring it so that it routinely provides a variety of cultural perspectives

Example: (focus on issues or events from the perspective of different cultures and ethnicities) When studying the American Revolution, change curriculum to compare and contrast the British perspective of the war with the American

Social Action Approach

Foster social criticism by asking students to make decisions about important social issues and engage in appropriate actions to help resolve them

Example: When teaching about the history of slavery in America, have students research how racism still effects our society today, brainstorm ideas to act on the issue, and then encourage them to take action

Teaching Tips in Regard to Culture Cultural information should be presented in a

nonjudgmental fashion Promote a third culture classroom

A multicultural lesson should:

Include a variety of perspectives Discuss social contexts, including issues of equity and justice; and/or Include activities that foster critical thinking and selfawareness

Practice cultural understanding with language skills Cultural activities should be carefully organized and incorporated into lesson plans to enrich teaching content Gorski

PAUSE & REFLECT

Which approaches to multicultural education are used in the activities?
Include a mini unit on St. Patricks journey to bringing Christianity to Ireland Discuss common proverbs to better understand values and beliefs Role play cultural situations that are examined in class to have students identify with miscommunication Use a culture capsule to expose learners to a cultural object, then have them research about the object in that culture Have the students research different injustices in a specific culture and design a plan to help bring justice to the culture Invite a guest from a foreign culture to share about their home culture Use an ethnographic study where your learners interview someone in their community from a different culture

Who benefits from multicultural education?

ALL students, in either home or foreign cultures

PAUSE & REFLECT: Think about how cultural background and knowledge relates to language and linguistics. Why do students who are learning in a foreign culture benefit from an education with multicultural approaches?

Activity: Diversity in Proverbs Purpose: By studying proverbs from different countries, you will
discover that many cultures have different ways of expressing the same belief or value from the United States
1. Take your proverb (either American or foreign) and find the

person with the proverb that has the same message or value as yours. [U.S. pair with foreign proverb]
2. After your partner is found, stand and be prepared to do the

following aloud the the class:

Read your proverbs Share the similar message Share a cultural difference (think vocabulary, dialect, or common cultural knowledge)

3. On the back of the proverb, write (1) your partner's proverb,

(2) the similar message, and (3) a cultural difference

RECAP!
Students should now be able to: Uncover misconceptions about cultural diversity Relate how cultural literacy impacts a students learning experience

Know four different approaches to multicultural education

Identify which students best benefit from a multicultural education

References
Watson, R. (1987). Research in the teaching of english. (3 ed., Vol. 21, pp. 398-317). National Council of Teachers of English. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40171117 Howe, W. (2009). 15 misconceptions about multicultural education. Bill Howe on Multicultural Education, 3(12), Retrieved from http://billhowe.org/MCE/15-misconceptionsabout-multicultural-education/ Gorski, P. (2012). Key characteristics of a multicultural curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/curriculum/ characteristics.html